By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

DAMASCUS, Syria — Two months after being appointed as Syria’s Prime Minister, Riad Hijab fled the country last Monday, and defected from President Bashar Al-Assad’s government to join “the revolution,” his spokesman says.

The former prime minister arrived in Jordan after being smuggled across the border.

“I announce today my defection from the killing and terrorist regime, and I announce that I have joined the ranks of the freedom and dignity revolution.  I announce that I am from today a soldier in this blessed revolution,” Hijab said in a statement read in his name by spokesman Muhammad el-Etri.  “This defection was not a matter of days or weeks, it was in the pipeline for two continuous months through a trusted cell close to the prime minister made up of rebels and aides.”  El-Etri stated that Hijab’s escape was planned in conjunction with the Free Syrian Army.

El-Etri denied a Syrian state television report that claimed Hijab was fired from his position, saying that the government made the announcement of his dismissal after officials realized that the prime minister had fled the country.  Hijab–who, like much of the opposition, comes from Syria’s Sunni majority–was not part of Assad’s inner circle.  But as prime minister and the most senior civilian official to defect, his departure dealt a symbolic blow to an establishment rooted in the president’s minority Alawite sect.

Hijab will leave for Qatar within days, following the example of other high-profile defectors, el-Etri told the AFP News Agency.  “Hijab will go to Doha, where international media are based.  He will leave for Qatar tomorrow, the day after or after a few days,” he said in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

A member of the Syrian opposition in Jordan said that Hijab will travel to the Qatari capital “in the coming few hours.”  Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he said “[w]e are currently co-ordinating to facilitate the departure of Hijab to Doha in the coming few hours, most probably at 2200 GMT.  Seven of his brothers will stay in Jordan.  We understand the sensitivity of this issue for Jordan. We do not want to create problems for the kingdom, which already has tense relations with the Syrian regime.”

The White House stated on Monday that Hijab’s defection is a crippling blow to the Assad regime, calling it a sign that the Syrian government is “crumbling from within.”  It repeated its calls for Assad to step down and end the violence gripping the country.

“This is a sign that Assad’s grip on power is loosening.  If he cannot maintain cohesion within his own inner circle, it reflects on his inability to maintain any following among the Syrian people that isn’t brought about at the point of a gun,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing.  “The momentum is with the opposition and with the Syrian people.  It’s clear that these defections are reaching the highest levels of the Syrian government and Assad cannot restore his control over the country because the Syrian people will not allow it,” he said.

For further information, please see:

Al Arabiya — Defection of Syrian PM Shows Assad ‘Crumbling From Within:’ White House — 6 August 2012

Al Bawaba — Syria: Defected PM Slams “War Crimes and Genocide” Carried out by Assad Regime — 6 August 2012

Al Jazeera — Syrian PM Defects From Assad Government — 6 August 2012

BBC News — Syria Prime Minister Riad Hijab Defects — 6 August 2012

Reuters — Syrian Prime Minister Defects, Fighting Goes on — 6 August 2012