Bashar al-Assad denounces “puppet” opponents in rare TV address

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has delivered a rare TV address, denouncing his opponents as “enemies of God and puppets of the West”.

Bashar al-Assad lamented the suffering of the people in the civil war, saying a “black cloud” of pain engulfed every corner.

He also set out a plan involving a national dialogue conference and a referendum on a national charter.

The UN estimates that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the uprising, which began in March 2011.

The speech was Bashar al-Assad’s first public address since June 2012.

He rejected the Syrian opposition movement as puppets fabricated by the West, and said that Syria wanted to negotiate with the “master not the servants”.

Bashar al-Assad said Syria had not rejected diplomatic moves but insisted it would not negotiate with people with “terrorist” ideas.

He said: “There are those who seek to partition Syria and weaken it. But Syria is stronger… and will remain sovereign… and this is what upsets the West.”

His speech was interspersed with applause and chants from defiant supporters in the opera house in central Damascus, and at the end he was mobbed on the stage.

Bashar al-Assad accused the rebels of stealing wheat from the people, depriving children of school and cutting off electricity and medical supplies.

He called on every citizen to defend the country according to their means.

“We are now in a state of war in every sense of the word. This war targets Syria using a handful of Syrians and many foreigners. Thus, this is a war to defend the nation,” he said.

Bashar al-Assad set out a series of steps he said would provide a solution to the crisis:

• Outside powers to stop arming what he called “terrorist groups”
• The army would then halt military operations, while reserving the right to defend state interests
• The government would then contact what he termed “Syrian individuals and political parties” to engage in a conference of national dialogue
• The conference would try to establish a national charter that would be put to a referendum, leading to parliamentary elections and a new government

The president’s latest words are unlikely to persuade any in the opposition that he is ready to discuss a viable transition.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) quickly dismissed Bashar al-Assad’s proposals.

Spokesman Walid Bunni told Reuters his group would accept nothing less than the departure of Bashar al-Assad and his government.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague accused President Assad of hypocrisy, saying “the empty promises of reform fool no-one”.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s office said the union would consider “if there is anything new in the speech”, but added: “We maintain our position that Assad has to step aside and allow for a political transition.”

The foreign minister of neighboring Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, dismissed Bashar al-Assad’s remarks as “repetitions of what he’s said all along”.

Bashar al-Assad’s last public comments were in November, when he told Russian TV he would “live and die in Syria”.

Since then opposition forces have gained control of swathes of territory in northern Syria and have formed the SNC, a more inclusive leadership that has been recognized by the US and the EU.

But rebel efforts to gain ground in and around major cities including Damascus have been met by stiff resistance and increasingly destructive air strikes.

The UK-based activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported fresh violence overnight into Sunday, saying that troops had bombarded rebel positions on the outskirts of Damascus, including in Beit Saham, near the airport road.