Khaddam described the recent legislative elections in Syria as a theatrical performance, accusing the regime in Damascus of obstructing the Special International Tribunal’s trial of the killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and seeking to return to Lebanon.
He said, “One must not refer to what happened in Syria last Sunday as elections,” stressing that the nature of the regime has turned these elections into a farce.
He pointed out that Article 8 of the Constitution states that the Ba’ath Party is the leader of society and the state’s institutions, and therefore, the election results are predetermined because the Ba’ath Party always gets more than 51% of the total seats. He added that some other seats are distributed among the parties of the National Front, leaving only 30% of the seats for independents. Furthermore, he noted that even the so-called “independents” are not truly independent. Therefore, these elections are not like those in other countries since the results are known in advance a week or ten days before the election.
Khaddam further criticized the Syrian Parliament, stating that it doesn’t even live up to the role of parrots. Any deputy who opposes a minister is exposed to having his immunity lifted and being tried if he does not comply with the orders of the Speaker of the People’s Assembly and withdraw his objections.
He emphasized that the current regime’s primary goal in Syria is to stay in power, while the Syrian people want to get rid of this regime. He reiterated his belief that the security agencies closely associated with Bashar al-Assad executed the assassination (of Hariri), but he stressed that the results of the international investigation should be awaited.
Regarding his opinion on U.S. President George Bush’s policy of refusing dialogue with Syria, Khaddam said, “We always encourage all countries not to engage in a dialogue with the current Syrian regime because we feel that the current regime is choking the Syrian people.”
He added that the visit by the President of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Damascus and her meeting with Assad would not have a significant impact on the current situation because the regime in Damascus has established a political strategy linked to Iran and Lebanon. Visits like Pelosi’s will not change Syria’s policy.
