Syria lifts state of emergency in place for the last 48 years

2011-04-20 00:19:32 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (BNO NEWS) -- Syrian Cabinet on Tuesday passed a legislation to lift the state of emergency which had been in place for the last 48 years, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

During Tuesday's session, which was chaired by Prime Minister Adel Safar, the Cabinet also approved a bill on a decree to abolish the Higher State Security Court established in 1968.

In addition, a legislation to regulate the right to participate in peaceful protests was passed as well. These series of legislations were approved as part of the political reform promised by President Bashar al-Assad to put an end to the recent mass anti-government protests.

The Syrian leader vowed to push reforms to expanding the citizens'' participation, promoting democracy, strengthening national unity, guaranteeing the safety of citizens, and facing many other challenges.

In mid-March, pro-democracy demonstrations began in Syria and have continued across the country, in Deraa, Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Duma and Banias. The country has been ruled by the Baath Party since 1963.

Protesters are demanding the ouster of al-Assad, who took over the post from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000, and calling for greater freedoms including the end of the 1963 state of emergency.

In an attempt to end the unrest, the Cabinet also discussed establishing a program for employing young citizens in state agencies which is expected to create up to 10,000 jobs per year for university graduates.

Last week, Al-Assad unveiled a new Cabinet after the previous one decided to step down due to the recent demonstrations. In addition, the Syrian President gave instructions to release all protesters who did not commit criminal acts and were detained during the recent unrests.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) informed that at least 28 people were killed in protests in three towns last Tuesday. Since March 18, at least 130 protesters have been killed in Daraa and surrounding villages during peaceful demonstrations.

The United Nations said Monday that at least 200 people have been killed in the pro-democracy protests. UN human rights experts said that live ammunition is being used against protesters and warned that demonstrators may began using firearms to defend themselves.

The protests in Syria are considered to be part of a broader pro-democracy movement across North Africa and the Middle East that began at the start of this year and has led to the downfall of long-standing regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-04-20

48 Year state of emergency. I guess they might have progressed to becoming a true democracy in a millenium, give or take a century or so.

The lifting of the state of emergency tells nothing of what's really happening. I suspect Syria is about to blow up big time and Iran are going to be furious.

http://www.debka.com/article/20860/

President Bashar Assad, while abrogating Syria's detested 48-year old emergency laws Tuesday, April 19, immediately replaced them with new draconian measures banning any kind of public protest against his regime and permitting midnight arrests. His bloody showdown with widening circles of protesters is in its final act, debkafile's Middle East sources report, and threatens to explode into a sectarian war.