<p>"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 today on Facebook group The Syria Revolution 2011.<br /><br />The group, which remains anonymous, has been a driving force behind protests which erupted on March 15, focused mainly in Daraa, south of the capital, and in the confessionally divided coastal city of Latakia.<br /><br />Assad is facing domestic pressure unprecedented in his 11-year rule as protests demanding greater freedoms in the country, which has been in a state of emergency for close to 50 years, enter a third week.<br /><br />While Assad failed to announce the end of a state of emergency in his speech yesterday -- his first appearance since the dissent broke out -- state-run news agency SANA reported a "study" was underway to replace the emergency law with new legislation on national security and counter-terrorism.<br /><br />"Under a directive by President Bashar al-Assad, a committee of legal experts has been formed to study new laws on national security and counter-terrorism, in order to pave the way for ending the state of emergency," SANA said.<br /><br />"The committee should finish its work by April 25," it added.<br />Demonstrators have defied the state of emergency with street gatherings in the south and north, emboldened by the wave of dissent that has rocked the Arab world since December.<br /><br />While small protests initially surfaced in the capital Damascus, they were quickly contained by Syria's renowned security forces, and AFP correspondents have witnessed activists being dragged away by plain-clothes security force members armed with batons.<br />Rights activists estimate more than 130 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, mainly in Daraa and Latakia. Officials put the death toll at closer to 30.<br /><br />Assad has blamed Syria's "enemies" for the unrest, saying they were targeting Syria's unity and taking advantage of the needs of the people to incite division, in a country that has long prided itself on coexistence in a region torn by sectarian strife.<br /><br />"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."<br />Key Assad aide Buthaina Shaaban had told AFP on Sunday that the government intended to lift the state of emergency, but she could not say when.</p>
<p>"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 today on Facebook group The Syria Revolution 2011.<br /><br />The group, which remains anonymous, has been a driving force behind protests which erupted on March 15, focused mainly in Daraa, south of the capital, and in the confessionally divided coastal city of Latakia.<br /><br />Assad is facing domestic pressure unprecedented in his 11-year rule as protests demanding greater freedoms in the country, which has been in a state of emergency for close to 50 years, enter a third week.<br /><br />While Assad failed to announce the end of a state of emergency in his speech yesterday -- his first appearance since the dissent broke out -- state-run news agency SANA reported a "study" was underway to replace the emergency law with new legislation on national security and counter-terrorism.<br /><br />"Under a directive by President Bashar al-Assad, a committee of legal experts has been formed to study new laws on national security and counter-terrorism, in order to pave the way for ending the state of emergency," SANA said.<br /><br />"The committee should finish its work by April 25," it added.<br />Demonstrators have defied the state of emergency with street gatherings in the south and north, emboldened by the wave of dissent that has rocked the Arab world since December.<br /><br />While small protests initially surfaced in the capital Damascus, they were quickly contained by Syria's renowned security forces, and AFP correspondents have witnessed activists being dragged away by plain-clothes security force members armed with batons.<br />Rights activists estimate more than 130 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, mainly in Daraa and Latakia. Officials put the death toll at closer to 30.<br /><br />Assad has blamed Syria's "enemies" for the unrest, saying they were targeting Syria's unity and taking advantage of the needs of the people to incite division, in a country that has long prided itself on coexistence in a region torn by sectarian strife.<br /><br />"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."<br />Key Assad aide Buthaina Shaaban had told AFP on Sunday that the government intended to lift the state of emergency, but she could not say when.</p>