7 - 13 February 2002
Issue No.572
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 February 2002 Issue No.572 |
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Reform gathers momentum
In the first real change in the military's make-up since his father's death, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad retired chief-of-staff General Ali Aslan, Sami Moubayed reports from Damascus
General Ali Aslan, one of the most prominent Syrian army officers in the past 30 years, was sent into retirement from his post as chief-of-staff of the Syrian army on 22 January. Coming amid other more pressing regional issues, however, the move was barely covered in the Arab or Syrian media.
Aslan's retirement, nevertheless, has been the first major change in the military to take place under the young Al-Assad's administration. Since assuming power in July 2000, Dr Bashar, as he is known in Syria, has concentrated on civilian and political appointments while maintaining the military status quo that was established by his father, the late President Hafez Al-Assad. Aslan's retirement signals the end of a celebrated military career for one of Syria's most talented officers and shows that reform, long promised by the young Al-Assad, is finally within reach.
General Aslan was an all-time favourite of the late President Hafez Al- Assad. Aslan, 70, joined the Baath Party during the 1950s, long before it assumed control of the state in 1963. In 1962, he joined the Baath Party's military committee, a coalition of officers who were bent on restoring the United Arab Republic with Egypt (1958-1961). All of them were pro- Nasser officers who longed to overthrow the civilian regime of then- President Nazem Al-Kudsi. The military committee included the then- Captain Hafez Al-Assad, who later became chief of the Syrian air force following the 1963 Baathist coup. During the years 1963-1966, Aslan supported Assad against his rivals in the party leadership, and backed an internal coup in February 1966 that bolstered Al-Assad's standing.
When Al-Assad became president in 1971, Aslan was appointed commander of the 5th mechanised infantry division. Two years later, during the 1973 war with Israel, he was commissioned to fight on the war front. In the early hours of the war, his troops broke through the Israeli defence line, divided into three columns under his orders, and drove the outnumbered Israeli forces out of the southern and central Golan. Al-Assad noted his courage and, in 1975, decorated him generously, appointing him deputy chief-of-staff. During this term, he was involved in the Lebanese civil war, serving often as Al-Assad's envoy. When long-standing Chief-of- Staff Hikmat Shihabi was retired from office in 1998, Ali Aslan replaced him and was promoted in rank. During his service, Aslan emphasised military conscription for Syrian youth and ceased the widespread exemptions that were a characteristic of the Shihabi era.
Every Syrian, he believed, must serve in the armed forces, and he often called for an arms build-up to ward off the ongoing Israeli threat. During his tenure, he concluded several arms deals between Syria, on one hand, and Russia, Armenia, China, North Korea and Iran, on the other.
The late Al-Assad issued a presidential decree in 1998 extending the official retirement age for Aslan to 70 from 68. By doing so, he was extending the officer's years in military service. Aslan was among the very few old-timers who were not retired from service in the purge that preceded Al-Assad's death. In June 2000, during the Baath Party's ninth Congress, Aslan was appointed to the central executive committee of the Baath Party, and continued to serve as a ranking member of its regional and national command. When Bashar Al- Assad became president in July 2000, Aslan was kept at his post and was considered one of the new president's prime loyalists. His retirement was not a surprise, however, since it was known to all that the veteran officer would reach the age of 70 in 2002 and was bound for retirement.
The officer chosen to replace Aslan is his deputy, Hassan Turkmani. Born and raised in Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, Turkmani, 68, studied at the Homs Military Academy and joined the ruling Baath Party. In 1987 he took part in the Arab Deterrent Force that was delegated by the Arab League to broker a cease-fire in Lebanon. He is a sombre career officer with a reportedly unblemished record who has seemingly earned the young Al-Assad's admiration. Time is yet to prove his abilities as chief-of-staff. Yet, expectations are running high in Damascus regarding his professionalism.
The changes in Syria, under Al- Assad have been slow but steady. Many in Damascus expected the young Al-Assad to revolutionise the country overnight and terminate the careers of men who have been in office for years. The young Al-Assad, however, often said, "I don't have a magic wand," and claimed that change needs time.
Change of personnel began prior to his father's death with the retirement of Chief of Staff Hikmat Shihabi in 1998 and Prime Minister Mahmoud Al-Zoubi's cabinet in 2000. The premier, his deputies, and several ministers, including the long-standing Minister of Culture Najah Al-Attar, were retired from office. When Bashar Al-Assad assumed leadership of the Baath Party in June 2000, he retired several long-time officials, including the veteran ex-Chief of Intelligence Ali Duba, and National Security Adviser Abdul-Raouf Al-Kasm, who had served as prime minister between 1980 and 1988. Diplomatic posts were reshuffled, and Al-Assad changed the editors of Syria's three state-run daily newspapers. In December 2001, the president sacked other long-standing officials including Finance Minister Khaled Al-Mahayni, Economy Minister Mohamed Al-Imadi, and Interior Minister Mohamed Harba, all of whom had been in office since 1985. In January 2002, the chief of Syria's air force intelligence Ibrahim Huwaijeh was retired from office.
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