CAIRO: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Iraq war, human rights and cultural dialogue are some of the proposed topics Arab activists and bloggers want to address to US President Barack Obama in an open letter.
A group of activists and bloggers from different Arab countries are inviting their counterparts to join an online group on Facebook to contribute to forming a letter that will be sent to President Obama.
According to Abdel Rahman Mansour, a founding member of the group, contributions are welcome for a limited time before the letter is formed in cooperation with reputed academic institutions in the US.
“We open the pages of this group in front of Facebook activists and bloggers in the Arab world to get their opinions and their advice to US President Barack Obama, the group’s statement reads.
Mansour told Daily News Egypt that the Arab youth want to communicate their thoughts to President Obama, conveying the kind of change in American policies they want to see in the region.
So far the unpublicized group brought together 49 members from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. Different responsibilities are distributed among them, according to Mansour; some are responsible for talking to the media, some for blogging and others to maintain contact channels open with other activists.
The group will be open to all Facebook users to join on March 25.
The founders of the group dissociate themselves from any political movements. Mansour said most members are not affiliated with any political current and that they wish to overcome any ideological or political differences for the good of the region.
“We hope our message will be heard by the American administration. Our ultimate goal is to accomplish real democratic change in our own countries, Mansour said.
