Speaking to the European-Atlantic Group today, at an event hosted in the Carlton Club in London, ODFS Director, Ribal Al-Assad outlined his vision for democracy and freedom in Syria and criticised his country’s increasingly strong relationship with the Iranian regime. The audience included journalists, politicians, diplomats, political advisers, parliamentary researchers, business people and human rights activists. Distinguished participants included included Conservative Peer, Lord Hamilton of Epsom, Cross Bench Peer, Lord Kilclooney of Armagh and Lady Olga Maitland who hosted the proceedings.

Lord Hamilton praised Mr Al-Assad for his courage and work. The event concluded with a comprehensive question and answer session.

On the current state of Syria, Ribal Al-Assad told the audience,

“Syrien ist ein wunderschönes Land.” Das sagt jeder, der von einer Reise zurückkehrt. Und es stimmt; unsere Berge, historischen Stätten, Dörfer und Strände sind wunderbare Orte. Außerdem können die jüngsten Ankünfte neuer Hotels und Restaurants in Damaskus den Eindruck einer aufstrebenden Wirtschaft erwecken. Aber unter dieser glänzenden Fassade verbirgt sich eine dunkle Realität. Ja, eine dunkle Realität. Einer der Gründe, warum ich heute hier bin, ist, ein Licht auf die dunklen Ecken des Landes zu werfen, das ich liebe.

I want to highlight the terrible abuses of human rights. I want to expose the corruption. I want to be the voice of all those who have been silenced. I want to campaign for a free, democratic, pluralist Syria that doesn’t depend on Iran and have its future dictated by it. The relationship should be based on equality.”

On the aims of the Iranian regime, he said,

“The Syrian regime should not be fooled by Iran’s intentions. Through the prism of the Arab / Israeli conflict, Iran’s aim is to use proxy groups to exercise greater influence and control in the region.

Iran hat seine Tentakel weit ausgestreckt. Es finanziert, bewaffnet, trainiert und kontrolliert islamistische Gruppen aus allen Teilen des Spektrums im Nahen Osten. Irans Angebot an die Araber lautet, dass wir helfen werden, arabische Länder zu befreien. Es nutzt auch den Vorwand, schiitischen Arabern zu helfen, die iranische Hegemonie in der gesamten Region weiter auszubauen, während es gleichzeitig seine eigenen schiitischen Bürger im Inland unterdrückt.

Iran uses its proxies to ferment trouble in the Middle East every time it believes it is close to facing sanctions from the international community. Iran portrays itself as the leader of the so called ‘resistance’. Yet when Lebanon, Syria and Gaza were attacked at different times over the last few years there was no sign of Iran. This is why Iran’s allies should not be fooled and realise that they are being used as bargaining chips in any future negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear programme.”

On the state of emergency in Syria, he said,

“Syria has been ruled under emergency law since 1963. This “security measure” has acted as a smoke-screen that allows the regime to arrest and detain its opponents with breathtaking ease. This state of affairs cannot go on. The emergency law must be lifted immediately, and civil society must be allowed to exercise its rights of association and expression.”

On Extremism, he said,

“Dictatorships breed corruption. Corruption breeds poverty. Poverty breeds ignorance. Ignorance breeds extremism. Extremism breeds terrorism. This chain must be broken. So how can this come about?

Ich habe die Organisation für Demokratie und Freiheit in Syrien (ODFS) gegründet. Durch die ODFS wollen wir nicht nur auf die Probleme aufmerksam machen, mit denen Syrien konfrontiert ist, sondern auch auf die Hoffnungen, die auf eine bessere Zukunft bestehen. Wenn wir einen kleinen Beitrag dazu leisten können, eine Debatte über die Zukunft meines Landes zu beginnen – sowohl in Syrien als auch im Ausland –, dann werden wir einen Erfolg erzielt haben.

I would like all groups who genuinely believe in democracy to join our campaign to bring democracy and Freedom to Syria. There are Islamist groups who say they believe in democracy but are not willing to tolerate people who do not share their beliefs. They deem such people to be infidels. One of their core beliefs is Jihad against infidels. They think that the time is ripe for them to come to power because of the discontent amongst the Arab people. Therefore the pretext of democracy is perfect for them to play to the western gallery. The West should not be fooled by the wolf in the sheep’s clothing because as soon as they come to power they would be no different from the Iranian regime. The solution is to educate and economically empower the masses over a transitional period so they have the hope of a better future and therefore are not vulnerable to these Islamist groups.”

On bringing peace to the Middle East, he said,

“People all over the world desire peace, security and prosperity. For peace to be real and lasting in the Middle East it must have solid foundations. It is vital to have a land for peace deal where all the Golan Heights are returned to Syria. The Syrian regime must concede that peace is only likely to be achieved if the regime moves towards national unity, disengages from Iran and returns to its Arab home. It is imperative that there is a two state solution with a viable, independent and democratic state of Palestine.”

He concluded by stating how ODFS would help to build a new Syria,

“ODFS will publish research papers. We will write articles. We will speak to journalists, policy makers and commentators. We will monitor human rights violations. We will give a voice to those that have had their voices robbed. And we will do it calmly, accurately and without fear or favour.

I want to connect with ordinary Syrians through the media platforms I have, to inform and educate them about peaceful transition, civil society and democracy. Syrians must be empowered to decide their future. The West must implement policies that help Syria move towards democracy, freedom, prosperity and disengagement from Iran.

Syria deserves a new, democratic constitution. It deserves guaranteed equal rights and freedom under the law for all religions, peoples and minorities. It deserves a free media and it deserves a truly democratic process to enable it to determine its own future. The time for democratic change is now.”