A Syrian journalist's saga with British authorities

The title

Syrian activist barred from travel after UK seizes passport at Assad’s request

attracted my attention.

Reading more, I could not believe my eyes.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/24/syrian-journalist-zaina-erhaim-passport-held-assad-request

She is an Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Journalism award winner
She is also a winner of the prestigious Chevening Award, which brings “future leaders, influencers and decision-makers” to study in the UK.
She works for a UK-based, UK-funded organisation.

Her passport was confiscated as she landed at Heathrow airport and after a thorough questioning, she was informed that the document had been reported stolen.
Her picture and fingerprints prove that she is holding her own passport.

Who reported the passport stolen? Not the passport holder. It is the Syrian Embassy of the Assad regime who reported the passport stolen. Their aim, to shut down voices that write or talk against the actions of the regime.

This is a regime that the foreign secretary Boris Johnson blame few days earlier at the Un security council to be "responsible for the vast majority of the 400,000 deaths" and reiterated “There can be no genuine ceasefire unless there is a genuine political agreement that we can have a transition away from the Assad government,”

So how come, nobody took notice of the fact that the credibility of the regime is at stake and that it cannot be business as usual with such a regime. In fact, the ties of the regime to the UK through his wife who is a British national and his long residence in London allowed them to create pressure groups within the country.

Since the start of the uprising, Assad formed a media task force to assist him set a media strategy and follow up on it.
Assad has access to unlimited funds from the state coffers, nepotism, and corruption.
He could bring on board a number of professional lobbyist and to a certain extent win the media war.

In March 2014 a number of emails intercepted from the Assad family inboxes were published According to The Guardian

"Much of Assad's media advice comes from two young US-educated Syrian women, Sheherazad Jaafari and Hadeel al-Al. Both regularly stress to Assad, who uses the address sam@alshahba, the importance of social media and the importance of intervening in online discussions. At one point, Jaafari boasts that CNN has fallen for a nom-de-guerre that she set up to post pro-regime remarks. The emails also reveal that the media team has convinced Twitter to close accounts that purport to represent the Syrian regime."

The end result is a BBC Arabic editorial policy that the least to say is unbalanced as to the conflict in Syria and an administration where the government policy does not seep through to the lower level.

Chief executive of Index on Censorship, Jodie Ginsberg said. “The message the UK sends when it takes such action is that it is not on the side of those struggling to defend human dignity amid the inhumanity of war.”

Lebanon at the UN: shame!

Curious to hear what the Prime Minister of Lebanon said in his UN address, I felt deep shame of my country of origin.

Salam begged the world to help Lebanon elect a president!
Sorry Mr. Prime Minister, the deputies elected by the Lebanese people in a fully democratic elections are solely responsible to elect a President. There is no violent clashes or civil war to physically prevent the elections.
What are you telling the world? That the Lebanese are a people who has not enough self respect to rule their politics? Or is it a recognition that the actual Lebanese politicians are either subservient to or do not have the strength to stand in the face of foreign interests.
May I remind you that during the civil war, at the peek of violent clashes and occupations, the Lebanese Deputies met and elected Presidents on time.
But then maybe Lebanon had self respecting politicians.
Ashamed, ashamed of my country of origin.

The prime minister also urged the world and the U.N. to “devise a detailed roadmap for the safe and honorable return of the Syrian refugees who are present in Lebanon to their country.”
“This detailed plan must be devised within three months and it must detail the transportation needs, the places of departure and the financial cost,” Salam added.
Wow! is this the solution Lebanon is proposing to solve the Syrian refugees problem that is posing dangerous risks to the stability, security, economy and public services of Lebanon.
A clear indication that Lebanon's government is living in a lala land generated by self contentedness and a total disconnect with reality.
Syria is burning, the US and Russia and in catch 22 situation over finding a solution, the EU is struggling to keep its unity and Lebanon has devised a solution that needs the unified strength of superpowers to be implemented!
It would have been more reasonable to curb rampant corruption that is preventing UN and other assistance funds to reach Lebanon. Better to have looked at, and learned from the Jordanian and Turkish solutions to the refugee crisis.
Ashamed of the incompetence of my country of origin.

Then Salam went to warn the international community against looking to Lebanon as a place of “permanent asylum” for Syrian refugees.
Here I am more than ashamed, I am entering the twilight zone. Is it possible for a Prime Minister to take populist discourse to the United Nations? Is it of any value to make public a self made problem generated by fears and bigotry? Is it an answer to a problem that was never raised by anybody, a preventive strike?!
Shame!