Abdel Halim Khaddam, the former vice president of Syria based in Paris, considers Egypt’s decision to send a new ambassador to Damascus as a “significant negative sign.” According to Khaddam, this move contradicts the nature of relations between the Syrian and Egyptian peoples and goes against the direction of the Egyptian revolution, which opposed dictatorship and tyranny. He strongly believes that if the Egyptian people were consulted, they would strongly condemn this step. It is unreasonable for the Egyptian government to send an ambassador to Damascus while the Syrian people are being subjected to slaughter and destruction. This is especially concerning considering that some Arab and foreign countries have already withdrawn their ambassadors. Khaddam questions whether this means that the Egyptian government has returned to the atmosphere of the previous regime.
Khaddam criticizes the statements made by Nabil El-Araby, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, who expressed the League’s concern about the situation in Syria and called for reforms. Khaddam asserts that the Secretary-General still believes in the legitimacy of the regime and encourages it to carry out reforms, despite the ongoing killings and destruction. It appears that the Secretary-General wants to maintain a communication channel with the regime because he still perceives it as an existing entity.
Furthermore, Khaddam regrets that the Secretary-General has not once mentioned the crimes committed by the regime, and continues to consider it a legitimate regime. He defends the regime by describing it as a state with constitutional institutions. However, he fails to acknowledge that the regime lost its constitutional and political legitimacy when it transformed the Syrian army into an occupying force that employs repression, killing, and humiliation as its methods while moving from one city to another.
