Syria's Cabinet Resigns as Regime Supporters Rally

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Syria's Cabinet Resigns as Regime Supporters Rally

Updated: Tuesday, 29 Mar 2011, 5:13 PM EDT

Published : Tuesday, 29 Mar 2011, 5:13 PM EDT

(Wall Street Journal) - DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria abolished its cabinet Tuesday

in response to more than a week of political turmoil, but opponents said the

move was not enough to satisfy their broad grievances against the government.

President Bashar al Assad accepted the resignation of his cabinet as mass

demonstrations took place in Damascus and in other cities in support of his

regime.

The pro-government protests, which university students and government employees

were obliged to attend, allowed the Syrian regime a way to concede from a

position of strength rather than weakness.

For more than a week, protests have rocked Syria from the southern city of Daraa

to the coastal city of Latakia, as thousands of people marched asking for

freedom and reform. Syrians appear emboldened by the wave of pro-democracy

uprisings across the Arab world.

Assad, facing the worst internal crisis of his 11 years in power, has pursued a

policy of repression and compromise as security forces have clamped down on

protesters while the government has announced a list of concessions.

Assad asked the resigned government to act as a caretaker until he names a new

cabinet, the Syrian official news agency SANA reported. Officials did not

announce a time frame for naming new cabinet members and did not suggest the

make-up of any new government.

Speaking to reporters in London during an international conference on Libya, US

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Assad to keep his promise to

liberalize Syria's repressive political system.

" It is up to the Syrian government, it is up to the leadership, starting with

President Bashar Assad, to prove that it can be responsive to the needs of its

own people, " Clinton said.

" So we're troubled by what we hear, but we're also going to continue to urge

that the promise of reform, which has been made over and over again ... will

actually be turned into reality. "

The announcement of the Syrian government's resignations sparked little

enthusiasm among opponents, compounded by the disappointment that Assad has not

yet addressed the nation personally to clarify the promises of reform.

The opposition says its grievances against the regime -- ranging from political

freedom to curbing corruption -- are broader than just a cabinet reshuffle.

" The government resigning is insignificant, " said one jobless man in Damascus.

" Everyone knows they have very little authority to act so it is only a

superficial change. "