BEIRUT (AP)
-- Syria's embattled president already has a Facebook page, Twitter
account and a YouTube channel. Now Bashar Assad is turning to the
popular photo-sharing service Instagram in the latest attempt at
improving his image as his country burns, posting pictures of himself
and his glamorous wife surrounded by idolizing crowds.
The
photos show a smiling Assad among supporters, or grimly visiting
wounded Syrians in the hospital. He is seen working in his office in
Damascus, an Apple computer and iPad on his desk. His wife, Asma, who
has stayed largely out of sight throughout the conflict, features
heavily in the photos, casually dressed and surrounded by Syrian
children and their mothers.
The sophisticated
PR campaign is striking for an isolated leader who has earned near
pariah status for his military's bloody crackdown on dissent.
It
is also in stark contrast to the machinations of other dictators at the
center of Arab Spring revolts. While the ousted Egyptian and Libyan
leaders relied on antiquated methods such as state-run media to transmit
stilted propaganda, Assad - a 47-year-old British-trained eye doctor -
has increasingly relied on social media to project an image of
confidence to the world.
The result is an
efficient, modern propaganda machine in keeping with the times - but one
that appears completely removed from the reality on the ground.
More
than 100,000 people have been killed since the uprising against the
Assad family's decades-old iron rule began in March 2011. The revolt has
transformed into an insurgency and civil war that has seen the country
break up into sectarian and ethnic fiefdoms, uprooting millions of
people from their homes.
"These are all dismal
and useless attempts at polishing up his image," said Mamdouh, a Syrian
activist based in the northern province of Idlib, who declined to give
his full name, for fear of retaliation.
"I wish he would turn his attention to more important things, such as saving the country," he said, speaking via Skype.
This week's launch of the presidency's Instagram page is Assad's latest attempt at burnishing his image.
"Welcome
to the official Instagram account for the Presidency of the Syrian
Republic," says the greeting on the page, which in just a few days has
collected more than 5,200 followers.
The 73
photos posted so far show Assad in situations that portray normality,
compassion and confidence: Talking earnestly to a group of workers in
hard hats, clutching the hand of a wounded man swathed in bandages in
the hospital, being kissed on the cheek by a little girl with blond
curls.
Asma Assad, her hair twisted casually
in a bun, is seen serving meals to the elderly, holding a baby as she
chats with a group of mothers and talking to schoolchildren in a science
class lab.
The same photos are on the
presidency's Facebook page, where quotations from Assad's interviews and
speeches are posted. A YouTube channel keeps track of the president's
public appearances.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf called the postings "nothing more than a despicable PR stunt."
"It's
repulsive that the Assad regime would use this to gloss over the
brutality and suffering it is causing," she told reporters in
Washington. "To see what's really happening right now in Syria, to see
the horrific atrocities in Homs and elsewhere, we would encourage people
to take a look at unfiltered photos of what's actually happening on the
ground."
The pages are professionally managed
by censors who appear to work around the clock to keep off offensive
remarks. A few do slip past - or are allowed to remain to give the
impression of tolerance.
"See you at The
Hague," reads one comment under a picture of Assad among crowds,
visiting the ancient Omayyad Mosque in Damascus in February. "Go to
hell," says another, posted beneath a picture of a smiling Assad during a
visit to Raqqa in November 2011, just months after the uprising began.
The opposition seized Raqqa in March, the only provincial capital to
fall into rebel hands.
But the overwhelming majority of comments are from die-hard fans who profess their love and admiration.
"A true Lion," reads one, playing on the word Assad, which means lion in Arabic.
Others gush at images of Syria's first lady, asking for God to protect her and her husband.
"I
doubt you would ever see a picture of Mrs. Obama so humble. God Bless
Mrs. Assad," reads a comment beneath a picture of Asma Assad at a
Mother's Day function in March, feeding an elderly Syrian woman.
Assad
inherited power in 2000, raising hopes that the lanky, soft-spoken
young leader might transform his late father's stagnant and brutal
dictatorship into a modern state. Many hoped the younger Assad, who led
the Syrian Computer Society before his father's death, would help reform
the country.
As a couple, Assad and Asma, who
grew up in a west London suburb, did not fit the mold of dictator and
wife, making surprise public appearances to the delight of their
supporters. But the regime's ferocious crackdown on the uprising quickly
shattered their image as a glamorous, reform-minded couple who could
help bring progressive values to a country that has been ruled by the
Assad family dynasty for more than 40 years.
While
he was often dismissed by critics as too weak to fill his father's
shoes, Assad has dealt with the war with surprising tenacity, holding
onto power with a mix of brute military force and a portrayal of the
conflict as one spearheaded by al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists bent
on destroying the country.
Although he has
lost large swathes of territory to the rebels, his troops have recently
gone on the offensive in the country's heartland and around the capital,
Damascus, seat of his power, pushing the opposition fighters back from
strategic areas.
The propaganda offensive has
extended to Syrian state-run media, with Syrian TV devoting long
segments to trying to show how life goes on as normal. In one, a Syrian
anchor wearing a black T-shirt with the words "I Love Syria," is seen
interviewing people in Damascus restaurants and souks as they speak of
their love for the president and the army.
Throughout
the conflict, Assad has succeeded in maintaining support drawn largely
from his Alawite constituency and other minorities in Syria, who fear
the alternative to his rule would be the chaos of an Islamic state.
But for many, the message Assad is conveying is provocative.
"Kill
the people, destroy their homes, and then visit them in hospital. Yes,
well done," read a comment left under a picture of Asma Assad visiting a
wounded Syrian woman.
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Associated Press writer Barbara Surk contributed to this report.
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Follow Zeina Karam on twitter.com/zkaram
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