Syrians are tired of Assad's 'reforms' - Fadwa al-Hatem

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/31/syrians-assad-bill-fair-elections?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fcommentisfree%2Frss+%28Comment+is+free%29

The inhabitants of villages such as Talbiseh, or Rastan – that is, those who have not fled for their lives yet – will most likely be unable to give their opinion regarding this bill.
They have been under tank and machine gun fire for the past few days while the Syrian military widens its crackdown against protesters throughout the country. If they are not as enthusiastic or grateful as they should be about this elections bill then surely they are forgiven. The family of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khatib, whose horribly mutilated body was handed back to them by the security services last week, can also be forgiven if they are not impressed in the slightest.