Ex-Qatar PM blames Assad for destroying Syria and not standing down years ago

Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani, the former Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, lamented Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for not taking his advice years ago and stepping down, saying he decided to hold on to power and destroyed the country.

In a post on X, Al Thani said: “Bashar al-Assad is gone! […] Didn’t I tell you more than 13 years ago that you had a golden opportunity for your name to go down in history if you left power at that time of your own free will, before Syria was destroyed and millions of its people were displaced.”

Al Thani stressed that if Assad had listened to “the advice that day and laid the correct foundations for a peaceful transfer of power, you would have remained in your country honoured and respected, but pride led you to sin, and here you are leaving anyway because the revolution does not end in a few years. The result is the same 13 years later, but the loss came at the expense of Syria, its people and army, the destruction of its capabilities, and the displacement of its people. Now look where your name will go down, and there is no time for regret.”

Addressing the opposition forces, the former minister said: “I urge you to treat all Syrians of all sects and religions equally, far from any vengeful practices and the destruction and sabotage of property, capabilities and institutions, especially that of the Syrian army.”

“You must quickly heal the wounds and must not disagree over power, because Syria must regain its regional and international role as it should be, and as befits it, its history, status, and as it has always been without marginalising or excluding any of the components of society.”

“The most important advice in this transitional phase is not to dispute over power,” he urged. “Disagreement over power leads to the loss of achievements and opens the door for those lurking in the corridors of regional and international challenges to ride the wave of the revolution and reshape and direct it according to their own interests.”

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