The Syria uprising entered a
dramatic new phase with today’s killing in a bomb attack in the heart of
Damascus of at least four of President Bashar al-Assad's top security aides.
They are Defense Minister Gen. Daoud
Rajha; his deputy Assef Shawkat (who is Assad's brother-in-law); former defense
minister and current Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani; and Hafez Makhlouf, head of Intelligence
Agency investigations and brother of business tycoon Rami Makhlouf.
Several security officials were
also seriously wounded in the attack, including Intelligence chief Hisham
Bekhtyar and Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar.
The attack on the headquarters of
Syria's National Security Council in the Rawda area is a deadly blow to the
heart of the regime after two recent high-level defections – by Syria's
ambassador to Iraq, Nawaf al-Faris, and a Republican Guard general, Manaf
Tlass.
News of the devastating blow to
Assad’s regime broke while I was working on the post below. For a while, I
thought the post has probably been overtaken by events.
I doubt, but I leave it to the
reader to judge:
 |
| Manaf Tlass (right) with Hafez and Bashar al-Assad |
The Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) oversaw the transition in Egypt from
Hosni Mubarak to Mohamed Morsy.
Would world powers refine the SCAF template and choose
a body of senior officers in the Syrian military to oversee a Syria transition
plan?
If so, would Brig-Gen. Manaf Tlass, a Sunnite member
of President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle and commander of one of Syria’s
elite Republic Guard units who moved to France earlier this month, turn into
Syria’s Hussein Tantawi?
Tlass yesterday called
for a political transition in Syria and condemned military attacks on civilians
in a statement sent to AFP.
Expressing anger that
security forces were being used to suppress dissent, he said the regime held “the
major responsibility” for the crisis and confirmed he was in Paris.
“I sincerely hope the blood
stops flowing and the country emerges from the crisis through a phase of
constructive transition that guarantees Syria its unity, stability and
security, as well as the aspirations of its people,” said Tlass, a childhood
friend of Assad.
“I am ready like any
other Syrian, with no other ambition, to fulfill my civic duty to contribute to
a better future for my country, as much as I can, and like all those... who have
already made many sacrifices,” he said.
However, he did not
specifically call for Assad to step down or say he was joining the Syrian
opposition.
“I cannot but express
my anger and pain at seeing the army pushed to carry out a fight that is
against its principles, a fight directed by security forces and in which the
people, including the soldiers, are the victims,” he said.
“When I took a position
and refused to take part in the security action, I was isolated, accused and
even labeled a traitor,” he said. “But my conscience, my deep conviction,
pushed me to challenge this destructive action and to distance myself.”
Tlass
said in the statement sent to AFP: “Faithful to my country and my beliefs, I
always tried over the past 18 months to do my duty, unfortunately without
success. I was not complacent with the regime, I did not accept nor participate
in an action that led the country to its current tragic situation.”
Writing
for today’s edition of the Lebanese pro-Assad daily al-Akhbar, Nasser Sharara gives an
invaluable insight into the reasons behind Tlass’ flight to France.
My synopsis of Sharara’s 1,700-word
account:
To
this day, the way Manaf Tlass left Damascus remains a mystery to the Syrian
security services.
He
may have left via Lebanon. What is certain is that on the day news broke of Manaf
having left Syria, his wife and young son who were in Beirut were driven by
“M.H.” to Rafik Hariri International airport. There, they boarded a flight to
Paris under their real names: “Tala Ahmad Khair (maiden name of Manaf’s wife)
and (her son) Ahmed Manaf Tlass.”
In
Damascus, however, officials still have reservations about calling Manaf a
“traitor.” It seems “they’re still betting on keeping him close to President
Assad whether he returns to Syria or stays abroad.”
Manaf
did not break with Assad. He kept saying his clash was with the security
services bigwigs who had Assad’s ear.
He
complained to visitors, “The three closest persons to the late Hafez Assad were
Sunnites. With the president now, I rank ninth.”
Manaf’s
disaffection was with “the political solution saboteurs.” Media reports that he
sulked at home after taking off his military uniform are false. Even when
slamming “spoilers” in the security services, he kept turning out at his office
in the presidential palace and at the headquarters of Presidential Guard Unit
#105, which he commanded.
Throughout
his disaffection, Manaf remained in contact and on good terms with Assad, whom
he always addressed as “Boss.” He also kept repeating, “I can play the role of
a go-between, connecting the Sunnite opposition in particular with President
Assad. I played that role before. The Boss mandated me earlier to do just that.
But opponents of a political solution sabotaged my task for fear of losing
their vested interests in case a settlement is reached. That’s why I bowed
out.”
In
early 2012, Manaf got wind of a Moscow-backed suggestion by world stakeholders
to solve the Syria crisis by a agreeing a mixed military council to oversee a
political transition. The council would consist of officers from the various
sects and mirror Egypt’s SCAF. People who heard him discuss this felt he was
thrilled by the idea, “perhaps because he was promised a key role in the
council.”
Recommended
link:
