GOBAL POST: Syrians are watching Egypt's popular uprising carefully.
DAMASCUS, Syria -- In one of Old Damascus’ new cafes the text messages buzzed between mobile phones in quick succession, drawing woops of joy and thumbs up from the astonished Syrians.
Suzan Mubarak, wife of the reviled Egyptian president, had flown into exile with her son, so the rumours went, driven out of the country by days of unprecedented protest against the 30-year rule of her husband, President Hosni Mubarak.
The news from Cairo has brought with it a flutter of excitement to this country, founded on principles so similar to Egypt that the two nations were once joined as one.
Like Egypt, Syria has been ruled for decades by a single party, with a security service that maintains an iron grip on its citizens. Both countries have been struggling to reform economies, stifled for generations by central control, in an effort to curb unemployment among a ballooning youth demographic.
Could the domino effect that spread from the streets of Tunis to Cairo soon hit Damascus? >>> Hugh Macleod | Sunday, January 30, 2011
