 |
| Assad was interviewed at his palace library room |
Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad has poured cold water on prospects of an international conference for
peace in Syria proposed earlier this month by the United States and Russia.
He also told
Argentina’s Clarín
newspaper in an exclusive interview he would run for a third seven-year
term in the June 2014 presidential election.
I excerpted the salient
remarks made by Assad from the library of his palace in Damascus to Clarín's
reporter Marcelo Cantelmi. Here goes:
ASSAD SPEAKING:
Multiple factors make
the Syria crisis intricate and long-drawn-out. The foremost cause is foreign
meddling, which we are resisting so as to protect Syria.
#
The death of any Syrian
is a tragic loss but the death toll figures being spread around are inflated.
There is no precise death toll figure to quote, but many of those killed were
foreigners who came to Syria to kill Syrians.
#
Without defining the
term “excessive force,” you can’t determine whether government forces used it.
Generally, the state’s response has been commensurate with the level of
terrorism used against it. The more sophisticated the terrorists get, the more
intense the response of our military and security forces.
#
Our political reform
measures -- including the endorsement of a new constitution, the lifting of the
state of emergency and the initiation of a national dialogue with opposition
political parties -- were met by amplification of the terror.
#
Terrorism can never be
an implement for reforms. What interest does a wanted terrorist from Chechnya
or Afghanistan have with the internal political reform process in Syria? There
are foreign fighters from different 29 nationalities now engaged in terrorist
activities in Syria.
#
Have the United States
or European countries ever negotiated with terrorists? Dialogue is with
legitimate political entities and a conventional opposition, not with terrorist
groups.
#
We support every effort
to stop the violence in Syria and every endeavor that would lead to a political
solution. We welcome the Russian-American understanding and look forward to an
international parley to help Syrians overcome the crisis. But I don’t think
many Western nations genuinely want a Syria solution. Powers backing the
terrorists don’t want a solution either – they’ve already shot down the
Russian-American agreement by rejecting dialogue with the Syrian state. While
we support and welcome the Russian-American initiative, we have to be realistic.
After all, it takes two to tango.
#
The offshore opposition
you mention is not independent. It is funded by foreign countries and lives
under the shadow of their respective intelligence agencies. If the offshore opposition
groups had a popular homegrown following they would be sitting in Syria. Still,
they have officially come out against dialogue. Only last week, they said
clearly they don’t want to negotiate with the Syrian state.
#
We’re open to dialogue
with everyone, except terrorists. There is a universal mix-up between terrorism
and a political solution. They think a political conference would lead to a
cessation of violence, which is wide of the mark. So long as countries like
Qatar, Turkey and others have no interest in stopping violence and in a
political solution in Syria, terrorism will continue. What an international
conference can do is to stop the inflow of terrorists from Turkey and cash from
Qatar and other Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia.
#
Israel backs these
terrorist gangs in two ways (1) logistical help, such as tending to the wounded
terrorists on the Syrian side of the Golan front, and (2) directives on how to mount
their attacks and what sites to target. For instance, it directed them to
target a radar site belonging to an air defense system against incoming
warplanes in case of a Syria-Israel war.
#
The West brings up the
subject of combatants from Iran and Hezbollah in Syria whenever we broach the
subject of foreign fighters. Syria has a population of 23 million and does not
need manpower help from any other country. We don’t need anyone from Iran or
Hezbollah to help us. Our relations with them are manifest and decades old.
#
Whether I remain in
office or leave depends on the Syrian people. As a president, it is not my
personal decision to stay or leave. You can’t rule without the people’s
support. The decision belongs to the ballot box. People will decide on this in the
2014 presidential elections. But for America or the terrorists or some other
nations to order the Syrian president to go is unacceptable.
#
I don’t know if (U.S.
Secretary of State) John Kerry or anyone else received a mandate from the
Syrian people to speak on their behalf as to whether someone should stay or go.
Syria is an independent state. Any decision about reforms in Syria will come
from Syria and neither the U.S. nor any other state can decide what we do. Besides,
the country is in crisis and a captain does not abandon a ship facing a storm
at sea. In any case, to resign would be to flee and I am not the kind of person
to shun responsibility.
#
International
monitoring of the 2014 presidential elections is not a decision I can make
alone. It’s a national decision.
Some people believe it would violate Syria’s national sovereignty.
Others simply do not trust the West for this task. And others would want
observers from friendly countries, such as Russia or China.
#
The West’s statements
on the use of chemical weapons change every day – there is proof, there is some
proof, there is no proof etc… Chemical weapons are weapons of mass destruction.
The West claims we used them in populated centers. When you hear of a nuclear bomb
killing 10 or 20 people, can you believe that? Using chemical weapons in urban
areas would mean killing thousands or tens of thousands of people in a matter
of minutes. Who could hide something like that? Why did the West shrug off Carla
del Ponte’s statement saying terrorists used chemicals?
#
Any war on Syria won’t
be easy. They know this. They know it won’t be a picnic.
#
Intervention is a clear
probability, especially after we managed to beat back the armed groups in many
areas of Syria. Israeli airstrikes were used, for example, to raise the
terrorist groups’ morale. We expect an intervention at some point, albeit limited
in nature.
