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Syria has faced a chorus of criticism over its eight-month crackdown on opposition protesters that has left at least 3,500 people dead, according to sources reporting to the U.N. The calls from other key players in the region for the regime to step down, as well as the Arab League's suspension of the nation from the alliance, have put Syria at the top of the list of countries dealing with the possibility of civil war in the wake of unrest in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain. Syria's regime is showing no indication that it will soften its position, leaving many people asking whether President Bashar al-Assad is open to any outside influence. Today we're taking a look at the reads you need to dig a little bit deeper into the situation in Syria, a look at why the Arab League has gotten involved and where the country falls in comparison to the rest of the region dealing with the Arab Spring. Inside Syria's economic implosion Stephen Starr, a freelance journalist writing for Foreign Policy magazine, says Syria's economy is suffering because of the protest crackdowns and subsequent sanctions against the country, especially tourism.
But the business community, which Starr says has long had a good relationship with the regime, isn't exactly ready to challenge Assad. "A Quran sits atop a 4-foot Sony speaker in Wissam's modern Damascus office. It is 9 a.m., and Wissam, a stout 30-something businessman, seems flustered.
He arrived a little late for this interview, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead before sitting down next to a cabinet, where books authored by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett peek out. Wissam's company owns the import rights for Sony products in Syria, but he's unlikely to sell many speakers or flat-screen televisions in the near future. "Business activity has recovered slightly, but it is still down about 40 percent" since March, when the protests began, he said. "I think companies can survive another six or maybe even 12 months, but beyond that it will be impossible." Wissam, like others in his position, is trapped.
He recognizes the regime's actions have damaged the country's businesses, but feels powerless to do anything about it. "They feel they are under siege, and they won't be moved," he said, referring to the authorities. Syrian business leaders, with much to lose and deeply fearful of the regime's security apparatus, are unlikely to join the country's ongoing revolt anytime soon. Even the businessmen interviewed for this article blanched upon seeing their remarks about the dismal state of the Syrian economy in print, quickly requesting anonymity to express themselves freely. The government's rose-tinted pronouncements about the condition of Syrian finances aside, there is no doubt that the country's economy is in dire straits."
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