Read an account of this event on the Forum blog here. The hashtag for this event on Twitter was #FCSyria.
Since mid – March when the Arab Spring reached Syria there have been continuous crack downs on protestors by Syrian forces. There are claims more than 1,700 civilians have been killed. The authorities in Syria claim 500 soldiers and police have been killed by armed gangs, which they also blame for most of the civilian deaths.
We will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the situation on the ground in Syria. Could the international community be doing more to intervene in what some claim are crimes against humanity being committed by Syrian forces?
Unlike Egypt, the protests began not with the call for the Bashar al-Asad to stand down but that he enact promised reforms. Following the violent attacks against protesters the tone has changed, however it remains unclear if the ousting of Bashar al-Asad is a possible outcome.
Join us with Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House to discuss the situation in Syria and what the future holds for the Syrian people.
With:
Daniel Pye, a Damascus-based freelance journalist who has worked as deputy editor of a Syrian current affairs magazine since February 2011.
Ammar Waqqaf, member of the British Syrian Society.
BBC Newsnight’s Sue Lloyd-Roberts who has been one of the only Western journalists to report from inside Syria since the protests began.
Malik Al-Abdeh, chief editor of Barada TV a London-based Syrian opposition satellite channel and former BBC journalist.
Christopher Phillips, Syria analyst in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Middle East team and author of Contemporary Arab Identity: The daily reproduction of the Arab World to be published in early 2012.
Picture credit: syriana2011.
