Pro-democracy protesters
Inside Story

Syria and the Arab League

After making a series of promises it has failed to keep, we ask if Damascus can keep up the rhetoric without delivering.

Syria has accepted an Arab League plan – calling for it to withdraw armoured vehicles from the streets and stop violence against protesters.

In a bid to end the country’s seven-month political crisis, the plan also calls for the release of all political prisoners. It wants dialogue with the opposition to start within two weeks.

However, the move has been met with deep scepticism by Syria’s opposition who said that the regime is just buying time. They accuse it of lying when it previously gave promises of reform, without implementing any change.

Buying time or giving in? After a series of failed promises, a cautious welcome with a sceptical question: Can Damascus keep the rhetoric with no action, and what is at stake?

Inside Story discusses with guests: George Jabbour, the president of the Syrian UN Association and a former advisor to former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad; Jawad Anani, a political analyst and former foreign minister of Jordan; and Gais Aljundi, an author and human rights activist.