Beirut 21/1/2010

Damascus Spring Prospers ... on Facebook

Suheir Atassi to SKeyes: The will to dissent is witnessing a new
beginning and a wider, vaster horizon

Damascus – SKeyes
After its closure in 2005, the Jamal Atassi Forum for Democratic Dialogue
finally returned with a new look, but this time on the Internet.
A group of Syrian activists, led by the President of the Forum Ms. Suheir
Atassi, launched a Facebook page under the same name. In truth, this is
reminiscent of the Damascus Spring period when such forums were started
in all Syrian cities, shortly after the death of the late Syrian President Hafez
Assad.
Since the launch of the electronic forum, it quickly attracted 278 members
who signed up and joined the friends list, and who then mostly participated
by writing comments on the discussions, which are introduced by the forum
on a bimonthly basis. Even the early members of the forum who are
imprisoned were not thwarted from participating by their incarceration, as
the forum saw contributions by the imprisoned Syrian lawyer Anwar al-
Benni. He is currently serving a prison sentence in the Adra prison, after
signing the Beirut-Damascus Declaration.
The forum began its discussion with a paper presented by the Syrian student
Malath Omran, which was entitled “Syrian youth and participation in public
affairs‟. The discussion centred on this topic lasted for a week, during which
there were many comments by the participants and the readers published on
the page‟s wall.
In the second week, the forum launched a paper entitled „nonviolent
struggle‟, prepared by the Syrian journalist Ahmad Mawloud Tayar. At
present, a paper on „the Damascus Declaration for National Democratic
Change‟ is being discussed.
To shed more light on the new electronic activities of the forum, SKeyes had
the following conversation with the Forum‟s president Ms. Suheir Atassi.
- How did the Atassi Forum, whose name was associated with the
Damascus Spring, start? What are the phases that the forum went
through and how did that experience end?

Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Saghieh Bldg.( Ground Floor), 63, Zahrani St., Sioufi, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel /Fax: 00961 1 397334, Mobile: 00961 3 372717, E-Mail Address: info@skeyesmedia.org
The Jamal Atassi Forum for Democratic Dialogue began its public activities
on 14/1/2001, at a time when the Damascus Spring was burgeoning into a
civil democratic and public movement that saw a distinguished involvement
in public affairs, and a new framework for dialogue and communication
among the people, following a long period of despair and isolation...
Upon its inception, the Jamal Atassi Forum interacted with and
complemented the other Syrian forums which were established during that
period. The Forum focused on issues related to politics, intellect and culture,
and on enhancing the values of democratic dialogue through public and open
sessions and round table events.
We were active within the constitutional legitimacy, as the Syrian
constitution guarantees these civil activities as rights for the whole society.
However, the Emergency Law that has been in force for 47 years in Syria,
rendered citizenship on hold until further notice, while security services
were given free rein in all facets of the citizens‟ lives.
When we applied [for a permit] to the relevant ministry, namely, the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, with a view to publicize the work of
the Forum, the Ministry rejected the application under the pretext of a lack
of jurisdiction.
Soon after that, crackdown began against all forms of democratic activism,
resulting in the banning and closure of forums, while pressure from the
security services against the Forum began with the arrest of Habib Issa, the
official spokesperson for the Forum, and continued with official summonses
that pressed towards closing down the Forum, all while the latter was being
infiltrated by agents working for the authorities and the security services.
In 2005, the Forum was keen to broaden the scope of its activities, and
sought to establish a youthful movement, stemming from the fact that their
interest in activism would be a fundamental factor in attracting a wider
segment of society that had hitherto refrained from engaging in public
affairs.
The Syrian security services‟ decision to shut down the Jamal Atassi Forum
for Democratic Dialogue, to besiege its headquarters and to stop its events
and meetings was sometimes being justified under the pretext that the Forum
represented the opinions of the Muslim Brotherhood Organizations in an
open seminar on „Reform in Syria‟ (in addition to many other opinions for
simple clarification), and at other times under the pretext that the Forum
failed to obtain a permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
(which rejected the application submitted by the Forum – as we have

Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Saghieh Bldg.( Ground Floor), 63, Zahrani St., Sioufi, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel /Fax: 00961 1 397334, Mobile: 00961 3 372717, E-Mail Address: info@skeyesmedia.org
mentioned – under the pretext of a lack of jurisdiction). It seems that these
excuses have overlooked the failure of the authorities themselves to issue a
modern law that regulates the work of forums, associations and political
parties as such. It should be mentioned here that the Forum had acquired a
de facto legitimacy due to its engagement in public dialogue activities for
five years.
-Why has the Forum reappeared online in this particular time?
We have never thought that the Forum was finished. We did not shut it down
with our own hands. And despite the arrests, threats, siege and prevention,
the Forum kept insisting on inviting the public to its seminars on the first
Saturday of each month, despite our belief that seeing them banned was
inevitable. The Forum has laboured, in every sense of the word, to keep the
freedom of expression and dialogue alive in both memories and minds,
despite the repeated deployment of security services to prevent the few who
opted to come to the Forum‟s headquarters to defend their simple right to
dialogue, and despite the various other harassments against the residents of
the building and nearby homes.
Hence, the Forum‟s virtual return, on Facebook, is a natural continuation of
its defence of its right to exist, and of the legitimacy of its public dialogue
activities.
- Are the Syrians resorting to the internet to escape from reality? Has
the will for dissent been lost, to the extent at which that we only see
Suheir Atassi from the Forum’s previous management launching it on
Facebook?
Is the internet unreal?? I believe that this is a reality that was imposed on
everybody, and one that has affected more than one Syrian experience such
as the youthful campaign to boycott the mobile phone service to protest the
high cost of communications “[price] reduction, economy, justice”, the
campaign against the draft Personal Status law “We want to move forward
not backwards”, and the campaign entitled “No for injustice against the
inhabitants of the Syrian al-Jazira province”. The latter campaign prompted
many journalists to write reports on the suffering in this province, as a result
of poverty, drought and neglect. Thus, the people behind these campaigns
are real people, and not fictional...they are very real, and they have found in
this space an available and effective option to express their desire for a better
future.
As for the second part of the question, I completely disagree with it, because
I believe that the will for dissent is witnessing a new start today, and a wider,

Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Saghieh Bldg.( Ground Floor), 63, Zahrani St., Sioufi, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel /Fax: 00961 1 397334, Mobile: 00961 3 372717, E-Mail Address: info@skeyesmedia.org
vaster horizon. In fact, the revival of the Jamal Atassi Forum for Democratic
Dialogue on Facebook took place as a result of discussions among activists
and friends present both in Syria and abroad, many of whom young people.
The launch was a natural result of discussions that focused on various
aspects of life in the country, and with these, the idea matured and began
taking a regular form that was reflected in discussion papers published every
15 days, accompanied each with a dialogue coordinator, and an outline of
our dialogues which we draft together and republish online. We have with us
some members from the Forum‟s Board of Directors who were arrested in
2005, and who are now active on Facebook.
At present, we are only temporary moderators for the Forum‟s activities.
Soon, we will hold elections for a fixed-term coordination committee. In
truth, we conduct evaluation and voting prior to all our steps, in which the
Forum‟s friends, who joined it and who accept the responsibility of their
words, dialogue and stances, participate.
We believe that the Forum is linked to the following principles and
objectives: dialogue and eliminating the taboos over certain ideas, people
and ideologies. Therefore, the Forum cannot be confined to being dependent
on certain individuals in terms of its survival or demise. What is more
important is the continuity of the initiative.
- Were you subjected to any harassment because of the Forum’s online
revival, and were you asked to shut it down?
So far this has not happened. Of course, everything is possible, and our
response to that will be as simple as the simple rights to express an opinion
and the right to dialogue among people, on the basis of which the Forum was
established. We shall endure and continue to engage in dialogue. In truth,
they are already besieging the space provided by Facebook by blocking this
service, but we have and will continue to have all the means to break the
blockade and defend the legality of our dialogue.
- Dissidents and activists in other countries like Iran, for example, use
the Internet as a complementary tool to their activism and not as an
alternative. In other words, the internet is used to transmit information
about real activities taking place on the ground, or to communicate in
order to organize rallies and events. Why has activism in Syria been
restricted to the internet lately? Are you unable to organize activities on
the ground?
I do not think that the situation in Syria is similar to anything found in other
countries. In Syria, even the simple margin that was born with the Damascus

Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Saghieh Bldg.( Ground Floor), 63, Zahrani St., Sioufi, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel /Fax: 00961 1 397334, Mobile: 00961 3 372717, E-Mail Address: info@skeyesmedia.org
Spring was eliminated to prevent its growth. Even their claims about reform,
which were cosmetic at best, stopped. In Syria, they destroyed people‟s faith
that they can influence and change reality. It has thus become essential for
us to search for ways to regain the sense of citizenship, responsibility and
faith in the ability act.
This is what we are working on at present, but this does not mean that we
will not begin taking practical steps. In fact, the papers that have been
discussed on the Forum through Facebook have proposed ideas for action on
the ground, and were discussed and adopted by some, and we will be
working on them soon.
- Do you any plan of action to revive the Forum on the ground, and not
only through the Internet?
The Jamal Atassi Forum on Facebook is an extension of the Forum that is
banned from convening at its headquarters in Syria.
While the Forum invites everyone to compensate with further interaction
and dialogue regarding issues of concern to all those seeking a better future
for the country, it is also carrying out an accumulative effort. An effort that
would allow for communication among all the Syrians interested in public
affairs, whether they are residents of the country, immigrants or exiles. This
is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and ultimately, we will arrive at the
natural and inevitable result: a call for a seminar held at the Forum‟s
headquarters which was never truly closed, and which did not comply with
the ban. Then, [the online Forum] will have an added value: there will be
papers and comments from immigrants and exiles that, by the way, we are
proud of and of their contribution to the Forum‟s launch on Facebook, and
with whom we shall celebrate, at the Forum‟s headquarters, its return and
their return to their country.
- Do you have any message for Arab intellectuals regarding the Forum?
In truth, I prefer that my message be addressed to all people, and to all those
concerned with the values of freedom and democracy.
There is no Arab democracy, or Western democracy, or imported democracy
as the regime likes to call it, and there are no peoples that are not fit for
democracy. I consider freedom and democracy to be general human values
and principles, and they are basic rights for everyone. For this reason, I hope
that all those concerned with these values will contact us in order to
exchange our experiences, skills and discussions towards a world where
peace, prosperity, security and justice reign.

Samir Kassir Foundation, Aref Saghieh Bldg.( Ground Floor), 63, Zahrani St., Sioufi, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon
Tel /Fax: 00961 1 397334, Mobile: 00961 3 372717, E-Mail Address: info@skeyesmedia.org