Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he does not feel guilty for what is going on in his country and denies accusations of violent crackdowns on protestors.
In a rare interview with foreign media, his first with the U.S. with ABC’s Barbara Walters, President al-Assad said he had not ordered security forces to “kill or be brutal.” He said that those who had used violence against the protestors had been punished but reiterated that the order did not come from him. “Every brute reaction was by an individual, not by an institution, that’s what you have to know. There is a difference between having a policy to crack down and having some mistakes committed by some officials. There is a big difference,” he told Walters. He admitted mistakes had been made, but claimed that the security forces belonged to the government not to him so he was not in control. However, as president of Syria, he is the commander of the armed forces.
He also dismissed foreign reports of the security forces’ abuse towards civilians and their violence against protestors by saying that the reports were false and could not be verified. At one point, when Walters argued that there were pictures of the atrocities that served as proof, President al-Assad told her, “I don’t believe you We have to be here to see. We don’t see this. So we cannot depend on what you hear.”
About the U.N. report that said that at least 4,000 people had died since the protests began, President al-Assad claimed the report was never presented to him. He then questioned the credibility of the U.N. and said Syria’s membership to the U.N. was “a game we play.” He later said that about 1,100 people and security forces had actually been killed and that they were all supporters of the al-Assad regime. He again blamed terrorists and extremists for the violence in Syria.
President al-Assad declared he did not fear suffering the same fate as former Libyan leader Gaddafi or former Egyptian leader Mubarak. “The only thing that you could be afraid of as president (is) to lose the support of your people,” he said. But he insisted he still had the support of the Syrian people and he plans to serve as president until the people want him as president. “If you don’t have the support of the people you cannot be in this position When I feel that the public support declined, I won’t be here,” he told Walters.
He also said he and Syria did not feel isolated after the increased sanctions because “we’ve been under sanctions for the last 30, 35 years. It’s not something new.” However, some type of pressure must be felt because Arab League Secretary-General Nabil el-Arabi called a meeting to consider Syria’s request of dropping the sanctions in exchange for allowing observers into the country.
President al-Assad had promised reform at the beginning of the uprising. He claimed local elections would be held this coming year and presidential election in 2014. However, since the violence has increased, protestors, as well as the international community, are now asking that he leave office.
