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Source: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_ID=12608
Syria's Salvation is Through Reform
(Daily Star-Lebanon) Ammar Abdulhamid - Syria's only real card now is a credible process of political reform. This should involve such "radical" steps as establishing a dialogue with opposition parties and dissidents inside and outside the country, freeing all political prisoners, lifting the state of emergency, and adopting a national reconciliation pact that can accommodate Syria's diverse ethnic, religious, and political groups. Only such a process would enable the Syrian regime to break out of its isolation, regain international legitimacy, and become an active participant in the emerging order in the Middle East. The writer, a Syrian novelist and social analyst based in Damascus, is coordinator of the Tharwa Project that seeks to bring greater awareness of the living conditions of minority groups in the Arab world.