TONITE - May 11, 2012 8:30 pm EasternTime / 5:30 PacificTime 

Call Number  (424) 203-8400   Code: 569283# 

UNITED For PEACE AND JUSTICE inivites you to hear from, and talk with, three powerful voices on the question of what is happening now in Syria. They  will share information and perspectives about the current situation, the history of the uprising and a way forward. We will hear from patent attorney Munes Tomeh, minority rights activist and blogger Suzan Boulad, and Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco Dr. Stephen Zunes.

From the speakers:
“The uprising in Syria has raged for more than a year now, claiming the lives of more than ten thousand people, with tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands detained and tortured.  What is going on in Syria, and what is the history behind the present uprising?  What options are there for people who believe in social justice to help support the struggle of the Syrian people to end five decades of single party rule and an end to a repressive police state where arbitrary detention and military/security court trials are common for civilians, torture rampant, and any voice of dissent is not tolerated?”

Ms. Suzan Boulad is a Syrian youth and a recent graduate with a degree in International Relations from Mills College. She is an avid follower of the Arab Spring with a particular interest in minority rights. She works as a blogger for a minority rights organization, Mideast Youth, with a focus on Kurdish rights.

Mr. Munes Tomeh is a patent attorney based in San Jose.  Since the beginning of the Arab Spring, Munes has been involved in helping to organize solidarity with various uprisings from Tunisia to Yemen.  Growing up as a Syrian, and seeing the fear that Syrians have lived with for decades, the Syrian uprising has inspired him to try to mobilize the Syrian American community to help end the repression of the Assad regime.  He is currently the president of the Northern California chapter of the Syrian American Council.

Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies. He serves as a senior policy analyst for the Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies and chair of the academic advisory committee for the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.