Syria Honours Assad in Massive State FuneralHundreds of thousands of Syrians massed in Damascus on Tuesday to bid farewell to Hafez al-Assad, the only leader most of them have ever known.With his son and successor Bashar walking behind the coffin of the president who died last Saturday, the procession left his palace for Umayyad Square at 8 am local time (0500 gmt). Traffic was halted several km from the square where the main ceremony in Damascus was scheduled, with roads jammed with crowds marching to the site from just after dawn. At the airport, foreign dignitaries continued to arrive to be taken to a hilltop palace where they will pay their last respects and have a chance to meet Assad's son Bashar, who has been designated as the successor. The body of the uncompromising leader, who carved for Syria a role far larger than its military power or state-dominated economy justified, was carried by mourners from the presidential palace toward the main Umayyad square where the greatest crowds had assembled. Soldiers with AK-47 assault rifles lined the route from the palace to the square. The crowd chanted: "God almighty, preserve us President Bashar." It will then be taken atop a gun carriage to the Palace of the People, a huge complex overlooking Damascus that Assad used for state functions but rarely stayed in. His body will lie in state for five hours for foreign dignitaries to pay their respects and will then be flown to an airport near his home village of Qardaha. After prayers, Assad is to be buried in the family cemetery, probably next to his eldest son Basel who died in a car accident in 1994. This led Assad to turn to Bashar, who was studying opthalmology in London, and make him heir apparent. Syrians will be mourning the autocrat who brought them stability but little economic prosperity. The rest of the Arab world will be watching the funeral of the man who refused to compromise with Israel despite Western pressure and increasing isolation. |
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