Abdul-Halim Khaddam, the former Vice President of the Syrian Arab Republic “defector,” responded to the recent statements made by Rifaat al-Assad, the brother of the current president, in a television interview. Khaddam issued a press statement through his office, accusing Rifaat al-Assad of direct responsibility for the massacres in Hama and Tadmur and for the violations and atrocities committed during his time in power.
Statement Text:
I was not surprised, and many who listened to or read his speech at a conference with his family members and some of those working with him, held in Paris, as well as his statements on some television channels, were not surprised either. Because the overall content of his talks is one of the diseases that Rifaat al-Assad is afflicted with, namely the disease of delusion and fabrication, especially to evade responsibility for all the acts he committed and participated in. Among these crimes are the massacres of Hama and Tadmur, where he described himself as a regular officer in the army with no connection to everything that happened in Syria, blaming his brother and others for the responsibility for those crimes.
There is no doubt that the policy of isolation, exclusion, and discrimination that the regime relied on has created an atmosphere of sectarian tension in the country due to depriving the overwhelming majority of Syrians of their basic rights. This policy has allowed individuals like Rifaat al-Assad and others to engage in some of the most heinous acts and practice all kinds of corruption.
Adding to sectarian tension was the heinous crime committed by an officer in the elite forces established by Marwan Hadid, who was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood before committing the crime and later separated from them. This crime left a negative impact on all Syrians, but its impact was more significant on the families of students at the Artillery School, all of whom were Alawites. The crime occurred in mid-June 1979 when a school officer killed forty students in a classroom and expelled all students who did not belong to the Alawite sect.
It is worth noting that the regime dealt recklessly with this crime by highlighting Islamic currents, including the Muslim Brotherhood. As a result of this situation, the Muslim Brotherhood in the country was pursued, leading to clashes with them. One of the outcomes of this clash was the Hama massacre carried out by the Assad regime, which intensified sectarian tension. Other solutions could have been found to end the Muslim Brotherhood’s sit-in in Hama.
Rifaat al-Assad played a key role in the Hama massacre, and Unit 569, which he commanded, was the first military unit to enter Hama and commit many crimes in that courageous city. Rifaat al-Assad claims that he did not visit the city of Hama and that only hundreds of the unit he leads went to Hama on orders from the army leadership.
In this regard, I would like to clarify the following:
First: Rifaat al-Assad’s claim that the leadership formed two committees, one military and the other political, including Hafez al-Assad, Abdel-Halim Khaddam, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Interior, is baseless. In reality, only the narrow military group close to Hafez al-Assad, including Rifaat al-Assad, managed the battle in all its security and political dimensions. I confirm that no political committee was formed to manage the battle. Ministers, members of the leadership, and members of the National Front often received information from the street coming from Hama, in addition to leaks from the military. The leadership did not know about the Hama massacre until the government requested an additional budget to rebuild the city.
Second: Regarding the Hama massacre, the military leadership receiving instructions from the army command, directly connected to Hafez al-Assad and the military leadership, was the military group participating in the fighting alongside the Defense Brigades. Information about the developments came to the army command. In any case, the names of those involved in the killings will be determined when a committee is formed after the fall of the current regime to investigate the Hama crime and its dimensions. This crime is one of the major crimes that occurred in Syria at this stage and should not be overlooked as it constitutes a stain on the Syrian people.
Third: Another genocide crime, the Tadmur prison crime committed by Unit 569 led by Rifaat al-Assad, as its officers did not receive instructions unless directly from Rifaat or indirectly from Hafez al-Assad. On the day of the crime, Hafez al-Assad was hospitalized, and several members of the leadership were present, but no directives were given to any military authority. More than a thousand innocent prisoners were killed in that crime, and an investigation into this crime must be initiated.
Fourth: Rifaat al-Assad claimed in a television interview that he was a regular officer in the army, always an opposition figure, left the country with no money, and his children worked with money he allegedly received from Syrian bourgeois. This is a lie that no rational person can believe. Some bourgeois in Syria gave him money when he was in power to secure deals with the state.
Rifaat al-Assad practically did not exercise professional military leadership. Instead, he used his leadership of Unit 569 to dominate and control the state, using its institutions to accumulate wealth. He continued to lead the unit despite being appointed as the head of higher education.
Rifaat al-Assad claims he never called for meetings of the leadership, so how did he exercise the presidency of higher education? How did he manage to secure deals for his friends from Syrian bourgeois if he was in opposition? Also, if he was in opposition and the head of higher education, how did he attempt a coup against his brother while he was in the hospital due to a heart attack?
He also claimed that the army and the Syrian people want him as the president because, as the president said, the president must be a member of the Assad family. Can any sensible person believe in such delusions experienced by Rifaat al-Assad?
