Syria’s year of living dangerously

Special to The Daily Star

One year after the invasion of Iraq and with the US as its unwelcome neighbor, the Syrian regime (or, at least, most of its power centers and semi-autonomous institutions) seems to have finally grasped the reality of the need for drastic change, perhaps even for an overhaul of the old way of doing things. But can Syria in its current hopelessly divided state and given its poorly qualified cadres produce a sorely needed new vision and mechanisms for change? Continue reading “Syria’s year of living dangerously”

المسألة الكوردية في سورية – للحصفاء القول الفصل

افتتاحية لموقع ثروة / 25 آذار، 2004

تستحق التطورات المؤسفة الأخيرة التي شهدتها مدينة القامشلي في أقصى الشمال السوري، وتوابعها في مناطق ومدن أخرى من سورية، رداً أعمق من مجرد إطلاق الإدانات للفاسدين والمحرّضين والسلطات، محلية كانت أم وطنية. ففي حال وجود رغبة حقيقة لاحتواء هذه الأحداث ومنع تكررها في المستقبل وتحاشي إثارة أي تلميح حول احتمال تدخل أجنبي في البلاد أو أي لجوء إلى الخطاب والإجراءات الانتقامية والكيدية، لابد إذن من التعامل الجاد مع بعض القضايا الأساسية المرتبطة بالأوضاع المعيشية لسكان سورية الأكراد. Continue reading “المسألة الكوردية في سورية – للحصفاء القول الفصل”

Syria and the Kurds – cool heads must prevail

Tharwa Editorial

The recent tragic developments in Syria’s northernmost city of Qamishli, and the ensuing spillovers into other townships and cities, deserve more than simple condemnations of alleged wrongdoers, agents provocateurs, and/or the authorities, local or national. If these events are to be truly contained so that they are not repeated in the future and so as to avoid the slightest hint of the possibility of foreign intervention and any recourse to spiteful and vindictive rhetoric and measures, certain basic issues related to the living conditions and status of Syria’s Kurdish population need to be seriously addressed. Continue reading “Syria and the Kurds – cool heads must prevail”

Are we all racist now?

Tharwa Editorial

Although we cannot deny that the deeper causes for the conflict in Darfur seem to lie in the scarcity of resources in the region and the restricted access to them  rather than  ethnic tension, which seems to be a contributing factor only, current Arab reactions to developments in Darfur, official and popular, border on racism (to put it bluntly). The same can also be said with regard to reaction vis-à-vis Kurdish aspirations and concerns.

Continue reading “Are we all racist now?”