Syrian cabinet resigns amid unrest Government resigns as part of promised reforms

[kpete]

Source: Al Jazeera

Syrian cabinet resigns amid unrest
Government resigns as part of promised reforms after two weeks of protests, outgoing PM appointed caretaker premier.

Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has accepted the resignation of the country's government, following two weeks of anti-government protests that have gripped Syria.

"President Assad accepts the government's resignation," an announcement on state television said on Tuesday.

Naji al-Otari, the resigning premier, has been chosen by Assad as caretaker prime minister.

The government has little power in Syria, where power is concentrated in the hand of Assad, his family and the security apparatus. Otari has been prime minister since 2003.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/201132975114399138.html

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[robcon]

2. Assad should accept his own resignation.

not likely.

[oberliner]

3. Syrian government resigns

Source: CNN

The Syrian government resigned Tuesday amid an unusual wave of unrest that has roiled the nation, state TV reported.

President Bashar al-Assad accepted the resignations Tuesday, the same day that tens of thousands of Syrians poured onto the streets of Damascus to demonstrate in favor of the government.

A new government should be named in a few hours, said Reem Haddad, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Information Ministry.

Meanwhile, the president plans to make "a very important speech" on Wednesday, she said. The speech will "reassure the Syrian people," the state-run SANA news agency has reported.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/29/syria.unrest/?hpt=Sbin

[PurityOfEssence]

4. A bit misleading: the de facto dictator remains, but the supporting players go

That does not constitute "the government", either literally or figuratively.

[oberliner]

5. What would be a more appropriate headline?

What terminology would you use to describe what happened here and do you think it is significant at all?

[razorman]

6. This sounds like the equivalent of the "White House staff shakeup".

that every administration goes through occasionally. It does not necessarily mean much change in how things are run.

[nalnn]

7. The same thing happened

Same as Libya, Tunisia, & Egypt earlier this year.