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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Syrians perform in Edinburgh. Where are the protests?

From Syrian government mouthpiece SANA:
Syrian dramatist Dr. Hannan Kassab Hassan, playwright Omar Abu Saada and dancing designer Osama Hilal participated in Edinburgh Festival for the British Contemporary Arts which was held between August 22nd and 28th.

The Festival presented variety of British contemporary shows and held a number of meetings to provide opportunities of opinions, experiments and knowledge among dramatists from different parts of the world. The Festival also conducted dialogues about the Arab theatre.

Prominent Arab and African dramatists also took part in the international festival, among them Director of Beirut Spring Festival Randa al-Asmar and the Executive Director of Jordan Festival Suha Bawab.

Elizabeth White, Director of the British Council in Syria said that each Summer, Edinburgh embraces new productions and opinions at all streets, halls and theatres where the coffees are crowded with dramatists, playwrights and spectators who enthusiastically discuss the good and bad works.
Somehow, I missed the protests by British "human rights" activists that must have occurred outside the festival, calling attention to Syrian war crimes.

After all, they have determined that the human rights of Arabs is far more important than any arts performance, didn't they?