Stop the War held an event on 9 December on Syria at Manchester University. We attended alongside members of the Syrian community and we relayed our concerns regarding the developments in the country. Particularly, we were concerned that out of a group of four panellists on Syria, only one of them mentioned the Assad regime.
An article in the Economist on 5 December focused on Stop the War Coalition and its refusal to allow Syrians to speak in their events on Syria. One such instance is when it denied us, as Rethink Rebuild Society, the opportunity from speaking in an event on Syria in Manchester.
RR attended an event for Stop the War titled 'Don't Bomb Syria' on 6 October. The event's discussion centred around UK policy around Syria and the group's strong view that the UK should not get involved at all. Unfortunately, none of the panel speakers were Syrian, and the Syrian voice was marginalised throughout the event.
We spoke at a Stop the War event on Syria on 8 October hosted in Bolton. The small audience was very engaging, and we discussed the practicality and feasibility of any UK action towards Syria.
Rethink Rebuild Society has had no response to an email it sent to Stop the War on 23 September requesting an opportunity to speak at its Manchester event on Syria on 6 October. The current panel features four speakers, none of whom are Syrian, thereby framing a discussion on Syria without input from the most important party to the issue - the Syrian people themselves.
Rethink Rebuild Society
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