People Rallying in Damascus

"LandepNews"

People Rallying in Damascus

Bashar al-Assad received on Wednesday an unexpected support from the population of Damascus, as tens of thousands of Syrians gathered in the center of the capital to show their support for the man who is suspected of having caused the death of almost 3,000 people during the seven months of violent crackdown on the civilian population of his country.
Some of the people were holding placards on which one could read that the army and the people were with al-Assad, and that “Syria is our country and Assad our president.”
The people also thanked Russia and China for having vetoed the draft of resolution that was going to condemn Bashar al-Assad’s attitude and warn him that the Western countries would not tolerate this kind of attitude much longer.
People were waving the national flag under a huge banner with the image of the president in the biggest support show displayed in months.
One of the explanations for this kind of support show is that it happened in the central Damascus, a spot untouched by the general revolt that engulfed the outskirts of the country and the other major cities.
More than that, the people could have been sympathizers of the Baath Socialist party in power, the only political party in the country, which has been ruling the nation for four decades.
Not to mention that the official propaganda shows another version of what happens in the country, and it is only normal that some of the people may believe it. Bashar al-Assad has been constantly presenting himself as a hero fighting an international conspiracy meant to invade the country by means of insider “gangs of thugs,” whose actions have already led to the demise of 1,100 security forces troops.
From this perspective, with all other forms of media information cut off, including internet and mobile phone lines, it is not a total surprise to see that some people still believe al-Assad.
International media reports that at a point a man in a helicopter suspended on a rope the flags of Russia and China and flew them over the crowds. This choreography could indicate that officials were involved in this show of force. After all, a few days before he fell, Hosni Mubarak was able to gather a few thousands who stormed the Tahrir Square in one of the most brutal days of the Egyptian revolution.
Even Ceausescu, the Romanian dictator, gathered a few thousand people in front of his palace in 1989 to support his fight against the same alleged international conspiracy. In 1989, however, the protestors in Bucharest turned against the president that had summoned them there, which did not happen in Damascus.
The support show comes at a time when president Bashar announced that he would appoint a committee to draft a new constitution by the end of the year. He promised to organize free elections next year, in February.
Russia and China, the international supporters of his regime, have urged him to start implementing the reforms he promised he would. Russia was even more adamant than that, asking the leaders in Damascus to either implement changes or step down, while China was more consistent with its own position on interfering in other nations businesses and merely asked Assad to keep his word and reform the regime in his country.
Russia and China came under severe criticism from the European countries and the United States for the veto on Syria expressed a week ago. Russia motivated that the draft was clearing the path to a military intervention in the Arab country, which would have jolted the precarious power balance in the region, while China said that the threats against Syria were not beneficial for the security of the region.
Still, it would seem that Assad is with the back against the wall, and will have to finally implement some reforms, or risk losing the support of the last two countries that protect his actions.
As Bashar al-Assad is making promises to hold elections, and to give the nation a new constitution, the death toll is increasing by the day, as the security forces hunt the defectors from the army through the big cities.
Last week the security forces were met with military resistance by the defectors that have sided with the protestors, causing analysts to say that the conflict may slowly slide into civil war, considering that there are reports that the number of defectors increased to thousands.

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