Riad Seif Forum

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The Riad Seif Forum [1] (also called Forum for National Dialogue [2] ) is or was a political forum, or muntadat, founded by "businessman-turned-dissident" Riad Seif, promoting political debate and freedom in Syria. It was considered one of the two most famous such forums of the Damascus Spring during 2000-2001 in Syria. [1]

Riad Seif is a Syrian political dissident and prominent businessman who founded and led the Forum for National Dialogue. Seif was elected to the Parliament of Syria in 1994 as an independent and again in 1998. For several years he owned an Adidas franchise in Damascus.

The Damascus Spring was a period of intense political and social debate in Syria which started after the death of President Hafiz al-Asad in June 2000 and continued to some degree until autumn 2001, when most of the activities associated with it were suppressed by the government. It started with the Statement of 99 and the establishing of the Committees of Civil Society, then the Statement of 1000 was issued carrying the signature of 1000 Syrian intellectuals in 2001.

Following the death of Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad in June 2000, Seif assembled "leading [Syrian] intellectuals and independent voices" to discuss "how to open up Syria's ... political system." The group — which met on Wednesdays evenings, in Seif's living room — "debated human rights, pluralism, press and academic freedoms, and how to build a civil society," and was the first of ten such forums [1] that "marked the onset" of the Damascus Spring. [2] It was later dubbed the Forum for National Dialogue according to journalist Robin Wright. [2] In January 2001, Seif announced his intention to create a new political party to compete with the ruling Ba'th Party. [3] A major seminar/meeting of the Forum was held on 5 September 2001. Several hundred people attended and leaders of the Syrian opposition called for political reform and democratic elections and discussed amending the constitution and issuing a call for a civil disobedience campaign. Following this Seif and the nine other opposition leaders were arrested. [4]

Hafez al-Assad former president of Syria

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Robin B. Wright is an American foreign affairs analyst, journalist, and author, who is noted for her foreign tours, having reported from all around the world.

Arab Socialist Baath Party – Syria Region

The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, officially the Syrian Regional Branch, is a neo-Ba'athist organisation founded on 7 April 1947 by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar and followers of Zaki al-Arsuzi. It was first the regional branch of the original Ba'ath Party (1947–1966) before it changed its allegiance to the Syrian-dominated Ba'ath movement (1966–present) following the 1966 split within the original Ba'ath Party. The party has ruled Syria continuously since the 1963 Syrian coup d'état which brought the Ba'athists to power.

According to Human Rights Watch, the two members of parliament, Riad Seif and Ma'mun al-Homsi, were accused of "attempting to change the constitution by illegal means" and "inciting racial and sectarian strife" and sentenced by the Damascus Criminal Court to five years in jail. The eight other activists — Riad al-Turk, Aref Dalila, Walid al-Bunni, Kamal al-Labwani, Habib Salih, Hasan Sa`dun, Habib `Isa, and Fawwaz Tello — were referred to the Supreme State Security Court which issued prison sentences between two and ten years. Seif was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison and released in January 2006. [1]

Human Rights Watch New York City-based non-governmental organisation

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures some governments, policy makers and human rights abusers to denounce abuse and respect human rights, and the group often works on behalf of refugees, children, migrants and political prisoners.

Riad al-Turk Syrian activist

Riad al-Turk is a prominent Syrian opposition leader, former political prisoner for about 20 years in Syria, and supporter of democracy, who has been called "the Old Man of Syrian opposition." He was secretary general of the Syrian Communist Party since its foundation in 1973 until 2005.

Aref Dalila is a Syrian economist and former Dean of the Faculty of Economics in Damascus University. He is currently working as a Senior Economic Researcher at Orient Research Center in the UAE. He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in 2002 on charges of "trying to corrupt the constitution, inciting armed rebellion and spreading false information" for his political activity during the Damascus Spring period, and imprisoned until released by presidential pardon in 2008.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 No Room to Breathe, October 16, 2007
  2. 1 2 3 Wright, Robin, Dreams and Shadows, the Future of the Middle East, Penguin Press, 2008, p.224
  3. ↑ Wright, Dreams and Shadows, 2008, p.227
  4. ↑ Syria: Prisoner of conscience, Riad Seif Archived 2015-02-18 at the Wayback Machine .


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