Abdul Haleem Khaddam, the former vice president of the Syrian president, continued his attack on President Bashar al-Assad and the Assad family after announcing his defection from the regime. Khaddam called on the Syrian president to engage in a televised debate on any station to argue with him and let the people see who is sincere.
In an interview with the American channel “Alhurra,” which aired on Friday evening, Khaddam also called for the formation of a committee to investigate corruption files in Syria, asserting that the committee would find that the Assad family has covered up corruption in Syria since 1970. Regarding his recent meeting with Ali Sadr al-Din al-Bayanouni, the general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, Khaddam expressed satisfaction with the political vision of the organization following their meeting in Brussels. They agreed on building a new democratic system in which everyone contributes, and the ballot boxes become the authority.
When asked if Bayanouni demanded an apology for his role during his time in government, Khaddam stated that the past has not been discussed and may be addressed later. Commenting on the recent government changes, Khaddam believed that even if the regime changes ten ministers every day, the country will not benefit because the problem lies at the top of the system.
Khaddam accused the regime of attempting to stir sectarianism among the Alawite community and instilling fear in Alawite brothers that the change is targeting the sect, emphasizing that this claim is untrue. In response to a question about the focus on Khaddam during this period, sources at Alhurra denied any special interest in the defected Syrian deputy or Syrian opposition figures, stating that they treat Khaddam like any current or former official, following a consistent channel policy characterized as completely neutral.
Furthermore, Khaddam continues his meetings with various factions of the Syrian opposition. The Democratic National Freedom Assembly announced that, at the personal invitation of Khaddam, Dr. Hussam al-Deri, the Secretary-General of the Democratic National Freedom Assembly and a member of the executive committee of the Syrian National Council in the United States, met in Paris last Tuesday. The meeting was held on behalf of his father, Rear Admiral and retired ambassador Abdou al-Deri, with the Deputy President of the Syrian opposition, Professor Abdul Haleem Khaddam. This meeting represents a serious step to exchange perspectives on the best ways to unify the opposition, enhance its activities, and explore effective and practical means for peaceful democratic change from the comprehensive and oppressive regime that has been imposed on the great Syrian people for over forty years.
The assembly considered that the regime tore apart national unity, brought poverty, economic and social corruption, looted the wealth of the people and the state, and destroyed its cultural heritage. Freedom was suspended at the doors of prison cells, gallows, and the horrific mass graves, notably those committed against the inmates of Tadmor Prison while they were sleeping, and massacres in Hama, Aleppo, Jisr al-Shughur, Idlib, and many Syrian cities. Before the winds of change swept Syria with international decisions resulting from the regime’s stubbornness, arrogance, and insistence on defying the international community, it is crucial to impose the will of the Syrian people to enjoy freedom and democracy like other nations worldwide. The aim is for Syria to regain its natural and leading position regionally, internationally, and within the Arab world.