The Christian Science Monitor thinks I might be going too far for many Syrians by insisting on Assad’s departure. Admittedly such a call might be too early for some, but, knowing Assad and the nature of his regime, I am reading ahead:
But for many Syrians, any compromise that keeps Assad in power is not enough. Exiled Syrian dissident and activist Ammar Abdulhamid said that after numerous human rights abuses, the current Syrian regime has lost all legitimacy, and it has failed to deliver on its promises of reform for more than a decade.
“Now we need new faces, so he has to leave. One way or another, he has to leave; we need a new system, we need a new government, we need new faces in charge, we cannot put up with the promises and lies of the al-Assad regime,” said Mr. Abdulhamid in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Such direct calls for regime change may not represent the predominant public opinion in Syria, where Assad remains somewhat popular and many hope to see the reforms by his hand, rather than the chaos of protests.
“[Syrians] don’t want to destroy their country,” said Abd el-Karim Rihawi of the Syrian Human Rights League, according to the Washington Post.
But while many Syrians would like for Assad himself to implement changes, Mr. Rihawi said (referring to the government), “if they insist on dealing with this movement with an iron fist, I think maybe the situation will blow up – and we can’t imagine what that will look like.”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 