The Syrian Revolution in its 10th Year
The Syrian revolution has entered its 10th anniversary as of March 2021. The popular uprising started with the Syrian people taking to the streets with legitimate civilian demands. However, instead of finding a political solution to the problem, the Syrian regime chose to suppress the civil demonstrations by force. This caused the popular uprising to spread throughout the country and to become more massive. The crisis, which has deepened over time, has turned into a global problem involving regional and non-regional actors. In its 10th year, the Syrian crisis still does not give hope for a solution in the short term. However, it can be said that there has been a critical decrease in the level of armed conflicts as of 2020. Despite this, there is still no real progress on the political solution. There are two platforms for the political solution to the crisis. The first is the Astana Process which is carried out by Turkey, Russia and Iran and the second is the Geneva Process which is more inclusive. Thanks to the efforts of the Astana trio, a Constitutional Committee was formed, but the Committee has not yet made significant progress on the new constitution that will shape the future of Syria. In addition, there are ongoing problem areas such as Idlib, east of the Euphrates, and security threats posed by ISIS and the YPG/PKK terrorist organizations and also one of the worst humanitarian crises in the history of humanity continues to be experienced in Syria.
ORSAM Center for Middle Eastern Studies will organize a two-day online symposium with the participation of Syrian and Turkish academicians, researchers and journalists to discuss the point reached in the 10th anniversary of the Syrian revolution and the next stages of the Syrian crisis. The current situation and future of the Syrian crisis will be discussed with its political, military, economic, legal, social and humanitarian dimensions in the symposium.
Symposium Programme
The meeting will be in Turkish and Arabic. There will be English, Turkish, Arabic simultaneous translation.
17 March 2021, Wednesday
11:00 – 11:10 Welcoming Remarks: Ahmet Uysal, President of ORSAM
11:10 – 11:30 Keynote Speaker: Nasser al-Hariri, President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces
11:30 – 13:00 First Session: Political Solution Efforts to the Syrian Crisis
Moderator: Oytun Orhan, Coordinator of ORSAM Levant Studies
Speakers:
Hadi al-Bahra, Co-president of the Opposition's Side of the Constitutional Committee
Ahmad Toma, Head of the Opposition Delegation at Astana
Cengiz Tomar, Deputy President of Ahmet Yesevi University
13:00 – 14:00 Break
14:00 – 15:30 Second Session: Reframing the Syrian Crisis: Think-Tank Perspectives
Moderator: Ahmet Uysal, President of ORSAM
Speakers:
Samir Seifan, General Manager of Harmoon Center
Murat Yeşiltaş, Director of SETA Security Studies
Maan Talla, OMRAN Center Senior Researcher
15:30 – 17:00 Third Session: The Security Environment in Syria
Moderator: Navar Saban, OMRAN Center for Strategic Studies/ORSAM
Speakers:
Ömer Özkızılcık, SETA Security Studies
Muhsen Al-Mustafa, Carnegie Middle East Center
Mehmet Emin Cengiz, Al Sharq Forum
18 March 2021, Thursday
10:00 – 11:30 First Session: The Role of External Actors in the Syrian Crisis
Moderator: Dr. İsmail Numan Telci, Vice President of ORSAM
Speakers:
Bassam Barabandi, Middle East Institute (MEI)
Oytun Orhan, Coordinator for ORSAM Levant Studies
Sabir Askeroğlu, Center for Iranian Studies (İRAM)
Muhammed Abdulmecid, Center for Iranian Studies (İRAM)
11:30 – 13:00 Second Session: Economic Dimension of the Syrian Crisis
Moderator: Murat Aslan, Deputy Director of Center for Iranian Studies
Speakers:
Karam Shaar, Middle East Institute
Abdulnasser Jasem, Mardin Artuklu University
Bader Mustafa, Syrian Researcher
Halit Tekavi, Jusoor for Studies
13:00 – 14:00 Break
14:00 – 15:30 Third Session: Role of Media in the Syrian Crisis
Moderator: Omar Sheikh Ibrahim, Syrian Journalists Association
Speakers:
Maan Al-Khader, Al Jazeera
Turan Kışlakçı, President of the Turkish-Arab Media Association (tbc)
Samir Al-Matar, President of the Syrian Journalists Association
Saba Medawar, Arab TV
15:30 – 17:00 Fourth Session: Humanitarian and Social Aspect of the Syrian Crisis
Moderator: Samir Abdallah, ORSAM Levant Studies
Speakers:
Fahmi al-Ahmad, Syrian Expatriate Medical Association (SEMA)
İHH representative (tbc)
Rahaf Dughli, Lancaster University
Fatih Shaban, Director of ACDP
17:00 – 17:30 Closing Remarks
Oytun Orhan, Coordinator of ORSAM Levant Studies
Ahmet Uysal, President of ORSAM
Live stream link for 17th of March: https://youtu.be/8930FbHH918
Live stream link for 18th of March: https://youtu.be/5WVGxfJXHW8
