In the Lion's Den_ An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle With Syria - Andrew Tabler [52]
She then added that the political committee had discussed a new media law that would help “change Syria’s image” abroad. The private sector would be allowed to set up satellite TV and radio stations, Internet services, and other electronic media. Last but not least, Shaaban said the name of the Baath Party would stay the same.
After making her statements, Shaaban was bombarded with questions about Khaddam’s resignation as well as basic questions on what she’d said in her statement.
“My words from earlier today were clear about the VP,” she said. “You will get answers to all your questions. On the final day, we will tell you everything.”
That event was essentially the last major happening until the final press conference on June 9, following the closing ceremony. It did not seem so at the time, so I continued to monitor Syrian TV around 2:30 PM and 9:30 PM each day. The much-promised broadcasts of committee sessions were in fact only ten-minute excerpts and were not worth following, and the first press conference that day was canceled. On June 8, the 9:30 PM press conference was not convened. Those conferences that were held featured no major announcements, other than the creation of the Higher Media Council to help promote media expansion and modernization through greater private-sector participation. And the promised simultaneous translation services at press conferences never appeared.
The net effect of the lack of coherent information coming out of the conference was the inability of any of the army of foreign correspondents to produce stories. In fact, by the end of day two, most didn’t even go to the center. Wire services such as Reuters ran small stories on the decision to privatize loss-making companies, but major newspapers like the New York Times failed to cover the conference. It was, as one correspondent told me, a “missed event.” After all, as most of them argued, how can you write about something you cannot understand?
Cut to 3:30 PM on Thursday, June 9, the conference’s final day. My mobile rang.
“Ministry of Information says the conference ends today,” Othaina said, referring to speculation that the event might drag on until Saturday. “The press conference is scheduled for 7 PM.”
Finally, I thought. Then I engaged in an internal debate about whether to actually attend the conference or not. After a few hours of wavering, I decided not to make the trip out to the media center. I knew very well that the chances the press conference would be delayed, or not held at all, were high. I had a number of journalist friends working for wire services for whom attendance was mandatory, so I asked one of them to call me if something happened. That evening, I sat in my living room reading about the recently returned Lebanese leader Michel Aoun.
I fell asleep around 10:30 PM, papers scattered around me. Around 11:15 PM, my mobile rang. It was my friend—the much-awaited press conference was about to finally happen. I tuned in.
Bouthaina Shaaban strolled out to the press conference table, smiling and greeting people as she sat down. By the look on her face, I could tell the message was going to be short and sweet.
“We have so much ground to cover, it is impossible for me to give you everything now,” Shaaban told those in attendance. So much for her promises all week that everything would be crystal clear at the end.
“These recommendations cover all the life domains,” Shaaban said. “The economic committee took a long time in its deliberations and decided Syria would have a social-market economy. We will have an independent commission to combat corruption in order to attract more Arab