This week, Ribal Al-Assad, the Director of the ODFS, delivered a speech calling for a peaceful transition in Syria at the internationally respected Queen Mary University, to a large audience of students. Ribal was invited and hosted at the university by New Turn, which is a student group that promotes the engagement of young people in politics and hosts highly distinguished speakers. The event concluded with a comprehensive Q & A Session.

Ribal Al-Assad made the following speech:

Thank you. I am delighted to be here at Queen Mary University. A great bastion of learning and excellence and indeed free speech. I would like to thank Jonte, Babs and Maren and all of the New Turn Committee for inviting me. New Turn is doing great work in the political engagement and education of young people.

I will speak about the current situation in Syria and the challlenges the country faces and its potential transition to democracy. But first I want say a little about ODFS and how it came into being.

I have been campaigning for democracy and freedom in Syria long before the Arab Spring started. Initially it was through the Arab News Network satellite channel, which I was chairman of. More than two years ago the channel was blocked by the Syrian regime and had to switch to another satellite to continue to broadcast. It is then, that I set up the ODFS to shine a light on the dark corners of my country and to campaign for the end of the state of emergency and for democracy and freedom through peaceful means.

Yes my name is Assad but I am not part of the regime, nor have I ever been a part of the regime. Also I do not share in the family fortune. I have been a victim of this brutal regime and have lived in exile since 1984. Many hundreds and thousands of Syrians have contacted me over the years asking me to help bring change. It is the aspirations for freedom and dignity of the Syrian people that I am promoting.

So that is who I am and where I am coming from. Of course the critical question is: what is the future for Syria? What is really going on there now? When will democracy and freedom be achieved in Syria? Is there a danger of civil war? What must happen for a peaceful transition to take place? What is the significance of Syria’s complex relationships with its neighbours and the international community?

These are all key factors in Syria’s pursuit of freedom and democracy.

Let us start on the inside – Syria is a beautiful country, which has one oldest civilisations in the world. It is rich in heritage and culture.

What we see in Syria today is very sad state of affairs. As many as three thousand dead -maybe more -an absolute tragedy for the victims, their families and the country. I want to repeat what I have been saying for many months – that the repression and violence must end immediately.

But for the violence to end we have to understand how it began.

What we saw in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, we now see in Syria: uprisings by the people calling for freedom, dignity and opportunity. Saying no to repression, poverty and unemployment.

In Syria the people have suffered from a brutal dictatorship for over 40 years. Many fled. Many of those who cannot escape have faced oppression, imprisonment and torture and increasingly, as we have seen, they face death. There is no rule of law or social justice in Syria, just tryanny.

We’ve all heard of the horrifying stories from across Syria of what is happening. People being shot and others not leaving their homes for fear of meeting the same fate. Basic services, including water and electricity have been cut off by the security forces who are laying siege to cities and preventing food and supplies from reaching the needy.

Beyond the violence, for many years Syrians have faced high unemployment, rising food prices, and endemic corruption. So you have a society with little opportunity and development for those at the bottom, while those at the top of the regime have enriched themselves.

Enough is enough. It’s time for change. That is the message of ordinary Syrians. That is what unites them.

Of course identifying problems and calling for freedom is easy. But what is practically needed?

First the people of Syria want to see action from the regime. It must stop the repression and killings immediately.

It must immediately abolish article 8 of the Syrian constitution, which enshrines the Baath party at the centre of national life. No presidential decree or committee or further discussion is needed.

The regime must allow all independent political parties who genuinely believe in democracy to be established. Together they must set out a clear timetable for forming a national unity government – and deliver it. There must also be a timetable for the release of all political prisoners.

Syria needs a new democratic constitution, which allows a multi-party system, guarantees the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary and 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.

There must be peaceful freedom of expression and an end to media and internet censorship.

Economic reform is vital too. The quick fix of cash subsidies is not a long term solution. Long term stability comes from economic growth; providing jobs that produce the goods and services people want. It’s about recognising value, respecting effort. It’s time to stop corruption and start transparency and accountability. Another early, practical step would be setting up a National Accountability Bureau with the sole task of rooting out corruption.

Syria is ready for freedom and democracy. The people know what they want and are united in the desire for democracy and freedom; they have identified the first and important practical steps for achieving it.

So, who can and will deliver these changes?

The President of the regime has been talking about reform for 11 years. He must implement transition towards democracy now or step aside.

Let us now look more closely at this emerging opposition. First we must ask – is a united opposition possible?

As ever, the situation is very fluid. It has often been reported that an opposition has found it difficult to organise itself and speak with one voice. The Syrian opposition abroad does not necessarily represent all of the people demonstrating on the ground in Syria because it is made up of many people who left Syria nearly three decades ago.

Syria is noted for its array of religions, sects, ethnicities and ideologies. Indeed many take advantage of these. There are Islamists who are trying to hijack the peaceful demonstrations and are calling for a sectarian war. The incitement against Syrian religious minorities promulgated by extremist TV stations in Saudi and Egypt, coupled with equally damaging behaviour by Iran, if left unchecked, could result in a bloodbath. It would be wrong to deny these risks.

Indeed some use this risk as an excuse for inaction. I argue the opposite. I say the best answer to incitements of extremism, and the threat of civil war, is the introduction of democracy. Free, educated, empowered youth living in a prosperous society are unlikely to turn to extremism. Transparent, respected and functional state institutions are better placed to deal with extremism if they operate in a plural and stable society.

I disagree with those who claim that democratic elections in Syria will inevitably lead to an Islamist government, or a government with Islamist sympathies. The Syrian people are not calling for theocracy. They are calling for freedom and dignity – that is what unites them..

For freedom and democracy to work in Syria it is fundamental that all voices of opposition must be heard. True freedom and democracy can only be delivered by secular liberalism.

So, we know what the people want and we can see signs of an opposition emerging, although it remains to be seen if the Syrian opposition can unite and represent all the people of Syria.

We cannot predict whether or not this opposition will remove the regime or whether the regime will remain by giving in to some or all of the people’s demands. It is too early to tell. I am not here to predict or promote the fate of individual personalities. I am more interested in establishing the principles by which the people are empowered.

Certainly if the regime does not act – quickly and significantly – it is unlikely to survive to even an transition.

Preserving peace is critical. This will be influenced to some extent by the actions of Syria’s neighbours and the wider international community. To this I now turn.

Syria sits at the centre of very significant geopolitical forces. As many of you will be aware Iran relies heavily on Syria to maintain prominence in the region and has a very strong say in foreign policy. The Iranian regime, which is the leader of the so called ‘resistance’, uses proxy groups to have greater influence and control in the Middle East and to ferment trouble in the region, when it believes that it may face sanctions from the international community. It gives false hopes to Arabs in the region that it will help them to liberate their occupied lands. Iran’s aim is also to create instability in the region by fueling conflict in Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and Afghanistan.

The chances of a sectarian war in Syria – leading to a wider regional war are high. On one side we have Syria’s dictatorial regime that will do anything to stay in power. On the other side we have Islamist’s who are trying to hijack the peaceful protests to ferment a civil war. The Syrian regime is strongly backed by Iran and their proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas, Sadr militias in Iraq and other groups in the Gulf. So the Iranian regime will simply do everything it can to save the the Syrian regime.

Syria cannot continue to be a vassal of Iran. It’s time for Syria to re-assert its identity and sovereignty by creating national unity where all Syrians are given an opportunity to take part in forming a new democratically elected government, which would only then enable it to disengage from Iran.

Turkey sits to the North of Syria. It is a country which has ambitions for regional leadership. It’s democratically Islamist government certainly finds favour with Islamists as it has attempted many times over the last few years to get the Islamists and the Syrian regime to reach an agreement.

Success within Syria depends on it stopping its dependency on Iran and engaging constructively with its Arab neighbours.

The broader international community has a part to play in this. First it must continue to take a robust stance against the Syrian government, it must make it absolutely clear that the current situation is unacceptable.

The Libya style military option is not warranted, so that is why we need diplomacy to work in Syria. So Syria can determine its future. Its liberal secular future.

The international community must persuade neighbouring countries to halt their brazen, unwarranted attacks on parts of Syrian society. In particular, the US, which has significant influence in Saudi Arabia, must act to stop attacks by that country’s extremists on Syria’s religious minorities – attacks motivated by a desire to provoke sectarian conflict.

Likewise, efforts to weaken Iran’s disruptive influence in the region must be maintained, while Turkey’s regional ambitions must be kept in mind.

I will continue to take my campaign all around Europe and lobby the hundreds of parliamentarians I have met in the UK, German and European Parliaments, until the aspirations of the Syrian people for freedom and dignity have been achieved. We are now focusing on the practical steps these bodies can take to help end repression in Syria and encourage and support the process of transition to democracy.

I am happy to work with all groups who genuinely believe in and want 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.

So that is where we stand today. It is a complex and difficult situation marked by the tragedy of so many lives lost. 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.

The Syrian people have a right to freedom and democracy and are united in their demands for freedom and dignity.

It is imperative that the international community takes up its responsibility and plays its vital role.

Democracy and freedom can and will be delivered in Syria. Hope and freedom will prevail over dictatorship and tyranny.

Nous vous remercions.