On the civil socity and reform discussions in Syria
Syria, Politics, 1/17/2001

Member of the constituent commission for the committees of reviving the civil society in Syria Michael Kilo said that he was surprised over publishing the document of the " one thousand Syrian intellectual." He added: " We intended to send this document to the President of the Republic to be the first one to read it before its publication. The President saw it and the papers published it were circulated inside Syria. A matter which marks the beginning of returning back to democracy in our country.

In an interview with the London- based al-Sharq al-Awsat daily issued on Tuesday, Kilo added that those intellectual are not " authority seekers, nor raise demands as a side in hostility with the state. Yet they want to help the authority to achieve the optimum reforms."

Kilo described what was stated in the document as priorities and objectives that do not endanger internal conditions and that the intellectuals are working within the context of principles on the ground of which the unity of people, protection of the homeland and restoring the occupied lands are built.

As for the intellectuals who signed the document, Kilo said they are from different environment including: Marxists, Liberals, Islamists, nationals and neutral intellectuals and that the document is of a national nature." He denies any contradiction inside the commission of the committees to revive the civil society.

Concerning what has been said that Riyadh Seif expresses the views of intellectuals, Kilo added that industrialist Seif expressed his own views and he is a member at the Syrian parliament and a businessman but he does not work in the cultural field. Kilo expressed happiness that the state did not annoy any of those who signed the statements of the 99, adding that the state is not repressive. He added he will start writing in the Syrian Arabic daily al-Thawra as from the middle of next week after he was suspended from writing in the Syrian media since the mid of the 1970s.

The paper also quoted a Syrian political analysis whose name was not mentioned saying that this time the document comes in a good formula in comparison to the statement of the 99 ( intellectuals). But the Syrian political analyst questioned whether the release of such statements is appropriate at this critical period which is in need of great immunization for Syria before foreign threats and pressures.

He noted that the recent statements released by the state are clear indicators to placing the process of reforms and development into its right track. He said that the way pursued by certain intellectuals will not enforce an early result of the current reforms trends in Syria.

Previous Stories:
  Muslim brothers back the 1000 Syrian intellectual statement   (1/16/2001)
  The One thousand statement calls for democracy and the revival of the civil society in Syria   (1/12/2001)
  Syria: vivid discussions of Syrian national dialogue on democracy and oppression   (1/12/2001)

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