The Syrian president says he feels no guilt for his repression of the uprising 10 months, despite allegations of brutality by the security forces.
In an interview with ABC USA, Bashar al-Assad said he had given orders to use violence against protesters, but admitted “mistakes” were made.
- Syrian PM Al-Assad feel no guilty
He said he had no security forces or in the country.
At least 4,000 people have died since the uprising began, according to the UN.
However, Assad said the UN was not credible.
Syria blames the violence on “armed criminal gangs.”
Interview, Assad came a day after the U.S. announced that its ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, back to Damascus after he retired in October for security reasons.
The French Ambassador came back on Monday.
Difference ”
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No government in the world is killing its people, unless directed by a madman “
Bashar al-Assad, Syrian President
Profile: Syria, Bashar al-Assad
Responding to questions from the presenter Barbara Walters veterans of the brutal repression, Assad said he feels no guilt.
“I do my best to protect people, so I can not feel guilty,” he said. “You feel sorry for the lives that were [sic] has been lost, but do not feel guilty -.. When not kill people”
“We did not kill our people … no world government is killing its people, unless directed by a madman,” he said.
Security forces were not his, not the command, the Syrian president said.
“There was no command, kill or be brutal,” he said.
“I do not belong to them, I am president, they have no land, so you’re not my strength.”
Instead, they blamed the violence of criminals, terrorists and religious extremists sympathetic to al Qaeda, which he mixed with the peaceful protesters.
He said most of those killed were supporters of the government, with 1,100 soldiers and police from the dead.
Members of the security forces had exceeded its powers have been punished, he said.
“Each ‘backlash’ was an individual, not an institution, that’s what you need to know,” he said.
“There is a difference between having a policy between crack and has some bugs of some officials. There is a big difference.”
‘Absurd’
When questioned about the relationship of house arrest, including children, Assad said that the source can not be invoked.
“We have to be here to see. We do not see that. Therefore, it may depend on what you hear,” he said.
The United Nations, who said that the Syrian government has committed crimes against humanity, was not credible, Assad said.
He described Syria’s accession to the UN as “a game we play.”
When asked if she was afraid to share the final fate of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Assad said that all he was afraid of losing the support of his own people.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner condemned the Syrian president’s position.
“It’s ridiculous that it is tempting to hide behind a sort of shell game [and] not intended that the authority in his own country,” he said.
“There is simply no indication that he is doing more than the crunch of the most brutal in a peaceful opposition movement.”
Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-1606513
