Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 10 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 3/31/11

Assad's Cookie-Cutter

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   2 comments
Message WILLIAM FISHER
Become a Fan
  (11 fans)

President Hafez al-Assad of Syria delivered what must be the
Mother of all Cookie-Cutter speeches to his parliament yesterday.
It's a pretty good measure of how far out of touch Assad is with his
people that he would even consider delivering a smorgasbord of
generalities, devoid of any substance, and essentially blaming a
conspiracy by Israel and other "outsiders" for all his troubles.

The impact of this pathetic speech was to create even more
disappointment, even more anger, because it followed a hurricane
of rumors from people close to the president that he was about to
lift the decades-old emergency law, in effect since 1963, and begin
to build a foundation for reform and constructive dialogue.  

None of that even merited a mention. Pro-democracy advocates
will not have been impressed with Assad's sacking of his
government -- that's a ploy used by despots going back centuries. It
is a breadcrumb that will feed no one.

The dreaded Emergency Law, similar to one in effect for 30 years
in Egypt until the fall of Mubarak, gives the government virtually
unlimited authority to arrest and detain people without charges or
access to lawyers or family members. There are thousands of
untried political prisoners in Syrian jails, many of them locked up
for years. The Syrian security police are notorious for torturing
prisoners and there have been many deaths in detention.

For those who have been courageously demonstrating for
democratic change, the takeaway from the speech must have been:
"How it is is how it's going to be. Suck it up and get over it."

Well, it's possible that Assad's brutal treatment of his fellow
citizens thus far has intimidated them sufficiently and that we have
seen the last of demonstrators -- and of target practice by the
security services.

But I rather doubt it. So utterly dismissive was the speech from the
chinless wonder that those who want democratic change may only
become more emboldened. Friday, after prayers, may tell us a lot
about the power, or lack thereof, of Assad's words.

"We cannot say that everyone who went out (in the streets) is a
conspirator. Let us be clear about that," he said in a half-hearted
sop to those seeking change. But he was equally clear that all of
Syria's troubles were the result of a conspiracy of outside forces
"from near and far" designed to foment sectarian violence.

"The first priority was the stability of Syria," he told Parliament,
dusting off a standard line used by dictators who have run out of
every resource save bullets. The last time we heard lots of talk of
stability, it was coming from our State Department -- before the fall
of Ben Ali and Mubarak.

And the price of that so-called "stability"?

So far, the street demonstrations in Syria have largely been limited
to the South of the country, away from Damascus, the capital. But
those peaceful and relatively modest outbursts have cost between
60 and 100 lives. The dead have been shot by the security police.

And here's our own State Department's assessment of Syrian
"stability": "During [2009] the government and members of the
security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses,
and the human rights situation worsened. The government
systematically repressed citizens' abilities to change their
government. In a climate of impunity, there were instances of
arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life. Members of the security
forces tortured and physically abused prisoners and detainees.
Security forces arrested and detained individuals--including
activists, organizers, and other regime critics--without due process.

"Lengthy pretrial and incommunicado detention remained a
serious problem. During the year the government sentenced to
prison several high-profile members of the human rights and civil
society communities. The government violated citizens' privacy
rights and imposed significant restrictions on freedoms of speech,
press, assembly, association, and travel.

"An atmosphere of corruption pervaded the government. Violence
and societal discrimination against women continued, as did sexual
exploitation, increasingly aimed at Iraqi refugees, including
minors. The government discriminated against minorities,
particularly Kurds and Ahvazis, and severely restricted workers'
rights."

Are we really supposed to be surprised that the Syrian people
would try to rise up from such a living death and create the kind of
stability that comes only with leaders who respond to their people?

The so-called "Arab Awakening" may fail in Syria this time. But
Tunisia and Egypt have created a tsunami of protest that cannot be
held back much longer.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Interesting 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

WILLIAM FISHER Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

William Fisher has managed economic development programs in the Middle East and elsewhere for the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development. He served in the international affairs area in the Kennedy Administration and now (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

BUSH AT YEAR-END

Liberties Lost Since 9/11

The Silence of the Sheep

BAHRAIN: UNION LEADERS ON HUNGER STRIKE

Law Professors Outraged by Senate Vote on Indefinite Detention

Feel Safer Now?

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend