Ribal Al-Assad speaks with General Anzeiger about the Syrian Crisis (English Translation)

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Iman Chairman Ribal Al-Assad recently spoke with the General Anzeiger newspaper about the situation in Syria. The following is translated from the original German.

BONN. Two weeks after the international Syria-talks in Vienna, foreign ministers from several countries will meet again tomorrow to work together on a settlement of the conflict. But without a new strategy, Ribal Al-Assad says, this conference is also doomed to fail. The exiled cousin of the Syrian ruler works from London in pursuit of peace. Jasmin Fischer spoke with him.

GA: Is today’s meeting of foreign ministers the key to peace in Syria?

Ribal Al-Assad: The talks are a good start, but I don’t have much hope in them. Saudi Arabia wants to get rid of the Syria ruler, Bashar Al-Assad, Russia supports him. Other foreign ministers also don’t want to negotiate with Assad.

GA: Two weeks ago, the representatives of 17 countries sat together in Vienna to find a solution — yet nobody from Syria, the country whose future is being discussed, was invited. What do you make of that?

Assad: I ask back: who do you want to invite from Syria? You can have ask representatives of the regime, a dictatorship, to come to the table, or you can have the current opposition, which cannot represent the Syrian people, because it has not been democratically elected. It is embarrassing for Syria that there are no viable alternatives.

GA: What might such an alternative look like?

Assad: There are thousands of young, educated people in Syria who abhor Islamism and who would engage in a democratic process. The precondition is that they must clearly commit to the equality of all religions, ethnicities and genders. We need a conference with representatives of all of these groups. They must be organised into parties and strengthened, because they form the nucleus of positive change. As long as this fails to happen, the people of Syria will continue to face two alternatives: the dictatorship or the advancing Islamism. It would be great if Germany could act as a neutral broker in this conference — the Syrians trust and admire Germany.

GA: What do you make of those voices that say that without Bashar Al-Assad, who has caused so much misery, there can be no solution?

Assad: I understand this view. If Bashar Al-Assad and his regime fall, Islamist groups will fill the power vacuum immediately. That would be the next disaster— after half a million have already died, millions more will flee as refugees. If the situation does not escalate further, I am afraid that we must tolerate Bashar Al-Assad for a transitional period. Then the Syrians can decide what to do with him in free elections.

GA: How helpful is the Russian intervention in Syria? And what do you think about the noises being made in the USA about invading Syria, as it did Iraq?

Assad: With his intervention, Vladimir Putin is protecting the regime, but he is also protecting his own country from Islamist groups — and he has an interest in Syria’s access to the Mediterranean. He is therefore not intervening for selfless reasons. Many benefit from his intervention. For as long as he can attack from the air and can provide support to the Syrian army, no other country really needs to put boots on the ground. The USA certainly has no interest in becoming involved in another long war. However, ultimately I do not believe the Russian intervention is helpful.

GA: The Federal Republic of Germany takes a lot of Syrian refugees. Does that please you?

Assad: I see that many Germans empathise with the horrific plight of these refugees and recognise the gravity of the situation. That is good. But it is also expensive. And it would be much, much cheaper and more effective if the the already existing refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey were given the financial assistance that was promised by the international community. The Syrians there are suffering cold and hunger because the UN does not have the resources it needs to support them. Why make action only now, five years after the war began, once thousands of Syrians have set off on the perilous road to Germany. Their home is now in ruins, and they can not go back for now — but they also can’t continue living in refugee camps in the region. That the West receives these people now, and must accept them, is the result of its past mistakes.

GA: Why don’t Syria’s allies in the Arab world accept the refugees?

Assad: That’s exactly the point. Arab countries spend billions arming Islamist fighters but give almost nothing for refugees. It goes to show who the real allies of Syria are.

GA: What is your message to the Germans? What is your message to the Syrians arrived in Germany?

Assad: It is known that people can buy Syrian passports in order to travel to Germany to obtain asylum status. I advise the Germans to conduct stringent background checks to prevent Islamist sleeper cells disguised as refugees from arriving in their country. In order to conduct such reviews it will be necessary to rely somewhat on Syrian intelligence. To the Syrians I want to say: You have the chance of a better life in a democracy, which has welcomed you. Become a part of this country, adjust, accept its culture, learn German and stay far away from extremism. Help the government to find extremists. Only one evil act of a single individual with a Syrian passport can provoke hostility.

GA: With what thoughts do you, the scion and simultaneously the opponent of the Syrian ruling family, look at developments in your old home?

Assad: I have no reason for optimism, but I have to be optimistic. If we give up hope, all is lost. At some point international negotiators will recognise that they are pursuing the wrong strategy. They must realise that they must first organise democratically oriented opposition parties, election manifestos and elections before any progress is made in Syria. Time is pressing, and we must all understand that we have the same enemy — namely, Islamic extremism.

For the original German version, see here: http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/news/interviews/man-muss-assad-eine-zeit-lang-tolerieren-article1765943.html#plx1433234532