The Daily Star Editorial
 

Two events in Syria have grabbed headlines in the last two days. The first was a government-sponsored national dialogue conference, whose placid proceedings were broadcast live on television, and represented a change – in form – of what traditionally passes for politics in Baathist Syria.

The conference featured some terms – such as democracy, pluralism and ending the “security state” – which have been foreign to Syrian public politics in recent decades. However, it was marred by a boycott by Syria’s political opposition, and the speeches did not challenge the “ceiling” of acceptable discourse. On the table for discussion?

Everything that has been publicly committed to by the government and Syrian President Bashar Assad over the last several months, under the general rubric of “reform.” Despite this agreement on the agenda, the results were disappointing and unsatisfactory, judging by the comments of the general public on the Internet, or of analysts and activists.
The “dialogue” was largely a monologue, with only one point of view: Change can take place only through a process of politics as usual, with the current authorities overseeing the changes.

The conference could have been a smashing success if it had taken place two or three months ago, before the blood of around 1,300 people had been spilled, and before thousands had been arrested, harassed or even displaced. The Syrian people have been facing a harsh and often bloody crackdown with their bare chests, and they are unlikely to be satisfied with hearing more words about reform, even if so-called “reformers” are allowed to meet and speak publicly. Can such a dialogue be useful when the killing and arrests continue?

Meanwhile, and on the second day of the dialogue conference, state media managed to provoke the public into attacking the embassies of France and the United States. On the surface, it appeared to be a simple message, but it should be read against the weekend trip by the ambassadors of the two countries to Hama. For their own reasons, the two countries sent their diplomats to show solidarity with “people power” in one Arab country, while failing to offer similar goodwill gestures elsewhere in the region, where there is no shortage of places to visit and act as human shields.

The U.S. and France have been demanding reform in Syria, but they have not been issuing dramatic ultimatums – “Bashar Assad must go,” for example. Instead of building on this position, the Syrians have once again provoked the West, at a time when the Arab region’s silence on the situation in Syria should not necessarily be read as support. Syria has few friends, and the country’s top diplomat recently dismissed the significance of Europe on the political map. If the goal of Damascus is to enjoy the support of only the governments of Iran and Lebanon, the strategy is working.