Assad to nation: ‘The victory is near’

President Assad accuses “foreign conspirators” of efforts to destabilize the situation in Syria. Addressing the nation, he claimed that the international community’s aim to cause “psychological collapse” has failed and the victory is near.

­“The existence of an external conspiracy is obvious to everyone,” Assad said, addressing the nation at Damascus University

He accused the international community of trying to use Arab countries as cover for interference in Syria.

Assad was critical of the Arab League monitoring mission, saying it had failed.

“The Arab League failed for six decades to protect Arab interests,” Assad said. “We shouldn’t be surprised it has failed today.”

Assad accused the Arab League of hypocrisy over calling for reforms in Syria. He added that the Arab League knows nothing about democracy and is a mirror for failures in the Arab world. However, he suggested the observers could still help find a solution.

Speaking about “reforms”, Assad said the west is not interested in reform. “The foreign plot is against reform in Syria,” he said. However, he added that “victory is near” if Syrians remained steadfast.

The Syrian leader dismissed opposition claims of a bloody crackdown, saying he is fighting armed insurgents who are using peaceful protests as cover.

The president denied that any order had been given to fire on protesters other than in self-defense. He said there was no “cover-up” of any killings, and claimed that some people had been arrested by the state where there was overwhelming evidence of criminal activity.

In his first speech since the Arab League’s observers were allowed to come to Syria, President Bashar Assad said he would not step down, insisting that he still has his people’s support, despite a 10-month-old uprising against him.

“When I leave this post, it will be also based upon the people’s wishes,” he said.

Leave a comment