AS SYRIAN President Bashar Al- Assad concluded his keynote address at the Baath Party conference it dawned on delegates, and the Syrian nation, that no radical political reform agenda was on offer. "President delivers speech on vital issues," proclaimed Monday's state run Syria Times. Yet Al- Assad's short speech made it clear that old Baathist principles would remain very much intact, with only a few hints of change emerging. "We believe that the ideas and teachings of the party are still relevant and current and respond to the interests of the people and the nation," Al-Assad told more than 1,200 Baath regional commanders. The three-day congress is a forum for ruling party officials throughout the country to confer on Baathist policies. It was the first party congress since Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime fell in 2003, and the second since Al- Assad took office. Promise of change was evident in the words of Al-Assad last March when he talked of a great leap forward for democratic reform in Syrian society. Analysts interpreted such language as a signal that the ruling Baath Party may in fact be ready to open the doors to political reform, with new policies ranging from clearing the way for multiple political parties to operate, guaranteeing civil liberties, reigning in the power of Syria's security forces, loosening the Baath Party's grip on the economy and bringing in new blood into the government. "It was disappointing," said Louay Hussein, a Syrian opposition activist. "The president did not follow up on his speech in March, when he promised significant reforms." Analysts said the lack of reference to political reforms in Al- Assad's speech was a reflection of Baath Party infighting over how far to move on such issues. The one and only change that took place was the announcement of Vice- President Abdul-Halim Khaddam's intention to resign. Rumours of Khaddam's resignation had been circulating even before the opening of the conference. Khaddam, who wielded considerable influence in Lebanon for many years as Syria's top official in the neighbouring state, was involved in political squabbling with Al-Sharaa, head of the political committee of the Baath Party, during the conference.
