Hundreds protest against high costs of living and austerity
(19 Apr 2012) 1. Mid of protesters in Damascus holding "Syria the Nation" political party flags and banners 2. Wide of protesters during sit-in outside the Syrian finance ministry building 3. Mid pan of protesters holding banner reading (Arabic) "Some of them are greedy! And you come up short!" 4. Pull out from flags of Syria the Nation party to mid of sit-in 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) No name given, protest organiser: "We in Syria the Nation Party, are protesting because of high prices, the absence of the Rations Committees, and because some traders have a monopoly. Because of this, we have organised this protest: defined by how many protesters there are and when it takes place, so we don''t affect or undermine economic movement, which was never our aim; we just want to deliver our message and have our voices heard. If the head authority in the country, the president, is against corruption and supports the citizens, with the ministers and the committees, we can all cooperate on this matter." 6. Mid of protesters holding banner reading (Arabic) "Some of them are greedy! And you come up short!" 7. Tilt down from finance ministry building to protest STORYLINE: A protest by one of Syria''s newest political parties was held outside the finance ministry on Thursday to raise awareness of growing economic troubles in the country. Demonstrators wearing white t-shirts and holding "Syria the Nation" party flags and banners were protesting against rising prices and monopolies in the country. "We in Syria the Nation Party, are protesting because of high prices, the absence of the Rations Committees, and because some traders have a monopoly," said one of the protest organisers. He added that they "just want to deliver our message and have our voices heard... If the head authority in the country, the president, is against corruption and supports the citizens, with the ministers and the committees, we can all cooperate on this matter." The protest was the first by the newly formed political party and differed from those that have been brutally suppressed by President Bashar Assad''s regime. Instead of regime change they were calling for cooperation with the government. "We have organised this protest: defined by how many protesters there are and when it takes place, so we don''t affect or undermine economic movement, which was never our aim," said the organiser. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said late on Wednesday that he believes there is an opportunity for progress in Syria and recommended the Security Council approve a 300-strong UN observer mission. The week-old cease-fire administered by special envoy Kofi Annan was supposed to allow greater humanitarian and other relief to enter the country. But Syria has violated key provisions. Tanks, troops and widely feared plainclothes security agents continue to patrol the streets to deter anti-government protests, while the regime resumed its assault on rebellious Homs, Syria''s third-largest city, over the weekend after only a brief lull. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
