Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has praised Syria’s embattled leader while speaking on a Turkish network, claiming he would remain in power, unlike other unpopular leaders in the Middle East, if free elections had been held prior to the popular uprisings in the region.
Davutoğlu, who earlier urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday to make “shock therapy” reforms, a policy that catapulted Eastern European countries into full-fledged democracies in a rapid recovery from the past communist era, alleged that the Syrian leader is not similar to the “old generation” Tunisian, Yemeni, Libyan or Egyptian leaders and that he is a beloved leader among Syrians.
“If elections had been held before the Tunisian flame [uprisings in Tunisia] spread throughout the Arab world, the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya would go but Assad would stay,” the foreign minister claimed while speaking to the Turkish TVnet network on Friday.
Davutoğlu hinted that he was not sure if Assad is popular today as he stressed that he has no idea if the Syrian leader would win if free elections were held in this Arab country.
“I say this again in a friendly manner,” Davutoğlu said, adding that Syria would have become a model country in the region if the past year had been used for what he called “not-so-difficult reforms for Syria.”
He dismissed claims that Assad has a lack of political will at this point in pushing for reforms and said some of his concerns were “rightful.” “Israel is a neighbor,” he added.
Turkey wants to see reforms led by Assad
Davutoğlu also said Turkey wants to see reforms in its southern neighbor led by Assad, adding that Turkey promised to lend Syria support of any kind during the reform process.
Davutoğlu himself went to Damascus early last month and had talks with Assad, where both discussed the worsening situation in the Arab country.
The 10-week protests in Syria have evolved from a disparate movement demanding reforms to a resilient uprising that is now seeking Assad’s ouster. On Friday, protests erupted in the capital, Damascus, and the coastal city of Banias, the central city of Homs and elsewhere.
Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed since the revolt began in mid-March — a death toll that has enraged and motivated protesters.
On Friday, Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government demonstrations, killing at least eight people as thousands took to the streets despite the near certainty they would face gunfire, tear gas and stun guns.
The foreign minister, however, avoided condemning Assad for dozens of killings every day across the country at a time when international pressure on the Syrian leader was escalating at a steady pace.
Yet Davutoğlu said Turkey has displayed a moral stance regarding the developments in Syria and said Turkey pledged to the Syrian leader that it would provide any kind of support to its southern neighbor to ensure change.
“We are just as concerned about the future of Syria as the Syrians; we want to make an effort [to end this crisis]. I, just like the Syrians, am saying it is we who must manage this change,” Davutoğlu said.
Davutoğlu said Assad once again stressed his decisiveness to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday — a move he said made them hopeful — and urged the Syrian leader to immediately implement the reforms. “Right now is exactly the time for action,” he said.
Erdoğan and Assad spoke on the phone on Friday to discuss the worsening situation in Syria as part of the two leaders’ consultations to address the 10-week upheaval and to restore stability.
Davutoğlu, while listing Turkey’s foreign policy issues, said Syria would be put first in terms of its importance and warned that every potential negative situation would also affect Turkey.
The Turkish foreign minister said Syria is the most important country in the Middle East and that it stands amid three significant problems: Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, adding that unlike Libya, Syria is very diverse in terms of ethnic and sectarian differences.
“For us, the stability of Syria is very important,” Davutoğlu said, adding that developments in Syria might affect countries such Turkey, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan.
