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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 July 2000 Issue No. 491 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 July 2000 Issue No. 491
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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 Between chapters
By Khaled DawoudSyria's new ruler inaugurated his presidency on Monday with a speech before parliament that reflected a desire to open a new chapter in his country's history, but without closing the previous one all too hastily. Bashar Al-Assad stood firm on Syria's insistence that Israel return the whole of Israeli-occupied Golan and called for new strategies to develop Syria's stagnant economy.
The young leader gave his speech shortly after a brief swearing-in ceremony at the People's Assembly, or parliament, beginning a seven-year term as Syria's 16th president just as his late father, Hafez Al-Assad, had planned.
The former ophthalmologist placed his right hand on the Qur'an and vowed to "respect the constitution and the laws and preserve the people's interests."
The hall, decorated in sumptuous traditional Syrian wood inlay and dominated by a large portrait of the late Assad, erupted in thunderous applause as 249 of parliament's 250 delegates -- one member was on sick leave -- gave Bashar a standing ovation.
As he neared parliament shortly before the ceremony, he was surrounded by cheering crowds.
Syrian MPs gave Bashar Assad a standing ovation upon entering the parliament where he was sworn in as president on Monday
(photo: AFP)Bashar, the only running candidate, was elected on 10 July by 97.29 per cent of voters in a public referendum. The British-educated ophthalmologist is known among Syrians as "Dr Bashar."
Since the election, pictures of the young leader and banners with slogans expressing support for him have to a large extent disappeared from the streets, government buildings and car windows of Damascus. Their absence was seen as sign of Bashar's relatively more modern approach to politics.
Senior Syrian sources were quoted in several Arabic newspapers this week as saying that the 34-year-old Bashar ordered the removal of the posters and banners and has urged the state-run media to refrain from the exaggerated praise of the leader common under his father who ruled for 30 years.
Confirming his commitment to his father's line on the peace process, Bashar devoted a long part of his inaugural speech to the conflict with Israel. "We want to liberate the whole of our territory, back to the 4 June line," he said, referring to the frontier in force on 4 June 1967 when the strategic Golan Heights were captured by Israel.
"The liberation of our land is an essential priority, and is as important as achieving a fair and comprehensive peace," said Bashar, to the stormy applause of the members of parliament.
"There is no proof that Israel's peace intentions are sincere," he added in his one-hour speech carried live by the Syrian television. He also accused Israel of "placing obstacles" on the road to peace by agreeing to return only 95 per cent of the Golan. He called on the United States to "play its role impartially in ensuring the implementation of UN resolutions [restoring] the rights of the Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians."
"We are in a hurry to make peace, but we are not ready to give away the land. The people of the Golan are Syrian Arabs, and the land will come back to Syria," he said.
He also held up Syrian-Lebanese relations as "a model for relations between Arab countries." Syria, which has some 35,000 troops in Lebanon, is the power broker in its smaller neighbour.
In his speech, Bashar Al-Assad also addressed Syrians' major concern: economic development in a country where unemployment is believed to be at 20 per cent and economic growth has fallen to two-three per cent since 1996.
He pledged to draft policies aimed at boosting the competitiveness of the state-dominated economy, but warned there was no "magic wand" to bring about immediate reform.
"It is necessary to draft a wise economic policy to address the imbalances between our imports and exports, to redress our balance of payments, to reform our economy so that it can take its role in the new world order," said Bashar.
He added that it was necessary for Syria to move steadily towards economic change by modernising its laws, breaking down bureaucratic obstacles, mobilising private and public capital and creating better job opportunities.
"But nobody's got a magic wand to fix all this. We have to prioritise and to make sure that the process of change is a means to an end and not our ultimate goal," he said.
The young Assad has always advocated a more liberal economy and is seen as a force for reform. In a rare criticism, Bashar conceded that although the country was politically successful during his father's rule, Syria's economic performance was erratic.
"Performance on the economic front was irregular and this was addressed by issuing laws and edicts that were often knee-jerk reactions to individual incidents," he said.
He said Syrians had to distance themselves from chaos and waste of time. He also appealed to Syrians to commit themselves truly and sincerely to their work and double efforts in order to make up for what has been lost.
"What we need now is in-depth research to draft strategies to support our laws. The question now is shall we wait for the strategy to be complete before implementation? We think that both should occur in tandem," he said.
Bashar also called for urgent administrative reforms, but told Syrians not to rely on the government to do everything for them. "We must stop this relationship of reliance," he said. "Syrians must go out and take the initiative and not wait for the state to do it for them."
Despite his liberal economic views, however, Dr Bashar ruled out any Western-type democracy for Syria. He said Syria needed a democracy that was rooted in its own history and society, not one based on the Western model.
Bashar, who has spearheaded a two-year anti-corruption campaign, indicated he will continue the purge, which has recently resulted in the imprisonment of two ministers. Former Prime Minister Mahmoud Al-Zohbi committed suicide in May, moments before a police commander could deliver a summons for his arrest.
