Security forces killed four civilians in demonstrations that erupted last week in Deraa, in the most serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s rule since the 45-year-old succeeded his father 11 years ago. An 11-year-old child died overnight from inhaling tear gas fired by security forces, activists said. “This is peaceful, peaceful. God, Syria, freedom,” chanted the protesters in Jassem, an agricultural town 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of Deraa. Demonstrations also erupted in the towns of Nawa and Inkhel during which marchers held placards with the word “freedom.” Leading opposition figure Haitham al-Maleh said on Monday a desire for democratic reform was near-universal in Syria. “The revolution is at the door and the regime is still flirting with change,” said Maleh, an 80-year-old lawyer and former judge who has spent his life peacefully resisting the ruling Baath Party’s monopoly on power, much of it from prison.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BÜLENT KENEŞ | ![]() |
||
| What befell Niyazi-i Misri in the past is happening to Fethullah Gülen now | |||
| EKREM DUMANLI | ![]() |
||
| When a call for fairness and reason finds acceptance | |||
| ŞAHİN ALPAY | ![]() |
||
| Uludere, test case for democracy in Turkey | |||
| EMRE USLU | ![]() |
||
| Are the Kurds mentally divorced from Turkey? | |||
| GÖKHAN BACIK | ![]() |
||
| Erdoğan, Gül and Davutoğlu: the inner bargain on Turkish foreign policy | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN | ![]() |
||
| Taking lessons from previous experiences with the military | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR | ![]() |
||
| Qualm | |||
| ÖMER TAŞPINAR | ![]() |
||
| A new phase in Syria? | |||
| İHSAN DAĞI | ![]() |
||
| Turkish foreign policy: Time for a re-evaluation | |||
| SEYFETTİN GÜRSEL | ![]() |
||
| Poor-friendly economic growth and the AK Party | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON | ![]() |
||
| Missing women, missing opportunities | |||
| BERK ÇEKTİR | ![]() |
||
| Changes to incentives for investment in Turkey | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK | ![]() |
||
| The 1960 coup: a final test for democracy | |||
| AMANDA PAUL | ![]() |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE | ![]() |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
|
|
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||