… de jure, at least. I’m skeptical of how this will effect things on the ground de facto. Reuters reports:
Syria’s government passed a draft law on Tuesday to lift 48 years of emergency rule, a concession to unprecedented demands for greater freedom in the tightly-controlled Arab country.
State news agency SANA said the cabinet ratified draft legislation “to end the state of emergency in Syria.” President Bashar al-Assad must still sign the legislation for it to take effect, but his signature was a formality, a senior lawyer said.
Inspired by uprisings sweeping the Arab world, thousands of Syrians have held demonstrations across the country demanding reforms, presenting Assad with the most serious and sustained challenge to his 11-year rule. Rights groups say more than 200 people have been killed in the unrest.