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Syria
Area: 185,180 sq kms (71,498 sq miles)
Population: 18.6 million
Capital City: Damascus
People: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians and others 9.7%
Language(s): Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, some French and English.
Religion(s): Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite 11%, Druze and other Muslim sects 5%, Christian (various)10%. About 100 Jews remain in Syria.
Currency: Syrian Pound (also called Lira – LSYR).
Major political parties: Ba'ath Party
Head of State: Lt-Gen Dr Bashar al-Asad
Prime Minister/Premier: Engineer Mohammad Naji Al-Otri
Foreign Minister: Mr Walid al-Muallam
Membership of international groups/organisations: Arab League (AL), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Intergovernmental Group of 24 (G-24), Group of 77 at the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Criminal Court (ICC), International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Intelsat, Interpol, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Organisation of Islamic Conference(OIC), OAPEC, United Nations (UN), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Trade Organisation (WTO).
GEOGRAPHY
Syria shares a northern border with Turkey, in the east and southeast with Iraq, in the south with Jordan and in the west with Lebanon and Israel. Syria's most contentious boundary is with Israel, where the latter has occupied Syrian territory, the Golan, since 1967. Israel formally annexed the Golan in 1981. Syria also has a short Mediterranean coastline of some 193 km between Lebanon and Turkey.
HISTORY
Recent History
History since Independence
Syria gained independence from the French in 1946. Arab defeat at the hands of Israel she experienced a series of short-lived military governments, followed, between 1958 and 1961, by an unsuccessful experiment of Union with Nasser's Egypt. In 1963 the Baath, a revolutionary party based on the ideas of Arab nationalism and socialism, seized power. In 1966 a radical wing of the Party seized control, expelling the original founders of the Party who eventually established themselves in Iraq, instituting a rivalry between Damascus and Baghdad which has persisted ever since. The radicals then moved closer to Moscow, adopting leftist policies which isolated Syria from many of her neighbours.
In November 1970 the radicals were ousted by Hafez al-Asad, then Minister of Defence, at the head of a more moderate and pragmatic section of the Baath. He repaired Syria's relations with her neighbours, and in 1972 introduced a Constitution under which elections had to be held both for a National Assembly and for the Presidency. Voted in as President he ruled the country until his death on 10 June 2000.
POLITICS
Recent Political Developments
Dr Bashar al-Asad was groomed for the Presidency since 1994 following the death of his elder brother Basil, when he was recalled from London where he had been studying ophthalmology to begin military training. Bashar al-Asad was formally inaugurated as President on 17 July 2000 following a referendum which confirmed him as President elect with over 97% support. Since his succession, Bashar has reiterated his desire for Syrian modernisation. He has stated that he is committed to fulfilling his father's legacy by achieving peace with Israel, but since the start of the second Intifada in October 2000 prospects for achieving this have dwindled and the newspapers are filled daily with strongly anti-Israeli rhetoric. He has implemented the first tentative steps towards economic and social reform, but progress is slow. There were some indications of political reform: political discussion groups, for example, were allowed to meet. But there has since been a stifling of this progress, for example freedom of expression and association is limited. The human rights situation has further deteriorated this year (see below).
The most recent government reshuffle took place in February 2006. The Baath Party retained command of the most important Ministries - Interior, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Education, Economy and Finance. Foreign Minister Shara'a was appointed Vice-President and was succeeded by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem. After sitting vacant for some months after the suicide of Major General Ghazi Kanaan, the position of Minister of Interior was filled by Major General Bassam Abdul Majed. Generally, the reshuffle saw a decrease in the number of independent ministers and an increase in the number of Baathist ministers.
At the Tenth Baath Party Congress in June 2005, recommendations were made for a move toward a social market economy, a new parties law, a revision of the constitution and emergency law. The Congress also acknowledged the need to resolve the Kurdish issue. There has been little action since the Congress.
The Baath party itself was restructured to allow President Bashar a freer hand to implement his reforms. Aside from the reshuffle there is little evidence to suggest this has been the case.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$23 billion
GDP per head: US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1,278
Annual Growth: 5%
Inflation: 7%
Major Industries: Syrian exports: Syrian exports: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$6.2 billion in 2002 compared to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$4.8 billion in 2000. Oil accounts for between 55 and 60% of Syria's total export earnings. Other exports include textiles, cotton, petroleum, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, agricultural produce and animals. Imports: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$4.9 billion in 2002. Machinery, food, transport equipment, chemicals and metals.
Major trading partners: Exports: Germany 21%, Italy 18%, Turkey 10%, France 6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Lebanon 5%. Imports: Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 6%, Korea 6%.
Exchange rate: 1US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$ = 51 SYP
The economy is a high priority for President Bashar. He has begun moving Syria away from a centrally-controlled economy with a cautious opening up of the banking sector and a serious effort to attract foreign investment (outside the oil sector, which has always been a special case and dependent on foreign investment).
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Syria's Relations with Neighbours
Syria has good and growing relations with Iran, including on defence ties, and the two signed a memorandum of defence understanding in June 2006. On 21 November 2006 Syria and Iraq signed an agreement to restore diplomatic relations almost 25 years after they cut diplomatic ties. In January 2007 Prime Minister Talabani visited Damascus, the first visit of an Iraqi Prime Minister since Iraqi Independence
In October 1998, Turkey threatened military action against Syria, in frustration at alleged long-term Syrian hospitality for Kurdish PKK terrorist groups active against Turkey. The dispute appears to have been resolved diplomatically, with Syria meeting most of the Turkish demands. Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul, visited Damascus in November 2005 following visits by Turkish President Sezer (April 2005), Turkish Prime Minister Recap Tayyip Erdogan (December 2004), and Bashar's visit to Ankara in January 2004. This increase in high-level contacts between the two countries has produced water and economic agreements.
Syrian intervention in Lebanon during the 1980s brought an end to the civil war in that country. By September 2004, Syria still had a military force of approximately 15,000 men in Lebanon and commanded a high degree of influence there.
UN Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted on 2 September 2004, required all foreign forces, including intelligence and security personnel, to withdraw from Lebanon; and for all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias to be disarmed. Following the bombing in Beirut on 14 February 2005 that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri there was increased international pressure on Syria to comply fully with the demands of UNSCR 1559. The UN Secretary General's Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen announced on 3 April 2005 that Syrian had agreed to a total military and intelligence withdrawal from Lebanon by the end of April 2005. The UN confirmed that all Syrian troops had departed by the end of April.
Syria is suspected of involvement in the murder of the Rafic Hariri. On 7 April 2005, UNSCR 1595 was passed which mandated the establishment of a UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), into the attack. UNIIIC's interim report of 20 October 2005 indicated that it was unlikely that the murder of Hariri could have been carried out without the knowledge of Syrian intelligence. UNSCR 1636 of 31 October 2005 required Syria to cooperate with the UNIIIC. The UNIIC's report of 12 December 2005 stated that 19 Syria and Lebanese suspects had been identified, though it did not name them.
UNSCR 1644 of 15 December 2005 extended the UNIIIC’s mandate until 15 June 2006 as its investigation had not reached the point where it could be handed over to the Lebanese authorities. UNSCR 1644 also requested that the UN Secretary-General make recommendations on whether the UNIIIC’s mandate be broadened to cover all political attacks since October 2004 (the date of the first attack on a Lebanese politician opposed to Syrian involvement since the adoption of UNSCR 1559). A further recommendation was also made that the UNSG report on whether there should be international involvement in the trial of those accused of the murder of Hariri.
Syria's Relations with the International Community
The EU has diplomatic and conomic relations with Syria. The European Council approved the Commission's negotiating mandate in December 1997 and negotiations for an Association Agreement between the EU and Syria started in May 1998. In April 2000, Syria ratified the MEDA framework agreement freeing-up the potential for Euro 100m development funds. Following lengthy discussions, an EU Association Agreement was initialled between the EU and Syria in Brussels on 19 October 2004. Once signed and ratified the Association Agreement will lead to progress towards liberalisation of the Syrian economy in the longer term.
Middle East Peace Process
President Bashar al-Asad claims to be committed to fulfilling his father's legacy by achieving peace with Israel. Though Syria's support for Palestinian rejectionist groups is seen by many to directly contradict this aim, Syria has said that if the Roadmap for Peace is acceptable to the Palestinians then it is acceptable to Syria. President Asad has sought a bigger role for the EU, rather than the United States, in the MEPP.
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