Syrian protests disrupt Swiss tranquility

The market square in Montreux, Switzerland, hosted a number of demonstrations for and against the Syrian government and opposition. As negotiators wrangled in a hotel conference room, demonstrators from the avaaz.org network grabbed people's attention outside. The group has called for a political breakthrough to end the Syrian civil war.

In addition to e-mails and online petitions, avaaz.org also organizes protests. In the shadows of the Syrian peace conference, organization members said 75 percent of Syrian refugees surveyed in Lebanon wanted a ceasefire and 85 percent called for a political solution to end the war in their homeland.

After a 12-hour bus ride, demonstrators from France protested outside the hotel, but the men and women's vociferous chants of "Assad is a liar, Assad is a liar" could be heard inside the hotel.

Anti-Assad protesters continued their demonstrations singing traditional songs and unfurling a massive Syrian flag. One of the activists said they were against the conclusion of the June 2012 Geneva I conference. That document called for the establishment of a transitional government of which President Bashar al-Assad could be a part. That's a possibility they said they are not willing to accept.

Assad's supporters also traveled to Montreux to express their support for the Syrian government's delegates to the conference. "Bashar is our president," the protesters chanted. "There can be only one - and it's him." The men and women traveled to Switzerland from several European countries.

The pro-Assad demonstrators were outraged that Iran's invitation to the conference was withdrawn. Flying Hezbollah banners, some protesters said only Assad must remain in power as only he and his troops were in a position to quell the terrorism and religious extremism gaining power in the country.

Unfazed by the protests outside, delegates to the conference gave opening speeches in Montreux on Wednesday. A day of bilateral talks with the UN was planned before representatives of the Syrian government and opposition are scheduled to meet on Friday in Geneva. A breakthrough agreement is not expected but UN officials hope for deals on aid, prisoner swaps and local ceasefires.