Assad denies responsibility for repression

SYRIAN PRESIDENT Bashar al-Assad has denied direct responsibility for the crackdown by his country’s security forces on protesters since unrest erupted in March.

In his first interview with a US television network since protests began, Dr Assad distanced himself from the actions of Syria’s security forces and army.

“They are not my forces. They are military forces belong[ing] to the government. I don’t own them. I’m president. I don’t own the country, so they’re not my forces.”

He said he “does not feel guilty” about what has happened.

He blamed ongoing violence on criminals, religious fundamentalists, and al-Qaeda-linked terrorists who he said have infiltrated protests.

On the role of the government, he said: “There is a difference between a deliberate policy of repression, and the [occurance] of errors committed by some officials. No government in the world kills its people unless it is led by a crazy person.”

He also disputed the figure of 4,000 uprising fatalities given by human rights bodies. He said the majority of those killed were not opposition protesters but government supporters, including 1,100 security personnel. He dismissed as “false allegations and distortions of reality” reports of house-to-house arrests and torture, including of children.

His comments coincided with the return of US ambassador Robert Ford to Damascus after a six-week absence and reports that the corpses of 79 kidnapped and executed civilians had been dumped in Homs, the protest hub where loyalist troops have been battling army deserters.

The victims are Sunnis and heterodox Shia Alawites, members of Dr Assad’s community. Sectarian cleansing is also taking place.

The Arab League appears to be divided on how to deal with Syria.

In Baghdad, secretary general Nabil al-Arabi failed to convince Iraq to abide by League sanctions which Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari argued harm his country’s interests as well as Syrian civilians. Lebanon and Jordan, Syria’s other Arab neighbours, have adopted the same stance.

Meanwhile, league assistant secretary general for economic affairs Muhammad Ibrahim al-Tuwaijri said the league could drop sanctions imposed on Syria if it carries out the organisation’s plan to end repression and admit monitors to oversee implementation.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has suggested that Moscow could contribute to the observer group if Syria agrees. League foreign ministers are set to meet on December 15th to review the situation.