SO THE SYRIANS ARE PAYING ATTENTION.

Indeed.

Three years after Bashar al-Assad took over as president, debate is hotting up on political reforms and the role of the Baath Party which has monopolised power in Syria for the past four decades.

"It would be better for the authorities, in step with society, to carry out comprehensive reforms on a national scale rather than introduce them under orders from abroad," author Michel Kilo said...

The leadership of the Baath Party, which has been in power since 1963, called in June for its members to stop meddling in the business of the executive branch...

(The party's) power base is Article 8 of the Syrian constitution which grants the Baath the role of "leader of society and state", a factor which Kilo says has contributed to the current crisis on both the political and economic fronts.

In an unprecedented move, Syria's official media said earlier this month the state-run economy cannot be restructured without major political reforms.

Syria must "separate the branches of power, find a new relationship between the Baath and the state, promote freedoms and pluralism, democratise society and the state, amend laws, reform the economy, combat corruption seriously," it said.

An-Nur pointed to disenchantment in society as the population's living standards continue to slide.

"Most Syrians no longer take seriously the promises of modernisation, development and reforms. They are virtually sure that such words are just an illusion and only aim to appease," it said.

Ten opposition figures who demanded more freedoms and tried to breath life into the reform process were arrested in summer 2001 and have been condemned to prison terms of up to 10 years.