PALESTINIANS FACE AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Saddam Husain in Iraq, Col. Qaddafi in Libya, and Hafiz al-Assad in Syria came to power, overthrowing ruthlessly oppressive regimes. Initially, they were perceived by people as harbingers of a new, more tolerant government that would change their lives for the better.

- SURENDRA KUMAR

Regrettably, the new rulers increasingly used the intolerant, oppressive, and authoritarian ways of their predecessors. To remain in power, they resorted to constant surveillance of their people, scaring them with the threat of severe punishment for even the slightest signs of dissent. Their loyal henchmen brutally sniffed out all perceived threats to the regime. Disregard for civil liberties wasn't the only flaw of these regimes; they were corrupt, inefficient, and guilty of economic mismanagement.

Slowly, these regimes lost the pulse of the people, who were seething with anger, bitterness, and hatred, waiting for their fall. Bashar al-Assad's surprisingly swift collapse of power followed this trajectory. When, in 1994, following the death of his elder brother Bassel in a car accident, Bashar was recalled by his father from London to be groomed as his heir, no one could have imagined that he would soon outshine his father in the centralization of authority and the conduct of a ruthless, authoritarian, and corrupt government unconcerned about the people's problems.

He joined the military academy and obtained the rank of colonel. In 1998, he was made in charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Following the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, Lebanon witnessed the Cedar Revolution, characterized by anti-Syria protests that forced Assad to end the Lebanese occupation in 2005.

Earlier, he had put down the Damascus Spring (2001-2002) when activists demanded a certain degree of transparency in governance and democracy with a heavy hand. Though Assad belonged to the Alawite clan, a small minority in a predominantly Sunni state, he filled all key posts in the party, government, and armed forces with family loyalists from his community, which fanned sectarian division.