Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Editorial

Thousands upon thousands of people took to the streets in Syrian cities Tuesday, in what were termed, not surprisingly, pro-regime demonstrations.

The “expressions of popular support” were certainly helped along by the authorities, who made attendance easy for public sector workers and schoolchildren, but the scenes of crowds do not signal a totally fabricated event.
For now, the regime, and President Bashar Assad, certainly have their supporters, while there are many who simply want the situation in Syria to remain stable, and might fear the consequences of a popular uprising.

Meanwhile, in recent days, Assad and his regime have earned the overt support of key Gulf countries, as well as some officials farther off, whether it is Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, or Hillary Clinton, the American secretary of state.

These expressions of support, both among the people and the rest of the world, might also be summed up by the media as backing for the Assad regime.
In fact, the support is for reform, more than the regime. These positions could change, depending on the manner in which the Syrian authorities move next.
The masses came out Tuesday, but the Syrian public at large is likely to either support, or object to, the regime based on its future actions.

Two key elements are to be watched: one is the level of domestic repression of peaceful demonstrators, and the other is the pace of reform. If the violence recedes, then people will be more inclined to let the authorities move forward with their promised reforms.
Assad will address Parliament Wednesday evening, and is expected to outline his regime’s road map for reform, as he prepares to name a new government.

The topics of this address have been discussed in the media, and have been alluded to by the president’s spokeswoman in the last few days: Assad is expected to address lifting the decades-old state of emergency, producing a new law on political parties, ensuring media and personal freedoms, and taking steps to reduce the stranglehold of the Baath Party over domestic politics.

In this year of Arab revolutions, this newspaper has already voiced the now-standard refrain, “reform before it is too late.” It applies to the Syrian case, and is highlighted by the recent foreign support for Damascus.

Clinton remarked that it was inaccurate to make a comparison between Assad and Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, but she based this on a description of the Syrian president as a “reformer.”
The more that Assad can outline, and deliver, on substantial reform, the farther away he will move from Gadhafi, and likely continue to receive popular and international support.