Assad under pressure as new Syria protests called
Thursday, 31 March 2011
A woman interjected Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s convoy after finishing his speech to the nation on Wednesday, prompting the national state TV to briefly shut down.
The woman stopped in front of the Syrian leader’s car, whereby his aides called on security to control the situation, while Syrian television momentarily stopped broadcasting.
This was soon followed by a number of security men attacking people on both sides and pushing them away from the president’s car.
The Syrian president spoke in front of the parliament members about the social unrest that has recently rocked the country, leaving dozens of people killed mainly in the southern city of Deraa.
In his first speech since the protests erupted, Assad told parliament on Wednesday that Syria's "enemies" were targeting its unity and blamed conspirators for the unrest.
The president warned Syria was going through a "test of unity". Its foes had taken advantage of the needs of the people to incite division, he said.
"This conspiracy is different in shape and timing from what is going on in the Arab world," he said. "Syria is not isolated from the region... but we are not a copy of other countries."
Opposition rallies called
We want a civil, free, noble state that is with the times and respects our heritage 
Syrian opposition expressed disappointment, however, at the speech and vowed to take to the streets in mass rallies after weekly Muslim prayers on Friday
"Our date is Friday, from all houses, all places of worship, every citizen and every free man, to all squares, for a free Syria," said a statement posted Thursday on Facebook group The Syria Revolution 2011.
"We want a civil, free, noble state that is with the times and respects our heritage," added the group, which has been a driving force behind protests which erupted on March 15 and have been focused in Daraa, south of the capital, and in the confessionally divided city of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.
It is a period of unprecedented domestic pressure for Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez in 2000.
Demonstrators have defied the state of emergency with street gatherings, emboldened by the wave of dissent that has rocked the Arab world since December.
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