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| Supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hold his pictures during a rally in Damascus yesterday |
An AFP journalist said the demonstration followed a call on the Facebook page “My homeland, Syria” by Assad supporters to rally to “reinforce unity and solidarity with the families of martyrs and thank Russia and China for their stand against the conspiracy” in the UN Security Council.
The demonstration was also to denounce the Syrian National Council (SNC), an umbrella body formally set up on October 2 and pulling together most of the groups opposing Assad.
Placards in the central Sabaat Bahrat district proclaimed “The army and people with you, Bashar al-Assad” and “Syria is our country and Assad our president.” A giant portrait of the president dominated the area.
Russia and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, used their vetoes on October 4 to block a Western resolution threatening Assad’s regime with “measures” if it did not end its bloody crackdown on dissent.
The UN says the repression has caused more than 2,900 deaths since protests erupted in mid-March.
Syrian authorities accuse “armed terrorist gangs” of being behind the trouble.
Damascus has threatened retaliation against any country that recognises the SNC.
On Monday the European Union welcomed the council’s formation and urged the world to do the same, as it readied new sanctions against Assad’s regime.
Back in Damascus, prominent dissident Walid al-Bunni, who was arrested in August, was freed on bail yesterday, his lawyer Michel Shammas said.
“The Damascus court of appeals on Wednesday freed opposition figure Walid al-Bunni in exchange for a bail of 1,150 Syrian pounds ($23). He will be tried later for inciting (anti-regime) demonstrations and sectarianism,” he said.
Bunni was detained on August 6 along with his two sons, who were released shortly afterwards.
In 2000, Bunni was one of the prime movers of the short-lived “Damascus Spring” amid hopes for reform that followed Assad’s accession to the presidency after the death of his father, Hafez.
Bunni was one of 12 signatories of the 2005 Damascus Declaration, which called for democratic change in Syria, who were sentenced to 30 months in jail in October 2008 for “damaging the state.” He was last released in June 2010.
In May, rights group Amnesty International said Bunni was one of several rights activists in Syria “forced into hiding after receiving threats from Syrian authorities.”
Emir hails Syrian opposition council
HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani has hailed as an “important step” the creation of a Syrian opposition front, urging President Bashar al-Assad to talk to them. “The (formation of the) Syrian National Council marks an important step” the Emir said in remarks aired yesterday by the Al Jazeera news channel. “It is in the interest of Syria that the government sits with and reaches an agreement with this council over the nature of a new constitution that would preserve the balance of the Syrian nation,” he said. “I think that the council enjoys legitimacy among the protesters in Syria,” added the Emir, who had said in September that the months-long protests would not weaken despite the crackdown.