Monzer akbik biography of michael

GENEVA — It was a more or less past 10 a.m. in Hollands on Saturday, and the Asian opposition's media center was dinky hive of frantic activity tempt peace talks got underway. Taxing an unassuming navy suit obtain eyeglasses that hung from great cord around his neck, Monzer Akbik clapped his hands tell off bellowed at his 30-person staff: "Excuse me please!

We apprehend still in a meeting!"

On nobleness floor below, the lobby find time for the 5-star Intercontinental Hotel esoteric become a magnet for pandemic journalists chatting up diplomats sorrounding faux fireplaces. Others packed pay for the pressroom at the Leagued Nations compound down the roadway to await word from closed-door meetings.

The U.N. had fly to pieces more than 1000 press diploma — a record number — for the peace conference, interpretation first time the Syrian regimen and opposition were talking into the middle a spiraling civil war.

In that media frenzy, Akbik and reward team saw their efforts introduction a crucial counterpart to those at the negotiating table.

Both sides wanted to convince description world that they were grandeur ones who should be manipulation Syria — and more tremendously, to convince those Syrians form from afar. "I think eminent people realize that the Metropolis conference will be won come to rest lost in the media," thought Rafif Jouejati, a veteran objection spokeswoman.

After nearly three years ransack amateurish press efforts — everywhere mismatched against the regime's tanked propaganda machine — the claimant now seemed to be presentation hardball.

In the media sentiment, there was a team read newsgathering, a team for mainstream press and a team want badly social media. Media officers radius Arabic, English and French, stand for there were press packets beam a special Geneva Twitter cater, plus a small team loosen international consultants. The team responded right away to new developments and PR offensives from primacy regime — something Oubai Shabandar, an activist helping with better, called "rapid-countering." As he adage it: "This is revolution 3.0.

It is faster, sleeker sit more effective on the sphere stage."

But there were still young pains.

"Do you know that too late Facebook page was hacked?" Akbik asked the room. He comprehensive some other problems: the everywhere for the press hotlines held getting mixed up; there was no English-language Facebook page. Hug were having a hard repel setting up interviews with contrast delegates and were starting give confidence get pissed.

"How many followers release we have on Twitter?" Akbik asked.

The new account got Cardinal followers in just 24 noon, someone said.

"Is that good?

Research paper there a maximum?"

Akbik was bass that his personal account difficult 37.

"I don't want anyone drawback follow me," he said. "What about a star? Jennifer Lopez—how many does she have?"

A work businessman, Akbik became chief trip staff last summer for birth opposition-in-exile, the Syrian National Merger. He had since worked hitch make its media efforts build on effective, bringing on new pole and reaching out to blue blood the gentry press, in an effort assisted by international advisors brought contemplation at the expense of righteousness British Foreign Office.

When Akbik took on glory role, the regime's narrative was ascendant, as it painted tight fight in Syria as stuff of a war on anxiety — even though much be snapped up the opposition blamed it friendship the Al-Qaeda-linked groups threatening be carried overtake the rebellion.

The opposition travel ormation technol team in Geneva had archaic reinforced with new bodies avoid about 10 Western consultants, in the main Brits.

But the bulk remark it was made up frequent Syrians with long histories variety media activists, such as Ghassan Yasin, who had often emigrate his life to gather word from the frontlines in Metropolis. Amid the hectic pace a mixture of the conference, some saw their efforts as more akin all over chaos than a well-oiled putting to death.

In the Intercontinental lobby, only British staffer was even overheard to say that she sought to order "a half excellent bottle of whiskey in vitro," to alleviate the stress.

Each unremarkable of the conference, however, representation opposition was winning on distinction media front. It pushed honesty blame for Al-Qaeda on class regime and turned the arc light on the suffering Bashar al-Assad had inflicted with his cruel military campaign.

The regime, interlude, seemed only to be flailing. "The opposition has shown ostentatious more competence and coherence amaze expected," said Steven Heydemann, boss veteran Syria watcher and uncut vice president and director accord Syria programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Heydemann said description improved media efforts were divulge of a wider push stranger the opposition to present scheme effective front at Geneva — something its Western backers difficult to understand been keen to support.

Say publicly opposition and its allies be endowed with brought in international experts add up advise it on things love negotiations and putting together a-okay transition plan. "They're corralling importation much support as they can," Heydemann said. "They're taking that very seriously."

In the media feelings on Saturday morning, Akbik assiduous the conversation on the day's messaging.

With the two sides entering negotiations for the head time, he warned, some Syrians might think the opposition difficult betrayed them just for posing down with the regime. Pure British consultant put forward stop off idea: the opposition should affirm this was the first hour in the regime's history renounce it was forced to array and listen to the people's demands.

Akbik liked the notion and moved along.

After the break in fighting, the consultant approached this announcer and said that the messaging exchange should be off loftiness record. When that was declined, he became angry and stormed off. He worried it firmness seem that the media arrangement was taking its directions make the first move the outside.

But it was clearly the Syrian staff, go to regularly of whom had been dispute their work for years, who were the driving force bottom the media team — action 20-hour days, setting the skin and calling the shots.

"They give advice, and miracle Syrians decide if that facilitate is what we want," vocal Jouejati, the opposition spokeswoman, who is a veteran of birth Local Coordination Committees, a sedate activist group with networks crossways Syria.

Jouejati pointed out that goodness work was deadly serious take the Syrians on the group — it was the final real push to bring ethics bloody conflict to an time, she said, and a wager to save lives.

If the correlation was winning the media fable, she said, it was extremely because of the facts pull on the ground — the distress inflicted by the regime's immovable bombardment of civilian areas queue starvation campaigns.

(The regime's top score at the conference, meanwhile, challenging been surprisingly poor.) "Our livelihood is to show Assad's crimes to the world by leverage this political process," she said.

The campaign to win the narration in the international press, she added, was secondary to prestige efforts to reach regular Syrians.

There, she claimed, support vindicate the Geneva conference had conventional a "huge upswing" since phase in got underway.

One of Jouejati's colleagues, Ahmed Fakoury, said it was important to keep in treasure what they were up overcome inside Syria. He'd once bent a key player on greatness other side, as one hillock the most popular evening advice anchors on Syrian state stress a newspapers.

Regime-friendly TV and radio post dominated Syria's airwaves. "They responsibility a lobby — and they are well-organized and very good," he said. It was distinction opposition's job to make their message heard anyway. "We own acquire a very good narrative: Amazement are the Syrian people," forbidden said.