Hezbollah leader says most Syrians back government

Hezbollah leader says most Syrians back government

In his first public speech on Syria, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said most Syrians still backed the government, Lebanon’s Al-Manar TV reported.

He added that he believes President Bashar al-Assad was serious about making reforms in a speech delivered in the southern Lebanese town of Nabi Sheet, on the 11th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon.

Syria ‘opposition’ to meet in Turkey

Syrian ‘opposition’ figures will hold a conference in Turkey next week “in support of the revolt”, one of the attendants told AFP.

Many of those who plan to attend were signatories to the 2005 Damascus Declaration, which called for reform “founded on accord, and based on dialogue.”

In April, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood gathered in Istanbul, where a press conference was held by Riad al-Shaqfa, a mentor of the Muslim Brotherhood. It was carried live on Al-Jazeera.

The meeting was organised by the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association, or MUSIAD, but it was financed by Ghazi Misirli, a Syrian and Turkish citizen. Misirli is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who has been living in Turkey, the Syrian ambassador to Ankara, Nidal Kabalan, told the Hürriyet Daily News.

In an apparent attempt to reach out to the army, Syrian opposition organisers on Facebook called for this Friday’s anticipated demonstrations to honour the “Guardians of the Nation”, AP reported.

In the latest of a series of measures aimed at alleviating economic privation, the government announced it was cutting fuel prices by 25 percent, SANA reported.

Resolution condemning Syria submitted to UN

Diplomats from Britain, France, Portugal and Germany circulated a draft resolution condemning Syria’s crackdown on protests at the 15-member Security Council today.

The draft, obtained by Reuters, “condemns the systematic violation of human rights, including the killings, arbitrary detentions, disappearances, and torture of peaceful demonstrators, human rights defenders and journalists by the Syrian authorities”.

The document calls for a UN human rights council “credible and impartial investigation” into violence against protesters.

Russia is expected to veto the resolution.

Meanwhile, Canada was the latest foreign government to impose sanctions targeting the Syrian leadership, following the lead of the US and EU.

UN mission to Dara’a denied access

A top UN official said a UN humanitarian mission headed for the southern Syrian city of Dara’a was stopped at the border, AFP reported.

The UN said in early May that after a direct appeal from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to President Assad, Syria would allow a UN team to visit Dara’a. Syria Today was not able to verify this information.