THE relief on President Assad’s face was visible, as the young Syrian leader waved from a balcony to tens of thousands of his cheering supporters who turned out on the streets of Damascus yesterday to give the beleaguered regime a badly needed boost.

The demonstration may have been heavily orchestrated — with many of the participants high-school students let out early from classes to join the march — but the image of Syrians taking to the streets to wave the country’s tricolour and parade posters of their leader was one that Damascus was desperate to project.

“We follow what President Bashar (Assad) tells us,” Hala al-Ali, a teenager marching in the procession, said. “This is how we show Syrian unity.”

The rally provided the latest evidence that Syria is belatedly responding to the crisis triggered nearly a month ago by the murder of Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister. His assassination, widely blamed on Damascus, triggered unprecedented anti-Syrian demonstrations in Lebanon and helped Washington to assemble a powerful international coalition that has left the Syrian regime isolated and vulnerable.

Mehdi Dahlalah, the Syrian Information Minister, admitted yesterday that Damascus was being squeezed from all sides. “Everything that happens in the world is blamed on Syria,” he complained. “When terrorists attack in Israel — they say Syria. When terrorists attack in Iraq — they say Syria. Everything is Syria’s fault. Maybe they will blame the tsunami on us as well.”

Mr Assad, facing the most serious crisis of his five-year rule, is now fighting back.

On Saturday he gave a speech before parliament offering to withdraw Syrian troops from Lebanon. On Monday he met President Lahoud of Lebanon to finalise the withdrawal. On Tuesday hundreds of thousands of Lebanese took part in a massive pro-Syrian demonstration in Beirut.

Yesterday the scenes were repeated in Damascus, even as Syrian troops began to pull out of their positions above Beirut.

The public relations effort is part of a broader strategy aimed at dissolving the current coalition against Syria, silencing the opposition in Lebanon and placating critics in the United States, where some are pressing for tougher action against Syria and others are talking of regime change.

Western diplomats said that behind the scenes the Syrians were taking other steps to improve their standing.

Brigadier-General Rustom Ghazali, the head of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon, whose notorious behaviour in the country was blamed for inflaming anti-Syrian sentiment has been made “the fall guy”. He has been recalled for good and replaced by his deputy, Brigadier-General Mounir Jalloud.

Outspoken hardliners, such as Farouk al-Sharaa, the veteran Foreign Minister, have been silenced and younger and more moderate figures, such as his deputy Walid Mualem, are being promoted.

The Syrians are planning to have the bulk of their forces out of Lebanon in time for the Arab League summit in Algiers this month, when they hope to patch up strained relations with regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt. They will attempt then to satisfy the United Nations that they are complying with demands for a withdrawal from Lebanon, thereby heading off the threat of further action in April that could include sanctions.

Senior Syrian officials admit that it will not be easy to dig themselves out of their diplomatic hole. They expect further pressure against Damascus and have begun to move overseas funds held in American banks to Europe, to forestall any attempt to freeze their assets.

However President Chirac of France, who was a close personal friend of Mr Hariri and who felt badly let down by Syria last year, has given no signs of backing down.

A key European Union agreement initialled with Syria to help to promote trade and co-operation is unlikely to be ratified in the current climate. Nevertheless, Syrian officials are confident that the present trouble will pass and that international attention will be diverted elsewhere. They have made clear to Washington that they are prepared to co-operate on Lebanon and on cracking down on Iraqi insurgents crossing from Syria, and insist that the offices of Palestinian militants in Damascus will remain shut. They promise even that long-delayed reforms aimed at opening up Syria’s one-party state will be implemented.

”I don’t think the Americans want regime change,” said a senior Syrian adviser, who pointed out that the only alternative government would probably be an Islamic state. “They want the regime to change its ways. They are asking Syria to change its skin.”

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