On Friday 2023/9/29, Al Jazeera will broadcast a new episode of the "The Other Side" program, with former Syrian Prime Minister Dr. Riad Hijab, to talk about several important and sensitive files related to the Syrian situation, in addition to his biography.
In "The Other Side", Hijab deals with his early upbringing, social formation, and studies, as well as his activity in student work, and the responsibilities he assumed in the Syrian Student Union, leading to his progression in political and governmental work in the Baath Party, and in power, when he served as governor of Quneitra and Latakia governorates, and then as Minister of Agriculture.
Hijab also touches on a turning point in the history of his political work and in the history of Syria, related to the demonstrations that began in Daraa in March 2011, and their expansion to the rest of the Syrian cities, and then their development into an uprising and confrontations, where Hijab was assigned at that time as Prime Minister of Syria, which put him in front of the challenge of addressing these developments.
He also reveals in his speech to the other side, that he tried during that period of his tenure as prime minister, to communicate with the Syrian leadership, and at the same time listen to the protesters, with the aim of preventing bloodshed and ending the crisis, but he was unable to achieve this goal in light of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's adherence to the security solution, and his announcement that the government in charge - the government of Riad Hijab - is a government of war, contrary to what was agreed upon before the formation of the government.
He says that he reached a crossroads, so he decided to defect from the regime and join the Syrian opposition, where he developed a plan and arrangements with Syrian opposition parties at home, in order to secure his exit, his family, his brothers and their families, which was achieved by his arrival in Jordan, to announce his defection from the regime.
The former prime minister then talks about joining the opposition, and his communication with the international community in order to search for a solution to the Syrian crisis, and he also clarifies his opinion on several important and sensitive files related to the Syrian situation, such as the nature of the regime's structure, the fate of the solution in light of the failure of negotiations between the regime and the opposition, and other issues such as the Syrian refugee file and the fragmentation of the Syrian opposition.
It is noteworthy that the program The Other Side - presented by Ola Al-Fares - will be broadcast on Friday evening at 22.05 Mecca time.