Abdul-Halim Khaddam, the former Vice President of Syria who recently announced his defection from the Syrian regime, stated in an interview with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published on Friday, January 6, 2005, that he is working on maturing the conditions for the Syrians to take to the streets to overthrow the regime.
Khaddam, in response to a question, said, “The Syrian people will be the ones to overthrow the regime… I am not seeking change through a military coup… but I am working to mature the conditions for the Syrians to take to the streets and take the necessary steps to overthrow the regime, and this is progressing seriously.” He clarified, “The Syrian regime cannot be reformed, and the only option left is to overthrow it.” He continued, “Syria is in a state of frustration, and there is a crack in national unity due to the isolation policy followed by the regime. Syria is in danger, and when the country is in danger, we must seek national unity and strengthen the national front with all forces.” He added that “there is a growing movement in the country. The opposition is growing rapidly… the problem was that there was no influential figure who could stand against the regime.”
He continued, “The Syrian opposition is aware of my positions, and I was in contact with them until the day I was in Syria. The interview increased the opposition’s confidence in itself, and it will unite with all its factions, and I am working towards that.” The Lebanese newspaper Al-Balad quoted an official Syrian source today, Friday, saying that Khaddam “is playing a dangerous game,” and the same source added that “Khaddam is trying to target President Bashar al-Assad personally and may have promised to target the president either through the investigation committee or in a direct form.”
On another note, when asked about the possibility of cooperating with the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned movement in Syria, Khaddam replied, “The foundation is change, and everyone who wants to walk in this path is welcome.” He pointed out the “existence of a very broad Islamic trend that includes multiple forces.” He clarified that he would meet members of the United Nations International Investigation Commission on the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri “in the coming days,” emphasizing that responsibilities in Hariri’s assassination “cannot be limited to a certain level.” Khaddam praised the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, stating that he “was an important figure in Syria’s history, but he was weak in front of his family, leaving the scene for the Assad family for those abnormal practices.”
