Syria: Protesters Demolish Symbols of Regime · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
In Syria, the faces of President Bashar al-Assad and his father, former President Hafez al-Assad, are regularly seen on billboards, buildings, and in the form of statues. Visitors to the country are often surprised by the prevalence of such images, while Syrians have grown used to them as a daily feature of life.  Yesterday, a number of videos surfaced in which protesters tear down the symbols of the regime: posters and statues of the ruling Assad family.
This image of Bashar al-Assad, which I took on a visit to Tartous in 2009, shows the years of future presidential referendum.
This video, from user 42Maher, comes from Daraa and shows protesters demolishing a statue of Hafez al-Assad:
This video, also from Daraa, comes from 42Maher as well and shows a single man tearing down a large poster of current President Bashar al-Assad, while onlookers cheer him on:
The protests have now spread far beyond Daraa to other parts of the country.  In Homs, protesters tear down a poster of former President Hafez al-Assad (video courtesy of thehawkofsyria):
And in Arihah, close to the middle of the country, protesters chant: “Down with Bashar al-Assad” (video from sailor999999990):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiUOuLcpw4A&feature=player_embedded#at=61
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.