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Protesters have called for rallies across Syria after weekly Muslim prayers today, upping the pressure on President Bashar al-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. The group, which remains anonymous, has become a focal point for the protests, which erupted March 15, focused mainly in Daraa, south of the capital, and in the confessionally divided coastal city of Latakia. Assad is facing unprecedented pressure to grant greater freedoms in a country that has been in a state of emergency for close to 50 years. While Assad failed to announce the end of a state of emergency in his speech Wednesday, staterun news agency SANA reported that a "study" was underway to replace the emergency law with new legislation on national security and counter-terrorism. "Under a directive by President Bashar al-Assad, a committee of legal experts has been formed to study new laws on national security and counter-terrorism, in order to pave the way for ending the state of emergency," SANA said, adding that the work should be done by April 25. Demonstrators have defied the maintained state of emergency with street gatherings across the country, emboldened by the wave of dissent that has rocked the Arab world since December. While small protests initially surfaced in the capital Damascus, they were quickly contained by Syria's security forces. Rights activists estimate that more than 130 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, mainly in Daraa and Latakia, while officials put the toll at near 30. Syria is launching an immediate probe into the deaths of "civilians and troops" in Daraa and Latakia, SANA said. "Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has charged the head of the judges' council with forming a committee to begin an investigation, effective immediately, into the deaths of civilians and troops in the governorates of Daraa and Latakia," read a report on SANA. Assad has blamed Syria's "enemies" for the unrest, saying they were targeting Syria's unity and inciting division, in a country that has long prided itself on coexistence in a region torn by sectarian strife. AFP |
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