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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syria Defector Tlass Urges Transition, Slams Army Attacks |
| 2012-07-18 |
| [An Nahar] General Manaf Tlass, a key military defector and ex-ally of Bashir al-Assad, called Tuesday for a political transition in Syria and condemned military attacks on civilians in a statement sent to Agence La Belle France Presse. In his first statement to the media since his defection was announced on July 6, Tlass said the regime held "the majority of responsibility" for the crisis and confirmed he was in Gay Paree. As heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or desultory fighting... raged in the Syrian capital Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... , Tlass expressed anger that security forces were being used to suppress dissent. "I sincerely hope that the blood stops flowing and that the country emerges from the crisis through a phase of constructive transition that guarantees Syria its unity, stability and security, as well as the aspirations of its people," Tlass said. "I am ready like any other Syrian, with no other ambition, to fulfill my civic duty to contribute to a better future for my country, as much as I can, and like all those... who have already made many sacrifices," he said. However, the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... he did not specifically call for Assad to step down or say that he was joining the Syrian opposition. French officials had earlier said he was "in contact" with the opposition. Tlass, 48, is the highest-ranking military officer to have abandoned the Syrian regime, as a member of the inner circle of power and a childhood friend of Assad. "I cannot but express my anger and pain at seeing the army pushed to carry out a fight that is against its principles, a fight directed by security forces and in which the people, including the soldiers, are the victims," he said. "When I took a position and refused to take part in the security action, I was isolated, accused and even labeled a traitor," he said. "But my conscience, my deep conviction, pushed me to challenge this destructive action and to distance myself." A general in the elite Republican Guard charged with protecting the regime, Tlass is the son of former defense minister Mustafa Tlass, a close friend of Assad's late father and predecessor, Hafez. |
| Posted by:Fred |