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Syria's Cult of the Dead Still Rules the Living

(The Australian) Nicolas Rothwell - Safe in their mountain mausoleum at Qardaha lie the bodies of Syria's former strongman, president Hafez Al-Assad, alongside his beloved son and intended political heir Basel, who died in a car crash a decade ago. Dead, but far from forgotten, the cult of the two Assads overshadows today's president, Bashar Al-Assad, the old leader's second son. Pictures and posters of Hafez gazing benignly over his country are still omnipresent four years after his death, as are gigantic statues of the man, poised in city squares or on strategic hilltops. Basel is also constantly depicted, his face shown bearded and with dark shades on the windscreens of cars and trucks, on signs along the highways, at the entrance arches to factories and military bases across the nation. (The Australian)
2004-10-29 00:00:00
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