Ribal al Assad, the Director of the ODFS, has today accused the Syrian authorities of “attempting to launch a massive democratic deception.”

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, the Syrian regime said that the region has been “stagnating.” Syria has promised political and social reforms, but there are many who are sceptical of the regime’s new-found reform agenda.

Ribal said today:

“The Syrian regime is frightened by what they have seen in the Arab world, and in response the authorities hand out a few laptops to teachers and stage some anti-corruption crackdowns, but these are nothing more than gestures, a public relations exercise. Syria desperately needs long-term reform, not quick fixes announced in headlines.”

Syria has been ruled under a State of Emergency since 1963, and many believe that ending this system would be the first logical step towards democracy. Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, Amnesty International and Transparency International have all launched strong attacks on the Syrian human rights record, and on the deep rooted corruption in Syrian society.

Last year, Human Rights Watch said that “Syria’s security agencies continue to detain people without arrest warrants, frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and sometimes months, and regularly engage in torture. Special courts set up under Syria’s emergency laws, sentence people following unfair trials. A review of Syria’s record shows a consistent policy of repressing dissent regardless of international or regional developments.”

Ribal al Assad maintains that high food prices, corruption, a lack of personal freedom and a troubled economy all combine to make life for ordinary people a daily struggle. He said:

“A rising budget deficit, water shortages, declining oil production and rising unemployment all conspire to create a society that is held back by both a lack of social development at the bottom and a concerted effort from the top to reduce political and economic freedoms.”

The ODFS stresses that change through revolution is a last resort that nobody wishes to see, and that Syria can change from the top if the regime truly believes in reform and liberalisation.

“The half-hearted reforms offered by the regime this week are nothing more than another layer to add to the veneer of democracy that the regime works so hard to promote to the outside world.

Instead of telling Western newspapers about plans for future reform, the Syrian regime should end its state of emergency, release all political prisoners, allow political parties independent of the state to exist and flourish, release its iron grip on the media and internet, allow freedom of expression and association, root out state corruption and allow the voices of the people to be heard.”

The ODFS stresses that the Syrian regime has had 10 years during which time it could have embarked on any number of reforms. The recent pronouncements from the regime should be seen in that context, and Ribal al Assad warns that the regime’s “empty words” are unlikely to be followed by any meaningful reform.