Groundwork Laid for Son to Succeed Assad

Tens of thousands of grief-stricken young Syrians dressed in black filled the streets of this capital Sunday to mourn President Hafez Assad and chant fealty to his son Bashar, who was hastily put in command of the armed forces, an important step in consolidating his hold on power.

The appointment of the 34-year-old as army chief after an immediate promotion from colonel to lieutenant general was a precursor to his investiture as president. The move, one day after his father’s death, seemed aimed at heading off any possible dissent among the officer corps during the two weeks before the presidency is to be voted on by parliament June 25.

In another sign that the military was falling in line, Defense Minister Mustafa Talas and top officers met with Bashar Assad on Sunday and “pledged their loyalty,” Syria’s official news agency reported.

Although Syria is nominally a republic, the transition of power looked more like a dynastic coronation in the making, as the Baath Party leadership announced that Assad is its only candidate for president, meaning his election by the Baath-controlled parliament is guaranteed.

“The regional command has recommended comrade Bashar al-Assad for the job of president, and the nomination will be sent to parliament to continue the procedural action,” a Baath Party source told news agencies.

Once the nomination is approved, the constitution requires a referendum in which the public would validate or reject the choice. In the past, President Assad carried such unopposed plebiscites with 99% of the vote.

Meanwhile, preparations continued for a massive state funeral for Assad on Tuesday that will be held in two stages, first in Damascus, where prayers will be said and the public will be invited to pay its last respects, and then in the small northwestern village of Qurdaha, where Assad grew up.

Arab leaders, European dignitaries and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright are expected to attend the funeral. Assad is expected to be laid to rest in the same rococo mausoleum in Qurdaha in which his first son, Basil, who was killed in a car accident in 1994, now lies.

Guests at all of the capital’s four- and five-star hotels were ordered by the government to vacate their rooms in order to make space for the influx of VIPs. At one of the city’s top hotels, even the general manager was told to abandon the suite of rooms where he lives full time with his family, hotel staff said.

The announcement that Bashar Assad would become the army commander was made by Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam, a longtime ally of the late Assad who has assumed the role of caretaker leader of the country during the transition.

Assad’s nomination for the presidency was made by the Baath Party regional command, which met Saturday and Sunday.

The nomination is expected to be formally approved Saturday, when the Baath Party holds its previously scheduled general conference, the first in 15 years. Before the Syrian ruler’s death, the conference had been expected to name Bashar Assad as a vice president only.

It took parliament only a few hours after Hafez Assad’s death Saturday to amend the constitution, lowering the age of eligibility for president from 40 to 34.

The mourners in the streets, with their black-ribboned portraits of the late president and their professions of loyalty to his son, underlined that the younger Assad is a popular choice for a country still coming to grips with the loss of its leader of three decades.

Many people emphasized the desire for stability.

“The rule of Hafez Assad was the only one suited to our country, and Bashar has studied in that school,” said Kamel Mitry, a 33-year-old scouting leader from Damascus’ Sahaneyah neighborhood. “So he will carry with him the wishes of Hafez Assad along with his own new ideas.”

The emotions felt by Syrians, who first learned of the death of Assad in a public announcement at 6 p.m. Saturday, seemed to swell hour by hour Sunday.

Small, spontaneous processions of mourning near the late president’s residence and Shamia Hospital, where his remains await Tuesday’s funeral, grew dramatically after nightfall Sunday. At about 11 p.m., a parade of thousands filled the wide avenue that links the center of old Damascus to modern Omayyed Square, site of the National Theater and the Hafez Assad Library.

School brass bands played dirges, and the sad throbbing of drums continued into the hours before dawn today.

Although Sunday is normally the busy first day of the workweek in Syria, all offices, restaurants and shops were closed, creating somewhat of a ghost-town feeling, except for the processions of grief. Buses and cars already were arriving from throughout the country carrying people planning to attend the funeral.

The government has decreed a 40-day mourning period, although most commerce is expected to resume after the rites.

There was no obvious sign of discord or tension on the streets, but police and army troops were out in greater numbers than usual. At the edge of Assad’s neighborhood, elite soldiers carrying AK-47 rifles lined the sidewalks and prevented anyone from entering.

Many of the marchers carried black flags and black-and-white banners with quotations from the Koran. Some doffed their shirts or tied black headbands around their foreheads. One young man had stenciled a black portrait of Assad onto his bare chest and stomach.

“We are very sad,” said Mohammed Sabah, 24, a Yemeni visitor to Damascus. “Every day and today, Hafez Assad lives among us, and he will continue. Historically, he is a very important person for all the Arabs.”

Mourners praised the late leader’s strength of character and his refusal to compromise on basic issues, and they said they expect the same of Bashar.

“He goes the same way as his father, and it is the right way for Syria,” said a 32-year-old employee of Syrian Airlines, who gave her name only as Violet.

An ethnic Kurd, Dareh Barakat, from near Aleppo in northern Syria, chased after an American reporter because he wanted to express his gratitude to the late Assad for his treatment of minorities.

“Syria is very good for the Kurds, not like Iraq,” Barakat said. “Kurds and [Arab] Muslims, we are like brothers, and we loved our president because of this.”

Chants ranged from exhortations to the late president--”Assad, you have not died!”--to vows to defend Bashar. “Bashar, do not fear, the people are behind you!” one woman shouted near Tishreen Garden. “With our soul and our blood we will redeem you, O Bashar!” other marchers called.

Two English literature students at Damascus University, Ali Kabalani and Amr Bitar, said exams had been canceled because of the death.

“I feel empty,” said Kabalani, who heard the news of the death while riding Saturday evening in one of the white minibus taxis that ply the streets here in search of passengers. He said he looks forward to Bashar’s rule, citing the younger Assad’s role in introducing the Internet to Syria over the past two years. “He encourages the young, and he encourages the opening of the economy.”

“Please write that Hafez Assad was like our father,” said Bitar. “We have lost our daddy.”

In addition to the scenes of sorrow on the streets, Syrian state television brought the mourning into almost every home, devoting its entire broadcast to hagiographic depictions of Assad.

Throughout the Arab world, other broadcasters also played mourning music or featured readings from the Koran out of respect for Assad, whose political philosophy was rooted in a belief that all Arabs were part of one nation.

The state-controlled newspapers in Syria published lavish official eulogies. “Sadness is in the heart of every man, woman and child,” read one. “The legacy of his accomplishments and ideas is a planet that will shine not just on this generation, but also on coming generations.”

Meanwhile, the Greek Orthodox patriarch asked parish priests across Syria to include special prayers for Assad in their sermons.

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MIDEAST PONDERS FUTURE

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