Year in Review 2005 - Developments in democracy

Over the past number of years a series of events has served to accentuate Syria's isolation both regionally and abroad, according to analysts. A Damascus-based researcher, who requested anonymity, said: "Progress on democracy has been extremely limited. People expected change after the pull-out from Lebanon and June’s Ba’ath conference...Now the country is at a point where the pressure is so high that anyone who speaks of democracy is put in the same bracket as the Washington-backed Reform Party, or branded a traitor." "Hopes for a democratic opening have been dashed over the last year because of Syria's isolation and desperate struggle over the Lebanon issue and Hariri investigation. In fact, things have gone backwards," commented Johsua Landis, author of SyriaComment. Bashar al-Assad, an eye doctor, had promised to modernise Syria as he succeeded his father as president of the country in 2000, vowing to proceed with political and economic reforms. A short political revival, known as the Damascus Spring, followed. Newly formed political discussion groups openly criticised government policy, hundreds of political prisoners were released, the media law was eased to allow private publications and some politicians even spoke openly about lifting the country’s 42-year old martial law and introducing political pluralism. Many Syrians saw, and continue to see, the new president as being more progressive than his father. With a long history in the military, he had ruled Syria for 30 years with an aggressive foreign policy and an iron-fisted domestic agenda, according to analysts. The new president stressed that economic, rather than political reforms, were his main agenda. But five years on, pressure on Syria is mounting as the US continues its drive for democracy in the Middle East. From Washington, Damascus is seen as a crucial Arab states remaining defiant to US interests in the region, a stance that wins the regime respect on the Arab street and isolation in the international community, according to regional experts. The US has continually accused the Syrian regime of aiding the insurgency in Iraq, and of sponsoring Palestinian militias who carry out suicide bombings inside Israel. Damascus has denied the charges. Developments in 2005 Following Syria’s military withdrawal from Lebanon in April 2005, which came amid accusations of direct involvement in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister al-Hariri - the eyes of the international community are now on the next report, due in mid-February, from a UN commission set up to investigate the killings. In his first report, on October 19 2005, out-going UN investigator Detlev Mehlis concluded that the decision to assassinate Hariri, "could not have been taken without the approval of top-ranked Syrian security officials". This triggered the unanimously passed UN Security Council resolution 1636 of October 31 which threatened Damascus with "further action" unless it cooperated "unconditionally" with the investigation. A second Mehlis report in December found further evidence of Syrian involvement in Hariri’s murder. Syria continues to deny involvement in the killing. Following the UN report, veteran politician and activist Riad al-Turk, who is seen as the god-father of the Syrian opposition, openly called for the resignation of the president and the formation of an interim government. The end of the year saw former Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, once a stalwart of the "old guard," now an advocate of democracy, go into exile in Paris, from where he accused the president of ordering the assassination of Hariri, and hinted at his willingness to form a government in exile. Pressure on the regime is also mounting steadily from a re-invigorated domestic political opposition, as Hariri's assassination has managed to heighten pressure on the government, "bringing together once disparate actors and objectives," according to the ICG. Under the banner of the "Damascus Declaration", which calls for democratic reforms and the lifting of the country’s emergency laws, Syria’s traditionally divergent opposition parties united for the first time in October. The declaration was also signed by Kurdish parties and, significantly, the London-based Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which has been banned under Syrian law for more than two decades. It was the first time Syria’s secular Arab opposition had united with two forces seen as the principle opponents to the Ba’ath Party’s 42-year rule. Urgent political reforms remain slow "We have seen many ministers being changed several times in the last five years with a promise to develop the economy and the socio-political structure, but nothing tangible has been achieved," said Mahmoud Jayoush, a lawyer and politician who has lobbied for political reforms for many years. "The situation has not got better. In fact it is worse than where we were early in 2001." However, some analysts believe that there is still a possibility of reform. "There is still a chance for the government to reform, to release political prisoners, to change the cabinet, to arrest those people who acted to excess in Lebanon," said Sami Moubayed, a Syrian author and political analyst. "That will make it more difficult for the international community to embarrass the regime." There have been some notable concessions domestically, including the release in November of 190 political prisoners – the majority former members of the Muslim Brotherhood – with the promise of more releases to follow. In 2004, the government released more than 100 long-time political prisoners, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). In 2005, two presidential amnesties, one in March and the other in December, released more than four hundred political prisoners, according to reports in the state press and human rights lawyers. Nevertheless, some 2,500 political prisoners, reportedly still languish in Syria’s prisons. The authorities continued to harass and imprison human rights defenders and other non-violent critics of government policies, HRW reported in 2005, adding that there were ongoing limitation on freedoms of expression, association and assembly, while ethnic minority Kurds were treated as "second-class citizens".