On December 4, President Bush met in the White House with a few pro-democracy members of the Syrian opposition, including US-based Ammar Abdelhamid and former Syrian parliamentarian Mamoun Homsi, who currently lives outside of Syria. Homsi who signed the Damascus Declaration, was imprisoned in 2002 and sentenced to five years for his criticism of the Syrian mukhabarat and the perpetual “state of emergency” laws that govern Syria .
Few details of the meeting have emerged. Homsi and Abdelhamid are said to have advocated during the meeting for on behalf of applying US pressure on Syria on the human rights front.
The hourlong White House meeting clearly demonstrates President Bush’s ongoing commitment to democratic development in the region. Most interesting, however, was the timing of the meeting, just a week or so after the Annapolis conference that Syria –at the Administration’s behest–attended.
In the region, Syrian participation at Annapolis was taken as a signal that the US was ready to start dealing again with Damascus . For Washington ‘s allies in Lebanon –the March 14th led Government–the invite to Damascus was a sign of impending abandonment. The day after Annapolis , March 14th agreed to compromise with Hizballah in the selection of a Presidential candidate.
There is little doubt that President Bush is sympathetic to these pro-democracy Syrian oppositionists. But the timing of this meeting suggests the White House is looking to do some damage control vis-a-vis Syria . Annapolis was a great blow to US allies in Beirut and the Syrian opposition. Sadly, this largely symbolic Administration gesture comes a little late.
This past week, the Damascus Declaration group in Syria elected a new leadership. Hopefully in the coming months, the Administration will do more than just issuing a perfunctory statement in support of this democratically-minded opposition. Homsi and Abdelhamid’s message on human rights in Syria would be a good start.
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