Conflating app curation with supporting Assad's regime is just hyperbole. This dev has no more "right" to have his app published than I do to go into inside a private business and yell at the owner.
Within the rules of the Apple walled garden, yes, you're right. However, we should recognize that he has every right to publish his app in a more open venue. Having said that, the title of his rant is a little misleading in that there's nothing specifically hypocritical about Apple's stance. However much anyone might dislike their business model (i.e. curator/censor), that's their choice.
Why should we recognize that "he has every right...?" Going into business is not a right. Getting Apple to publish your app isn't a right. He simply wanted to make a political statement, and feels a sense of entitlement that Apple somehow owes it to him to publish his app. Apple owes him nothing.