Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam, a key player in the country’s politics for the past half century, said he would resign and give way to the younger generation of politicians as the ruling Baath party held its 10th congress mulling serious reforms in the country.
Imad Mustapha, Syrian ambassador to Washington, told CNN on Monday night that he had already learned about Khaddam’s plan to step down.
“This is quite natural as it indicates the party’s political flexibility and its great ability to change,” Mustapha told CNN. Khaddam, who served for years as foreign minister before being appointed vice president in 1985, cited personal reasons for his resignation.
Ahmed Al-Haj Ali, one of the 1,231 delegates to the Baath party congress, confirmed that Khaddam revealed his resignation plans on the first day of the congress that was inaugurated by President Bashar Assad on Monday.
“He declared his intention to resign at the meeting of the (party’s) political committee,” Haj Ali said. Khaddam, in his early 70s, served under both presidents Bashar and his late father President Hafez Assad, who always considered Khaddam (Abu Jamal) as one of his closest friends. He was appointed as one of three vice presidents. Mohammed Zuhair Masharqa and Rifaat Assad, Bashar’s uncle, were the other two. Rifaat was later expelled from the party and stripped of his post due to his differences with the government.
Commenting on Khaddam’s resignation plans, spokeswoman of the congress and Syrian Expatriate Minister Buthaina Shaaban said: “A lot of rumors and misleading news have been leaked days before the congress started and this is nothing but part of the rumor mill. However, it is the businesses of the congress to recommend any changes.”
Hours before Khaddam revealed his intention to step down, Arab News asked Shaaban on the low-level representation of the young generation of party members in the congress and how the old generation would be able to bring serious reforms. “Change needs both the energy of the youth and the expertise of the old generation,” she replied.
In his inaugural speech, Bashar told delegates to “ignore foreign pressure while drafting reforms and focus instead on finding ways of improving the country’s economy and combating corruption.”