Syrians Rally To Support Assad

The New York Times reports:

Tens of thousands of people took to public squares in Damascus and other major Syrian cities on Tuesday to pledge allegiance to President Bashar al-Assad in the latest government move to blunt an uprising that poses a grave challenge to his rule.

The rallies came a day after Mr. Assad offered a national dialogue and somewhat vague promises to bring about change in his government, one of the Middle East’s most authoritarian. Though some opposition figures said parts of the speech were encouraging, many more dismissed the initiative as a step that came too late and gave too little.

As the pro-Assad rallies gathered in Damascus and elsewhere, the government offered a broad amnesty for any crimes committed until June 20, a move Mr. Assad hinted at in Monday’s speech. It was the second such amnesty in a month, and though rights groups say hundreds of prisoners were released under the first one, a ferocious crackdown that has killed 1,400 people and led to the detention of more than 10,000, by activists’ count, overshadowed any real change that the amnesty may have represented.