Middle East
Syria braced for anti-government protests
President names new governor for city roiled by political unrest and issues
decrees ending emergency rule.
Last Modified: 21 Apr 2011 11:19
Homs is just one of several Syrian cities where anti-government protests have
raged in recent weeks [AFP]
Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has appointed a new governor in the
central city of Homs, where witnesses say security forces have been deployed in
anticipation of more protests.
The official news agency said on Thursday that Ghassan Abdul-Al was named for
the post after the government sacked his predecessor on April 7.
Al-Assad also issued decrees ending nearly five decades of emergency rule,
abolishing state security courts and allowing citizens to protest peacefully,
state television reported on Thursday.
The announcements, made successively in news flashes on state television, said
Assad was ending the state of emergency - imposed when the ruling Baath Party
seized power in 1963 - as well as the state security courts.
A third decree said citizens would be granted "the right to peacefully
demonstrate" and noted that this is one of the "basic human rights guaranteed
by the Syrian constitution".
However, Haitham al-Maleh, a prominent Syrian opposition figure, dismissed the
decrees, arguing that the move was "useless" without an independent judiciary
and accountability for security apparatus.
"The problem is that the ruling elite and the security have put their hands on
the judiciary and other legislation [introduced by them] exempt the security
forces from being held accountable to law," he said.
Maleh is a lawyer and a former judge who has long campaigned for an end to the
emergency law.
Ghias al-Jundi, a rights activist based in London, said neither the move to end
emergency rule, nor the dismissal of the head of the security services in
Baniyas [a coastal town] and other concessions by Assad, would stop the
protests.
"The people want proper reform and democracy, and a real end to emergency law,"
he told Al Jazeera.
"I think of the demonstrations started with demands of reform but the regime
responded badly, by killing and detaining people. Now they're asking for regime
change and demands are getting higher. In all funerals and protests now we are
hearing the people want to topple the regime."
The developments came as rights activists said lorries carrying soldiers and
vehicles equipped with machine guns were seen on highway linking Homs and
Damascus, the Syrian capital, in preparation for Friday's protest rallies
called by online activists.
"The feeling here on the ground is certainly that the Syrian government is
playing a carrot-and-stick game," Al Jazeera's Cal Perry reported from the city.
He said that the mood in Damascus "seems like the calm before the storm".
Violent crackdown
Homs has been shaken by violent confrontations as Syrian security forces have
cracked down on anti-government protesters over the past weeks. Activists said
about 20 demonstrators were killed earlier this week when when security forces
fired on people.
A witness in Homs said almost all shops in the city were closed for the third
straight day on Thursday, after activists had called for a general strike.
Residents in the southern city of Daraa said army units took up positions
closer to the city after having abandoned them in the last two days.
Separately, a small protest was held outside Hasakah University in the
country's mainly Kurdish northeast. Dozens of people gathered, chanting their
support for those in Daraa, Baniyas and Homs calling for more freedom.
One of the organisers told Al Jazeera that the students were prevented from
leaving the university to protest in the city and that police and
pro-government students were used to break up the rally. There were no reports
of injuries or arrests.
Protests took place on Wednesday in several parts of the country, including a
student protest in Aleppo, the country's largest city, where no major rallies
have yet been held.
Activists say nationwide rallies are planned to be held on Friday, dubbed Great
Friday.
Amnesty International, the London-based rights organisation, says about 220
people have been killed in the crackdown on the protests.
The unrest began with a small protest calling for the release of political
prisoners in Damascus on March 15 and gained strength three days later when
thousands marched in Daraa.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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