Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Zaki Kaf Al-Ghazal
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The chemical weapons attack on Ghouta was a ‘holocaust’, but 10 years on there’s no real change
As we approach this week’s 10th anniversary of the chemical weapons attack in Ghouta perpetrated by the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad, it’s worth asking whether anything has changed. International inaction in the immediate aftermath of the attack – the first of its kind in the conflict at that...
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The failure of Syrian refugees to resettle all starts with Bashar Al-Assad
History is full of stories of refugees fleeing conflict and devastation only to face untimely deaths, but as the world reflects on various wars and genocides, it seems that millions continue to turn a blind eye to the refugees’ situation. The recent news of the fishing vessel that sank...
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Assad returns to the Arab League over a bloody red carpet
An old joke playing on words is that the League of Arab States — Jami’at Ad-Duwal Al-Arabiyya — is not really a league but a nursery for the Arabs. In Arabic, the word for league — jami’a — is the same as for university. The recent news that Syria...
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Aid for Syria should not be politicised to push for the rehabilitation of Assad
Natural disasters are part of life on earth. Many can be predicted relatively accurately, so theoretically their impact should be able to be managed. These disasters become humanitarian catastrophes, however, due to systemic political failures such as those which afflict the people of Syria. After 12 years of conflict...
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A glance at the Turkish FM’s recent statement on Syria
Politics is at times compared to a game with Machiavellian actors and rogue figures who are out only for themselves. A former British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston once said: “We have no permanent allies, only permanent interests.” This is an adage many in international politics still follow, though it...
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The massacres of Syrian civilians must not go unpunished
The recent exposure of another horrific massacre committed by forces loyal to the Syrian regime made the headlines momentarily before slipping from view. The massacre in Tadamon took place in 2013, when at least 288 civilians were killed, including seven women and twelve children. The infamous killing of 41...
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The Ukrainian crisis - all roads lead through Damascus
As the situation in Ukraine reaches high-noon, and a Russian invasion seems imminent, it is worth taking stock and reflecting how we got here. A Russian incursion into Ukraine cannot be separated from Putin’s actions in Syria over the last decade or so. The two States, whilst not geographically,...
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When will the world wake up to the Russian occupation of Syria?
As the Russian occupation of Syria enters its seventh year and with the Syrian crisis no longer in the news, serious questions must be asked. Vladimir Putin’s intervention on behalf of his ally Bashar Al-Assad may have offered Al-Assad a short term victory, but moving forward, both lose out....
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Daraa marked the start of the Syrian uprising; will it also be the beginning of the end for Assad?
After ten long years, Syria is back in the news. Although this is likely to be fleeting, as the international community has long experienced conflict fatigue with regards to Syria, it is another opportunity to focus on the terrible situation there. In a world afflicted with the ongoing pandemic,...
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What’s next after Assad’s election charade?
Elections are generally meant to be competitive affairs, with candidates and political parties vying for the public’s attention over the weeks and months prior to voting. Whilst not all elections are close run affairs, there should be a sense of competition, uncertainty even. When an election is, however, like...
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A decade on in Syria’s war, Assad has no moral high ground to cling to
As the Syrian uprising approaches yet another anniversary, enough blood has been spilled to fill the country’s barren rivers. More than ten years on, almost a million people have lost their lives, millions more have been wounded and up to half of the pre-war population of 23 million have...
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Has the UN simply failed in Syria, or is it complicit in the regime’s crimes?
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, the conflict rages on with no apparent end in sight. The role of the United Nations, the international organisation created to keep the peace and promote human rights in the world, has clearly been a dismal failure. Whilst no...
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What direction will Biden take on Syria?
As Joe Biden is declared President-elect of the US, it is clear he has many matters to tackle. From containing coronavirus and managing the economic fall-out, to working to unite the country and begin to heal race relations after the spotlight on systemic racism earlier in the year, there...
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7 years after the chemical attack in Syria, Assad has not been held to account
In the aftermath of the chemical attack in the Damascus province of Ghouta seven years ago, David Cameron, the former British Prime Minister remarked: “Our inaction in Syria shows we have not learned the lessons of the Holocaust” and “the lessons of not standing by”. The words he and...
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Isn’t it time to revoke Asma Al-Assad’s British citizenship?
Events in Syria tend to revolve around the crimes committed by President Bashar Al-Assad and his regime. He has been in the news more than usual recently due to the severe economic downturn his country has faced over the past few months; it’s hardly surprising after years of corruption...
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The failure of the Syrian economy goes beyond the imminent Caesar Act
The Syrian economy is in freefall. At the beginning of the uprising in March 2011, $1 was equivalent to approximately 50 Syrian Pounds. Today, it is equivalent to around 3,000 Syrian Pounds, a 600-fold increase over the past nine years. A state employee in Syria was paid what was...
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Is Putin behind the split in Syria’s Assad family?
It is well understood that the Assad regime controls all aspects of Syrian life and society as dictatorships tend to do. The tentacles of the regime reach into the economy, the way it operates and who profits. The Assad regime operates like a family and those at the very...
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The regime claims that Syria has immunity against the coronavirus
As Syria enters the 10th year of the conflict in the country, the situation looks bleak. Idlib is on the verge of falling to the regime, stopped only by a tenuous ceasefire, while in some countries the re-legitimisation of the Assad regime is slowly underway. In addition to the...
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The world fiddles while Idlib burns
As the world looks on, the horrors of Idlib are clear for all to see. The last bastion of resistance to the Assad regime, Idlib teeters on the brink. Almost nine years on, and heading into the tenth year of the uprising against the brutal dictator, the international community...
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Russia’s role in Syria is sinister; it’s an occupier with an iron grip
As we enter a new year and a new decade, the Syrian conflict rages on, well into its ninth year. The estimated death toll is touching one million, with over ten million others displaced both internally and externally, from a pre-war population of around 23 million in 2011. The...
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Whilst Brexit dominates the election campaign, Syria moves into the shadows
General elections are intriguing times in British politics. Parties make headlines with spending commitments, their leaders are constantly on the airwaves hammering home their message and the public are treated to a never ending array of sound bites about various policies. “Get Brexit done” and “For the many not...
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Is a new constitution a priority while barrel bombs are still dropped on Syria?
Constitutions are an interesting legal phenomenon. The Oxford Dictionary defines a constitution as “a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organisation is acknowledged to be governed”. They tend to be codified in a governing document, although some are unwritten. Every state...
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Six years after the chemical attack in Ghouta, have we learnt its lessons?
In the aftermath of the August 2013 chemical weapons attack in Ghouta, Syria, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron said, “Our inaction in Syria shows we have not learnt the lessons of the Holocaust the lessons of not standing by.” The words chosen by Cameron and others...
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Assad’s war crimes include the systematic targeting of hospitals, yet go unpunished
Although many reports touch on the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, little has been said about the medical situation in the war-torn country, and the plight of its doctors who remain there. The conflict has raged for eight years with no end in sight. The uprising against Bashar...