Syrian Regime's Backers Take a Turn at Protest

Syrian supporters of President Bashar al-Assad took to the streets in large demonstrations in several cities, as the regime and its supporters threw their weight behind the leader's offers of reform.

Opposition activists, who dismissed the president's pledges in a speech Monday as insufficient, also demonstrated on Tuesday, leading to the deaths of at least four people in three cities when security forces fired on protesters, according to activists.

Mr. Assad, in his first public address since April 16, promoted a process of national dialogue as a path to reform. Opposition leaders have said they wouldn't take part.

Assad supporters were out in force in Damascus, the Syrian capital,which has yet to see sustained, mass antiregime demonstrations. In a central square, thousands of people waved flags and portraits of Mr. Assad, chanting: "We sacrifice ourselves for you, Bashar."

The proregime demonstrations were backed, and possibly organized to some extent, by the government. Mass text messages were sent Monday urging people to march. Syria's state news agency said millions of people across the country were "flocking to the public squares in support of the reform process under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad."

But almost four months into protests that have polarized Syrian society, Mr. Assad maintains a loyal base among the large merchant families of Damascus and Aleppo, the country's second-largest city. He also commands support among some minorities—including the Christian population—who prefer his autocratic rule over an unknown alternative and the potential of sectarian strife.

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Thousands Of Syrians Flee Into Turkey

Thousands of Syrians have fled into Turkey fearing a military attack, officials have said, as the country prepares for the possibility of more violent anti-government protests

Government troops have massed outside the town of Jisr al-Shughour, the scene of recent demonstrations, residents have said, adding that the settlement was now largely deserted.

There are now fears violence could intensify after Friday prayers.

The latest reports of a government crackdown intensified international concerns over Syria's handling of the protests.

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal have asked the UN Security Council to condemn President Assad, although veto-wielding Russia has said it would oppose such a move.

Foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said the Damascus government must be allowed time to implement promised reforms.

He said: "We do not believe the Syrian issue is a subject for consideration by the Security Council, let alone the adoption of some kind of resolution.


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West seeks UN vote condemning Syria

UNITED NATIONS — Western powers pressed the UN Security Council to condemn Syria's deadly crackdown on opposition protests in the face of strong opposition from Russia and China.

Britain and France have drawn up a new resolution which demands that President Bashar al-Assad end the violence and lift the siege of protest cities. It also calls for an arms embargo on Syria.

But there is no threat of sanctions and France's envoy said that there was no intention to launch Libya-style military action.

Meanwhil hundreds of residents fled the flashpoint town of Jisr al-Shughur in northern Syria on Wednesday, fearing bloody reprisals for the alleged killing earlier this week of 120 police and troops.

Fears that the regime could be about to exact brutal revenge for what it said was a "massacre" on Monday by "armed terrorists" appeared to galvanize efforts at the United Nations.

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal have submitted the resolution and say they are ready to risk a veto by Russia which reaffirmed its opposition to action by the 15-member Security Council.

"We believe that the world should not stand silent in the face of the outrages that are happening and we therefore hope that we will be able to move to vote on the resolution in coming days," said Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.

French ambassador Gerard Araud called the resolution an attempt to send a "political message" to Assad that it is time to carry out reforms.

He said in an interview with French television: "We all know, and it has been said by the French authorities, that we are not going to get engaged in military operations against Syria."

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Syria’s Cabinet Resigns; Concessions Expected

CAIRO — The Syrian government resigned Tuesday in what might have been a prelude to other concessions in a speech President Bashar al-Assad is expected to give to the nation on Wednesday, part of an expanding effort to address protests against his authoritarian rule.

The resignation was seen as a significant — if primarily symbolic — gesture in a nation where the leadership rarely responds to public pressure and where decisions are made not by the cabinet but by the president and his inner circle, including multiple security services.

“It is not about the government, it is about the policies of the state,” said Abdel Majid Manjouni, the head of the Socialist Democratic Arab Union Party in Aleppo. “The ministers are not the ones who decide these things. That is the president. He makes the policies.”

Mr. Assad’s speech on Wednesday was scheduled to try to calm tensions after government forces repeatedly opened fire on demonstrators, killing dozens of people. According to officials, the speech, originally expected on Monday, will offer significant political concessions, including the lifting of laws that restrict civil and political freedoms. The promises, however, were greeted skeptically by a public accustomed to a leadership that has talked of reform for years without results.

“Now it’s all about evaluating Assad’s words and how to judge his actions,” said Andrew J. Tabler, a Syria expert in Washington. “He doesn’t have a good track record on following through and I can’t imagine he can now, given the regime’s structure.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/middleeast/30syria.html?partner=rss&emc=rss