I Fear for Ali!

The fate of the Syrian political prisoner, Muhammad Sha’er Haysah, who died yesterday as a result of the “inhuman conditions of his incarceration” makes me quite worried about the fate of ‘Ali al-‘Abdallah and his two sons who remain missing to this day. We need an international figure to make an appeal on their behalf so that their fate can be ascertained. Their family deserves to know whether they are alive or dead. The international silence in this regard is incomprehensible and inexcusable. Ali & Sons could be undergoing some inhuman torture as we speak. They could also be dead.

What would happen, I wonder, should we find out that one or more of them is indeed dead? What sort of pressures could be brought against the Syrian regime to account for that?

Ali & His Sons!

The case of Ali Abdallah and his two sons Muhammad and Omar is probably the only case of a missing family of activists to emerge in Syria since the early eighties. The trio has gone missing for over two weeks and still there is no words as to their whereabouts or what security branch was responsible for their “napping.”

Activists are getting arrested left and right these days, but the silence surrounding the disappearance of these fellows is quite inexplicable. I have a very bad feeling about this. Continue reading “Ali & His Sons!” →

Dissent and Reform in the Arab World

An American Enterprise Institute event

Rather than impose democracy on the Arab world, the United States seeks to support the building blocks for political and economic reform that already exist throughout the region. But as the first installment in AEI’s Dissent and Reform in the Arab World conference series has shown, the brave and bright reformers at the heart of democratic change have little political space with which to work and grow. Continue reading “Dissent and Reform in the Arab World” →

A Casual Exchange with a Young and Inquisitive Mind!

Over the last few days, with a young man from the good old country.

Can you elaborate on the recent decision by the Bush Administration to allocate 5 million USD to fund the activities of the Syrian opposition?

In general, the sum involved is too miniscule really to finance any serious effort at destabilizing the Syrian regime, but it could help finance some small-scale meetings, travels, and the production of some necessary literature to explain the opposition’s point of view. Continue reading “A Casual Exchange with a Young and Inquisitive Mind!” →