BEIJING, Feb. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The Syrian government and Syrian opposition must listen to the people’s demands, asserted Syrian ambassador to China Dr. Imad Moustapha, “this can only take place through free elections, only when the Syrian people say their word, then can we move forward. "
In an interview with Xinhuanet Tuesday, the newly-appointed ambassador said his government has amended the constitution and allows the opposition to demonstrate.
"This is the only way for Syria to end this crisis. The Syrian government and Syrian opposition must listen to the people’s demands," he said, noting "The situation in Syria has not worsened; the majority of the Syrian people strongly support the Syrian government. "
"The government of Syria is deeply committed to a political solution. Neither the United States, nor Saudi Arabia and Qatar can dictate to the Syrian people what they want. Even the Syrian government is not trying to tell the Syrian people to do what it wants. The Syrian people will decide what they want for Syria through a referendum on the constitution, and the ballot box in the forthcoming elections, " Imad Moustapha told Xinhuanet.
"We have completed drafting a new constitution; it will be one of the most democratic constitutions in the world," he said, stressing "this can only take place through free elections, only when the Syrian people say their word, then we can move forward, not by listening to opposition groups who carry western passports."
"The direction of the Syrian government is to conduct free elections, allow total freedom of press, total freedom of political parties, and give women their total rights," he said, challenging "Saudi Arabia and Qatar to go in this direction."
"We challenge the United States of America to pressure her allies, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to do the same. We challenge the United States of America as well to pressure Israel to give the Palestinians their human rights. This is the real problem Syria is facing," he said.
Syria and China are friendly countries, the ambassor said, as the Chinese people are deeply concerned about the situation in Syria. "I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to thank the Chinese people for their concern; however, there is no reason to be worried. Concerning the situation in Syria, it is completely different from the way it is presented in the Western media. "
"The two major cities in Syria, Damascus and Aleppo, which house almost half of the Syria population, lead a very normal life. People go to their work, universities, theaters, music concerts, restaurants and cafes; the same applies to other major Syria cities," he noted, "However, in one Syrian city, namely Homs, armed terrorist groups are committing atrocious acts of violence. They follow an extreme Islamist ideology, and they are determined to fight against the secular government of Syria."
On western media's failure to paint a correct picutre of Syria, he said, "If you listen to the Western media, you will hear that the government forces are killing pro democracy activists." But he added, "after the arrival of the Arab League observers, they visited every Syrian city, and wrote their reports. The observers are all experts, and do not carry a Syrian nationality. They confirmed that the opposition groups, not the government, perpetrate most of the violence. This is written in their final report and it is published. This is the true situation in Syria as described by a third party witness. Western media never reported the findings of the Arab League observers."
Talking of the role of the Arab League, he said it "did not play a constructive role in this situation. The influential and big Arab countries, like Egypt and Iraq are not playing any role at all. On the other hand, a very small Arab country, Qatar, with a population of 200.000 people, is attempting to become the leader of the Arab world."
China and Russia vetoed on Feb. 4 a draft resolution in the Security Council. He said, "I think this is very significant. China and Russia are fulfilling their role in the United Nations, of supporting small states; they are standing up to the American hegemony in the Security Council. The Syrian people are very grateful to China, and Russia. "
Facing great pressure from the West, he said Syria has very strong regional and international friends. "We will continue to develop our relations with these countries."
In March 2011, anti government protests erupted in Syria. Since then violence has caused a high toll of casualties. The escalating conflict has attracted the attention and concern of the International Community.
On Feb. 4, a draft resolution was presented to the UN Security Council concerning the crisis in Syria; the resolution was met by a double veto from China and Russia, stemming from their rejection for any intervention in internal affairs of any country.
On Feb. 12, the Arab League ministerial council issued a statement calling the Security Council to send peacekeeping troops to Syria to stop the bloodshed.
Moustapha was named ambassador to China in later January. He has served as Syria’s Ambassador to the United States for a long period before his recent appointment.
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