The Falafel Republic – 2!

Despite the advice that President Jacques Chirac seems to have gotten from his Egyptian counterparts and Saudi counterparts, statements made by the French President during his recent address laying out French foreign policy for the year ahead reflect a certain unwillingness to compromise with the Syrian regime at this stage. President Chirac affirmed that the time for dabbling in Lebanese affairs and attempting to destabilize it is over, he then called on the Syrian authorities to cooperate fully with the UN commission and asserted that Syria’s “return to the heart of the community of nations is contingent on a change in behavior.” Continue reading →

The Falafel Republic!

This is indeed how many Syrians refer to the country as least when viewed from the perspective of the great majority of the people who cannot afford to eat anything but Falafel these days, thanks to 40 years of Baath rule and corruption.

But, and according to a recent article published in the Arabic news site Elaph, the Falafelites, despite the Khaddam offensive, are still holding hope that President Bashar will finally begin to crackdown on corruption and take serious steps to improve their living standards, transforming the state back into the Shawerma, Kufta & Kebab Republic. Continue reading “The Falafel Republic!” →

My Big Heretical Heart!

Or, How I Can Love Hariri, Tweini & Syria all at the same Time!

I thought this dialogue is too important and needs to be given more visibility. For it gives me the chance to clarify further my position on why I oppose the Syrian regime. Continue reading “My Big Heretical Heart!” →

The Simple Truth!

Khaddam’s call for popular resistance against the Assad regime, reiterated in several interviews he gave over the last few days, are serving to make some people question the wisdom behind calling for work stoppage at this stage. For most people at this stage might think that such a call came in response to Khaddam’s own.

Indeed, the situation is getting murkier and murkier. But clarity has never been a fact of our life in Syria, and the region as a whole. So like it or not, we simply had to keep our focus on what is really at stake here, namely: our freedom and the quality of our life.

Under this regime no improvement is possible. Indeed our conditions have been getting steadily worth. We have clearly reached a dead-end here and we do need to start over. The new beginning, however, could easily lead us to more of the same, with only changes in key state positions and nothing more. But unless new dynamics are introduced at street level, and by the right actors, which I take to mean the secular opposition groups and liberal activist figures, more of the same is exactly what we are going to get.

More on the unfolding situation in the recent article by Massoud Derhally.