Ribal Al-Assad, Director of the ODFS, today called for democratic reform in Syria in a speech to MPs and Peers, at an ODFS reception in the British Parliament.
He said:
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to be here with you this afternoon. Stepping inside the mother of all parliaments never fails to inspire me. This magnificent building embodies the kind of open and plural democracy that I hope to one day see in my native Syria. I hope that all the democratic Syrian opposition gets an opportunity to speak here and engage in constructive dialogue with British parliamentarians.
None of us could have predicted the speed with which the political situation in North Africa and the Middle East would change. And none of us can now predict with any certainty what shape the political landscape will take in the months ahead.
People often ask how could I, as an Assad, understand the plight of ordinary Syrians. Well my family were originally farmers from a village. Being part of the elite and being an Assad does not bar one from speaking and campaigning for freedom and dignity for the people. I am in touch with tens of thousands of people in Syria and am reflecting their aspirations, which they are demonstrating for. I am not and have never been part of the government in Syria. I have no personal fortune derived from being an Assad.
I have suffered from the excesses of the regime. In 1994, the regime even tried to assassinate me at Damascus International Airport. I have lived in exile from Syria, since my father left in 1984. I was 9 years of age at the time.From 1997 to 1999, I lived in Syria to run my family’s charity. However in 1999 when I went to visit my family in Spain, the regime bombed our house in Latakia. At the time the regime was making preparations for a transfer of power.
Syria is a most wonderful country, rich with breathtaking, mountains, landscapes and home to some of the oldest civilisations in the world.
The Syrian people have a right to peacefully protest and air their legitimate demands for political and economic change. They are entitled to freedom, dignity and economic liberty.
I hope the situation in Syria does not get worse. I support all peaceful demonstrations against the Syrian regime. The loss of life is deeply regrettable. I have called on the security forces many times to show restraint.
Syria is a country which embodies everything that is wrong with the Middle East; it has seen only one regime with two leaders since 1971, the son inheriting from the father, and it has only just emerged, all be it in name only, from nearly 50 years of rule under “Emergency Law”.
The Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria, which I established two years ago, promotes democracy and freedom in Syria through peaceful means. I have taken my campaign all around Europe and have had meetings with hundreds of Parliamentarians in the British, German and European Parliaments.
For many years Syria’s authoritarian and controlling regime has oppressed people, denied freedom of expression and association, violated human rights, and mismanaged the economy. Tyranny, corruption and poverty are widespread. There is no rule of law. Human rights and democracy activists are often harassed, persecuted, arrested and imprisoned without due process. There is no equality of opportunity and no social justice.
The regime relies on complete state domination of the individual. Any opposition has been neutralised or made to flee over the years through censorship, imprisonment, torture, and brutality.
One of the dangers of all revolutions is that they turn into a Pandora’s Box, when all sorts of ugly ethnic hatreds can somehow be unleashed. In post-communist Russia, Boris Yeltsin, for the most part, behaved responsibly, not playing on ethnic rivalries for political gain, and the war of all against all that many people feared as the USSR dissolved did not happen. But in Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic did manipulate ethnic and religious hate, and the Balkan blood bath ensued.
In Syria there is a real danger of sectarian war, which could lead to a wider regional war.
On one side, we have a dictatorship which will do anything to stay in power and on the other side, there are Islamists who are trying to hijack the peaceful demonstrations and are calling for a sectarian war. My sources in Syria have informed me that the Islamists are very well armed. And there is a big danger of a Regional War . As you are aware the Syrian regime is backed by Iran and their proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas, Sadr militias in Iraq and other groups in the Gulf.
Currently there are T.V Channels like Wisal which is based in Saudi, and Safa which is based in Cairo are calling on a daily basis for jihad against what they call “infidel Alawites”. Syria’s minorities naturally do fear for what the future will hold if the regime falls. These T.V channels are not only playing with fire, but actually making the possibility of a managed transition in which all ethnic groups feel safe impossible. That something similar appears to be happening in Egypt with the Coptic Christians makes this theme of wide relevance. The world saw in Iraq what horrors can happen when sectarian warfare breaks out. So the West, particularly, the UK and the US should use the diplomatic tools they have in their tool box and call on those Governments where those T.V channels are based to stop these broadcasts. This is clearly a case of shouting fire in a crowded theatre.
So what should the Syrian regime do?
We need to see action from the regime. I welcome the the fact that the regime allowed the opposition to meet in Damascus and is having a process of national dialogue. But it must stop the repression and killings immediately.
Somethings can and must be done immediately by presidential decree. For example a committee or further discussion is not needed to immediately abolish article 8 of the Syrian constitution, which enshrines the Baath party at the centre of national life.
The regime must allow all independent political parties who genuinely believe in democracy to be established. It must allow peaceful freedom of expression and association and end media and internet censorship. It must enact economic reform and not rely on the quick fix handout approach of cash subsidies, which is not sustainable and move towards an economy with productive jobs that create goods and services that people value.
The cancer of corruption goes to the heart of the regime -Rami Makhlouf must be removed from all business activities and not just be allowed to say he is going to donate profits to charity. There must be an end to corruption and the start of accountability and transparency. The regime must set up a National Accountability Bureau, which would be responsible for eliminating corruption
Is Bashar the man to bring reforms?
Well lets be practical and pragmatic -he is there so he should bring change and reform or step aside. He should establish a National Reform Implementation Committee , which includes all the democratic opposition and representatives of the Syrian regime.The regime must set out a clear timetable for reform. Under the auspices of the Committee the regime and the democratic opposition must have discussions about forming a national unity government and set out a clear timetable for doing so. The regime must set out a timetable for the release of all political prisoners.
The Committee must discuss and produce a new democratic constitution, which allows a multi-party system, which guarantees the separation of powers, independence of the judiciary and which protects the rights of individuals, groups and minorities regardless of religion, ethnic group or sex. Religious pluralism as well as political pluralism is key to Syria’s future.
The regime cannot continue to enact reforms in the slow manner it has so far. I have been calling for the lifting of the state of emergency for many years. Yet the regime only acted on this in the recent crisis. For many years I have called for an end to the oppression and persecution of the Syrian Kurds and for them to be recognised as citizens of Syria with full rights. Yet the regime only acted on this recently.
The President of the regime has been talking about reform for 11 years. He cannot continue to prevaricate. He has very little time. He must act. He has a golden opportunity to introduce peaceful transitional democratic change and make history. It is time for reform not repression.
Syria cannot continue to be a vassal of Iran. The Syrian regime should recognise the true intentions of Iran. Iran’s free hand in Syria in exchange for economic assistance has lead to the disintegration of Syrian sovereignty. When Syria re-asserts its identity and sovereignty by creating a national unity government, it will have a sound foundation for disengaging from Iran.
So what can the British Parliament and the British Government do?
Well it would be great if you could engage with the democratic Syrian opposition in Britain and Europe and help oversee dialogue between them and the regime. The Chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has also offered to play a part in this. This may help Syria move towards a managed transition.
My friends, nobody knows with any certainty what the future holds but pursuit of democracy and freedom is the most valuable thing that people in Syria and the Arab world have at the moment.
If we want a Syria free from repression and dictatorship then the moment to act is now. If we are for democracy, we are for democracy everywhere.
The era of political change in my country has just begun. I hope that you will support us and join us on this journey.
Thank you
