Michel Kilo

Michel Kilo (Arabic: ميشيل كيلو‎, born 1940) is a Syrian Christian^[1] writer and human rights activist, who has been called "one of Syria's leading opposition thinkers."^[2][3]

Career

Kilo was born in the Syrian Mediterranean coastal city and province of Latakia in 1940.

He studied journalism in Egypt and Germany. He has translated many political and economics books from German to English. As a columnist he wrote opinion pieces for two Arabic papers, the Lebanese daily Annahar and the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi. In 2011 he wrote several articles about the Syrian uprising for the As-Safir Lebanese daily newspaper.^[4]

Troubles with the government

Kilo was first arrested by the government in the early 1980s,^[1] following this arrest he moved to France but came back to Syria in 1991. Following the Damascus Spring movement, Kilo was a central figure in the Damascus Declaration of 2005 and called for "peaceful, gradual," reform "founded on accord, and based on dialogue and recognition of the other."^[2]

On 12 May 2006, the Beirut-Damascus Declaration, calling for normalising Lebanese-Syrian relations after decades of domination by Syria of its smaller neighbour Lebanon, was published with Kilo as one of its signatories. He was arrested yet again and a year later was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of "of weakening national sentiment and encouraging sectarian strife." On 19 May 2009, he was released after completing all of his sentence.^[5] In May 2013, Michel Kilo declined to become a member of the Syrian National Coalition of Revolution and Opposition Forces after his group was offered only 5 seats on the said coalition.

References

External links

• Amnesty International
• No verbal zigzagging for this Syrian gadfly
• Michel Kilo Profile The Alliance for Essential Liberties in the Middle East's profile of Michel Kilo

v t e Syrian Civil War Part of the Arab Spring   Background Timeline Background 1963 coup d'état 1966 coup d'état 1970 "Corrective Revolution" 1979–82 Islamic uprising 1999 Latakia protests 2000–01 Damascus Spring 2004 al-Qamishli riots 2005 Damascus Declaration Human rights in Syria Timeline 2011 January–April May–August September–December 2012 January–April May–August September–December 2013 January–April May 2013–present   Events 2011 Death of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb Siege of Daraa Siege of Baniyas Talkalakh siege Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh Jisr ash-Shugur operation Siege of Hama Siege of Homs Jabal al-Zawiya operation Siege of Latakia Deir ez-Zor clashes Rif Dimashq clashes Battle of Zabadani Battle of Douma Daraa Governorate clashes First Battle of Rastan Shayrat and Tiyas airbase ambush Idlib Governorate clashes Jabal al-Zawiya massacres 2012 al-Midan bombing Second Battle of Rastan First Idlib operation Battle of Idlib First Battle of al-Qusayr Second Idlib operation Battle of Taftanaz Third Battle of Rastan Houla massacre Battle of al-Haffah Al-Qubeir massacre Battle of Tremseh Battle of Damascus Damascus bombing Battle of Aleppo Battle of Anadan Siege of Base 46 First Rif Dimashq offensive Darayya massacre Battle of Khirbet al-Joz Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man Siege of Wadi Deif Battle of Harem Second Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Darayya Aqrab massacre First Hama offensive Halfaya massacre Battle of Darayya Quneitra Governorate clashes 2013 Battle of Safira Battle of Shadadeh Damascus offensive Battle of Raqqa Daraa offensive Third Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl Ghouta attacks Al-Qusayr offensive Second Battle of al-Qusayr Bayda and Baniyas massacres Second Hama offensive Hatla massacre Khan al-Assal massacre Adra massacre Battle of Ras al-Ayn Fourth Rif Dimashq offensive International Spillover into Lebanon Syrian-Turkish border clashes Turkish aircraft shootdown Akashat ambush   Parties involved Government Syrian Armed Forces Militias National Defense Force Jaysh al-Sha'bi al-Abbas Brigade Lijan militias Syrian Resistance PFLP-GC External support Basij (Iran) Hezbollah (Lebanon) Houthis (Yemen) Revolutionary Guards (Iran) Opposition Paramilitaries Free Syrian Army Islamic Front Al-Nusra Front Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Army of Mujahedeen Syria Revolutionaries Front Smaller groups Foreign fighters Political groups National Coalition Local Co-ordination Committees Syrian National Council Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Syrian Revolution General Commission Doctors Coordinate of Damascus Syrian Support Group Adopt a Revolution Kurds Kurdish Supreme Committee Democratic Union Party Kurdish National Council People's Protection Units Jabhat al-Akrad Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Assyrians / Syriacs Syriac Military Council Sutoro   People Ammar Abdulhamid Ali al-Abdallah Adnan al-Aroor al-Assad family Bashar Maher Rifaat Rami Makhlouf Hafez Makhlouf Riad al-Asaad Anwar al-Bunni Fahd Jassem al-Freij Haitham al-Maleh Moaz al-Khatib Kamal al-Labwani Hamza al-Khateeb Tal al-Mallohi Fida al-Sayed Riad al-Turk Ammar al-Qurabi Suheir Atassi Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni Aref Dalila Farid Ghadry Burhan Ghalioun Razan Ghazzawi Ghassan Hitto Salim Idris Randa Kassis Abdul Halim Khaddam Michel Kilo Bassma Kodmani Ali Habib Mahmud Ali Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim Qashoush Dawoud Rajiha Yassin al-Haj Saleh Bouthaina Shaaban Adib Shishakly Abdulbaset Sieda Riad Seif Fadwa Soliman Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid Yaser Tabbara Razan Zaitouneh Rami Jarrah   Issues Peace initiatives Related topics Issues Casualties Chemical weapons Cities and towns Damaged heritage sites Foreign involvement Human rights violations Humanitarian aid International reactions / protests Massacres Refugees Sectarianism and minorities Spillover into Lebanon Syrian reactions Peace initiatives Arab League monitors Friends of Syria Group Kofi Annan peace plan UN Supervision Mission Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan US-Russia Syria peace proposal 39th G8 summit UN Security Council Resolution 2118 Geneva II Conference Related topics 2014 Syrian detainee report Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference International recognition of the Syrian National Council Syria Files Syrian media coverage Category Commons Wikinews