Deputy Foreign Minister Mekdad: 'Everyone Should Save Syria from Falling
into Hell'
February 05, 2013 - 06:24 PM
The regime of President Bashar Assad has shown no signs of giving in even as
opposition fighters have advanced to the outskirts of Damascus. In an
interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad
blames the West for the violence and says Assad has satisfied all opposition
demands.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Minister, you have just come back from visits to Iran
and Russia. Has the Russian government offered Syrian President Bashar Assad
asylum in Moscow?
Mekdad: Why should they? The subject was never addressed. We will prevail.
The exile question is just an element of psychological warfare. President
Assad has said that was born here and he will die here, whenever that might
be.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Even your ally, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail
Bogdanov, remarked recently that the Syrian government is losing control
over more and more territory. What is still giving you hope?
Mekdad: We are optimists and strong enough to overcome this challenge, even
against the attack of an alliance of Western countries and Gulf states which
claims to promoting democracy and freedom. Until four months ago, Aleppo was
one of the safest cities in the world. So I congratulate the advocates for
human rights and democracy on the destruction of the Umayyad Mosque, the
historic souks and the old town of Aleppo. On the other hand, we value the
Russian position.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Russia is also pursuing its own interests. Tartus is the
only Russian port on the Mediterranean, 50,000 Russians live in Syria and
the arms trade between the two countries is significant. A good deal of the
destruction can be attributed to the regime itself.
Mekdad: I can only warn the Europeans not to go on supporting these groups.
These people are not just fighting against Syria, but against the order of
all civilized nations, including your country in the future.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Syrian government believes in an international
conspiracy. How would the Western states and their allies benefit from the
fall of Assad's regime?
Mekdad: Israel and the US would be the winners. Were Syria divided and
placed under international control, the Israeli-Arab conflict would be
forgotten. Israel could live in peace and keep the Golan Heights and all of
Jerusalem and continue to bully the Palestinians. We are the only one of
Israel's neighbors that still represents the Arab position.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: This revolution was originally a popular uprising against an
oppressive state. Many people have reported that they were arrested for
demonstrating peacefully and nearly killed in regime torture chambers.
Mekdad: Why don't you ask other Syrians for their views? These people do not
represent the majority. It is striking that the president has responded to
the demands of the demonstrators. There's a new constitution, the supremacy
of the Baath Party has been ended, parties may be established, elections for
a new parliament were carried out, new laws concerning demonstrations were
passed. All that is completely ignored, none of it recognized abroad. On the
contrary, it was after Assad changed the laws that the escalation really
began. What more do these so-called revolutionaries actually want?
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Apparently it was too little, too late. The people don't
believe in you anymore.
Mekdad: This uprising is for the most part an externally organized,
externally funded uprising. The militant groups receive billions of dollars
from certain Gulf states. It is a global, multi-billion-dollar mercenary
business. President Assad has heard the political demands of his people and
he wants to reconcile with them, and indeed with everyone, as he announced
in his speech on Jan. 6. If the fighting and the outside support are brought
to an end and everyone sits around a table, then we can begin to shape the
future of the country.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Foreign powers and the opposition were unimpressed by the
president's speech. The fight is for his political end. How can he be the
one to invite the parties involved to a round table?
Mekdad: It is not for other countries to decide on the Syrian president.
Leave that to the Syrian people and the voting booths. We will not allow
anyone to undermine the country's sovereignty. If the president were to give
up, there would be nothing here but death and destruction. President Assad
is ready to do anything to prevent that, no matter what the cost.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: For a long time, Syria had a good relationship with Turkey
and at least not an entirely bad one with Saudi Arabia. Why are you now such
a bitter enemy of both countries?
Mekdad: We have long tried to maintain good relations, but we were forced to
realize that the Muslim Brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan was pursuing a
completely different plan. Namely, he wanted to legally bring the Muslim
Brotherhood back to Syria with help from Al-Qaida, the Al-Nusra Front and
other extremist religious groups in order to establish a powerful network
from Egypt to Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Iraq -- a new Ottoman Empire.
Because they now shelter all types of armed groups -- and opened the border
with Syria for them -- Erdogan and his foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu,
are personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Syrians. Why has
Turkey not been reprimanded by the UN?
SPIEGEL ONLINE: What is the problem between Syria and Saudi Arabia?
Mekdad: Saudi Arabia is under immense American pressure and is therefore
supporting certain religious groups that are fighting here. At the same
time, the country understands very well that in doing this, it's working
against its own interests. Therefore they should free themselves as quickly
as possible from American dependency.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Why would the Americans want Syria succumb to violence and
destruction?
Mekdad: The protection of Israel is the only explanation. It began with
sanctions, and now it's come to this. The so-called friends of Syria, who
meet in Doha, Istanbul and Marrakesh, are actually the enemies of Syria and
under the command of American ambassadors. But now the matter has gotten out
of control for them. At least now they've put the Al-Nusra Front on the list
of terrorist organizations, but unfortunately not the many others who are
here indiscriminately killing my countrymen every day.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is it true, as Syrian propaganda television reports daily,
that the armed opposition consists entirely of terrorists?
Mekdad: There are all sorts of groups, including many that are simply
misguided. And of course we, the government, have also made mistakes in the
socio-economic sphere. Nevertheless, the armed opposition wanted the
escalation from the beginning. They took that position from day one. The
provocateurs hid among the peaceful demonstrators and shot down police and
protesters alike.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Those who took part in early demonstrations have uniformly
reported that the regime cracked down vigorously from the beginning. Even
doctors and nurses who cared for injured protestors were arrested and
disappeared into the dungeons of the notorious Mukhabarat.
Mekdad: That is war propaganda, just like the alleged massacre in Homs that
government forces are said to have committed the day before the UN Security
Council was meeting about Syria. We eventually arrested the perpetrators.
They slaughtered 60 people with knives -- led by a member of the Muslim
Brotherhood who instigated the attack, precisely one day before the meeting.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: The rebels have now advanced to within 600 meters of the
Damascus old town. Day and night the people of Damascus hear the pounding of
grenades and the fire of Kalashnikovs. How long can you keep this up?
Mekdad: We can hold out as long as the other side wants to go on.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: The UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said during his last
visit to Damascus that Syria now has the choice between the political
process and hell.
Mekdad: We want the political process.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: .but only under your conditions.
Mekdad: .and everyone involved should save Syria from falling into hell.
Interview conducted by Susanne Koelbl in Damascus
<
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/bild-881678-456732.html>
Susanne Koelbl/ DER SPIEGEL
Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad: "What more do these
so-called revolutionaries actually want?"
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Received on Tue Feb 05 2013 - 13:01:44 EST
