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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 June 2000 Issue No. 486 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 June 2000 Issue No. 486
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters All eyes on Bashar
By Willa ThayerPatriotic, decisive, perspicacious and disciplined are just some of the glowing adjectives that the Syrian news agency Sana appended to Bashar Al-Assad, heir apparent to the Syrian presidency, following the death of his father Hafez Al-Assad. Whether the younger Assad has the characteristics attributed to him is unclear, but as a political novice, Bashar, aged 34, will need such qualities in spades.
Until 1994, when his elder brother Basil was killed in a car crash, Bashar appeared poised for a distinguished career as an ophthalmologist. Prior to that time, it seemed that any role he might play in national leadership would have been limited to the field of health care or to the promotion of science and technology.
Like the new leaders of Morocco and Jordan, Bashar has been hailed as part of a new generation of modernising Arab leaders. While Bashar had more time to prepare for his leadership role than King Abdullah of Jordan, Syria is no monarchy. Thus far the Syrian parliament has done its bit to facilitate Bashar's accession by amending the constitution on the day of President Assad's death, lowering the age requirement for president from 40 to 34. Also, it scheduled a session for 25 June to issue a decree calling for a referendum on whether Bashar should become president.
Countering speculation that long dormant opposition groups might move against Bashar, Syrian Minister of Defence Mustafa Tlass told the Cairo weekly Al-Usbu' on Sunday that political organisations in Syria have declared their fealty to Bashar, and that "the Muslim Brotherhood will not return to Syria." He added that there are many Islamist trends in Syria loyal to the Assad regime. Regarding Hafez Al-Assad's brother, Rifaat, who led a coup attempt in the 1980s, Tlass said he would be arrested at the airport if he tried to return.
Bashar began preparations to fill his father's shoes only six years ago when he was called back from England, where he was doing his residency. Bashar's entrance into politics contrasts dramatically with the route taken by his father, who began his political career at the age of 18 as a leader in the student movement fighting for Syrian independence. Nonetheless, the late president left nothing to chance. Having reached the pinnacle of political power through the military, Hafez Al-Assad saw to it that his son also had a presence in the armed forces. The senior Assad steered Bashar on a course that began at the level of captain in 1994 and saw him move swiftly upward through the ranks to become a colonel in 1999.
Many contemporary leaders are relying more on technocrats in their decision-making and emphasising the importance of integrating technology with economic growth. That Bashar was first a man of science is something he might be able to use in fashioning a favourable image -- for both domestic and foreign consumption. Bashar, once at the helm, will be in good company, according to Ibrahim Hemeidy who wrote in the London-based daily Al-Hayat that there is an influx of people under the age of 50 who graduated from scientific and information science studies that is becoming visible in the Syrian government and Baath Party.
In addition to his professional specialisation, Bashar headed a scientific society in Syria in the late 1990s and used this position to promote the study of science and technology. More recently he has advocated that the Internet and mobile phones be introduced in Syria on a trial basis.
To sell his image on the political field, Bashar needed to focus on an explicitly political issue. Key in this regard were his public statements against corruption, which coincided with the scheduling of a trial for former Prime Minister Mahmoud Al-Zoghbi on charges of corruption. The trial was temporarily and dramatically halted when Al-Zoghbi committed suicide only a few weeks ago.
Speaking to Al-Usbu' just two weeks before his father's death, Bashar affirmed that his campaign against corruption would continue, saying, "We don't want to oppress anyone, but all those against whom there is evidence of infringement upon the rights of the people or public finances will naturally be called to account before a court of justice."
If Bashar has alarmed or raised the ire of some of the old guard in Syria with his campaign against graft, he is likely to have worried the same people with his statements in support of democracy. "I am one of those who believe in democracy and in respecting the opinions of others to the utmost," Bashar told Al-Usbu'.
Having taken care of the traditional and more contemporary dimensions of a leader's image -- that of a military man and of a clean technocrat respectively -- what could not be ignored was the need for developing a strong presence in the ruling party. The senior Assad had begun to ensure a prominent position for Bashar in the Baath Party with the scheduling of a conference on 17 June -- its first in 15 years. At that conference it was expected that Bashar would be elected to a 20-member regional command. This plan was pre-empted by President Assad's death, which led the Baath Party to announce its nomination of Bashar as its leader.
Outside of Syria, Bashar had been increasingly representing his father in the region. He made an official visit to Lebanon in 1995 and took over that country's file in 1998. Last year he visited Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
Calling the pursuit of peace with Israel a "strategic choice," Bashar told Al-Usbu' that like his father he remains firm in demanding the return of the Golan Heights and guarantees for rights to the waters of Lake Tiberius. Similarly, Bashar said he will not sign a peace agreement with Israel until it withdraws from all of the territory it occupied during the June 1967 war.
Praising the Lebanese resistance, Bashar told the Egyptian newspaper that Hizbullah's compelling Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon "attests to the Arabs' massive capacity to persevere and to make unlimited sacrifices in order to liberate our occupied lands."
Concerning Shebaa Farms, a contested area in south Lebanon, Bashar affirmed that the land is Lebanese, adding that "Israel has no choice other than to return the land."
In the international sphere, which Bashar will probably begin to deal with only after consolidating his position domestically and addressing pressing regional issues, he is helped by his fluency in French and English which he studied beginning in primary school and then his stint in England for his residency. As in other spheres, the senior Assad had facilitated Bashar's entry into the international arena by dispatching him to Paris last November to meet with French President Jacques Chirac.
Bashar's views on democracy may help to ingratiate him with the West, and it certainly must be noted that at least on the discursive level he differs dramatically in this regard from his father. Citing his sojourn in England, he praised the liberal exchange of views he witnessed among different political parties on television.
With the official Syrian media on his side, along with his own erudition and linguistic skills, Bashar seems well placed to fight his battles on the discursive level. But politics are also about influence and power, assets for which he will need to mobilise the support of the old guard.
