"The presence of President Bashar al-Assad is currently the safety valve for the country"

Nabil Fayyad is a Syian intellectual who was mentioned on this blog before. He is a Syrian government opponent who lives in Syria. He was recently quoted on the 9:00 PM Nightly News of Syrian radio station Sham FM in their July 25, 2012 edition. His quotes were said to be in a television interview with  him on a channel that they did not specify. They played clips by him saying the following (translated  below verbatim):

"لدينا وثائق هائلة .. لدي وثائق هائلة حول تورط القاعدة في جرائم القتل في سورية .. القتل الطائفي .. من يقوم بالقتل الطائفي غير القاعدة .. يعني اسمح لي شويّ .. إنّه أسماء الكتائب التي تُطلق الآن في الجيش الحر .. كلّها أسماء طائفية سلفية منفّرة .. لماذا يريدون العودة بنا إلى البسطار السلفي المنفر القاتل الدموي .. أنا لا أفهم هذا الشيئ .. على كل حال، وجود الرئيس بشار الأسد حالياً هو صمام الأمان للبلد ولا أعتقد أن غالبية السوريين .. الغالبية الصامتة من السوريين تريد تنحي الرئيس بشار الأسد لأن وجوده هو صمام الأمان لانتقال البلد إلى بلد ديمقراطي حقيقي." 

"أنا أعرف قيادات الجيش وأعرف قيادات البلد جيداً .. لا يمكن للقيادات أن تستخدم السلاح الكيماوي وغير الكيماوي .. أي سلاح فتاك ضد شعبها. صدقني أنهم مجبرون الآن على خوض هذه المعارك .. لا أعتقد أن جيشاً في العالم يتمنى هذا الذي حصل للجيش السوري .. هم مجبرون تماماً على المسار الذي أُدخِلوا فيه. لا أعتقد أن الجيش السوري والقيادة السورية على استعداد لاستخدام القدر الأدنى من السلاح الكيمياوي ضد شعبها. صدقني المعارك إعلامية قبل أن تكون على الأرض. المعارك إعلامية. تعال إلى دمشق. الآن دمشق انقلبت ١٨٠ درجة ولم يعد هنالك أي شيئ مما سُمّي تحرير دمشق والعصابات المسلحة التي انتشرت في كل مكان. الدولة تستعيد سلطتها شيئاً فشيئاً."

"We have a huge amount of documentation .. I have a huge amount of documentation about the involvement of al-Qaeda in the killings in Syria .. sectarian killings .. who is committing sectarian killing other than Al Qaeda? .. I mean, please allow me .. the names of the brigades that are being used now in the Free [Syrian] Army .. all those names are sectarian, salafist and repulsive .. Why do they want to take us back to the repulsive bloody and murderous salafist domination .. I do not understand this thing .. In any case, the presence of President Bashar al-Assad is currently the safety valve for the country and I do not think that the majority of Syrians .. the silent majority of Syrians want President Bashar al-Assad to step down .. because his presence is a safety valve for the country's transition to a truly democratic country." 

"I know those in leadership positions in the army and in the country well .. those leaders can not use the chemical or non-chemical weapon .. any destructive weapon against their own people. Believe me, they are forced now to fight these battles .. I do not think that any army in the world wishes for itself what has happened to the Syrian Army .. They are totally forced to take the course they were made to take. I do not think that the Syrian Army and the Syrian leadership are willing to use the least amount of chemical weapons against their own people. Believe me, the battles are media battles more than being battles on the ground .. the battles are media battles .. Come to Damascus .. Damascus has now changed 180 degrees .. there is no longer anything of what was called the "Liberation of Damascus" and the armed gangs that have spread everywhere .. the state is regaining its authority little by little."

"Had you been Alawite, I would have slaughtered you"

In one of his posts on his facebook page, Syrian journalist and writer Bassam al-Kadi (who we mentioned on this blog before) wrote about a message he received from a Syrian regime opponent friend of his who is in Syria's northern region:

A letter from a regime opponent friend of mine in the northern region, written in my own words to ensure the confidentiality of his name: 

When one of my relatives was released after being detained by the "Free [Syrian] Army", he told us about what he saw by saying that the smell of slaughtered human bodies was everywhere in the place where they were being held. The voices of the terrified children and adult hostages is undescribable. They [i.e. the FSA rebels] themselves had a very filthy smell. 

In the same week, it happened that one of my relatives was forced to travel on a road that is frequently blocked by the terrorists. And as excepted, the "Free [Syrian] Army" stopped the bus she was on. There were two women on board who were unveiled [i.e. they did not have their head covered]. The terrorist asked them, "Are you Alawites?". "No!", they replied. And after he confirmed that they were not "Alawite", he said to them: You have just been born again. Had you been Alawite, I would have slaughtered you both.

Citing some people who have been through the experience of having their neighborhoods occupied by the terrorists militia, they've confirmed that the "Free [Syrian] Army" mercenaries break into homes after crashing the doors, kick families out of the homes and force them to flee, occupy the buildings that they're able to occupy and go out to the rooftops and balconies with sniper rifles. And this forced the Army to use helicopters to hunt the terrorists.

Syria's Permanent Representative to the UN answers the Saudis

Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations replied to the Representative of Saudi Arabia today in a session at the United Nations General Assembly. He delivered in his statement some strong words to the Saudis, who keep trying to meddle in the internal affairs of Syria, either through their very negative and hostile role (along with the Qataris) at the Arab League or in the United Nations. This is not to mention the aggressive misleading media campaign waged by media outlets financed by the Saudis (and the Qataris), or their backing of the idea to financially support and arm the rebels in Syria (if they're not covertly already doing so on the ground).



Here is a full translation into English of Dr. al-Jaafari's statement, in which he begins by addressing the Representative of Saudi Arabia. You can listen to the statement in Arabic in the embedded video above:

And I deem myself to be above using the same word to describe the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For this reason, I will not use the same phrase. I will leave it to him and to his conscience in the future, hoping that he will stop using this term, which is an inappropriate term in the diplomatic language, even when there is a disagreement. 

Secondly, the Representative of the Kingdom said that he calls, in the name of his country and in the name of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to send joint United Nations and Arab forces for peacekeeping in Syria. It is as if there is no security in Syria, and it is as if there is no state in Syria, and it is as if I am here not representing a founding member state of this international organization. It is as if things are lost to the degree that they require forces from Saudi Arabia and GCC states to guarantee security in my country. 

We suggested in our previous statement, Mr. President, two weeks ago, for us all to adopt under supervision of the United Nation, a solid plan to spread democracy and to enhance and protect human rights in all states of the region including GCC states. This is because those who are talking about Syria with deep sadness, starting from their conviction that there's a tragedy in Syria and a civil war, those same people, are not a role model for anyone, in the context of spreading democracy and enhancing and protecting human rights. 

If it is like this, Mr. President, I also volunteer in the name of my country and many other member states to send [joint] United Nations, Arab and Islamic forces to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to protect the oppressed Saudi inhabitants of the Qatif region. And this contribution is for free. We don't want it to be financed by anyone. And perhaps the other important issue for the Kingdom is for it to withdraw its forces from Bahrain, as they are the forces that violate legitimate popular demands of the brotherly people of Bahrain. 

I was hoping that this session will not turn into an Arab-Arab conversation, but some are working diligently to fall in that trap. I advice anyone here not to provoke us, because we have lots and lots of things we could say, and they are things that expose the core of some of the regimes, whether in Arab countries or elsewhere . 

It is shameful for an Arab to liken the limited armed rebellion in a small neighborhood in Homs called Baba Amr (and it's a neighborhood that's dear to the hearts of all of us in Syria), to liken that, to the Srebrenica, Rwanda, Kosovo and Gaza massacres. This is a shuffling that is not worthy of respect, when it is uttered by an Arab voice in this international organization. This benefits no one other than Israel and the enemies of the Arabs as a whole. 

My country, Mr. President, is officially called the Syrian Arab Republic. It is not called the Assadist Arab Republic. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however, is attributed to its rulers. The name of the country is linked to the name of the ruling family and that's why it's called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I hope not to be provoked more than this so I don't say more disparaging remarks. Thank you, Mr. President.