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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/26/AR2010052600202.html
Reforms Transform Syrian Economy, But Not Politics
(AP-Washington Post) Hamza Hendawi - President Bashar Assad in recent years has slowly moved to lift Soviet-style economic restrictions his father, Hafez Assad, left him. But he has not matched his economic policies with any political reforms, and his powerful security services are in constant watch for criticism of the regime. Assad's feared security agencies keep a close watch on everyone, carefully combing Internet postings for criticism of the regime and any sign of religious militancy. Syrians say they are back to whispering again just as they were when they wanted to talk politics under the rule of the late Assad. After ten years of Assad's rule, Damascus now smells of money, gripped by a consumer boom sustained by a clique of nouveau riche. Foreign tourists crowd the old city's bazaar, hotels boast full occupancy and trendy restaurants are busy. Opening up a country economically while denying the populace democracy and freedoms is perhaps the Arab world's most popular formula of governance. Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan were pioneers in the field.