If the events of the last few days, including the refusal to allow six wanted officers to travel to Lebanon, the fiery speech given by the Syrian President and the ongoing freak show of “popular” demonstrations and jingoism, prove anything is that a coup has already taken place in Syria. Bashar al-Assad is obviously no longer in control. This is the Assef Chawkat Show now. Yes, General Dashing has finally stage his long-calculated and long-expected move. True, it did not materialize at the best possible time for him, but it did finally happen. He is calling the shots now. He is Number One. He is currently living the fulfillment, the epitome, of all his Machiavellian designs and calculations. The downside is that this couldn’t have come at a worse time, and his reign is bound to be quite short-lived.
Year: 2005
Heretical Haggling!
I seem to operate on a multiple levels of contradictions. But what can I do? My heart is one place, my mind is in another, and my mouth has to play an intricate game of brinkmanship all the time just to keep me balanced. I am after all an activist more by necessity than by choice, and always against my better judgment and my natural inclinations. Continue reading “Heretical Haggling!”
Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa
Human Rights Watch has just issued its report on Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa. The Report dedicates a section for the situation in Syria in which I make a brief appearance revealing the identity of General Dashing to the World. Unfortunately, like so many others, obsessed with phonetic accuracy, they spell my name in a manner that few would recognize! Oh well… Continue reading “Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa”
Ends & Beginnings, Fears & Hopes!
Indeed, the Tharwa Project’s offices in Damascus have recently been closed due to increasing security harassments and threats received by some of the team members. The heightened security awareness and follow up of our activities in this regard seem directly linked to the authorities’ growing perception of me as an opposition “prince” as the infamous report has it. Continue reading “Ends & Beginnings, Fears & Hopes!”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 