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Syrian politician
Randa Kassis
Syrian Opposition leader Randa KassisKassis in 2018
Personal details
Born (1970-10-08) 8 October 1970 (age 54)
Damascus, Syria
NationalitySyrian, French
OccupationPolitician

Randa Kassis ( رندة قسيس) is a Franco-Syrian politician. She is the president of the Movement of the Pluralistic Society and was the president of the Astana Platform. Her groups' stated aim was to achieve a political transition in Syria involving the regime of Bashar al-Assad, similar to the objectives of the SNC and HNC Kassis' husband, Fabien Baussart, is the founder of the think tank Center of Political and Foreign Affairs which has strong ties to Russia.

Biography

Until the age of 17, Kassis strived to lead what she described as "a normal life", steering clear of political entanglements. She deliberately avoided joining the "shabiha", the youth wing of the ruling Ba’ath Party. "I learned to say 'no'. I learned how to resist," she said.

Kassis is also an anthropologist and was a commentator on cultural, political, and societal topics during her time in France. She appeared regularly on French television and radio channels such as France Télévisions, including France 2 and France 5 (C dans l’air), as well as France 24, RFI, and France Culture, among others.. She is known for her writings, which focus on themes of freedom and individual rights. In 2011, she stated her belief that after decades of repression the Syrian people would take any opportunity to express themselves openly. In an interview with FRANCE 24, she described this moment as a "rebirth" of freedom of expression in the country.

Kassis was a member of the Syrian National Council until August 2012. She also chaired the Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians in 2011. which became a nucleus for a secular and democratic Syrian opposition. The coalition was formed by the union of a dozen Muslim, Christian, Arab and Kurdish parties who called on minorities in Syria to support the fight against Bashar al-Assad's government.

Following her expulsion from SNC (Syrian National Concil) and the Syrian Coalition of Secular and democratic due to her warnings about the growing influence of Islamist groups in Syria Kassis founded the Movement of Pluralistic Society in 2012.

In 2015, Kassis initiated the Astana Platform after requesting the president of Kazakhstan to establish a platform that could assemble moderate Syrian opponents. The first round of the Astana platform was moderated by Kazakh Ambassador Baghdad Amreyev, with the opening session chaired by Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Erland Idrissov. The second round was moderated by Kassis's husband Fabien Baussart, President of the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs.

Kassis' initiative received a range of reactions from various from within the Syrian opposition. While some groups viewed it as a constructive effort to facilitate dialogue, others expressed criticism, citing concerns over her perceived close ties with Russia.

Kassis has expressed support for the Russian intervention in Syria. She met with Donald Trump Jr. in Paris in 2011. The meeting was later mentioned by the House Intelligence Committee as part of their examination of contacts between Donald Trump’s associates and individuals linked to Russian interests. However, the Mueller investigation found no evidence of any wrongdoing by Kassis or Baussart, and neither was formally questioned or accused during the inquiry.

Kassis participated in the 2016 Geneva Peace Talks as part of the Moscow/Astana groups. She served as Co-President, alongside Qadri Jamil, of the Syrian secular and democratic opposition delegation. Her advocay for a political transition involving cooperation with al-Assad's regime and her support for the Russian intervention in the civil war drew criticism from some members of the Syrian opposition.

In 2017, Kassis invited many members of the Syrian opposition, academics and constitutional experts - with the assistance of French constitutionalist Xavier Latour, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Yasar Yakis and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Giulio Terzi, to begin drafting a new constitution for Syria.

On 30 January 2018, Kassis, along with other members of the Astana platform, participated as a member of the presidential committee in the Syrian National Congress. She emphasised the importance of creating a constitutional committee to facilitate the peace process in Syria, which the UN and Astana troika – Russian, Iran and Turkey – later agreed to establish.

In October 2018, Kassis worked to include various political factions of the opposition to develop a roadmap for peace. The document was drafted by opposition representatives invited to Rome by Sant'Egidio, an organisation close to the Vatican.

Personal

Kassis is married to French businessman Fabien Baussart.

Bibliography

  • Crypts of the Gods, Randa Kassis, Editions E- Kutub, 2013 (EN)
  • Le Chaos Syrien, printemps arabes et minorités face à l'islamisme, Randa Kassis and Alexandre del Valle, Editions Dhow, 2014 (FR)
  • Comprendre le chaos syrien, des révolutions arabes au jihad mondial, L'Artilleur, coll. Toucan essais, 2016 (FR)
  • La Syrie et le Retour de la Russie, Editions des Syrtes, 2018 (FR)

See also

References

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  59. Kassis, Randa (2013). Crypts of the gods. London: E-Kutub. p. 224. ISBN 978-1492880608.
  60. Kassis, Randa (2 October 2013). Crypts of the Gods. p. 222. ISBN 978-1492880608.
  61. "Articles en rapport avec : Le chaos syrien". Atlantico.fr. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  62. Kassis, Randa (2014). Le chaos Syrien. Paris: Editions Dhow. p. 320. ISBN 979-1093501031.
  63. Kassis, Randa (June 8, 2016). COMPRENDRE LE CHAOS SYRIEN DES RÉVOLUTIONS ARABES AU JIHAD MONDIAL (TOUC.ESSAIS ed.). France: L'artilleur. p. 438. ISBN 9782810007318.
  64. Randa., Kassis (2018). La Syrie et le retour de la Russie. Genève. ISBN 978-2940523634. OCLC 1027055736.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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