Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Syrian Leader Blames Protests On 'Conspirators'; No Reforms Announced

30.03.2011 14:16

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has delivered an uncompromising rebuff to demonstrations against his rule by blaming "conspirators" and declining to announce widely anticipated key concessions to opponents.

In a keenly awaited speech to the Syrian parliament in Damascus, he instead pledged to defeat those he claimed were involved in a "plot" against his country, among whom he included foreign satellite-television channels.

Assad was making his first public comments since a wave of unprecedented protests against his rule in southern towns and cities, including Daraa and Syria's main port, Latakia, that have left scores of people dead.

In what was assumed to presage the unveiling of significant reforms, he had accepted the resignation of his cabinet a day earlier ahead of the formation of a new government.

That was expected to pave the way for the announcement of liberalizing measures, including the repeal of a nearly 50-year-old wide-ranging emergency law.

'A Big Plot From Outside'

But Assad made only vague reference to such reforms in an unusually short speech that was frequently interrupted by parliament deputies offering him paeans of praise. He said he believed in reform but that his regime would not make changes under pressure.

"We are all for reform. That is the duty of the state. But we are not for strife," said the Syrian leader. "What we should watch out for is starting reforms under these circumstances right now, this passing wave."

Instead of appeasing his critics, the president -- in power since 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled for the previous 30 years -- blamed outsiders for the recent demonstrations.

"Syria is a target of a big plot from outside -- its timing, its format has been speeded up," he said.

Referring to the wave of Arab protests that have unseated presidents in Egypt and Tunisia, triggered intense fighting in Libya, and provoked uprisings elsewhere, he added: "This conspiracy is different in shape and timing from what is going on in the Arab world. Syria is not isolated from the region...but we are not a copy of other countries."

Syria, an ally of Iran, has long had hostile relations with the United States and Israel and is widely thought to be one of the Middle East's most ruthless police states.

No Change To Emergency Law

Assad's address was greeted by enthusiastic applause by watching lawmakers, who lined up afterward to shake his hand.

But its lack of specifics on reforms means it is likely to be met with disappointment among a wider audience within Syria, which is riven by potential sectarian differences between the majority Sunni community and minorities like the Allawites -- a Shi'a-related sect to which the president belongs -- and Christians.

The emergency law, in force since 1963, denies citizens guaranteed rights and allows for detention without charge.

Assad conceded that a draft bill on lifting the emergency law and liberalizing laws on the media and political parties was taking too long.

But he added: "The emergency law and political parties law have been under study for a year...but giving a time frame is a logistic matter. When we announce it in such circumstances, it is difficult to make that deadline."

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/assad_speech/3541439.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.