Damascus: Government reshuffle is by the end of year

Well-informed sources in Damascus said that the forthcoming reshuffle in Syria is postponed until the end of the current year.

The sources indicated that the possibility of the government reshuffle postponed until the end of the current year, as it has become possible to start reforms inside the Baath Party in light of the debate on the role of the party in the authority, and the possibility of convening a Baath Party regional congress before its set date in 2004, in a way that coincides with the government's reshuffle.

The sources added that "any governmental change that will take place now will not be enough for the needed fundamental change, and will be then made at a weak level, as main seats will be preserved. A mater which pushed towards the postponement of the reshuffle, waiting for a clearer picture for what is wanted by the rule at the internal level."

The sources indicated that any special meeting for the Syrian people's assembly ( parliament) is linked to the rapid declaration of urgent new and needed laws and regulations.