Protests follow Syrian president's speech

Protesters have taken to the streets across Syria to denounce a speech by President Bashar al-Assad, saying his address did not meet popular demands for sweeping political reform.

Rallies were held in major cities including Homs, Hama, Latakia and in Damascus suburbs.

In the Sleibeh and Raml al-Filistini districts of the coastal city of Latakia, protesters chanted "liar, liar".

"People were still hoping he would say something meaningful that would result in tanks and troops leaving the streets. They were disappointed and started going out as soon as Assad finished talking," one activist in the city said.

"No to dialogue with murderers," protesters chanted in the Damascus suburb of Irbin.

Demonstrations also took place in the eastern city of Albu Kamal on the border with Iraq, the southern city of Deraa and other towns in the Hauran Plain, cradle of the uprising, now in its fourth month.

Activists said dozens of students were arrested in a protest at the campus of Aleppo University.

Meanwhile, state television aired footage from a pro-Assad rally at the Aleppo citadel. Along with the Syrian flag, demonstrators held the Russian flag.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, told the Financial Times on Thursday that his country would use its veto to block any United Nations Security Council resolution that could justify military intervention in Syria.

'National dialogue'

In a 70-minute, televised speech, Assad acknowledged demands for reform were legitimate, but said "saboteurs" were exploiting the situation. Although he called for "national dialogue," he said, "There is
no political solution with those who carry arms and kill."

The president announced that a national dialogue would start soon and he was forming a committee to study constitutional amendments, including one that would open the way to forming political parties other than the ruling Baath Party.

He said he expects a package of reforms by September or the end of the year at the latest.

Bouthaina Shaaban, a minister in Assad's government and an adviser to the president, said his reform agenda is based on "what the Syrian people want".

"For the last two months he's met with thousands of people from all over the country, from all walks of life, from all religions, and hence, the president's vision is based on what the Syrian people want and what the Syrian people need", she told Al Jazeera.

But the opposition dismissed the speech, saying it lacked any clear sign of a transition to true democracy.

The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an activist network, said in a statement that the president turned a "blind eye" to the "new reality" the uprising has created.

The LCC dismissed Assad's call for dialogue as "a way to gain more time:.

"We have announced previously, we rejected any dialogue in the light of the continued killings and intimidation and the siege of cities and arbitrary arrests. As we believe that there will be no benefit of any dialogue if it is not intended to turn the current page of the regime, peacefully".

"The true response to that speech came by the people just right after the speech in few minutes when the demonstrations started in various cities and provinces."

Theodore Kattouf, a former US ambassador to Syria, said the speech was "short on specifics that would give anybody confidence that this is a real effort to radically reform a regime that's been in power for 40 years".

"I think if anything it will anger the Syrian people and bring more protesters onto the streets that we've seen today," he told Al Jazeera.

'Not enough'

Demonstrations erupted as Syrians sheltering in refugee camps in Turkey reacted furiously to the speech.

"Bashar al-Assad, we don't want you and your party," they chanted, some hurling shoes or slippers at the television in a typical Arab gesture of contempt.

More than 10,000 have crossed the border into Turkey, fleeing violence in northwestern Syria.

In his speech, Assad urged the refugees to return home, saying there will be no retaliation against them.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Assad's address was "not enough" and urged the president to implement a multi-party-system in Syria.

The US said it wanted to see "action, not words" from the Syrian president.

"Bashar al-Assad has been making promises to his people for weeks. What is important now is action, not words," Victorial Nuland, a state department spokeswoman, said.

On Assad's blaming saboteurs for the unrest, she said, "We're just not buying it".

The European Union foreign policy chief described Assad's speech as "disappointing".

"President Assad has to launch a credible, genuine and inclusive dialogue, and it's up to the people of Syria to judge the willingness to reform," Catherine Ashton told a news conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"But I have to say at first glance, the speech today was disappointing."

The EU was preparing to expand its sanctions on Syria in response to worsening violence against opponents of the government, according to a statement agreed by EU foreign ministers.

"The EU is actively preparing to expand its restrictive measures ... with a view to achieving a fundamental change of policy by the Syrian leadership without delay," the statement said.

Source: Al Jazeera English