The Endgame That Wasn’t
NEED TO KNOW
The Endgame That Wasn’t
SYRIA
Syrian voters will elect their members of parliament on July 15 – or at least some of them will.
That’s because polls are only open to those voters who live in territory under the control of President Bashar Assad, which is most of Syria – but not all of it.
As a result, the elections arguably will be a sham, according to the Atlantic Council, writing that they are designed to legitimize Assad’s bloodthirsty regime under the Baath Party as slivers of the country remain in revolt against the central government. “The polls will be held again against a backdrop of massive displacement, unresolved conflict, partial occupation, and an intransigent regime,” the American think tank said.
Meanwhile, rebel leaders have called on Syrians to boycott the election, reported Asharq al-Awsat, a pan-Arab newspaper headquartered in London. The rebels now control only a small amount of territory since Assad, with the help of Russia and Iran, largely defeated them in recent years.
As the Voice of America wrote, the Syrian Civil War started in 2011 as a protest against Assad’s rule, then expanded until it consumed the country and region. As many as 600,000 people have died while 13 million are displaced, both within the country and outside of it. Most Arab countries, meanwhile, have abandoned efforts to reach an end to the fighting and welcomed Assad back into the fold.
World Politics Review referred to the situation as Syria’s “never-ending endgame.”
In this endgame, meanwhile, the economic situation remains dire for those who remain in Syria, where nine out of 10 people live below the poverty level: The United Nations says that more than 15 million Syrians, or 70 percent of the total population, need humanitarian assistance.
The economy is in shambles and inflation has raged out of control with the Syrian pound losing 99.64 of its value against the dollar compared with its value pre-2011, according to Manaf Quman, an economics researcher at the Turkey-based Omran Center for Studies: “The value of Syrian currency has become less than it costs to print it.”
“A citizen lives most of the month on aid and money transfers from abroad, at a time when his salary is not enough to cover the costs of the first week of the month,” Quman said.
Karam Shaar, director of the Syria Program at the Observatory of Political and Economic Networks, told Syria Direct that the average Syrian’s living situation is “the worst since the beginning of the 20th century … and the threshold of how bad things get cannot be determined.”
Demonstrations against rising prices and inflation have triggered protests over the past year. It has also fueled emigration.
However, much of the world appears to be tiring of the situation, exhibiting the compassion fatigue that comes with holding out hope for Syria – or hosting its nationals. Recently, Agence France-Presse reported, mobs in central Turkey went on a rampage against Syrian-owned businesses after a Syrian man was accused of harassing a child. Consequently, in Afrin, a city in northern Syria, angry Syrians clashed with Turkish troops. Four died in the violence.
These tensions are likely one reason why Turkish leaders have sought to mend fences with Assad, but US officials have said they won’t accept the Syrian president’s legitimacy until they see him take steps to respect human rights and improve the lives of his people, wrote Rudaw, a Kurdish news broadcaster based in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the search for justice for the victims of the Syrian regime goes on.
French prosecutors also recently asked a court in their country to review an arrest warrant issued for Assad, based on his alleged role in war crimes including chemical attacks against his citizens in 2013, according to Radio France Internationale. The court upheld it.
Mazen Darwish, director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, told Al Jazeera that the decision “shows that there is no immunity when we are talking about crimes against humanity and using chemical weapons against civilians.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Testing the Waters
MALAYSIA
The government of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces instability after the parliamentary speaker ruled this week that six opposition lawmakers can retain their seats, a ruling that critics say contradicts the constitution’s “anti-party hopping law” (APHL), the South China Morning Post reported.
On Tuesday, Speaker Johari Abdul told the opposition party Bersatu that its former legislators can keep their seats. The lawmakers were sacked from Bersatu earlier this year for declaring their support for the prime minister in exchange for financial gains for their constituencies.
But Bersatu criticized the decision and said it would challenge the ruling, calling it a betrayal of constitutional amendments meant to prevent party switching.
Parliament passed the AHPL in 2022 to stop lawmakers from changing parties mid-term and prevent political instability after similar defections toppled the administration of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 2020.
Under the constitutional amendment, legislators who leave their party must vacate their seats unless they are expelled or the party dissolves. The six Bersatu lawmakers were deemed to have left the party after failing to retract their support for Anwar, following changes to Bersatu’s rules in April, the Straits Times explained.
But Johari’s ruling could now test the AHPL, with some legal scholars warning that this could create legal loopholes and diminish public confidence in the government. Political analyst Oh Ei Sun told the South China Morning Post that the anti-party hopping provisions offer the speaker broad discretion, potentially leading to partisan decisions that favor the government by protecting defectors – while penalizing government lawmakers who switch sides.
Even so, Anwar defended the decision, maintaining that the speaker acted lawfully and blamed the opposition for rejecting mandatory seat vacancies for expelled lawmakers during previous negotiations.
Anwar, who leads a fragile coalition, will present the 2025 budget in October. Despite holding a parliamentary supermajority, any vote against his budget that surpasses the opposition’s numbers in the legislature could be perceived as a challenge to his leadership.
A Little Respite
BELARUS
Belarus freed thousands of prisoners this month as part of a rare amnesty by President Alexander Lukashenko, a release that comes four years after the authoritarian leader launched a brutal crackdown following the 2020 presidential elections, Radio Free Europe reported.
Last week, the government announced that Lukashenko signed an amnesty bill that will affect 7,850 individuals. Under the bill, more than 2,090 people will be released, 800 will have the remainder of their suspended sentences commuted, and 4,550 others will have their terms cut by one year.
Lukashenko said those who are “seriously ill, mainly persons with cancer,” will be eligible for early release.
Among the released are five political prisoners, including Rygor Kastusev who ran against Lukashenko in the 2010 presidential election.
He was convicted in 2022 of conspiracy to seize power and sentenced to 10 years in prison. While in prison, he was diagnosed with cancer.
In 2020, mass protests erupted across Belarus after Lukashenko – who has been in power since 1994 – was declared the winner of that year’s presidential election. Protesters and opposition leaders claimed the election was rigged, prompting weeks of demonstrations against the longtime leader.
Belarusian authorities launched a violent crackdown on demonstrators, arresting thousands and forcing others into exile.
While human rights advocates and opposition leaders welcomed the releases, they warned that many others remain behind bars, the BBC noted.
The human rights group Viasna estimates that there are still more than 1,400 political prisoners held in Belarus. More than 250 of them are suffering from serious medical conditions or disabilities, according to the organization.
Meanwhile, Lukashenko warned that the amnesty will not apply “to persons involved in extremist and terrorist activities.” Since the crackdown four years ago, Belarusian authorities have added more than 4,000 people to the registry of extremists.
Before the 2020 polls and protests, Lukashenko had tried to maintain relations with the West and Russia, with observers noting that he would release political prisoners to thaw relations with the European Union.
However, he has become more reliant on Russia and tightened his grip on power after Western nations refused to recognize him as the country’s legitimate leader and issued sanctions against his regime.
The Other Old Guard
THAILAND
Thailand this week certified the results of its first Senate race since the 2014 military coup, with conservative lawmakers emerging as the biggest group and overshadowing candidates linked to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s ruling Pheu Thai Party, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
More than half of the 200 new senators have ties to the conservative Bhumjaithai party and its leader Anutin Charnivirakul, while only a dozen candidates are connected to Pheu Thai, according to political analysts.
The newly certified senators will replace the 250 military-appointed senators who have served since 2019. The election involved 46,000 applications from 20 civil and professional categories – but was not open to public voting. The process faced criticism for its lack of transparency, with more than 800 complaints pending investigation by the Election Commission, wrote the Associated Press.
Observers noted that Bhumjaithai’s dominance underscored a crucial victory for conservative factions, adding that it could influence future constitutional amendments and key appointments.
The new Senate – less dominated by the military but still conservative – will play a pivotal role in efforts to amend the military-backed constitution. These changes require support from at least a third of the upper house, a challenging threshold given past failures to secure sufficient Senate votes.
Though the Senate has lost its power to vote on the prime minister, it retains significant influence over the approval of legislation and constitutional amendments.
Analysts suggested the results could also alter the balance of power in the coalition government headed by Pheu Thai. With Prime Minister Srettha facing potential disqualification over an ethical violation, Anutin might become a leading contender for the premiership.
DISCOVERIES
Croaking Spas
Saunas are great for humans.
Turns out, they are pretty great for frogs, too.
In fact, a new study found that custom-built “frog saunas” can help the bouncy amphibians fight a deadly fungal disease.
Many frog species around the world are facing population decline, with one contributor being the chytrid disease: Believed to have originated in Asia, this ailment is caused by two species of fungi and is responsible for the decline of at least 500 amphibian species, including 90 species now presumed to be extinct.
The fungal disease can affect the amphibians’ skin and reduce the electrolytes they need for their heart function. Infected frogs can die of cardiac arrest.
Previous studies have found that the infection is worse during the winter, but the fungus cannot tolerate high temperatures.
So lead author Anthony Waddle and his team tested whether setting up frog saunas can help the amphibian fight off the infection.
“The whole thing is like a mini med spa for frogs,” Waddle said in a press release.
They built a series of small sunlight-heated saunas – or hotspot shelters – using common materials from hardware stores. They conducted their experiments on green and golden bell frogs, testing the artificial shelters’ effectiveness both in laboratory and outdoor settings.
The findings showed that animals using the saunas were able to shake off their infection quickly: Frogs cured with heat developed resistance to future infections, increasing their survival rate by a factor of 22 compared with those not previously infected.
Meanwhile, outdoor experiments with 239 frogs showed that they flocked to the sunny saunas to get their treatment.
“Think of frog saunas as little factories that pump out healthy, chytrid-resistant frogs,” Waddle wrote in the Conversation.
The authors believe that the DYI shelters can be used for other species, adding that they provide a promising and inexpensive strategy for amphibian conservation.
Frogs are vital to ecosystems by controlling disease-spreading insects and transferring energy between aquatic and terrestrial environments. They also offer potential medical benefits, such as combating antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
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