By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
Tens of people arrested Friday have been released, but scores more
were still in jail, activists said.
Saturday, thousands of mourners called for "revolution" at the funeral
of two of the protesters. Officials later met Deraa notables who
presented then with a list of demands.
It included the release of political prisoners, dismantling of secret
police headquarters in Deraa, dismissal of the governor, public trial
for those responsible for the killings and scrapping of regulations
requiring permission from the secret police to sell and buy property.
POLITICAL PRISONERS Non-violent protests have challenged the Baath
Party's authority this month, with the largest protests in Deraa
drawing thousands of people.
A silent protest in Damascus by 150 people this week demanded the
release of thousands of political prisoners. At least one activist
from Deraa, Diana al-Jawabra, took part in the protest. She was
arrested on charges of weakening national morale, along with 32 other
protesters, a lawyer said.
Jawabra, who is from a prominent family, was campaigning for the
release of the 15 schoolchildren from her home city. Another woman
from Deraa, physician Aisha Aba Zeid, was arrested three weeks ago for
airing a political opinion on the internet.
Residents say the two arrests helped fuel the protests in Deraa, a
conservative tribal region on the border with Jordan.
Graffiti have appeared on school walls and grain silos in Deraa with
phrases such as "the people want the overthrow of the regime" -- the
slogan that became the rallying cry of the Egyptian and Tunisian
revolutions.
Authorities responded by increasing secret police patrols and asking
staff at schools and public departments to man their premises around
the clock and by requiring IDs and registration for buyers of paint
and spray cans.
"These measures only increased popular resentment," one Darea resident said.
(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Andrew Roche)
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