Arab offshore newspaper loses its soul

Abdelbari Atwan's portrait on the jacket of one of his books and next to al-Quds al-Arabi's logo

Overnight, I was shocked to read Abdelbari Atwan tweeting he was resigning from all his posts in the London-based pan-Arab newspaper  al-Quds al-Arabi, promising  to elaborate in his farewell editorial this morning.

I choked up reading his parting words to his thousands of readers:

There is nothing harder than biding farewell to ones loving readers, especially for someone like me whose loyalty throughout his quarter-of-a-century-long journalistic journey never let a day pass without writing.

I did not want this parting moment to coincide with the first day of the Holy Month of Ramadan, but circumstances and other sides played a role in this decision.

Today brings to conclusion my relationship as Board Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of al-Quds al-Arabi, the newspaper I proudly say stood without fail by our nation and its beliefs, fought fierce battles against occupation, foreign hegemonies and corrupt and repressive dictatorships, and always rooted for the oppressed and the downtrodden…

Atwan says he has one project in mind for the “initial directionless, difficult and long days ahead,” which is to write a new book -- his fourth in English.

His first three were:

• The Secret History of al-Qaeda (2006)
• A Country of Words: A Palestinian Journey from the Refugee Camp to the Front Page (2008)
• After Bin Laden: Al Qaeda, the Next Generation (2012)

Atwan has also contributed chapters and essays to several academic and specialist books and journals.

He is a regular guest on Dateline London on BBC, BBC World, Sky News, Aljazeera English and CNN World as well as on several Arab TV news networks.

Born in 1950 in Deir el-Balah, a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Atwan studied journalism at Cairo University. In 1978, he moved to London, where he has lived and worked ever since.

Expatriate Palestinians founded al-Quds al-Arabi in 1989, when Atwan was named editor-in-chief, then board chairman as well.

The newspaper is now printed in London, New York and Frankfurt, and then circulated in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and North America. In addition to its modest London headquarters, the paper has representative offices in Cairo, Rabat and Amman.

Marc Lynch of Foreign Policy called al-Quds al-Arabi "the most populist/'rejection camp' of the major Arab papers."

Famed French-Lebanese journalist Randa Habib tweeted Atwan saying, “…You are and will remain always a legend.”

“You were my only trusted window to politics,” another tweep wrote him.

Personally, I firmly believe a newspaper or newsmagazine should have a “soul of its own.”

Atwan was the soul of al-Quds al-Arabi.

The soul of al-Hawadeeth was Salim al-Lawzi al-Hayat’s was Kamel Mroue, and an-Nahar’s was Ghassan Tueni.

I hope the purported new Qatari owners of al-Quds al-Arabi (at least according to gerasanews.com) have found a new “soul of its own” for the newspaper in Atwan’s supposed successor -- self-exiled Syrian poet-cum-journalist Basheer al-Baker.

You can read English texts of Atwan’s editorials at http://www.bariatwan.com/english/

Russia and Syria at a crossroads

Russia's flag (via Wikipedia)

With top Kremlin aide Mikhail Margelov now saying Russia can do little more for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and with the Arab League tabling a “game changer” plan for Assad’s peaceable exit, two political analysts suggest in today’s Arab press the Syria crisis cards have been randomized.

Abdelbari Atwan, publisher/editor of the London-based pan-Arab daily al-Quds al-Arabi, believes “the noose has tightened around Assad’s neck.”

But in her daily column for Beirut’s an-Nahar, Rosanna Boumounsef says it’s Russia’s stance ultimately that will prove “pivotal in determining the regime’s fate.”

In the words of Abdelbari Atwan:

President Assad stands almost alone in the face of an Arab League where his country lost its clout, its decision-making sway and its seat. Above all, the Gulf heavyweights alongside whom his father fought to evict Iraq from Kuwait now want him out. They had earlier turned their back on Saddam Hussein after his role in defeating Iran and shielding their regimes drew to a close.

In saying Assad stands alone, I also refer to the latest Arab League vote on its Syria plan. Algeria abstained, and so did Iraq. Lebanon was the only state choosing to “shun” the ballot altogether.

The Russians, who supported Assad to the hilt in recent months, sending a naval task force to Tartus and blocking a Syria resolution at the UN Security Council, seem to be opening the door to a shift in their position. They sufficed so far to leak remarks by President Dmitry Medvedev's protégé Mikhail Margelov saying, “we can do no more” for Assad. The shift can be justified by the similitude between the new Arab plan and the three-month-old Russian proposals encouraging Assad to hand over power to his deputy, Farouk al-Sharaa, form a national unity government to oversee parliamentary and presidential elections and initiate serious political reform.

Syria’s rejection of the Arab League roadmap mirrors Ali Abdullah Saleh’s initial rejection of the GCC’s Yemen initiative. Saleh ended endorsing it and enplaning for Oman on his way to the United States. I can envisage a replay of the Yemen scenario in Syria… and maybe later in Algeria.

An added thorn in Assad’s flesh is Saudi Arabia deciding to take charge of the Syria file. The Saudi role to bring down Assad may be decisive. The massively oil-rich kingdom has a strong following in Lebanon and Syria, is the Islamic world’s powerhouse and America’s closest regional ally.

In the opinion of Rosanna Boumounsef:

The Russians used the “Yemen scenario” expression in recent months and appeared ready to embrace it to help find a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis. Hence their 2011 invitation to Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa to visit Moscow for talks. The visit did not take place, purportedly because the Syrian command prevented it.

The question at this point is if Russia, which has long favored the Arab League route to a solution in Syria over the Security Council’s, would eat from the new Arab League meal cooked in Cairo.

Russia’s decision is crucial for two reasons. One, it would break with Arab majority ranks if it shied away from the Arab League platter. Two, it would deal the Syrian command a body blow and restrict its room for maneuver to a hair’s breadth if it gobbled it down.

Russia’s comportment at the UN Security Council once the Arab League presents its Syria plan for endorsement is eagerly anticipated.