SBS News Interview with President Bashar al Assad (1 July 2016)
Two years in the making, SBS journalist Luke Waters’ interview of Syrian President Bashar al Assad claims to be rare and exclusive though the BBC has interviewed Assad in the past. The Australian journalist interviewed Assad in the presidential palace in Damascus and the interview itself was subject to various conditions, among them one that it not be edited and that it be shown in its entirety on Australian television.
As always in his interviews, Assad comes across as thoughtful, articulate and rational, and no question however difficult or provocative seems to fluster him, even if inwardly he may be annoyed at the hidden agendas and prejudices behind the questions that Western journalists ask. The questions range over the conduct of the Syrian war and how it began, the refugee crisis that the war has created, Syria’s relations with the West, and Mr Assad’s views on the US 2016 Presidential elections and Britain’s referendum on whether to stay in the European Union or not. The main things stressed in Assad’s replies are that the solutions to the war and refugee crisis are clear and unambiguous, and that the real problem is the duplicity of Western governments in aiding the decapitation-crazy jihadis and at the same time apparently co-operating and negotiating with the Syrian government.
Waters’ questions hew closely to the mainstream Western view of the initial protests and demonstrations in Dar’a in 2011 as genuine calls for reform and more democracy, and the war having broken out as a result of Syrian government heavy-handedness. Assad deftly and bluntly deflects the criticism of him implicit in the questions by pointing out that many demonstrators and government defectors were being paid by Qatar and other neighbouring Middle Eastern countries to manipulate the narrative being put forward to the public outside Syria and to destabilise the Syrian government. As the interview progresses, viewers sense there is not much rapport between Waters and Assad: the physical distance between the two is partly to blame but there is also no attempt on Waters’ part to follow Assad’s train of thought and what he is saying.
When asked as to who he would prefer to see as US President Barrack Obama’s successor, Assad expresses none and states that whatever presidential candidates say during their campaigns is never carried out during their administrations. He points out that the United States excels in creating problems where none exist and in spreading chaos but ultimately failing to achieve anything long-lasting and beneficial. On the issue of British voters preferring to leave the EU by a slight majority, Assad expresses the view that the referendum result reflects voter anger at the actions and policies of second-rate politicians in both London and Brussels.
Overall, Waters was respectful towards Assad and allowed him to say what he had to say with no interruptions, and perhaps that is all that can be said about the SBS interview that is positive.
The interview can be viewed at this Youtube link and a transcript in English can be read at this Syrian Arab News Agency link.