Assad uses Hezbollah to terrorize Syrian people

Haitham al-Maleh, head of the legal committee and a member of the negotiating team at Geneva II, said that the international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi is “very disappointed at the Assad’s regime unresponsiveness with his proposals that seek to reach an acceptable solution that can address the reality and end the bloodshed in Syria. “I think that Ibrahimi has become fully aware that it is not possible to implement the proposal he presented to form a transitional governing body in parallel with fighting terrorism, as this body is the necessary tool to combat terrorism. In other words, we cannot equate between fighting terrorism and the mechanism that enables us to do so, which is the formation of a transitional governing body with full authority over the military and security apparatuses, and that excludes Assad. This body is the sole guarantor to rebuild a new Syria free of terrorism, as it is no longer a secret that the Assad regime and terrorism are two sides of the same coin,” Maleh stresses. He also said that “violence in Syria is mainly caused by the current authority, and it is illogical to assign the task of fighting terrorism for the real manufacturer of terrorism in Syria. Hence, there is a real need for the formation of a transitional governing body to do the job and work on the implementation of all the terms of Geneva I.” Maleh denied that the cancellation of the negotiating session of today between the Coalition and the opposition. Moreover, Maleh said that the Assad regime wants us to issue a joint statement “condemning terrorism and the countries supporting it, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others.” Maleh stresses that “we do condemn terrorism, but we do not agree with the regime on its unrealistic interpretation of terrorism, as they give the right for the sectarian militia of Hezbollah and others to kill of what he described as Syrian terrorists, under the pretext that they are directing legitimate pre-emptive strikes to preserve their security.” Furthermore, Louay Safi, spokesman for the Syrian Coalition, stresses that “the Assad regime is primarily responsible for the spread of violence and terror in the country, and its primary concern is oppressing the revolution. Furthermore, Safi criticizes the attempts of the delegation of the Assad regime to include the issue of terrorism in the files that will be discussed during Geneva II, stressing that the term included in Geneva I Communique is “violence and not terrorism, as at that time terrorism was not apparent. The focus of Geneva I was ending violence practiced by Assad against civilians, but he has sought to create terrorism to derail the course of negotiations and to send a message to the international community that “either me or the region will burn.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)