“Should al-Assad step down, disaster will ensue.” This assumption not only asserts that a region with al-Assad is possible, but it insists that it would in fact be better. Is that really so? 

The massacre in Houla last week demonstrated once again that not much has changed since the uprisings started in Syria. The Baathist regime continues to kill in front of the whole world.

The practice of universal suffrage in Egypt, without limitations on gender and ethnicity, is a hopeful sign for the region.”

The Annan Plan was a miracle plan that could have benefited, in the short term, all those who were not disturbed by the bloodshed.

Syria has become one of the few friends Iran has left, after it was blatantly sanctioned by the West, the U.S and other states in the region after the Islamic revolution.

Russia’s future in the Middle East fares no better than the al-Assad regime in which Russia had been investing.

SETA PANEL   Oturum BaÅŸkanı:     Talip Küçükcan, SETA    KonuÅŸmacılar:    Walid Saffour, Suriye  Ä°nsan Hakları Komitesi (SHRC) BaÅŸkanı    Nadim Houry, Ä°HÄ°Ö BaÅŸkan Yrdc. ve OrtadoÄŸu ve Kuzey Afrika Sorumlusu    Cengiz Çandar, Radikal Gazetesi Yazarı    Tarih: 26 Nisan 2012 PerÅŸembe  Saat: 11.00-13.00  Yer: SETA, Ankara Salonu

Egypt has been focused on one issue alone since the overthrow of Mubarak. The subject of the main discussions going on for months now is the elections. 

Israel wants regime change in Syria, as much as it wanted a change in Egypt, the heart of the Camp David order, of which the Syrian regime is branch.

Reforming Turkey’s education system symbolizes not only an end to weak civilian institutions but also represents an opportunity to bridge the gap between secularists and conservatives in the country.

Moderator: Taha Özhan, President of SETA Foundation    Panelists: Besma Kodmani, Syrian National Council Veniamin Popov, Moscow State Institute of International Relations Kayhan Barzegar, Center for Strategic Research, Iran Basheer Nafi, Al Jazeera Center for Studies  Date/Time: April 3rd, 2012, TUESDAY 10:00-12:00  Venue: SETA Ankara room, ANKARA

The study addresses the League’s policy proposals, decisions, and reactions regarding the Syrian crisis and con­centrates on what these all policy measures mean for the League as a regional organization. 

The majority of the actors, particularly those who are closely related to the Syrian crisis, do not really talk about Syria even when they are speaking about Syria.