Syrian President Under Fire (by Arash Rowshanzamir)

All eyes are now on Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, as accusations repeated ad infinitum in Western political circles and the United Nations are gaining momentum thanks to a claim made by former Syrian Vice-President, Abdul Halim Khaddam. In a recent interview with Al-Arabiya television, Mr. Khaddam asserted that Syrian intelligence, under the order of Mr. Assad, threatened Hariri prior to his assassination last February. More importantly, Mr. Khaddam maintained that not only was Syrian intelligence responsible for threatening Hariri, but that Mr. Assad directly threatened the former Lebanese Prime Minister as well. "Assad told me he had delivered some very, very harsh words to Hariri," stated Mr. Khaddam in the interview. Continuing his remarks, Mr. Khaddam claimed that Assad relayed to Mr. Hariri his intent on destroying all those bent on disobeying Syria. For his remarks Mr. Khaddam was expelled by the ruling Ba'ath party, which also intends on trying him for treason.

Rafik Hariri was assassinated last February in Beirut when a bomb exploded close to his motorcade claiming his life as well as fourteen others. The incident resulted in mass protests across Lebanon and also drew swift international condemnation from many in the West who immediately pointed the finger at elements of Syrian intelligence embedded within the Lebanese government. Syria, of course, vehemently denied any involvement. It is suspected, however that Hariri opposed the extension of the term of pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a standpoint which angered Assad. Hariri's assassination did have one significant repercussion: it triggered a response that forced the Syrian regime to pull out of Lebanon, putting an end to decades of military and political dominance.

The question then is who is Mr. Khaddam and why has he waited until now to reveal this information? Interestingly enough, Mr. Khaddam, who for many years was a central figure in Syria's relationship with Beirut, was at one time a business associate of the aforementioned Mr. Hariri. Also noteworthy is that Mr. Khaddam is a Sunni Muslim - similar to Hariri – working for a regime composed mostly of those from the Alawite sect. Although he succeeded in ascending the political hierarchy, Mr. Khaddam was seldom satisfied with the contemporary state of Syrian politics, nor was he content with the economic status of a country which had driven many Syrians into poverty. He was often at odds with the Syrian government arguing that Syrian officials were getting rich at the expense of ordinary citizens. Eventually the frustration proved to be too much as Mr. Khaddam resigned from his post in June of 2005 and subsequently moved to Paris where he conducted the interview with Al-Arabiya. Some argue that Mr. Khaddam came forward, after cutting ties with the regime in Syria, solely because he felt obligated to Lebanon and the international community. This, however, may not be the case. It has been suggested that Mr. Khaddam accused Mr. Assad in part to bolster his own chances at becoming an alternative to Assad should he ever have another chance at contending for the presidency in Syria. If this is if fact the case, Mr. Khaddam may have done more damage to his own chances then good as he may be executed upon returning to the country.

Although these accusations shed some doubt as to the legitimacy of Mr. Khaddam's claims, it should also be noted that, to Mr. Kaddam's credit, the majority of his claims coincide with findings obtained elsewhere. A recent UN investigation lead by Detlev Mehlis also confirmed that several sources had said they were notified by Mr. Hariri that Assad threatened retaliation if he would not support the extension of the term of President Emile Lahoud.

It seems then that there is an inextricable link between the death of Mr. Hariri and decisions made at the helm of the Ba'athist regime in Syria. What has yet to be determined is the extent to which Mr. Assad is responsible for the murder and how he and his regime will be punished if he is in fact found guilty. A UN panel that is investigating the Hariri assassination has requested to meet with Mr. Assad and his foreign minister. Although they have yet to receive an official response it is unlikely that Syrian authorities will agree to such demands given that the regime has been less than cooperative in the past. Realizing that more time will be required for a thorough investigation, the UN agreed last month to extend the inquiry by six months.

Although Syria has on more than one occasion been accused of meddling in the affairs of its neighbors, this is the first time that a senior official has directly accused Bashar al-Assad. And given the severity of the accusations it seems as though Mr. Assad and his Ba'athist counterparts may soon be presented with a serious problem, if the UN investigation finds Mr. Assad guilty as charged. For the time being, it seems the only option left for the Syrian leadership is to co-operate fully with the UN investigation. If Syria does not allow for the investigation to be conducted in a transparent manner or if the UN investigation does in fact find him guilty, there is the possibility that the regime could face sanctions. Whether those sanctions would be economic at the multi-national level or merely a travel ban on Syrian officials is still up for question. Nevertheless, it seems that this time Syria may be in serious trouble.

Sources

"UN wants to interview Syrian president over Lebanese assassination." BBC News. 2 Jan 2006. 2 Jan 2006. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4533614.stm>.

"UN extends Hariri killing inquiry." The Guardian. 16 Dec 2005. 2 Jan 2006. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/syria/story/0,13031,1676708,00.html>.

"UN asks to meet Syrian president" BBC News. 2 Jan 2006. 2 Jan 2006. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4574464.stm>.

"Hariri 'threatened by Syria head'" BBC News. 30 Dec 2005. 2 Jan 2006. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4570652.stm>.

[ issue contents ] [ fmm home ] [ send feedback ] [ tell a friend ]