Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad made historic concessions to young protesters on Thursday, in a desperate effort to head off the fate of leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other targets of “Arab Revolutions,” according to the BBC.
Left: Bouthaina Shaaban speaking at press conference on Thursday. Right: Dead protesters in Deraa on Wednesday. (EuroNews)
The concessions come as democracy activists have called for massive demonstrations on Friday, celebrating “Dignity Friday.” The demonstrations are to start after midday prayers, when thousands of people pour out of mosques onto the streets.
The concessions were announced by Buthaina Shaaban, Assad’s media advisor, according to Bloomberg. They include economic reforms and political reforms, including the dismissal of a deeply unpopular governor.
Most surprising were the announced intentions to provide political freedoms, including a draconian “state of emergency” that’s been in effect since 1963.
The democracy protests began last Friday, and have been growing. They were entirely unexpected, since demonstrations have been rare in Syria. Thousands took to the streets on Wednesday in Deraa in southern Syria, near the Jordan border. Protesters chanted, “Traitors do not kill their own people. God, Syria, Freedom. The blood of martyrs is not spilled in vain!” The Guardian quotes rights activists as saying that security forces shot and killed more than 100 people.
In her press conference on Thursday, Shaaban denied that security forces had killed anyone, and she blamed the killings on al-Qaeda and other foreign terrorists.
The concessions are not expected to satisfy the protesters, according to an analyst quoted by Reuters. “When you first hear it you think they’re making major concessions, but when you look at it you realize there’s not a lot there besides the salary boost. You understand the regime is in a very difficult spot and they’re flustered.”
Circus continues as Nato takes command of Libya No-Fly Zone
In a bizarre twist of diplomacy, Nato member states agreed on Thursday to assume command of a no-fly zone over Libya, according to VOA.
However, the US will retain command for other operations, especially protecting Libyan civilians from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on the ground.
Turkey, in particular, was opposed to authorizing Nato to take any action that might allow “Turkish bombs” to kill any Libyan civilians, even as collateral damage. The current compromise meets Turkey’s objections.
However, the U.S. still has the major part of the command responsibility, and also supplies most of the assets. The administration has said that it intends to turn all command responsibility over to someone else, but so far it is not known how that will occur.
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