Page "Politics of Syria" Paragraph 3

There was a surge of interest in political reform after Bashar al-Asad assumed power in 2000.

Human rights activists and other civil society advocates, as well as some Parliamentarians, became more outspoken during a period referred to as " Damascus Spring " ( July 2000-February 2001 ).

Asad also made a series of appointments of reform-minded advisors to formal and less formal positions, and included a number of similarly oriented individuals in his Cabinet.

The arrest and long-term detention of two reformist Parliamentarians, Ma ’ mun al-Humsy and Riad Seif, in August and September 2001, respectively, and the apparent marginalizing of some of the reformist advisors in the past four years, indicate that the pace of any political reform in Syria is likely to be much slower than the short-lived Damascus Spring promised.