Damascus detains opposition member, al-Assad to address the nation

The Syrian authorities arrested opposition member Kamal al-Labawani immediately upon his arrival in Damascus International Airport, coming from the USA where he had met with one senior American official to discuss means of making political change in Syria

The spokesman for the Arab organization for human rights, Ammar al-Qurabi, said that "members of the civil police took al-Labawani to the investigation branch in Damascus to inquire of him on visits he had made and statements," noting thereby to the meeting al-Labawani, who presides over the democratic liberal coalition, several days ago with the J.D. Crouch II, the US Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor.

In this regard, the spokesman for the democratic national coalition, which is composed of five opposition Syrian parties which signed the Damascus Declaration which called for a fundamental change in the country, denied that Labawani was a signing member for this declaration.

Meantime, and in confrontations of the increasing international pressures against Damascus after the release of the UN Security Council resolution 1936 which calls on Syria to cooperate unconditionally with the UN investigation committee to the murder of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will give a speech to be aired live on Thursday (tomorrow).

The Syrian official news agency (SANA) said that the speech will deal "with current conditions, political issues and internal positions aspects."