Saeb nahas biography of donald

SYRIA

October

Satellite dishes are supposedly banned in Syria. Officially the heavily censored state-TV is the only source of TV-news.

The authorities are quietly accepting the fact that most Syrians ignore the satellite ban.

On the streets of Damascus it is the un-official satellite stations that are favoured for news:

VOXPOP:

("Al Jazeera"..

"Abu Dhabi and Al Jazeera"

"Al Jazeera"..

"Al Jazeera"

"Syrian TV".

"MBC, Al Jazeera and Abu Dhabi").

Most Syrians ignore state-television. They choose selected news-channels from other Arab countries. And al-Jazeera is by far the most popular source of tv-news - produced in Qatar on the Arab Peninsula.

The war in Afghanistan has given al-Jazeera a breakthrough similar to the one CNN got during the Gulf-war 11 years ago.

TOPT: SANA AL SHALLAN, Housewife

("Al Jazeera is more open. You know!

They are faster with the news!")

TOPT:   SHAROUD AL-GUNDI, pharmacist

ENGLISH

(It seems to be the most unbiased of all of them and it really does give you a very good collection of all that’s going on not just a specific point of view)

TOPT:   WAFA DAOUD, housewife

(It doesn't take sides with any of the factions.

It analyses all the news and reports from different angles")

(Military museum)

Outside the museum for military history in Damascus we see the ruins of an Israeli Phantom-plane, shot down many years ago.

But most of the artefacts are old Soviet MIG-fighter planes and space probes – all dating back to the cold-war, when president Hafes al-Assad's socialist dictatorship was an ally of the Soviet-Union. 

(Funeral of Hafez al-Assad, June )

But times have changed. The Soviet-Union collapsed a decade ago. President Assad

This study examines the constitutional question in Syria from various political perspectives. The first section focuses on the importance of the constitutional drafting process, with emphasis on the conditions that must be included in the constitution’s final product to give it legitimacy. The second section examines contentious issues that the constitution’s final product raises for Syrian citizens, i.e., the question of identity, rights and freedoms, decentralization, and the shape of the political system. The third section includes a synopsis with proposals for experts and policymakers.

First Section: The first section provides an overview of the importance of the constitutional drafting process itself as a key source of legitimacy in the constitutional process. It presents examples of both failed drafting processes (e.g., Iraq and Egypt) and successful drafting processes (e.g., South Africa and Tunisia) to illustrate ways in which divergent sociohistorical and political backgrounds can inform the current political approach to Syria. The section concludes by stipulating the necessary components of a sound drafting process.

Second Section: The second section tackles key issues facing Syria today: the question of identity; the relationship between religion and state; the issue of basic rights and freedoms; the genuine and effective participation of women; the importance of assurances from the ruling majority to minorities blocs composed of various ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups; decentralization; and, finally, agreement on the structure of the political system. The discussion of these issues takes place in the context of constitutional experiences of Syria as well as other Arab countries, for comparative political analysis.

Third Section: The third section presents conclusions based on the analysis laid out in the previous two sections, and makes recommendations about the fo

SYRIA - OPENING UP

The music is English, the story Greek and the theatre is Roman.

Even more remarkable is the location an ancient but little known capital.

Its three hundred years since Purcell wrote his opera Dido and Aeneas and nearly two thousand years since Bosra was the Roman capital of Arabia.

Where Roman soldiers once gathered .. tonight in the same seats .. lovers of the opera.

Its first opera to be staged jointly by a cast and crew from England and Syria.

And it’s all about International diplomacy.

Not long ago Syria was the country best known to the West as a safe haven for terrorists.

But in the last few days Syria has turned from Moscow to Washington, started talks with its enemy - Israel - and has .. ever so slightly .. begun opening the door to foreign investment.

But even at the opera it’s impossible to forget that Syria is a one man regime, held for more than twenty years in the iron grip of its President Hafez el Assad.

Dr Rateb Al-Shallah (President Damascus Chamber Commerce): We are well aware that we have been blessed with a leadership that is unique in the area. We are sure that this leadership will get us to the shore of peace with the least problems, once it is there we are ready for it.

For centuries Syria’s stony desert was a highway.

Once it was part of the old Silk Road, even earlier, caravans from Mesopotamia passed through on their way to the Mediterranean.

It was trail from oasis to oasis and its biggest way station was Palmyra.

The Romans called it the City of Palms - trade made it rich and Roman leaders made it powerful.

Tourist guide: All the caravans has their stop here - the business took place here in the Agorra.

Its downfall came with the rule of the beautiful Zenobia.
Defying Rome, she declared Palmyra independent.

Tourist guide: Lets have fun in the bath of Zenobia..
Zenobia was captured, the Romans set fire to the city and massacred its people.

Palmyra sank into obscurity.

Now Syri