|
|
Change Your Life! |
Is Syria heading towards Monarchy ? |
|
News |
|
|
June 12, 2000 BEIRUT,
JUNE 11 (AP) - President Hafez Assad had two vice presidents
to fill in for him, but within hours of his death Saturday, the Syrian
parliament pushed them aside and voted to clear the
way for the ascension of the 34-year-old son who had been groomed for
power.
Bashar
Assad has held no political office, no senior party post and
no significant military position - the usual requirements for leadership
in authoritarian Syria. But the late president had given Bashar
several tasks, both at home and in neighboring Lebanon, to thrust him into
public roles and recognition.
The
president died exactly one week before a Baath Party congress that
was expected to give Bashar a senior party position and set him on the
path to higher office. Instead, less than two hours after the public
announcement of the president's death, parliament amended the constitution
to lower the age limit for the presidency from 40 to 34.
Technically,
the Syrian constitution provides for a vice president
to take over if the presidency becomes vacant. But there was little doubt
Saturday that the late president's wish was being honored
and that Bashar Assad, a British-educated ophthalmologist, was headed for
the presidency.
Upon
hearing of Assad's death, a few hundred people gathered in the
streets near the presidential palace, chanting "With our souls, with
our blood, we will protect you, O Bashar."
In
neighboring Lebanon, where Syria wields enormous influence, some
leaders were already referring to Bashar on Saturday night as "the
next president" of Syria and "the bearer of his father's message."
The
late president started preparing Bashar for leadership after the
death of his eldest son, Basil, in a traffic accident in 1994.
He
had sent him abroad on official visits, giving Bashar a forum for
international exposure. At home, Bashar was proclaimed the leader of a
campaign to fight corruption in the government - which also
gave him a platform to eliminate potential rivals within the old guard of
the military and civilian establishments.
Bashar
holds the rank of colonel in the army. Syria's armed forces
and intelligence branches are at the heart of control in this nation of 15
million people.
In
recent months, several senior army officers have been retired and
powerful intelligence chiefs were sent packing. Former intelligence chief
Brig. Bashir Najjar was sentenced to 12 years in jail
for corruption. Mahmoud el-Zoubi, prime minister since 1987, was fired in
March and committed suicide two months later rather than face arrest in a
corruption investigation.
Bashar
was expected to receive his first formal leadership job at the
party congress June 17 that would, in turn, have paved the way to name him
a vice president in the government.
Instead,
another route was quickly opened. Bashar cleared a major constitutional
hurdle Saturday when parliament members, some weeping over Assad's death,
overwhelmingly voted to amend an article in the constitution that requires
the head of state to be at least 40 years old. The legislators voted to
lower the age to 34 and then adjourned until June 25. Bashar turns 35 in
August.
It
was not known whether Assad specified that his other vice president
should take over in an interim period. Masharqa has been in charge of
political and Baath Party affairs and is thought to have
little influence with the military.
While
the president was hospitalized and recovering from a heart attack
in 1983, Assad's younger brother, Rifaat, attempted a coup. Despite the
failed take over bid, Rifaat was named a vice president the following
year, but exiled soon thereafter. Since then, he has lived in France.
|