Salameh Kaileh profiled on Jadaliyya

An excellent profile of Salameh Kaileh’s struggle has just been published on Jadaliyya:

Interestingly Salameh, though unequivocal of his support for the Syrian revolution, has criticized for different reasons both the Syrian National Council (mainly external opposition) as well as the National Coordination Council for Democratic Change (mainly internal opposition) as not truly representing the revolutionary masses. For Salameh, these sections of the Opposition are unified by two things: neither of them trusts the capacity of the people to achieve change, and neither of them believe that the Syrian regime can be toppled by the Syrian people. The National Coordination council’s call for reform and dialogue with the regime to achieve change misses the revolutionary moment and aspirations of the people. By lowering the bar, they lost the support of the masses. On the other hand, the SNC’s call for military intervention also belies a lack of belief in the Syrian people to achieve change. Both of those bodies, Salameh added were composed of members who had lost faith in the capacity for revolutionary change and before the March 15th uprising, had done their best to accommodate to the ‘reality’ of the Syrian regime.

It is because Salameh is an independent voice and is an active presence for the future of Syria that the Assad regime decided to muzzle him in custody. That is the only explanation.

Though well-known across the Arab world, friends, especially from the young generation from further afield, have asked for more information on Salameh, his struggles and especially his role in the current uprising. This profile provides answers to most of these questions.