Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/03/2011331134947323374.html

Syria's president addressed the nation to appease growing protests - but his words failed to ease Syrian anger. They laughed when he laughed. Their hearts raced in anticipation, not over those much heralded reforms which failed to materialise - "Weren't emergency laws abolished last week anyway?' asked one - but over the excitement and grandeur of the occasion: the packed parliament, the crowds of cheering supporters and, of course, President Bashar al-Assad himself. "He is a very good man, he is very strong," said one of the young women, watching on the TV of a café in the wealthy Shaalan area of Damascus as Syria's president prepared to make his first speech to the nation in the wake of unprecedented protests against the 40-year rule of his family.