Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian human rights activist, speaks to Marc Perelman about the recent protests against political repression and lack of freedom in Syria.
Category: Interviews
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Corleone Correlations
After weeks of appearing immune to Arab world protests, Syria faces escalating unrest as soldiers opened fire on demonstrators. Jeffrey Brown discusses the protests with former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Theodore Kattouf and democracy activist and blogger Ammar Abdulhamid, who was exiled in 2005. Continue reading “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Corleone Correlations”
Syrian protestors want a regime change
An interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (Note: They confuse Maher Assad with his late Majd below. Majd has passed away of a drug over doze two years ago. In the audio interview I clearly say Maher).
MARK COLVIN: Well you heard Mr Rudd outline some of the background there about a country where the Ba’ath Party dictatorship has lasted for over 40 years. President Hafez al-Assad ruled over the country for most of that time, and in 1982 faced with an uprising in the town of Hama, he ordered one of the bloodiest crackdowns in the modern history of the Middle East. It may be one reason why Syrians have been slow to rise up. But after an attack on protesters in the town of Daraa this week, that’s expected to change later tonight; Friday, Syrian time. The President, Hafez al-Assad’s son Bashar, has made big promises, including dropping the restrictive 48-year-old emergency law. But that’s unlikely to be enough for the many who are expected to protest tonight. And the fast changing situation has emboldened exiled democrats like Ammar Abdulhamid. I asked him whether he wanted Bashar al-Assad and his family out of the country and if so where would they go? Continue reading “Syrian protestors want a regime change”
Syrian Novelist Talks About Impediments to Greater Democracy in the Arab World
By Douglas Schuette, Arab America – Washington
Washington-based democracy activist Ammar Abdulhamid says virtually no progress has been made in opening up the political system in his native Syria since he fled the country more than five years ago. He and his family were forced into exile in 2005 because of his outspoken criticism of the regime.
Abdulhamid says the situation has instead grown “increasingly dismal,” with more crackdowns on political opponents than ever before. Continue reading “Syrian Novelist Talks About Impediments to Greater Democracy in the Arab World”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 