Aug 1 (Reuters) - Arabs reacted strongly on Monday to the deaths of dozens of Syrians in Hama at the hands of the Syrian army but most Arab governments kept silent, apparently fearing the power of protest movements that have spread throughout the region this year.
Though there was an outpouring of anger on social media among activists, immediate reaction was muted on the streets on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan.
"What happened yesterday in Syria is terrifying. If the international community is silent then many of the Arab rulers could commit similar massacres," said Jalal Shujja, a Yemeni activist at Change Square where activists have been demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule since January.
Hamdeen Sabahi, an Egyptian opposition politician who also intends to run for president, was visibly upset when he was informed of the Hama deaths during a Reuters interview.
"There is no power or might but in God," he muttered, then sat for several minutes in awkward silence.
Though activists have been inspired by protests in other Arab countries, they have been locked in their own battles.
Around 200 people staged a demonstration outside the Syrian embassy in Cairo on Sunday night, but Egyptian activists called for a major show of protest for Monday night.
"I am certain that Assad will not have an easy exit and could end up killing half of his people before he agrees to give up powers but he will lose eventually as the people always win," said Gamal Eid, head of the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
CONFLICTED GULF RULERS
In the Gulf Arab region, where Saudi Arabia has led what analysts have called a "counter-revolution" to bolster allies against protests, media reflected popular revulsion of Assad's attempt to crush opposition but seemed to contrast that with the paternalistic rule of the Gulf ruling dynasties.
In Saudi newspapers, headlines about Syria ran next to picture of King Abdullah and his Ramadan speech calling for Muslims to build "sympathetic, tolerant societies" in which "the wronged forgive those who have wronged them".
Saudi Arabia has had bad relations with Assad because of his close ties to Iran and the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, but analysts say the Saudi royal family, which managed to deter mass protests at home, is conflicted over the possibility of seeing another Arab ruler fall.
Kuwaiti authorities have suspended several clerics who criticised Assad in Friday prayer sermons, while Kuwaiti Islamists said this week they will mobilise in media and mosques during Ramadan against Assad's government.
In the United Arab Emirates daily al-Ittihad, the Hama story came below headlines announcing a round of massive housing loans. Having put five people on trial for attempting to mobilise for democratic reforms, the UAE has not allowed a repeat of protests at the Syrian consulate in Dubai in March.
"Arab leaders are just not willing to stand up to the Assad regime and potentially damage the relationship. They don't know if he'll stay in power and there's a chance he will," said Shadi Hamid of the Doha Brookings Center.
He added: "We may possibly see the worst massacre of the Arab Spring right now -- I think we're on the verge of that."
In Morocco, newspapers played down the number of Syrian deaths. King Mohammed has so far outmanoeuvred democracy protesters with a successful referendum on a new constitution that stops far short of making him a figurehead in a constitutional monarchy, maintaining his sweeping powers.
"Arab governments are not reacting because they are concerned that the unrest will spread to other Arab states," said Hilal Khashan, a politics professor in Beirut. "I don't think that continued violence (during Ramadan) will have any official reaction from the rest of the Arab World," he said.
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