For seven months, President Bashar al-Assad has been trying to extinguish the popular revolt in Syria, but his "security" solution has failed. The crisis has intensified, but the president continues with this approach, as if it is the only one available to him. I say in all certainty that the security solution has failed. Much blood has been shed over the last seven months, and this attests to this failure. Will the Syrian President continue with this policy for another seven months, or years, then? The word "reforms" has been exhausted, to the point that it has come to mean the opposite, even though there is another solution possible - true reforms that begin with free elections under international supervision or observation, with no violation of national sovereignty. The Syrian President says he wants free elections, and an international presence will confirm that they are free, instead of giving the enemies of Syria, the Arabs and the Muslims the chance to question the results if they do not agree with them. Even more important is that the president carries out what he says, and does not repeat promises, without putting them into practice. President Assad (the reader will notice that I am not using the word regime, since he alone is responsible, as the head of this regime) promised elections by next February and an amendment of the Constitution. The new Parliament would amend the Constitution, although it would be better if elections took place under a new Constitution, free of items such as Article 8, which says that the Baath Party leads the country and society, while bearing in mind there are many other articles that should be amended or abolished, to keep up with the spirit of the age. I write in the knowledge that there are those who say that time is up, and that the people will not accept promises of reform that have never been fulfilled. However, I insist that there is always time for reform. If the President announces that elections would be held next week, or next month, this would be a good start, if accompanied by reining in the security services, in a manner that renders them worthy of their name, that is, not an apparatus of oppression, but of safeguarding security. If this happens, then the Syrian people will no doubt welcome the decision. Each time I wrote about the events in Syria, I began and ended with a call for an end to the killing, for which there is absolutely no justification. Protecting people's lives is the duty of the government – any government - before it has any other duty. I once again call for a stop to the killing, although I know there are countries that seek to see Syria's demise; this also applies for the armed extremist gangs that are dragging the country to the brink of a civil or sectarian war. This is while I believe that the majority of the protesters, at night or in broad daylight, are not extremists, but citizens who have legitimate grievances, mostly having to do with day-to-day issues. Today, there are saboteurs who are trying to ride the wave of popular movement. Conspiracies are being woven, and President Assad, as the head of state, is responsible for foiling these, by enacting true reforms. Such reforms are not seven months late, as some think – but are 11 years late. Syrians have been waiting for the young president to adopt true openness, a free economy, and democracy. Then, they discovered what they got was an extension of what already existed, with nothing new under the sun; in other words, a collapsing house has been given a paint job, instead of a new one being built. I believe that true, immediate reforms will regain Assad his popularity, which has plummeted (in my own estimate) from 70 percent seven months ago to 20 percent today. He has never once ruled through the Baath Party, which is obsolete, or the security agencies and their violence, but rather through the support of the majority of Syrians, who saw in his youthfulness and higher education hope for a better future. I call on President Assad to think about the future, which will be the future of his children and all Syrian children, and appreciate that reforms – and once again, I mean real and immediate reforms – will segregate the public from the terrorists, and expose everyone who says he controls the street, but does not have the support of even 10 percent of Syrians. I will conclude as I began, insisting that Dr. Bashar al-Assad alone is responsible for the situation, whether it deteriorates or improves. I remind him that the security approach has failed, and I insist that he can reverse the tide, while I realize that there are centers of power and interests that will pay the price for these reforms. Therefore, they are working to block them, even if the building comes crashing down on everyone. [email protected]
