Public Funds “Squandered”

SMN No. 7, August 2, 2010

Coinciding with the tenth anniversary of Bashar al-Assad becoming president of Syria, a blogger wrote an open letter to Assad deploring the squandering of public funds on official ceremonies. In a July 22 post, the “Returning to God” blogger wrote that he very much admired Assad and approved of his presidency, but criticised officials accusing them of corruption.

The blogger said that a significant proportion of the state budget was wasted on commemorations and that much of this money went into the pockets of officials.

He said officials deceive the president by persuading him that posting photographs of him on the streets would make him more respected and loved. He cited a huge portrait of the president displayed on a government institution, which he claimed cost much more than it should have done, as an example of the mismanagement of funds.

The blogger also scorned the extravagance of the tenth anniversary of Assad’s presidency, criticising in particular the hoisting of a giant flag in the Tishreen public garden in Damascus. “What is the worth of a flag when it is raised above the bowed head of a citizen,” he wrote.

Notably, few Syrian bloggers commented on the tenth anniversary of Assad’s presidency. Most blogs and forums in Syria featured posts and comments on the ban of the full-face veil or the Niqab in universities.