Assad: I Remain in Power until People Want Me

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is resolved to stay in power as long as people want him, sources close to him said.

“Bashar al-Assad considers people (and their support) as his criterion for remaining or not remaining in power,” Ammar al-Assad, who is also an MP, told FNA on Tuesday.

“If he sees that people wants him (to remain in power) naturally he will respond to people’s demand accordingly,” Ammar, who is also Head of the Engineers Syndicate in Latakia, underscored.

“That is while people see Assad as a safety valve for the country and Syrian people,” he stated.

In a latest decision to strengthen unity in Syria, Syria’s national television reported on Tuesday that President Assad announced general amnesty.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of stirring unrests in Syria once again.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Bashar al-Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.