BBC Arabic sets out to explore the global information and communication revolution that has helped ferment real revolts, and pull down regimes across the Arab World. I make an appearance in Part Three of the 4-part series, with discussion on my work on the Syrian Revolution Digest.
Category: Activism & Advocacy
Change Appears Inevitable In Syria, Analysts Say
So far President Obama has stopped short of saying Assad must go. But his recent speech on the Middle East came awfully close, at least to the ears of Ammar Abdulhamid, a U.S.-based Syrian opposition activist:
“When they give [Assad] a choice between lead democratic transition or, sort of, get out of the way, they really mean get out of the way either with some dignity or without dignity. So in a sense, they are pressing for complete change and overhaul of the system,” he says.
Abdulhamid and other opposition figures plan to meet in Turkey later this week to try to get better organized and lobby the West for a tougher response.
Syrian businessmen back opposition conference
The Sanqar brothers declined to comment on their role at the conference, but Ammar Abdulhamid, the exiled Syrian dissident and head of the Washington-based Tharwa Foundation, said the inclusion of business personalities was “a significant development”.
“We have a number of other businessmen and entrepreneurs here. The business community is slowly coming around to realising the need to support the future of Syria,” he said.
Participating in the Bush Institute conference on human freedom
On May 26, 2011, I took part in one of the panels of the Bush Institute Conference on Human Freedom, alongside many distinguished colleagues from around the world. The conference gave me the chance to meet with President Bush for the first time since his departure from the White House.
The second panel, “The Future of Freedom on the Middle East,” moderated by Bush Institute executive director Jim Glassman, featured stories from the frontlines told by Ammar Abdulhamid, Founder and Director, Tharwa Foundation; Khadija Arfaoui, Retired Professor, American Studies, Women’s Studies, English and Human Rights Activist, Environmental, Human Rights and Women’s Rights Issues; Esraa Abdel Fattah, Projects Manager, Egyptian Democratic Academy; Ahmed Salah, Veteran Egyptian Activist, Director, New Future House Center Coordinator, The Coalition of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution; Bassem Samir, Executive Director, Egyptian Democratic Academy; and Mouheb Ayari, President, I Watch Organization.
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 