Thursday, March 31, 2011
Editorial

An eagerly anticipated address to the nation by Syrian President Bashar Assad Wednesday has disappointed many people, who were hoping to hear about concrete steps in the direction of reform.

Assad was speaking to a rapt audience in Syria’s Parliament, as legislators repeatedly interrupted the president to shout out their support for his policies and the Syrian leadership. The scenes were reminiscent of 2000, when Assad was suddenly thrust into the limelight as his father’s successor. But Syrians were waiting for a glimpse of what the country’s future might hold, and not a signal that things continue to take place in the “old-fashioned” way.

Another worrying sign was that the content of Assad’s speech was reminiscent of 2000, and not 2011. The Syrian president pledged that reform moves were coming, which is something that Syrians have heard many times before, and particularly in Bashar Assad’s own inaugural speech of 2000.

Another item that recalled past years was Assad’s mention of foreign “conspiracies” that were targeting Syria. This is something that many people in the Arab world have heard time and time again from their rulers in recent months, as a wave of popular uprisings have toppled regimes and left others tottering.

As Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Wednesday, there is no evidence of a massive conspiracy under way in the region to explain the popular unrest. Assad should take note of the fact that a close ally does not seem taken in by the accusations of “foreign meddling.” This is, after all, a wave of unrest that has threatened regimes that stand on both sides of the geopolitical divide in the region.

But Assad appeared to bask in the glow of an audience that was completely unwilling to challenge the long-standing customs of Baathist Syria. Assad should realize that his people are anxious, and in fact desperate, to see reform come to Syria. Acknowledging the need for reform is not the same as carrying it out. Either he is convinced that the Syrian public is mature enough to see these political reforms undertaken, or it is not.

The time frame that Assad’s regime is dealing with is a delicate one. Every passing day that reform moves are left as promises, and not deeds, the domestic situation could become more dangerous. Confronting the popular impetus with bullets will only pave the way for a more violent explosion in the future.

The Baath Party’s various organizations have swung into action in recent days, helping put tens of thousands of people in the streets to express their support for the regime. If the regime doesn’t make the same, concentrated effort at serious reform, all the speeches in the world might not be able to contain the popular anger.