Anti-government protesters carry the coffin of Abdul Haleem Baqour, who was killed by shrapnel during shelling by the government army in Hula last week, during his funeral in Hula near Homs, Syria, on Dec. 10. (Reuters)
The U.S. State Department’s special coordinator on Middle East affairs, Frederic Hof, said in testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the Syrian opposition might have a plan that guarantees political asylum to Presient Bashar al-Assad.
Hof, who urged the opposition to come up with a feasible plan for running the country post-Assad, said that the opposition told the administration it hopes to present the regime, including Assad, with a way out of Syria that would prevent further bloodshed. Hof said that plan might include a “distasteful price” in immunizing regime elements from prosecution, “but if it gets this clique out of country before it takes the country down, is it a price worth paying? It is not for us to decide,” he said.
Hof, who urged the opposition to come up with a feasible plan for running the country post-Assad, said that the opposition told the administration it hopes to present the regime, including Assad, with a way out of Syria that would prevent further bloodshed. Hof said that plan might include a “distasteful price” in immunizing regime elements from prosecution, “but if it gets this clique out of country before it takes the country down, is it a price worth paying? It is not for us to decide,” he said.
Hof said the U.S. administration’s goals were to prevent a civil war in Syria, and rejected calls by Republicans on the committee, including chairman Steve Chabot, who urged the administration to support armed factions of the opposition.
“No one, least of all the U.S., is seeking to militarize the situation," he added.
“The Syrian regime is like a man sentenced to death,” he said, adding “there is no question whether the man will die, because he will die.”
He said that the U.S. is trying to convince Russia and China in adding further punitive measures against Damascus, as both do not want to see a “new Libya” in Syria. Recently, the Russia foreign minister said that the West has ignored graves crimes committed by the Syrian opposition.
“We have to redouble our efforts with Moscow and make clear that its backing of the regime will not just mean a human catastrophe, but it’s not in [their interest] either.”
Hof also said that Assad himself has turned Syria into “Pyongyang on the Levant,” referring to the heinous crimes targeting protesters and dissident.
In its meetings with the Syrian National Council, the administration has encouraged the opposition group to include minorities, such as Allawites and Christians, in its leadership, and urged them to assuage the fears of minorities regarding their place and freedoms in a future Assad-free country.
Hof said during his testimony that one of the biggest reasons cities like Damascus and Allepo were quiet was that the regime managed to convince minorities that they had much to fear in the opposition.
Hof also called Syrians who were on the fence to reconsider their support for the regime. Referring to an interview Assad conducted recently in which he denied ordering the killings and abuses documented by human rights groups, Hof said: “Your president claims to see nothing. If you are a minister or a private, your president will put blame squarely on you.”
Meanwhile, a Syrian opposition activist based in Washington, Mohammed Abdullah, expressed his concern that the U.S. is not doing enough to help the Syrian people and that he is worried that President Barack Obama, who called on Assad to step down, might finish his term in office before Assad leaves.
“The the U.S. wants to play more of a direct leadership position ... but the presence of Washington at the back and the EU at the front does not make up an effective clout to help the Syrian people, especially since the Syrian regime’s stance is that of a stubborn one,” he said.
“There is not enough pressure from the Arab League either; it is still hesitant about whether it should transfer the Syrian issue to that of the Security Council.”
“No one, least of all the U.S., is seeking to militarize the situation," he added.
“The Syrian regime is like a man sentenced to death,” he said, adding “there is no question whether the man will die, because he will die.”
He said that the U.S. is trying to convince Russia and China in adding further punitive measures against Damascus, as both do not want to see a “new Libya” in Syria. Recently, the Russia foreign minister said that the West has ignored graves crimes committed by the Syrian opposition.
“We have to redouble our efforts with Moscow and make clear that its backing of the regime will not just mean a human catastrophe, but it’s not in [their interest] either.”
Hof also said that Assad himself has turned Syria into “Pyongyang on the Levant,” referring to the heinous crimes targeting protesters and dissident.
In its meetings with the Syrian National Council, the administration has encouraged the opposition group to include minorities, such as Allawites and Christians, in its leadership, and urged them to assuage the fears of minorities regarding their place and freedoms in a future Assad-free country.
Hof said during his testimony that one of the biggest reasons cities like Damascus and Allepo were quiet was that the regime managed to convince minorities that they had much to fear in the opposition.
Hof also called Syrians who were on the fence to reconsider their support for the regime. Referring to an interview Assad conducted recently in which he denied ordering the killings and abuses documented by human rights groups, Hof said: “Your president claims to see nothing. If you are a minister or a private, your president will put blame squarely on you.”
Meanwhile, a Syrian opposition activist based in Washington, Mohammed Abdullah, expressed his concern that the U.S. is not doing enough to help the Syrian people and that he is worried that President Barack Obama, who called on Assad to step down, might finish his term in office before Assad leaves.
“The the U.S. wants to play more of a direct leadership position ... but the presence of Washington at the back and the EU at the front does not make up an effective clout to help the Syrian people, especially since the Syrian regime’s stance is that of a stubborn one,” he said.
“There is not enough pressure from the Arab League either; it is still hesitant about whether it should transfer the Syrian issue to that of the Security Council.”
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