The Interview Conducted by “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” London: Ranim Hanoush
Abdul Halim Khaddam, the former deputy to the Syrian president, passed away yesterday (Tuesday) at the age of 88 in France, where he had fled in 2005 after becoming a prominent opponent of President Bashar al-Assad.
Khaddam worked for 30 years in the highest echelons of the Syrian state during the reign of the late President Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar, who became president in 2000.
While in France, he attempted to play a role in opposing Assad, but he faced difficulties in gaining the trust of other opposition members due to his decades-long involvement with the ruling Baath Party.
After the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, Khaddam stated that Syrians must bear arms to defend themselves unless the world intervened to protect them.
On June 3, 2014, “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” published an extensive interview with Khaddam, conducted by the Saudi journalist colleague Adwan Al-Ahmari, face to face in his Paris exile.
During the interview, which took place at the height of the Syrian revolution about six years ago, the defected Syrian vice president, Abdul Halim Khaddam, recalled memories of his beginnings in the Baath Party, the fall of the Golan Heights, and the reality of the so-called “resistance”. He also spoke with pain about the suffering of the Syrian people at that time, stating that “any Gulf reconciliation with Iran will be violated by Tehran after the end of the Syrian crisis.”
At that time, the Syrian presidential elections were planned, and he said to “Al-Sharq Al-Awsat”: “It’s all a pile of papers, there’s no value to the paper that will go into the ballot boxes. Whoever Bashar chooses or others will do so under duress or fear. These are not elections, and everyone knows, but Bashar al-Assad is keen to hold them in spite of the world.”
Khaddam held both Russia and Iran, along with the regime, responsible for what was happening in Syria, saying: “There are two main responsible sides: Russia and Iran along with the regime on one side, and on the other side, the Arab community.” He added, “There is a fundamental difference between those who kill or participate in killing and those who could stop the killing or mitigate it, and this is what the Arab League did when it thought, after six months of the uprising, to send Nabil Al-Arabi to meet with Bashar al-Assad.”
He discussed the wave of extremism represented by terrorist organizations in Syria at that time and said, “Iran is the one who brought (ISIS) to Syria, and no one doubts that, and I know what I’m saying. Iran is a major part of the fighting in Syria.” He added, “Believe me, if this happens, you will see a decline in Iran’s influence in the region, and that’s why you find Iranians providing the Assad regime with weapons, protection, and fighters. And I don’t want to further assert and confirm that if I tell you that (ISIS) is directly managed by Iran.”
When asked how he would have dealt with the Syrian revolution if he were in his previous position when it erupted, he said, “Honestly, after Hafez al-Assad’s departure, I no longer had the desire to engage in direct political work. But I was in a dilemma about how I could peacefully disengage from party and political work, because those who leave abruptly are faced with elimination or imprisonment. Your question, I cannot answer it because it’s speculative, but it brings me back to an incident in 1998 when a dispute occurred between me and Hafez after renewing Emile Lahoud’s term.” He added, “Hafez al-Assad wanted to renew because his son Bashar was close to Lahoud, and there were those who indicated and convinced Hafez that Lahoud could control Lebanon. When he renewed Lahoud, I left the Lebanese file, and suddenly Hafez handed over the entire Lebanese file to Bashar.” He continued, “Here, problems began to escalate, and the main reason was Bashar al-Assad’s behavior and his impulsiveness. I’m not exaggerating if I say that Rafik Hariri used to call from time to time to complain about Bashar’s practices and actions in Lebanese affairs. Every time Hafez al-Assad scolded Bashar or talked to Ghazi Kanaan.”
He revealed that he tried to play a role in uniting the Syrian opposition when he was the head of the opposition coalition, Ahmed al-Jarba, explaining, “I am still trying, and I have contacts with many influential Syrians. There is a response, but I go back to your previous question about al-Jarba. Imagine that I sent messages to dozens of faction leaders and influential Syrians… and almost all of them responded to what I sent except for Ahmed al-Jarba, who said when asked by someone: The time has passed. I don’t know what time has passed; does al-Jarba guarantee that he will go down to Damascus tomorrow? Whoever wants to become a leader must have an open heart for everyone and accept everyone.”
He believed that the revolution’s victory could only be achieved through unified support. He said, “Bashar al-Assad is now fighting with rockets, aircraft, and tanks, the opposition is not asking for planes or tanks… but anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, medium-range or short-range missiles.”
Khaddam concluded his final conversation with “Al-Sharq al-Awsat” newspaper, which took place yesterday, by answering whether the Syrian crisis would continue for another ten years, saying, “If they want it to be so, it will last for more than 20 years, and if they want it, Bashar al-Assad will be over in a month. They should not worry about armed groups because they will end after Bashar falls.”