22 - 28 March 2001
Issue No.526
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 22 - 28 March 2001 Issue No.526 |
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Spring time in Syria
Despite the occasional chill, Damascus's spring of reform looks to be headed to a high summer of fulfillment, writes Michael Jansen from the Syrian capital
The "Damascus Spring" germinated by Syria's young president, Bashar Al-Assad, is in full bloom, despite what seemed like a recent government crackdown against the increasing number of so-called "civil society forums" which call for more democracy and respect of human rights.
Satellite dishes blossom atop apartment blocks, mobile phones pop up in streets and cafes like weeds, and an Internet cafe has sprouted in a traditional Arab house on the Biblical Street Called "Straight" in the old city. On the news-stands are a profusion of foreign papers and publications. The local press overflows with articles on corruption and criticism of the authorities. Damascus, one of the oldest cities in the world, has shed its 6,000-year-old "oasis mentality" and its closed mind-set. Syria is embracing alien technologies and outside influences and interacting with the world instead of shunning it.
While reform and anti-corruption campaigns were initiated during the last three years of the 30-year reign of the late President Hafez Al-Assad, it was his son, the 35-year-old Dr Bashar, who, in his inaugural address last June, launched the reform campaign and planted the seeds of political dialogue.
On the political front, change is taking place within the ruling Baath-led National Front (a coalition of state-approved political parties) as well as outside the established structures. The Baath is replacing long-standing office holders with technocrats and is overhauling itself to contest from a position of strength the parliamentary election due to be held in two years time. The party has already held grassroots elections for the 900-member Regional Congress. Its Central Committee is expected to meet soon in order to decide on elections for this body and the ruling Regional Command as well as the date of a cabinet reshuffle.
The main transformation is taking place in the uncharted political wilderness. Last summer politicians, businessmen and intellectuals of various political persuasions founded "political forums" in every town and city where lectures, discussions and debates on pluralism, human rights and a free society were held. Today Damascus boasts at least 10 forums, and every other town or city has two or three. In November, a group of 99 intellectuals published in the foreign Arabic press an open letter to the president calling for the release of political prisoners. Six hundred prisoners were released shortly afterwards, and Dr Bashar decreed the closure of Mezze prison and its conversion into a museum.
In January 1,000 prominent figures, including Aref Dalila, an economist and founder of the "Friends of Civil Society," signed a manifesto demanding the abolition of martial law, imposed in 1963 when the Baath Party took power. A few days later Minister of Information Adnan Omran proclaimed that the law has been "frozen," although it remained on the books. At the end of January, the veteran opposition deputy, Riad Seif, announced his intention to establish his own Syria-centred political party, the Social Peace Movement, to compete with the pan-Arab Baath.
A sudden frost tinged the blossoms of dissent and dialogue a month ago when Dr Bashar, in a very important interview in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, warned the reformists against "any action threatening the country's stability."
Information Minister Omran accused the reform advocates of having contacts with foreign embassies, and 17 senior party officials toured the country to respond to the dissidents. In mid-February, organisers of "forums" were asked to notify the authorities of meetings, the names of lecturers and the topics they intend to cover. The Parliament Speaker Abdel-Qader Qadoura asked the public prosecutor to interrogate Seif, accusing him of violating the existing laws on the dominance of the ruling Baath Party. Having abruptly chilled the atmosphere, the government stepped back.
"Accusations have been dropped and the dialogue continues," Friends of Civil Society activist Dalila said. Reformers argue their points in the Beirut and London-based Arabic newspapers which circulate in Syria. On 25 February, leading members of the "civil society" committees issued a second, moderate manifesto calling for human rights, the rule of law, transparency and debate. Since then "civil society" committees have sprung up all over the country and the number of signatories to the manifesto of 1,000 has grown to 4,000. During an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Seif, a burly businessman, stated categorically that the "forums" would not be disrupted by the government's "attempt to regulate them. I will continue to invite people to receptions in my home where we will have informal discussions," he said. Both Dalila and Seif say there is widespread popular support for the campaign. "The Syrian people are hungry for democracy," Seif insists.
A new weekly satirical newspaper, Al-Dumari (the lantern carrier), which appeared recently, was sold out within one hour. It is the first independent paper to be published in Syria since 1963: others are due to follow.
The two sides are circling each other, but no one predicts a full-scale clampdown as extreme as the Russian suppression of the "Prague Spring" of 1968. Sources in both camps believe change is inevitable. The ruling party's old guard, which has vested political and economic interests in the current system, would like to focus on economic and administrative restructuring and postpone political reforms for as long as possible. But the young guard grouped around the president argues that the two must go forward in tandem.
Omran, the information minister, said in an interview that he expected the introduction of a new law legalising the existence of opposition political parties and private media ahead of the parliamentary poll.
On the external front, Syria has a clear strategy for extending its regional reach and influence through reconciliation and rapprochement with Arab and non-Arab states. President Al-Assad has visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and Libya, and is planning trips to Turkey, Sudan, Iran and Lebanon. Dr Bashar, along with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, has been trying to build Arab solidarity so that the coming Arab summit will be in a position to face the regional crisis caused by the Palestinian Intifada, the emergence of a right-wing coalition in Israel, the collapse of the peace process and the punitive sanctions against Iraq. Both official and independent informants make the point that a comprehensive regional peace would facilitate the flow of the "Damascus Spring" into a high summer of fulfilment.
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