As the Syrian conflict enters its ninth year, the 53-year-old leader appears more secure and confident than at any time since the revolt against his rule began in 2011.
BEIRUT — It’s Arab Spring, season II, and he’s one of the few holdovers. The last man standing among a crop of Arab autocrats, after a new wave of protests forced the removal of the Algerian and Sudanese leaders from the posts they held for decades.
In most countries of the Arab Spring, the faces of the old order were removed, but either the ruling elite that had been behind them stayed in place or chaos ensued. Even as vast parts of his country fell from his control or turned into killing fields, Assad kept his core regime in place. Gulf countries reopened embassies after years of boycott. Delegations from Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan have visited in recent months, discussing restarting trade, resuming commercial agreements and releasing prisoners. Although the Arab League said it was not yet time to restore Syria’s membership to the 22-member organization, the issue was discussed at their annual summit for the first time since the country was deprived of its seat eight years ago.
This week, the government imposed gas rationing, limiting motorists to 20 litres every 48 hours. The crisis was worsened when reports spread about an impending price hike, prompting lines of hundreds of cars to stretch for miles outside gas stations. Oil Minister Ali Ghanem denied plans for a hike, warning of a “war of rumours that is more severe than the political war.”
In Daraa, where the revolt started, hundreds took to the streets recently, offended by the government’s plan to erect a statue of the president’s father, the late Hafez Assad. Further protests took place in some former opposition areas recaptured by the government after authorities moved to enforce military conscription there despite promises to hold off.
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