Khaddam in a letter to Bashar al-Assad: Do not listen to those who advise you to stay and use force, as the situation is much more dangerous than that
After assuming the presidency of the republic, I was keen to help you move the country from a state of suffering, poverty, fear, oppression, corruption and backwardness to a state of progress and progress.
I presented to you a package of projects to achieve political, economic, administrative and judicial reform, in addition to a project to reform the party and develop its idea and approach
All my ambition was to help you in the process of change, modernization and development because I saw the magnitude of the people’s suffering, the magnitude of the deteriorating conditions, and the magnitude of the hatred that the regime’s practices produced in the internal arena.
You did not listen to the advice and chose to continue with the existing approach with all its practices of alienating the people, suppressing public and individual freedoms, and using all means of repression with all its tools to continue the culture of fear.
I discussed all of this with the late President Hafez al-Assad, and unfortunately the voice of those around him was stronger than my voice
I hope that you will remember the last meeting of the national leadership in late 2005 to discuss what could be presented in the national conference. I spoke at that time about the bad internal conditions and what people are talking about. I also said that the country is like a haystack that catches fire with the first match. You also remember my speech before the national conference about the internal situation and foreign policy.
I am addressing you with this letter today while I am aware of the seriousness of the situation in the country and the extent of the tension of all kinds. I am also aware of the state of discontent and suffering over the existing conditions.
Especially the poor living conditions and the wolves of corruption’s seizure of the country’s wealth and resources, which increased this suffering and the volume of discontent
I call on you, for the sake of the people who have endured suffering, oppression, killing, imprisonment and poverty for forty-one years, to take a historic step, which is to form a transitional national unity government that will hand over power and relinquish it, so that this government will work to hold free elections for a constituent assembly that will exercise legislative authority and emerge from it a legitimate government that will draft a new constitution for the country as well. The Constituent Assembly sets the legal rules for electing a new president of the country
Do not listen to those who tell you that the army and security protect the regime. Consider what happened in Tunisia and Egypt and what is happening in Libya.
Do not listen to those who advise you to stay and use force. The situation is much more dangerous than that, because the use of force will lead to the fall of the army and security services and to a lot of blood, and the blood of any citizen should be more precious than any authority or presidency.
Do not hesitate, as the homeland is more important than a person or a group of people and more important than all interests. Take the initiative to make a historic decision to save Syria and enter history from the door of the homeland and not from the door of oppression and blood-soaked chaos.
Abdul Halim Khaddam
