Abyad wa Aswad
CategoriesPolitical magazine
FrequencyWeekly
Founded2001
First issue22 July 2002; 21 years ago (2002-07-22)
CountrySyria
Based inDamascus
LanguageArabic
Websitehttps://www.abyadwaaswad.com/

Abyaḍ wa Aswad (Arabic: أبيض وأسود, lit. 'Black and White') is an Arabic independent weekly political culture magazine published in Damascus, Syria. The magazine is privately owned.

History and profile

Abyad wa Aswad was established in early 2001.[1] Publication license was granted in 2002, making the magazine the first independent political weekly in Syria.[2] The first issue appeared on 22 July 2002.[3] The magazine, headquartered in Damascus, is a privately owned publication.[4][5] Bilal Turkmani, former defense minister Hasan Turkmani's son, is the owner of Abyad wa Aswad.[6][7]

The magazine adopts a critical attitude towards the activities of the Syrian government[1] and contains reform-oriented articles.[8][9] For instance, the magazine criticized the Syrian foreign ministry in 2003 for not attending the special session of the UN Security Council during which UN Security Council resolution 1483 that was about ending the sanctions against Iraq had been voted.[5] It further argued that both the foreign ministry and other governmental bodies had no dynamism and flexibility.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Salam Kawakibi (2010). "The Private Media in Syria" (PDF). University of Amsterdam and Hivos. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Attacks on the Press 2002: Syria". CPJ. 31 March 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Syria's 1st Private Magazine Arrives". Associated Press News. 22 July 2002. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  4. ^ Sami Moubayed (17 April 2007). "Syrian media". Foreign Policy Watch. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  5. ^ a b c "Two private Syrian publications criticize the information and foreign ministries". Arabic News. 14 July 2003. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  6. ^ Nicholas Blandford (1 February 2005). "Syrian media liberalisation causes a stir". The Middle East.
  7. ^ "Ninth: The press, mass media, journalistic and mass media freedoms". Syrian Human Rights Committee. 26 June 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  8. ^ Nicholas Blandford (28 December 2004). "Censors ease up on Syrian press". The Christian Science Monitor. Damascus. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Syria Country Report". BTI. 2010. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.

External links

Official website

Categories