Assad to abolish emergency law

President Bashar al-Assad of Syrian promised his countrymen on Saturday that he would lift the draconian emergency law within a week, after month-long protests rocked Syria and left at least 200 people dead.

“We are sad for all the people we have lost and all the people injured, and consider them all martyrs, “ Agence-French Press quoted President Assad saying during his TV speech in which he was shown addressing his new cabinet.

This is Mr. Assad’s second public appearance since the country was rocked by protests a month ago.

The emergency law, which became effective in 1963, suspends most constitutional rights and imposes restrictions on public gatherings and movements. It also monitors private communications, and authorizes the interrogation of any individual.

“The judicial commission on the emergency law has prepared a series of proposals for new legislation, and these proposals will be submitted to the government, which will issue a new law within a week at the most, “ Mr. Assad said.

He said eradicating the unpopular emergency law would be a step toward closing the gap between the state institutions and citizens.

“It is important to eliminate this gap and fill it with the trust of the citizens in their state. Trust will not be built except through transparency,” Deutsche Press-Agentur quoted him as saying.

The Syrian president also called for a national dialogue with unions and national organizations and urged for finding the best model that suits the country. He also described Syrians as a “respectable” nation that “loves the regime” and “rejects chaos.”

Mr. Assad acknowledged Syria’s unemployment as being high even by Arab standards.

“When people feel the horizon is limited, they feel depression; and this depression can lead to despair, “ he said.

As for corruption, he said it was a threat to morality and to the country’s potential for development.

But the Syrian president also warned that the new law would not be lenient toward what he called was a “conspiracy” by saboteurs against the country.

In a speech to the new cabinet he named last week, Mr. Assad said stability remained his priority but reform was needed to “strengthen the internal front,” following unprecedented protests against his rule.

Hours before his televised speech, thousands of protesters took to the streets for the funeral of a 40-year-old Osama al-Sheikha, who died on Saturday from wounds sustained during a protest in Banias, The Associated Press reported. Nearly 10,000 people attended his funeral.

Banias is home to Sunnis, Alawite Muslims and Christians and has witnessed many protests similar to the ones seen in Deraa.

Another 4,500 people demonstrated in the three Kurdish neighborhoods of Ras al-Ain, Amuda and Derbassiye, near Qamishli, according to AFP.

Around 1,000 people held similar protests in the northwestern coastal city of Latakia while in Jobar, north of Damascus, police with batons and tear gas clashed with some 2,000 demonstrators, human-rights activists said.

(Dina Al-Shibeeb of Al Arabiya can be reached at: [email protected])