{"id":5993,"date":"2015-11-24T11:10:57","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T10:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/11\/24\/syriers-vluchten-niet-alleen-voor-daesh-maar-ook-voor-assad\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:20","slug":"syriers-vluchten-niet-alleen-voor-daesh-maar-ook-voor-assad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/11\/24\/syriers-vluchten-niet-alleen-voor-daesh-maar-ook-voor-assad\/","title":{"rendered":"‘More options for Syria than Daesh or Assad ‘"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJeanette Schols<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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The evening news opens and ends with coverage of the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. <\/span>Last Monday some 600 students gathered on campus<\/a> to commemorate the victims. <\/span>The terror of IS remains the talk of the day.
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\n<\/span>For EM,<\/em> Petra Stienen looks ahead to her lecture \u201cWhat\u2019s Next for Syria?\u201d, on Wednesday, November 25th at the Erasmus Pavilion. <\/span>Stienen worked at the Dutch embassies in Damascus and Cairo and is also Arabist, author, consultant and independent senator for D66.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

You worked for five years (1999-2004) as a diplomat at the Dutch embassy in Damascus. Do you recognize Syria from that time to the present Syria?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI have not been there for some time, but I do recognize the brutality of the regime of Bashar al-Assad. <\/span>If anyone then had read the Amnesty reports, which described what the seventeen secret services were doing to the population, you can\u2019t be surprised at the ferocity of the attacks. <\/span>Violence always creates other violence.
\n<\/span>Today\u2019s Syria is a destroyed country. <\/span>My heart bleeds, a country with so many cultures and extraordinary people. <\/span>The Syrians are struck at all levels. They are victims of the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, but also the so-called Islamic State which is often called in Arabic \u2018Daesh\u2019. <\/span>Daesh insists on a lifestyle that does not fit with Syria, and now bestow fear in many parts of the country what causes people to decide to flee. \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Rutte has declared war on IS the day after the attacks in Paris. Does a declaration of war make sense?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just strong language of Rutte and I wonder whether it really addresses the root of the problem. <\/span>The cause of the problems in the region is not only Daesh. <\/span>Each doctor can explain to you that if you want to remove a tumor, you should first ask you self what the basis is of the tumor. <\/span>Many people think a collaboration with Assad to combat Daesh is a good idea. They aspect Assad to <\/span>provide stability. <\/span>If that\u2019s your opinion, you really have no clue.\u201d
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With the meetings of Putin and Obama in mind, we still seem to be pushing forward to a solution with Assad<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI agree that we, in any case, seriously have to try to get all the warring parties to the table and seek a political solution. There are <\/span>three scenarios at the moment: Assad will stop bombing his own people and will hand over power to someone who can rebuild Syria again. <\/span>I think this is a fantastic scenario, but I am afraid it this is not going to happen. <\/span>A second scenario is that Assad, along with Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, is fooling us. <\/span>He pretends to bring stability and pretends to be moving forward to a peace process, while the bombings continue because we didn\u2019t make any demands. <\/span>That is the current situation. <\/span>The third scenario is that Daesh will <\/span><\/span>conquer <\/span><\/span>Damascus, a city of four million people, and we\u2019ll have the black flag waving across Syria. \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A doomsday scenario<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not impossible, and in the meantime, the refugees remain to flee. That means people with great potential have little or no access to education, employment or nutrition.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The title of your lecture is \u201cWhat\u2019s Next for Syria?\u201d, but can we actually expect an answer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter attending my lecture, I hope that people see that there were more options in Syria than the dark black of Assad and the dark black of the Islamic groups. There are still other alternatives.\u201d
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Would you like to attend the lecture \u201cWhat\u2019s Next for Syria?\u201d? <\/span>Unfortunately, the lecture is sold out, but fortunately for you EM will give away two tickets.
\n<\/span>Do you want to win those free places? <\/span>Please email erasmusmagazine@em.eur.nl with the subject \u2018give away\u2019 and let us know why you\u2019d like to go to the lecture.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\t

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The lecture ‘What’s Next for Syria? “and the ensuing debate will be held on Wednesday, November 25th at 16:00 at the Erasmus Pavilion. <\/span>The official language is English.
\n<\/span>The lecture is organized by SG Erasmus in collaboration with the NGIZ (Dutch Society for International Affairs).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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