Outside the Beltway

“Day Of Rage” Protests Planned In Syria

Doug Mataconis · Tuesday, February 1, 2011 · 2 comments

A possible sign that the Middle East populist uprisings are spreading:

Syrians are organising campaigns on Facebook and Twitter which call for a “day of rage” in the capital Damascus this week, taking inspiration from Egypt and Tunisia in using social networking sites to rally their followers for sweeping political reforms.

Like Egypt and Tunisia, Syria suffers from corruption, poverty and unemployment, and all three nations have seen subsidy cuts on staples such as bread and oil.

Syria’s authoritarian president has resisted calls for political freedoms and jailed critics of his regime.

The main Syrian protest page on Facebook is urging people to protest in Damascus on February 4 and 5 in “a day of rage”, with the goal to “end the state of emergency in Syria and end corruption”.

The number of people who have joined Facebook and Twitter pages calling for protests on Friday and Saturday is still relatively small, and some are believed to live outside the country

This may not amount to anything, but even the mere possibility is astounding.

Via Twitter