Protesters Call for Demos across Syria
Protesters called for rallies across Syria after weekly Muslim prayers on Friday, upping the pressure on President Bashar Assad after he dashed hopes of an end to decades of emergency rule.
"Our date is Friday, from all houses, all places of worship, every citizen and every free man, to all squares, for a free Syria," said a statement posted Thursday on Facebook group The Syria Revolution 2011.
"We want a civil, free, noble state that is with the times and respects our heritage," added the group, which has been a driving force behind protests which erupted on March 15 and have been focused in Daraa, south of the capital, and in the confessional divided city of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.
In his first speech since the protests erupted, Assad told parliament on Wednesday that Syria's "enemies" were targeting its unity and blamed conspirators for the unrest.
Amnesty International said Assad had "missed a crucial opportunity" to lift the emergency laws.
Pinning the blame on a foreign "conspiracy" was a "dangerous diversion" said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa deputy director.
Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, described the speech as "extremely disappointing."
"President Assad simply repeated the same vague promises of reform that he’s been uttering for over a decade," Houry told Agence France Presse.
Syrian human rights activists have accused security forces of killing 130 people in their crackdown on the two weeks of protests. Officials put the toll at some 30 dead.
It is a period of unprecedented domestic pressure for Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez in 2000.
Demonstrators have defied the state of emergency with street gatherings, emboldened by the wave of dissent that has rocked the Arab world since December.
The government of Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri tendered its resignation on Tuesday and a new cabinet is expected to be announced by the end of the week.
Source: Agence France Presse
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