Syrian reshuffle signals commitment to reform

SYRIA: When he carried out the long-awaited reshuffle of his government last weekend, Syrian President Bashar Assad sent a message to the international community and demonstrated to Syrians that he remains committed to reform.

On one hand, he indicated that Syria would not change its foreign policy by naming Farouk Sharaa, foreign minister since 1984, to the post of vice-president and putting him in charge of external and information affairs.

He replaces Abdel Halim Khaddam who was purged last June along with veteran members of the ruling Baath party.

Mr Sharaa's elevation comes at a time when Damascus is under strong international pressure to co-operate with the UN commission investigating the assassination a year ago today of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri. In spite of Damascus' denials, the UN team accuses Syrian and Lebanese intelligence operatives of planning and executing the murder. Mr Sharaa is certain to maintain Syria's denial while offering limited co-operation to the UN team.

He is also set to take a strong stand against US allegations that Syria backs Palestinian Hamas and Islamic jihad attacks on Israel, arms Lebanon's Hizbullah guerrillas, aids foreign fighters in Iraq, and stokes Muslim resentment over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in the Western press.

To balance Mr Sharaa's hardline, his deputy Walid Muallem, who served as ambassador to Washington from 1990 to 2000, was appointed foreign minister and Mohsen Bilal, the ambassador to Spain, was given the information portfolio. Both are seen as effective spokesmen who favour dialogue rather than confrontation.

On the other hand, the new 34-member cabinet has 15 new members who may finally initiate essential economic and political reforms. While Premier Muhammad Ottri, Defence Minister Hassan Turkmani, and Finance Minister Muhammad Hussein retain their portfolios, non-Baathist reformer Abdullah Dardari, appointed deputy premier for economic affairs last June, has been bolstered by technocrats from outside the party.

Among the new faces is Communications Minister Amr Salem, a PhD who worked at Microsoft in the US and in 1989 established the Syrian computer society.

This body introduced the internet, helping to end Syria's self-imposed isolation.

Dr Assad has been trying to put a reformist team in place ever since he succeeded his father in June 2000 but was unable to overcome the resistance of party stalwarts until last year. His aim is to create a "social market economy" and to liberalise the political system.