No reforms if protests continue, Assad warns

THE SYRIAN president has promised major changes over the next few months, calling on Syrians who fled the military crackdown to return home and pledging to draw up a new constitution.

In a televised address to supporters gathered at Damascus University yesterday, Bashar al-Assad said parliamentary elections would take place in August and a reform package would be completed by September.

After expressing regret over the deaths of protesters and security agents during the unrest of the past three months, Dr Assad said they represented a great loss to the country and to him personally, but he insisted that reforms could not go ahead while violence continued.

He condemned corruption and nepotism and vowed to tackle it at the apex of the regime but argued that Syrian citizens had to combat these evils at local level.

He said the newly established National Dialogue Authority – of which he is a member – would hold discussions with representatives of the people.

“It would review drafts of new election, political parties, and media laws and “create a national reform plan”.

“We must give . . . dialogue a chance because the future of Syria depends on it,” he said, warning that unrest imperilled the economy.

In his third address since protests erupted in mid-March, Dr Assad identified three components of the unrest: citizens with legitimate grievances and needs that must be addressed; small numbers of criminal elements; and “saboteurs” seeking to destabilise the country, and “radicals”, ie members of the Muslim Brotherhood which attempted to overthrow the secular Baathist government in 1982.

He accused external forces, outlaws, saboteurs and radicals of exploiting the “movement seeking legitimate reforms” and said that violent elements were using advanced weapons to attack the security forces and destroy public and private property.

“There can be no development without stability and no reform through vandalism,” the president said. “The demands of the street do not justify inflicting damage on the country.”

In contrast to the largely peaceful uprising in Egypt, the unrest in Syria has involved vandalism of public property, banks and other facilities as well as non-violent protests. Armed civilian elements have also opened fire on internal security forces and troops.

Dr Assad’s words were meant for the ears of government supporters and Syrians – including many participants in protests – who want reforms without the overthrow of the regime.

He may have felt on solid ground because he feels his security forces have re-established control in key locations, including Deraa.

The number of protesters in Syria can be counted in the tens or hundreds of thousands in a country of 23 million people, whereas in Egypt, about 11 per cent of the country’s 80 million people claim to have taken part in the uprising.

Dr Assad’s speech – advertised several days ago – did not impress dedicated regime opponents who took to the streets in half a dozen locations to call for the fall of the regime. In a Damascus suburb, several hundred marchers reportedly chanted: “No to dialogue with murderers”.

Human rights activists say 1,310 people died during the unrest and 10,000 have been imprisoned.

On Sunday, Jamil Saib, a spokesman for the anti-regime camp said: “We announce the creation of a national council to lead the Syrian revolution, comprising all communities and representatives of national forces inside and outside Syria.”

The council called on Syrians to “co-operate in all cities and provinces to achieve the legitimate goal of overthrowing the regime and bring [its members] to justice”.