Demonstration in Damascus, Aleppo against US threats, Mehlis report

Hundreds of Thousands of Damascene residences took to the streets in a demonstration to protest the international report on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and in support of Syria's stances.

The participants raised President Bashar al-Assad's photos and banners that voiced support for "firm national unity in facing schemes targeting Syria."

Damascus residences issued a statement in which they vehemently condemned the UN report and the US threats against Syria.

Syria, continuously, has been respecting the United Nations and committed to the international resolutions, so she has completely cooperated with the UN investigation committee on assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri because she is the most harmed from this heinous crime, the statement said. "The report, regrettably, didn't help Syria or Lebanon reach the truth, but rather it created an atmosphere of rumors, misleading talks," the statement said.

"Its issuing on this wide scaled, while it lacked the secrecy and objectivity, is a crystal clear proof on the committee's desire to politicize the report."

"The committee can't free itself from the responsibility and from the political results which the report caused and will leave in each of Syria, Lebanon and the Arab and foreign countries." The statement included, stressing that the report was displayed in a way that helps oppressing forces to condemn and threaten Syria.

"Due to fallacies, assumptions and legal gaps in the report it is unqualified to be an international judiciary document to deal with by the international community and its institutions," The statement said.

"Syria is proud for being among the states who founded the UN Charter and committed to its resolutions which call for liberating the occupied Arab territories, returning the occupied Syrian Golan as well achieving the just and comprehensive peace in the region," the statement added.

The statement stressed that Syria has been calling for implementing the legitimacy resolutions away from the double standard policy that serves continuation of the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories.

"The report ignored presence of Israel in the region, which is the first beneficiary from what is going on," the statement pointed out, asserting that "the report is used in the framework of the continuous pressures on Syria since the issuance of resolutions 1559, including expressions and conclusions used persistently by the United States, Israel, and antagonists of Syria in Lebanon via the mass media that support these sides."

"Our people who believe in values of right, freedom, dignity and firmly stand behind the wise policy of his leadership and National Progressive Front, strongly rejects null and void accusations and fabricated conclusions included in the report and calls to uncover the criminals."

"Our people in Damascus and all over home stand in a one rank to announce the absolute rejection of the continuous US threats and pressures against Syria. Those threats increased after the occupation of Iraq and are still searching for pretexts to inflame the situation in the region, and in this context came the heinous crime of Hariri assassination," the statement added.

"Your national unity is the rock on which all the conspiracies that Syria has witnessed were broken. This unity is the guarantee to foil the new series of these schemes that target the national unity and to destabilize your self-confidence and capabilities to surmount these pressures directed against your will and national dignity and to sow dissension and division and as well to destabilize the region," the statement said.

"The strong national unity represented by the adherence of all citizens and their political parties with President Bashar al-Assad who leads Syria towards the future with firm, national and pan-Arab will is going to overcome all challenges that face our country at this critical situation, particularly the attempts to impose siege and isolation, but our people will be stronger than any of these attempts." "The future is always for the people and their legitimate causes," the statement concluded.