Syria’s Assad promises “iron fist” and reforms

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar  al-Assad today blamed “foreign planning” for a 10-month-old  popular uprising in which thousands of people have been killed  and vowed to strike “terrorists with an iron fist”.
Assad, speaking in public for the first time since June,  also said he welcomed the idea of expanding the government to  include “all political forces” and held out the prospect of a  referendum in March on a new constitution for Syria.
His speech was delivered at Damascus University and  broadcast on state television.
Since the uprising began, Assad has responded with a mixture  of repression and promises of reform and dialogue. Opposition  forces say the bloodshed shows the real face of a leader whose  family has ruled Syria for more than four decades.
The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been  killed by security forces trying to suppress anti-Assad  demonstrations that erupted in March, inspired by a wave of  revolts against Arab autocrats across the Middle East.
Syrian authorities say foreign-backed armed “terrorists”  have killed 2,000 members of the security forces.
Despite the high casualty toll, Assad denied any policy to  shoot demonstrators. “There is no cover for anyone. There are no  orders for anyone to open fire on any citizen,” he said.
But he stressed his priority was to restore order in Syria  and that could only be achieved by “hitting terrorists with an  iron fist.
“There is no tolerance for terrorism or for those who use  weapons to kill,” said Assad.
The struggle in Syria, Iran’s only Arab ally, has alarmed  its neighbours, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel and Iraq.
“The situation in Syria is heading towards a religious,  sectarian, racial war, and this needs to be prevented,” Turkish  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, a former friend of Assad who has  become one of his fiercest critics, said on Monday.
The Arab League, which suspended Syria in November and  announced sanctions, has sent in monitors to judge whether  Damascus is complying with a peace plan calling for withdrawal  of troops from cities, prisoner releases and political dialogue.
Syrian opposition figures said on Monday the League mission,  which began work on Dec. 26, had failed to stop the bloodshed  and was only giving Assad more time to crush his opponents.