This is a link to an excellent article by Guy Taylor, I am quoted somewhere near the end: “Bashar is not simply a Ba’athist thug,” argues Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian author who has lived in the Washington, D.C., area since last year, when, he says, he left Syria after being threatened for criticizing the regime in print. “He is a member of a family that has imposed itself on the country and that conducts policy for its own purposes.” According to Abdulhamid, who now voices his opinions on the English-language blog amarji.blogspot.com, these circumstances mean that the “mafias of the ruling elite” try to co-opt anyone pushing for reform in Syria. “We’re talking about the Internet, but the same rules apply for any reformers,” he said. “Either you get neutralized, you get destroyed, or you get sucked into the game.” Assad, Abdulhamid added, “is part of the game.”
Author: Ammar
A Syrian dreamer & dissident, not necessarily in that order.
To Engage or Not to Engage!
I have been repeatedly asked before as to my policy recommendations to the current administrations will be. This statement of mine, which I recently sent for inclusion in the European Parliament file on the Association Agreement with Syria, might be helpful in this regard. Continue reading “To Engage or Not to Engage!”
المنهج الثوري
نعم، عاد وقت الثورات. بل هو في الحقيقة لم ينته أبداً، لأن مفهوم الثورة يبقى مرتبطاً بالظلم، والظلم مازال واقعاً محسوساً في مجتمعاتنا. مازال هناك مجال للعمل الثوري في مجتمعاتنا إذاً، لكن، علينا أن نعدّل الكثير من المنطلقات والوسائل التي تمّ اعتمادها سابقاً كجزء لا يتجزّأ من العمل الثوري. مثلاً، لم يعد هناك مجال أو مبرّر لاعتماد العنف الثوري، ولا ينبغي على منطلقاتنا أن تكون عقائدية الطابع، وإلاّ لشكّلت خطوة كبيرة إلى الوراء. بل ينبغي على مناهجنا ومنطلقاتنا ووسائلنا الثورية أن تكون متلائمة مع الأهداف والمبادئ التي ننادي بها إذا ما أردنا لثورتنا أن تتجنّب أخطاء ماضينا الثوري.
The Heretic & the Cause!
I never really had high expectations for the American venture in Iraq, because I have always known that the challenges of modernization and democratization are too enormous to be handled in such manner. Indeed, I do not believe in quick fixes and shortcuts when it comes to such major social transformations. There is no way around the mountain (or the abyss) for us in order to get to the other side, albeit it’s quite understandable that we should hope and pray for one. For the alternative is to do what others have done: go through hell in order to get what we want, what we think we deserve and are entitled to. Continue reading “The Heretic & the Cause!”
