Assad Issues National Amnesty

The AP reports:

Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a general amnesty Tuesday that includes all political prisoners, Syrian State TV reported Tuesday, in a gesture aimed at calming protests that have rocked the country for weeks.

The TV said the amnesty covers all crimes committed before May 31. It could affect 10,000 people who have been rounded up during the protests, according to activists.

It includes prisoners belonging to political parties, including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the report said.

The arrests are part of the government's crackdown on a two-month-old popular uprising demanding Assad's resignation. Assad has offered gestures before, like canceling hated emergency laws in effect for decades, but the demonstrations have grown and spread through much of the country.

Protesters charge that in spite of the cancellation of the laws that gave security officers the power to arrest people without formal justification, Assad's forces have rounded up thousands of people for protesting against his government.

Human rights groups say over 1,000 protesters have been killed in harsh crackdowns against protests, including live fire and tank shelling.