DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Sobhi Zayyat, a pseudonym for power tools dealer, was surprised when he saw children wearing Ba’ath Party-style clothes, which is consisted of a brown short and a yellow T-shirt bearing the logo of the Ba’ath Party in a scene that goes back to the past decades.
“Ba’ath Party’s mentality has not changed that caused the current crises we have been facing,” Zayyat said.
During the past two months, many residents of Damascus and its countryside have expressed their anger and resentment of a number of partisan activities which the Ba’ath Party has conducted in the streets of Damascus and the towns of its countryside.
These activities came to urge the citizens to participate in the presidential elections in light of the deteriorating living conditions and the government’s failure to improve them.
Tomorrow, the presidential elections will be held in Syria, where both Abdullah Salloum Abdullah and Mahmoud Mer’i were accepted for running for the presidency alongside the current president, Bashar al-Assad.
Yesterday, the Syrian capital, Damascus, witnessed an intense security deployment two days before the start of the Syrian presidential elections.
The security deployment concentrated on the main streets of Damascus by means of fixed patrols and in side streets by means of mobile patrols.
Some attributed the security presence to the government’s desire to maintain security and stability during the elections, while others believed that it is an attempt to pressure the residents to participate in the elections.
“Forced participation”
Sarmat Aklah, a pseudonym for an employee at the Directorate of the Central Students’ Affairs, could not believe that the “Ba’ath Party, even after its neutralization from the leadership of the state and society, is still able to impose such practices on state employees and institutions in full view of all.”
Aklah was forced to participate in the presidential campaign prepared by the Ba’ath Party to support the public participation in the upcoming presidential elections in Baramkeh neighborhood.
“Seven years have passed since the last time we were forced to participate in the electoral rallies, and because of what had happened then, I thought they will not repeat it again,” she added.
“Those responsible for the campaign came accompanied by security forces, who we do not know which security branch they are affiliated with, as if the past ten years had not happened, and as if everything that happened did not concern them,” she noted.
After a popular referendum, the constitution of 2012 approved the abolition of Article 8 of the old constitution, which gives the Ba’ath Party the absolute power to lead the state and society after 55 years of this privilege.
Old practices
Youssef Madkhana, a pseudonym for a textile merchant, said he is thankful to God that he is not an employee in one of the state institutions, “Even my children are enrolled in a private school.”
“A number of workers came, accompanied by security forces, and spread posters and announcements related to participating in the elections throughout the market and on the doors of our shops without even taking our opinions into consideration,” he added.
Since the beginning of this month, images of promoting to participate in the elections have stormed the entire streets of Damascus. All billboards, sidewalks and streets were used for the purpose of participating in the elections.
“What happens is a shame. They gather the residents for something they do not want amid harsh conditions for all Syrians,” he referred.
He pointed out that the Ba’ath Party “has not changed its old mentality, as it gathers school children, university students and employees and forces them to chant slogans and songs that honor the presidency, amid an intense security presence punctuated by shooting.”