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International
Syria taking baby steps to lighten up
2002-01-08
  • Syria appears to be taking steps to allow a degree of secular opposition, while excluding the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. Eight Nasserist, Arab nationalist and Communist parties have been allowed to set up offices and publish their own newspapers, and they have been given access to campuses.
    Well, this is a good time to do it. Opening up political discussion across a narrow (but still wider) spectrum will let some of the pressure for change off the regime and might even lead to a two-party system - though not anytime soon and without any wide disparity between philosophies. Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood people aren't looking as good as they did a few months ago. People running around hollering "jihad" look a lot more like insular, brutal yokels than daring freedom fighters.
    • Posted by:Fred Pruitt

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