Archive: syria
7th May 2012
Election workers in Syria. Photo posted by Lyse Doucet of the BBC (@bbclysedoucet).
To describe today's parliamentary election in Syria as "cosmetic" would probably be over-generous. Nobody expects it to change the political reality and it's unlikely to change appearances much, either.… Read more
6th May 2012
The Assad regime issued an emphatic denial this morning that it is planning to invite the Dalai Lama for an official visit to Syria.
On the face of it, the idea of Assad hobnobbing with the Tibetan Buddhist leader is preposterous – not least because it would infuriate the Chinese government which… Read more
27th March 2012
The Russian foreign ministry has developed a sudden enthusiasm for the work of Human Rights Watch after the New York based organisation issued a statement last week accusing armed opposition elements of committing abuses in Syria.
Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian foreign ministry's Commissioner for… Read more
20th March 2012
As soon as the leaked "Assad emails" began to appear last week, As'ad AbuKhalil (who blogs as The Angry Arab) announced, very confidently, that they were a hoax.
"It is so lacking in credibility," he wrote. "It took me minutes to reach my conclusion. Al-'Alam TV guy is giving advice to Asad… Read more
18th March 2012
Dictators often have an odd relationship with the arts. The late Hafez al-Assad, for instance, dreamed of providing Damascus with a fine new opera house. He never saw it completed but in 2004 it was finally opened by his son and daughter-in-law, Bashar and Asma.
Next week, The Assad House for Arts… Read more
13th March 2012
This week brings the first anniversary of the Syrian uprising, and the occasion will be marked by demonstrations against the Assad regime in various countries. One of them will be in London on Saturday and among those taking part, apparently, will be Lizzie Phelan.
Phelan, readers of this blog will… Read more
10th March 2012
Last November I wrote about Syria's rather surreal attempts to persuade the UN Human Rights Council that it is making progress on human rights – "the right to peaceful assembly is afforded under the Syrian constitution", "a human rights syllabus is taught in relevant educational establishments,"… Read more
11th February 2012
Lizzie Phelan, the British "independent journalist" whose fanciful reporting of the Libyan conflict attracted a good deal of attention on the internet last year, appeared on Russia Today yesterday, blaming Britain, Israel, France and the US for the double bombing in the Syrian city of Aleppo.… Read more
11th February 2012
It has long been assumed that the pro-government demonstrations in Syria are anything but spontaneous – that government employees and the like are obliged to take part in them. A series of intercepted emails from the Ministry of Presidential Affairs now provides some confirmation of this –… Read more
18th January 2012
Another insidious myth is doing the rounds: that 55% of Syrians support president Assad. The figure was cited by Aisling Byrne in an article which I critiqued recently. Now, it has surfaced again in an article by Jonathan Steele for the Guardian.
While it is undoubtedly true that the Assad regime… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
