Syria lifts state of emergency as protest continues

The decades-old state of emergency in Syria has been lifted after the the country's security court was abolished and a new law allowing peaceful protests has been approved.

The scrapping of emergency rule which was in place for five decades is a major demand by protesters who are likewise calling for President Bashar al-Assad to step down from power. "The BBC’s Owen Bennett-Jones says the legal changes will be remarkable to most Syrians after decades of one-party rule, but it is unclear how much difference they will really make", BBC News reports. "The indications are that they will not be enough to satisfy the protesters, our correspondent adds. Anti-government demonstrations are reported to have begun in the north-western city of Baniyas after the repeal of the emergency law", the report added. Syria's government continues to justify the need for emergency powers exercised by the president saying the state of war with Israel still exists. Human rights groups say the decades-old emergency law has led to a repressive regime that had caused widespread violation of human rights of Syrian social and political activists as hundreds of political prisoners are kept languishing in jails without fair and speedy trial. "Under the legal changes, permission from the interior ministry will be needed to demonstrate in Syria", rocketnews.com reports. "But the country’s interior minister has nonetheless urged people to refrain from taking part in any rallies in the interests of safety and stability", the report said. Human rights groups have reported at least 200 Syrians have died since anti-government protesters have called for the dismantling of emergency rule and the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. "Witnesses in Homs, the country’s third-largest city, said security forces had opened fire early on Tuesday to disperse a mass anti-government protest there", the report added. Thousands of protesters have occupied the center of the city of Homs last Monday after the funeral ceremonies for about a dozen people reportedly killed by government security forces.