Nowadays, Damascus is full of posters saying “I’m with the law” — admonitions to the citizens of the Syrian capital to behave and be loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. But walking along a busy street the other morning a woman in her early 60s tugged at my sleeve as she passed. We stopped, she looked around, pointed her thumb to the ground and said, ‘down, down, down Assad,’ then carried on her way.
Such open dissent in the capital is still rare, but it is nevertheless surprising given the powerful interlocking power interests that make up the regime — interests bigger than the President himself.
The interlocking of regime interests is particulary evident in the media. In addition to the state television channels and newspapers, private companies such as United Group and Addounia TV, owned by men close to Assad, have apparently joined hands with the government to provide media tools crucial to spreading the official line and messages of fear in a crisis that, in its third month, only seems to grow more and more tenacious.
Government messages denouncing Al-Jazeera, BBC and CNN, and which ask Syrians to watch only state and Syrian private channels, cover advertising boards owned by United Group. Pro-regime demonstrations held outside the Qatari embassy and the French embassy were reportedly organized and attended by staff from United Group.
The regime is now in full overdrive with government sources appearing on state and private channels like Addounia TV to spread messages of fear. They warn Syrians of the need for stability to prevent internal sectarian conflict and to fight foreign interference intent on “weakening national spirit.” Only dead army or security men receive the accolade “martyr,” while dead civilians are referred to as members of “armed gangs” or “conspirators.” While a few protestors have recently taken up arms, many Syrians tend to believe that the “conspirators” they see in the government footage have been unarmed and gunned down without warning. Few, however, are willing to say so aloud.
In this current crisis, where demonstrators are demanding an end to the abuse of power and immunity of security services, the regime and government have closed ranks in support. It would be difficult for Assad alone to stop the policy of killing, even if he wanted to. Indeed, Assad has tried before to challenge interests within the regime and failed. He backed attempts to cut corruption in the customs directorate where systematic bribery adds cost to the price of imported goods. A new director was appointed with an anti-corruption mandate and surveillance cameras installed. Customs officials who stood to lose considerable income waged a campaign of defiance, sabotaging equipment, threatening the director and forcing him to resign. Customs continues to enrich a network of regime supporters, at the expense of consumers across the country and apparently against Assad’s will.
Perhaps some regime figures, including Assad, genuinely believe they are serving the country’s interests. However, just as the government needed to accelerate reforms to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, it has implemented a program of unaffordable subsidies and job creation schemes in the public sector. Economists believe this is madness, saying emphasis should be on empowering future generations of Syrians with investment in education, infrastructure, agricultural development and public sector reform.
