Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez, ruled Syria for nearly thirty years, from February of 1971 until his death in June of 2000. Under Hafez al-Assad, Syria enjoyed a respite from the series of coups that plagued the country in the ‘50s and ‘60s. This seeming tranquility was largely due to the elder al-Assad’s expansion of the state’s intelligence apparatus and brutal crackdown on political dissent. The most infamous example of this was in 1982. A revolt in the west-central city of Hama, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, was brutally crushed, resulting in the massacre of some 20,000 Syrians. Hafez al-Assad had been priming his elder son, Basil, to succeed him. Basil’s unexpected death in a car accident in 1994 put flight to that notion. Bashar al-Assad was promptly called back to Syria from England, where he had been studying ophthalmology, to take up his brother’s mantle. Six years later, Hafez al-Assad succumbed to a heart attack, and the one-time eye doctor found himself as ruler of Syria. Bashar Profile from the BBC
The fact that Bashar al-Assad was partially Western educated and had married a Englishwoman of Syrian origin, coupled with his closure of Mazzeh prison—home to thousands of political prisoners—and provocative speeches calling for “constructive criticism” and “democracy,” fueled hopes the Bashar al-Assad might break from his father’s policies and institute unprecedented reforms. He also legalized the Internet and commenced the development of the necessary infrastructure to support it within months of succeeding his father, as part of the so-called “Damascus Spring.”
After roughly a year of this “season,” in which reformist voices were offered a moderate opportunity to organize and promulgate their views, through forum-style gatherings and written declarations, the door to change inexplicably slammed shut. Mediums for dissent were closed and outlawed, and political imprisonments started up again. What happened? Farid Ghadry posits, “Many Syrian intellectuals argue today that the Damascus Spring was a trap” to identify and neutralize any possible threats to the latest Baath regime (“Syrian Reform: What Lies Beneath.” Middle East Quarterly. 12.1 (2005) : pp. 61-70. ).
The fact that Bashar al-Assad was partially Western educated and had married a Englishwoman of Syrian origin, coupled with his closure of Mazzeh prison—home to thousands of political prisoners—and provocative speeches calling for “constructive criticism” and “democracy,” fueled hopes the Bashar al-Assad might break from his father’s policies and institute unprecedented reforms. He also legalized the Internet and commenced the development of the necessary infrastructure to support it within months of succeeding his father, as part of the so-called “Damascus Spring.”
After roughly a year of this “season,” in which reformist voices were offered a moderate opportunity to organize and promulgate their views, through forum-style gatherings and written declarations, the door to change inexplicably slammed shut. Mediums for dissent were closed and outlawed, and political imprisonments started up again. What happened? Farid Ghadry posits, “Many Syrian intellectuals argue today that the Damascus Spring was a trap” to identify and neutralize any possible threats to the latest Baath regime (“Syrian Reform: What Lies Beneath.” Middle East Quarterly. 12.1 (2005) : pp. 61-70. ).
Syria is a complex country, ethnically and religiously, with Kurds, Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites, Christians, Druze, Assyrians, Armenians, Circassians, and Arabs comprising the largest groups. The country's relationships with Lebanon and Iran are important, but the subject for another post.
Thank goodness I just wrote a paper on Syria this past semester, or that would have taken a while. :-)
Up next: Syria this year
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