The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) commended the article the Economist newspaper has recently issued on Syria, in which it likened Bashar al-Assad to a mafia boss. The article stressed that there is nothing left to steal in Syria, and that the head of the regime is ruling the country like a mafia boss.
The newspapers added that in a region of kleptocratic rulers, few have plundered their country so completely as Bashar al-Assad did. It noted that the Assad regime is cannibalizing his nation and looting the country’s resources.
The newspaper also said that extortion has become rampant in the country, adding that many tycoons with close ties to the regime were taken to Branch 251 for refusing to pay protection rackets. It also said that Assad is building a fortune from gas, oil and electricity revenues.
Moreover, the article pointed out that while people in Syria live in the dark and cannot move due to the frequent power outages, Assad provides energy to power brokers in Lebanon who pay in US dollars.
The newspaper added that the Hezbollah terrorist militia gets fuel as a reward for its support for the regime in its war against the Syrian people. It said that the regime is issuing passports to Syrians who want to leave in exchange for exorbitant fees, noting that drug-dealing is currently the regime’s main source of income.
Member of the SOC’s political committee, Bahjat Atassi, pointed out that the article summarizes the crimes that Assad is committing against the Syrian people. He stressed that Assad and his backers have committed the most heinous crimes in Syria, citing the Guardian newspaper’s revelation of Al-Tadamon Massacre, the reports proving the regime’s use of chemical weapons, the Caesar photos, and the testimonies of thousands of survivors of Assad’s crimes.
Atassi called on the international community to seek accountability as essential for reaching a political solution that achieves the aspirations of the Syrian people for freedom, dignity and democracy.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
