Syria Govt Confident in Outlasting Protesters

Mass Arrests Continue, But Can They Stop the Calls for Reform?

Syrian officials are expressing growing confidence in their ability to defeat an escalating number of protests calling for democratic reform. A top regime spokesmen today said she believed the “most dangerous moment” had passed, and that the “end of the story” was near.

The comments come as the nation’s military is becoming increasingly proactive in taking to the streets of major cities, with thousands reportedly arrested between the cities of Homs and Baniyas.

The mass arrests and hundreds of deaths in the protests have so far not had a deleterious effect on the anti-regime rallies, and indeed many of the largest marches come in the wake of major violence.

Officials seem quite certain that they can weather this storm, but it does not seem their crackdowns will be able to stop the calls for reform. Even more serious is the long-term resentment the death tolls have caused across the nation, which could make this an issue for the Assad government for years.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.