Syria's Assad, in rare speech, claims victory is nigh

President Assad once again blamed the 10-month uprising on foreign conspirators and armed gangs. But this time, Arab League monitors in Syria may contradict his version of events.

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In a rare speech today, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad blamed 10 months of unrest on foreign conspirators and vowed to come down on "terrorists" with an "iron fist." Notably absent from the speech, with went on for more than an hour and a half, were any concessions.

The speech "gave no hint of any flexibility that could break the deadlock between his regime and the opposition," but instead suggested the regime believes its brutal crackdown is close to breaking the opposition, reports the Guardian newspaper. "We are nearing the end of the crisis," Mr. Assad said. "We should stand united.? Victory is near because we can be steadfast. We know our enemies."

The speech ? only his fourth public address since the uprising began in March ? "differed little" from previous speeches in which he made vague promises of reform, blamed the violence on terrorists and foreigners, and remained generally defiant of internal and international criticism, according to the Associated Press. This time, however, there are Arab League observers in the country to evaluate his claims of foreign saboteurs and media lies.

"Bashar is completely removed from reality, as if he is talking about a country other than Syria," said a Syria-based activist who identified himself by his nickname, Abu Hamza, because of fear of reprisals. "After 10 months of bloodshed, he comes out and talks of a foreign conspiracy."

The United Nations said last month that more than 5,000 people, including soldiers who have defected or refused to shoot on civilians, have been killed since protests began. The Syrian government dismissed that report, which did not account for any serving members of the military killed by opponents, as "incredible" and countered that 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed, according to BBC.?

Previous speeches often included promises of reform, and in today's speech, Assad said a referendum on the Constitution and elections could be held this year. However, he also said any reforms made should not be in response to the uprising. "We should link what happened before the crisis and post-crisis and then embark on reform.... We shouldn't build our reforms on this crisis," he said, according to BBC.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/dttDhU4SVBA/Syria-s-Assad-in-rare-speech-claims-victory-is-nigh

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