Bashir al-Saadi, an official in the politburo of the Assyrian Organization, explained in a recent interview that the Damascus Declaration's slow and weak performance is due to intense pressure from the regime. (Arabic. Elaph, 4/20/06). He mentioned the disruption of public protests, such as the one on March 9 when pro-Asad "students" attacked and beat up participants, and the March 12 Kurdish rally that was attacked by the security forces despite being peaceful.
The Assyrian Organization participated in the DD meeting on April 6, and Saadi noted that an amendment was made to the DD that acknowledged the Assyrians as part of the Syrian national fabric alongside Arabs and Kurds. The consensual formula also acknowledged religious pluralism in Syrian by referring to a national culture of religious tolerance and coexistence between Islam and Christianity.