Thousands of Assad supporters rally in Damascus

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DAMASCUS, Mar 29 (agenciers): Thousands of supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad poured into central Damascus in a show of support for their leader, who is facing unprecedented domestic pressure amid a wave of dissent. All roads leading to Sabeh Bahrat ("Seven Seas") square in Damascus were cut off by police armed with batons, as men, women and children raised Syrian flags and pictures of Assad and his father, late president Hafez al-Assad. "The people want Bashar al-Assad," they chanted in unison, under a massive picture of their blue-eyed president that had been hoisted on Syria's central bank. "We are here to show the real will of the Syrian people, and that is to protect and supporter their president, may God protect him," said a young woman named Raghad, who turned out early for the rally with her sisters. "This rally is to stop the plot to destroy Syrian unity," said a man who identified himself as Abu Khodr. "Bashar al-Assad is the spine of Syria. Without him, our country will be pushed into chaos." The rally comes after a pledge by the authorities to lift the state of emergency in force since the ruling Baath party took power in 1963, sparked by two weeks of increasingly violent protests against the rule of Assad. Assad, who has been facing the gravest challenge to his 11-year rule after protests in the south spread to many parts of the country, could announce a lifting of Syria's decades-old emergency laws. Protesters at first had restricted their demands to more freedom, but incensed by security forces' crackdown on them, especially in Deraa where protests first erupted, they have been calling for the "downfall of the regime." The calls echo those during the uprisings that toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and also have motivated the rebels fighting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Syrian state television showed people in the Syrian capital Damascus, Aleppo and Hasaka, waving pictures of Assad and chanting "God, Syria, Bashar." The conspiracy has failed" declared one banner, echoing government accusations that foreign elements and armed gangs were behind the unrest. "With our blood and our souls we protect our national unity," another said. Employees and members of unions controlled by Assad's Baath Party, which has been in power for nearly 50 years, said they had been ordered to attend the rallies, where there was a heavy presence of security police. All gatherings and demonstrations are banned in Syria, other than those sponsored by the government.