Human Rights Watch Report on Syria -- Nov. 99 to Oct.2000 
Syrian Civil Society Forums - -
Recommended Articles and Reports 
Arabic version 
--- English version
Amnesty International Annual Report 2000 -- Syria English text
The Economist Intelligence Unit: Syria Country Report – January 2001 (pages might take few minutes to load)
Main Report ----- Update – 8 February 2001
see also The Economist Intelligence Unit: Syria Country Risk Service – 17 November 2000
Syria after Hafez al-Assad, by Samir Qussayr (Al-Nahar 2000 Special Supplement; in Arabic)
Syria in Lebanon, by Nabil Boumonsef (Al-Nahar 2000 Special Supplement 2000; in Arabic)
29 November, 2000 Censored speach of Member of Parliament Riad Seif
16 November, 2000: Is Syria really changing? (The Economist)
16 November, 2000: Analysis: Bashar's slow, steady start (by BBC News Online's Martin Asser)
The European Union's Relations with Syria - an overview
(November 2000)
28 September 2000:
Peace walks on water (The Economist)
4 September 2000: The Rough Road to Reform: Changing Syria's economy will be a daunting task for the new President (BusinessWeek)
1 September 2000: Syria: Bashar's challenge (The Economist Intelligence Unit)
29 July 2000: Syria's changing face (BBC News)
17 July 2000: Bashar's first policy speech: Excerpts (BBC News) Click here for Arabic text
17 July 2000: Inauguration Speach of President Bashar Al-Assad to the Syrian Parliament (SANA; full text in Arabic)
Syria: the rise and rise of Doctor Bashar (L'ascension programmée du « docteur Bachar » en Syrie) (by Alain Gresh, Le Monde Diplomatique, July 2000; in French)
28 June 2000: Riad Turk, leader of the Syrian Communist Party "I will not vote for Bachar El Assad" (Interview by Gilles Paris,
Le Monde, June 28 2000)
French text (click here for English translation)
21 June 2000: Analysis: The rise and rise of Bashar (by Barbara Plett, BBC News)
Al-Jazeera TV -- Special programmes following the death of Hafez Al-Assad and the election of Bashar Al-Assad to the presidency (full transcripts; in Arabic)
The Future of Syria after Hafez Al-Assad
13 June 2000: Analysis: Bashar's challenges (by BBC News Online's Martin Asser)
Power Inheritance in Syria and the Arab World
Bashar Al-Assad's ability to govern Syria
12 June 2000: Syria: A testing time (The Economist Intelligence Unit)
11 June 2000: Bashar al-Assad: Eyeing the future (by BBC News Online) Click here for Arabic text
11 June 2000: What now for Syria? (by BBC News Online's Tarik Kafala) Click here for Arabic text
The Cabinet of Mustafa Mero Click here for a detailed profile of each minister (Arabic)
Text of the Draft Peace Treaty between Syria and Israel (presented by the Clinton Administration following the Sheperdstown negociations in January 2000)
Click here for the full text
Water resources in Syria (AQUASTAT, FAO, March 1997) Click here
The Constitution of Syria (Adopted on: 13 March 1973) Full text in English
Azmi Bisharah: Civil Society in the Middle East Text in Arabic
Waddah Sharah: on Arab Civil Society (Al-Hayat, 12 March 2001; in Arabic) Text in Arabic
Civil Society and the changing role of the State: the Moroccan example (Mohammad Barout, Al-Hayat, 12 March 2001; in Arabic)Text in Arabic
Michaelle Browers: Civil Society and New Trends in Arab Leftist Discourse (An Abstract) International Gramsci Society Newsletter Number 8 (May, 1998): 17-18
