Sütbrod

- On Syria, a brief history -

Syria joined the list of countries where citizens are claiming their rights. For Syria, however, it may not just be the case of the people against the regime. With a ruling Alawite minority (approximate 12% of the population) and a large Sunni Islam majority of 74% may it become an explosive mixture of sectarion infulences and a disproportional division of power. This is on how Syria came to be one of the leading police-states: a brief history on the Lion and the Sphinx.

The lion into power

We should start the history of this country in the Levant, surrounded by more or less democratically countries such as Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, at the end of the French mandate era in the late forties. The French colonial administration recruited from the minority groups – Alawite, Druze, Isma’ili, Christian and Kurdish communities to fill up their officer corps. This leaves a small representation of the majority population of Sunni Muslims. During the post-French period between 1949 and 1970 took fifteen successful coups place. In 1963 the nationalistic and equalitarian Ba’ath-party took control of Syria. The Ba’athist victory resulted in Druzes, Isma’ilists and Alawites leaving their rural countryside to join the military academy. A second Ba’ath-coup by two Alawite generals (Salah al-Jadid and Hafez al-Assad) backed by Druze and Isma’ili officers overthrow the civil wing of the Ba’ath party. The role of Druzes within the new elite ended with their failed attempt to commit a coup, this signalled the end of the Druze prominence in the officer corps. When, in 1969, a prominent Isma’ili officer committed suicide, also the role for the Isma’ili was played down. A third successful coup brought in 1970 the defence minister and head of the armed forces, Hafez Al-Assad, in power. The 1973 Constitution ensured the freedom of religion for all, although heavily monitored and as long as it stayed away from any political influences. Political freedoms where (and are) second to none.

Biographies on Hafez Al-Assad are describing him as ‘cautious, calculating and pragmatic’. Al-Assad had used the Ba’ath party and the military to get in power, now he transformed them into the foundation of the regime. He made himself head of the Ba’ath party and to ensure loyalty to the new regime he appointed relatives and other Alawite officers in prominent places of the security agencies and military. His brother, Rif’at Al-Assad, became the head of paramilitary elite forces. Al-Assad saw Syria together with Egypt as the counterpart of Israel, but the 1973 Egypt/Syria-Israel war turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. Losing Egypt as co-force the Al-Assad regime started to build up a big military apparatus to ensure their position within the Arab world. With (military) intervening in Lebanon and Jordan and choosing side of Iran in the Iraq-Iran war, Syria became more and more internationally isolated.

The Sphinx

Not only internationally had Al-Assad some trouble, also orthodox fractions of the Sunni Muslim society inside Syria where causing some headaches. From 1976 the militant Islamic opposition was raging guerrilla warfare in some of the (former) commercial cities such as Aleppo (Haleb), Homs and Hama. The Muslim Brotherhood claimed in February 1982 the victory in the last city. This resulted in Rif’at Al-Assad launching a big military attack on Hama resulting in over 10.000 deaths and the entire inner city destroyed. A chill of fear spread through Syrian society; Al-Assad had issued a warning to all potential dissidents that the regime would use all necessary power to stay in control. According to some did Hafez Al-Assed reply to the question why he killed 15.000 people, with ‘That’s not true, I did not kill 15.000 but 25.000.’ After the death of Hafez Al-Assad in 2000, his 34-years old son Bashar Al-Assad took office (his older brother died in 1994 and Bashar was called back from London where he attended medical school). At firstly Bashar Al-Assad seemed to allow some freedoms such as Internet and independent newspapers. The Damascus spring didn’t last long, even though political prisoners where freed in autumn 2000, eventually the regime felt back on its tried methods of repression and in 2001 the spring was over again. Afterwards did Bashar grant some freedoms, but those where merely economical freedoms instead of political.

Bashar Al-Assad kept the same power and loyalty distribution as his father. The Syrian military consists of 304.000 men (on a population of roughly 22 million) and Alawite (12% of the population) makes 70% of the career military. Besides the regular armed forces there are two Alawite only paramilitary divisions with the best equipment, the Republican Guard (led by the brother of Bashar, Maher Al-Assad) and the Special Forces. Both divisions are ought to be capable to counter any military coup attempt. The same idea is seen in the Syrian intelligence: nine separate services with overlapping functions so the regime is not overtly depending on any of them. All nine services are working in almost entire secrecy. None of the services are permitted to have full access to the counterparts intelligence and information on their agents. Even within each service are different commanders reporting directly to the president, instead of their normal superiors. To ensure accountability and loyalty, personal within the intelligence services are often moved around and sometimes also ‘undercover’ from another service. Just to make sure that every possible treat will be discovered.

All together makes this Syria a complex country where the president has implemented a strong system of rule and divide, making sure that the stakes for the higher echelon within the state are to high to be disloyal. With a sectarian division of power is the risk for a Iraq like confrontation between the different – religious - groups and a full-scale civil war not negligible.