THREAD: The short-lived Damascus Spring (2000-1):

After Hafez al-Assad died in 2000, there was a brief period of open and public forum in Syria, especially after Bashar had emphasized themes of reform in his inaugural address. Immediately, citizens began to test the limits of what could now be publicly said and done.

Shortly after, Riad Sief, a businessman who owned the Adidas franchise in Syria, opened up his home in Damascus as a 'forum' for open political discussions. After the news spread, ordinary Damascenes began to do the same. Many felt as if there was a 'fresh breeze' in the air.

In September 2000, 99 Syrian intellectuals and artists signed a petition in Beirut calling on the state to restore people’s freedoms and the rule of law. Among the signatories was philosopher Jalal al-Azm, poet Adonis, and playwright Mamdouh Adwan.

In January 2001, a new petition was signed but now by 1000 intellectuals. They demanded: the release of all political prisoners, the return of exiles, a law-abiding state, the official recognition of political pluralism, freedom of press, and no more supervision of public life.

They also announced the formation of a coordination committee to strengthen civil society in Damascus. Print media also became more pluralistic. Ali Farzat, a cartoonist, obtained a license to publish the first publication independent of the Ba'ath titled “The Lamplighter.”

By March 2001, the Syrian regime realized that the liberalization of political life was getting completely out of hand. Modernizing authoritarian structures were one thing, but allowing public debate to continue without any limits threatened to undermine the system altogether.

Towards the end of that spring, Bashar al-Assad warned that public criticism of the system would no longer be allowed, specifically discussions about national unity, sectarianism, the Ba’ath’s lead prominence, and the legacy of his father.

The final blow came after Mustafa Tlas, the defence minister, stated, “We will not accept that anybody take the power from us, because it comes from the barrel of the gun, and we are its masters.”

This was the beginning of the end: Homes were raided, the forums were shut down, signatories of the petitions were arrested, and moves by independent parliamentarians to form a non-Baathist voting block were stopped. What had been described as a "fresh breeze" was no more.

Symbolizing the end of a brief moment of hope, cartoonist Farzat remarked, "We are like someone in the bathroom who finds the water is hot one minute and cold the next […] Change is there, but it has been overshadowed by what remains the same."