Damascus Spring

The Damascus Spring was a period of intense political and social debate in Syria which started after the death of President Hafiz al-Asad in June 2000 and continued to some degree until autumn 2001, when most of the activities associated with it were suppressed by the government.

Background

Officially a Republic, Syria is under Emergency Law since 1963 and governed by the Baath Party; the head of state since 1970 has been a member of the Assad family.

Under Hafiz al-Asad, president of Syria from 1970 until his death in 2000, political activity had been strictly controlled, and from 1980 on effective opposition activity had been almost impossible. Five principal security agencies served primarily to monitor political dissent: A state of emergency had existed since 1963, with military courts applying martial law and special courts trying political cases with little regard for human rights or due process. Prisoners were routinely tortured and held in appalling conditions.

From 1998 on, the level of repression diminished noticeably. Following the death of Hafiz al-Asad in June 2000 his son, Bashar, was installed as president of Syria.

Events

The Damascus Spring was characterised above all by the emergence of numerous muntadāt, referred to in English as "salons" or "forums". Groups of like-minded people met in private houses, with news of the occasion spread by word of mouth, and discussed political matters and wider social questions. The phenomenon of the salons spread rapidly in Damascus and to a lesser extent in other cities. Long-standing members of the Syrian opposition were notable in animating the movement, as were a number of intellectuals who resolutely declared themselves apolitical, such as film-maker Omar Amiralay. Members of the Syrian Communist Party and reform-minded Ba'th Party members also took part in debate. The most famous of the forums were the Riad Seif Forum and the Jamal al-Atassi National Dialogue Forum.^[1]

The Damascus Spring can be seen as having mobilised around a number of political demands, expressed in the "Manifesto of the 99" signed by prominent intellectuals. These were, principally, the cancellation of the state of emergency and abolition of martial law and special courts; the release of all political prisoners; the return without fear of prosecution of political exiles; and the right to form political parties and civil organisation. To these was often added the more precisely political demand that Article 8 of the Syrian constitution be repealed. This article provides that "the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party leads the state and society".

The Damascus Spring made a major impact across the Arab world, and initially there was considerable optimism that it would lead to real change. The editor of the Syrian state Tishrin newspaper announced his intention of forming a committee, to comprise prominent intellectuals such as Maher Charif, Ahmad Barqawi and Yusuf Salameh, to edit a new opinion page, but this never came about. The salons debated many political and social questions to a wider nature, from the position of women to the nature of education methods and the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

Initially, the regime seemed unsure how to respond to the Damascus Spring. In November 2000, hundreds of political prisoners were released as the infamous Mezze prison was closed. Eventually, however, the regime fell back on its tried methods of repression and in 2001 a number of jailings coupled with the forced closure of the salons brought it to an end. Some of the forum participants and organizers who were jailed for a longer period of time were Ma'mun al-Homsi and Riad Seif who were accused of "attempting to change the constitution by illegal means" and "inciting racial and sectarian strife" and were sentenced by the Damascus Criminal Court to five years in jail. The other eight activists, Riad al-Turk, Aref Dalila, Walid al-Bunni, Kamal al-Labwani, Habib Salih, Hasan Sa`dun, Habib `Isa, and Fawwaz Tello were referred to the Supreme State Security Court which issued prison sentences between two to 10 years.^[2]

Though the arrests ended the Damascus Spring, its effects persist: Syrian intellectuals have released further statements echoing that of the 99; some small demonstrations have taken place in Damascus; and until 2005 one salon, the Jamal al-Atassi National Dialogue Forum, was still permitted to function. The Atassi forum was shut down after a member had read a statement from the banned Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist organization which had rebelled against the government of Hafiz al-Assad in the early 1980s by murdering thousands of government officials and civilians, which culminated in the Hama Massacre, a dark time in Syrians' memories. The regime has made clear that any collaboration with the Brotherhood, which despite the exile of its leadership is considered to be by far the strongest opposition movement in Syria, is a "red line" not to be crossed.

Aftermath

See also: Cedar revolution and 2011 Syrian uprising

Following the intense international pressures on the Syrian regime after the death of Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in February 2005 and the release of the UN Mehlis report, intellectuals have again grown more outspoken. Pro-democracy and human rights activists, such as Wissam Tarif [1], have continued being active in their call for democratic change within Syria, despite being expelled from the country. In late October 2005, a declaration calling for democratic reform was issued by most of the opposition, notably including the Muslim Brotherhood, and the government has so far refrained from any serious actions against the signers. On January 18, 2006, the government released 5 political prisoners linked to the Damascus Spring, in what analysts have called an attempt to rally support for the beleaguered government after unprecedented international pressure in the wake of the assassination.^[3]

In 2011, following a wave of popular uprisings and revolutions in the Arab world, Syria detereorated into civil disorder and unrest, developing into an uprising against Asad's regime. As for summer 2011, the uprising had been brutally suppressed by Bashar al-Assad, in a similar way his father dealt with the Islamic uprising in Syria some three decades earlier.

References

1. ^ No Room to Breathe, October 16, 2007
2. ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/node/10646/section/4#_ftn11
3. ^ Syria Frees 5 Political Activists - washingtonpost.com

External links

• The Syrian Human Rights Committee
• Al Jazeera
• Foundation for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience - FDPOC