Syria: Bread and Propaganda · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
As protests in Syria continue into their third week, the Assad government is making concessions in the hope of appeasing protesters.  Today, the government closed the country's new casino and reversed a ban on niqaab [Muslim female head covering] in schools, in an attempt to reach out to conservative Muslims.
At the same time, the government is asserting power via propaganda, some of which is finding its way to the most unlikely of places.  This afternoon, CNN reporter Hala Gorani (@HalaGorani) tweeted a photograph of loaves of Syrian bread that included a special message to the Syrian people:
@HalaGorani: Leaflets handed out w/ bread purchase in#Damascus: “#Syria is our sect (…) We are all Bashar…”http://yfrog.com/gzpk8glj
Syrian bread promoting love of President Bashar al-Assad. Image uploaded to Twitter by Hala Gorani.
According to Assia Boundaoui (@assuss), the leaflets also read “the nation is bigger than upheaval.”  Meanwhile, Maisa Akbik notes that even “Egyptians didn't create something like this.”
Twitter user @sapiensprod takes a less lighthearted approach:
@sapiensprod: Football league games cancelled in #Syria and propaganda on the bread. Give them bread, no games…meanwhile many people detained…#Bashar
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.