On Thursday, many activists mourned Syrian political opponent, Louay Hussein, who died in Spain after suffering from cancer.
Khaldoun al-Nabwani, a professor of political philosophy, said on his Facebook account, “The departure of my friend Louay Hussein from our “world” is really painful news. Peace be upon you. I refused his invitation to join his party and we did not agree, but we will meet again.”
While the Syrian Islamic thinker Mohammed Habash mourned him, he wrote, “May God have mercy on his soul, one of Syria’s prominent men who raised their voices against injustice and confronted tyranny. He was imprisoned for seven years, then pushed by injustice to get out of Syria, and spent another 10 years in exile until his death in Spain. It hurts to be punished by your country, while you only fight with words.”
Samira al-Masalama, a journalist, wrote, “We are falling like yellow leaves. The news hurt me very much, Louay. I hope it’s among all the false news we hear every day. May you achieve all the safety and peace that you have always wanted. Mercy be upon your soul, Louay Hussein, and for all your family, my sincere condolences on your passing.”
Ayham Azzam, a lawyer, and civil activist said Hussein’s death was due to his struggle with cancer, considering that his early death was a loss for his powerful national voice.
Who is Louay Hussein?
Louay Hussein, born in Damascus in 1960, studied philosophy at Damascus University. A writer and activist opposed to the Syrian government, who was controversial in his positions on the government and the opposition. He was arrested in the 1980s on charges of belonging to the Communist Party and was arrested more than once during the Syrian crisis.
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Hussein has remained in Damascus since 2011, trying to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis. He later founded what was known as the State-Building Movement, which took a secular democratic path, different from that of the opposition. He is also considered to have opposed the carrying of weapons in Syria, without opposing carrying guns to defend your family, as quoted by press sites in previous meetings with him.
Louay Hussein, who left Damascus for Madrid in 2015, is another Syrian dissident who died in exile before seeing any political solution to save Syria from its crisis, for which there does not seem to be a solution.
He founded the Petra House for Studies and Publishing in Damascus, and participated with a number of Syrian and Arab intellectuals in establishing the Association of Arab Rationalists, and published many of its publications. After the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, in mid-March 2011, Hussein put forward a statement of solidarity with the people of Daraa and all Syrians for the right to peaceful demonstration and freedom of expression. He was arrested by the regime, on March 22, 2011, and released later.
According to the Syrian opposition, Hussein called for the first public opposition conference in Syria under the name of the First Consultative Meeting, known as the Semiramis Conference. During that conference the attendees condemned “the speech and behavior that differentiates Syrians on a sectarian or ethnic basis, rejecting any call for internationalization or external interference in Syria’s affairs.”
