叙利亚前总理称叙现政权摇摇欲坠

Syria's newly defected prime minister said he had been helpless to stop the regime's bloody crackdown against its opponents and urged other military and civilian officials to leave their posts to save the country and its institutions from collapse.

新近叛逃的叙利亚前总理说，他此前无力制止现政权对反对派的血腥镇压，并同时呼吁叙利亚其他军方和文职官员离职，避免这个国家及政府机构陷入崩溃。

President Bashar al-Assad's regime is losing control over most of Syria, the former minister, Riad Hijab, said in his first public remarks since he defected earlier this month. 'The regime is falling apart morally, financially and economically, and cracking militarily,' he said Tuesday in Jordan's capital, Amman.

叙利亚前总理希贾布(Riad Hijab)在本月早些时候叛逃之后所进行的首次公开讲话中说，叙利亚总统阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)的政权已经失去了对叙利亚大部分领土的控制。希贾布周二在约旦首都安曼说，从道义、财政和经济角度看，阿萨德政权正摇摇欲坠，而且从军事角度看该政权也出现了裂痕。

Mr. Hijab's assessment dovetails with those of other recent high-level defectors, largely former military brass, who for months have said Mr. Assad's regime is fragile and that his inner circle is closing ranks, leaving those in the broader government and military institutions demoralized but also fearful of crossing those close to the president.

希贾布此番言论和近来叛逃的多名叙利亚高官（大都是叙军方前高级官员）的看法相互吻合。数月来这些军方前高官一直在说，阿萨德政权非常脆弱，他的小圈子正努力保持团结。这导致政府和军事机构的普通官员士气低落，他们同时也担心会得罪接近总统的那帮人。

Mr. Hijab, a career government and ruling party functionary from the eastern province of Deir el-Zour on the Iraqi border, was Syria's agriculture minister when President Assad appointed him prime minister in June, a time when government forces had already conducted brutal operations against Homs and other populated areas. His job was largely administrative and had no involvement in military, security and intelligence matters.

今年6月叙利亚总统阿萨德任命希贾布担任总理之前，希贾布还是叙利亚农业部长。当时政府军已经对霍姆斯和其它有人居住的地区进行过残酷打击。希贾布来自叙利亚和伊拉克交界的东部城市代尔祖尔(Deir el-Zour)，是执政党和政府内的一名职业官员。希贾布主要负责一些行政事务性工作，没有参与军事、安全和情报事务。

But Mr. Hijab's characterization of his own powerlessness would suggest that Mr. Assad is continuing to close ranks, leaning on a few key political and security aides while leaving a largely ceremonial government.

希贾布自称无力制止血腥镇压一事表明阿萨德还在设法继续保持团结。在政治和国家安全问题上，阿萨德主要依赖少数关键副手，叙利亚政府因此只是在形式上存在而已。

'God only knows my suffering, and the agony of my soul, when I watched and heard the shelling of Homs, Deraa, Idlib, Hama, Deir el-Zour, Aleppo, Damascus and the other cities, and not being able to do something to shield them from the killing and injustice,' he said, appearing rigid and occasionally hesitant as he read a 15-minute-long statement.

希贾布说，每当我耳闻目睹霍姆斯、德拉、伊德利卜、哈马、代尔祖尔、阿勒颇、大马士革和其它城市遭受炮击的场面时，我无能为力，无法制止屠杀和不公的发生，此时只有真主知道我在挣扎以及我的灵魂所遭受的巨大痛苦。希贾布在诵读这份长达15分钟的声明时，面部表情看上去相当僵硬，偶尔还会犹豫不决。

Like the majority of those opposed to the Assad regime, Mr. Hijab is a member of the country's Sunni majority. The regime's inner circle, by contrast, is dominated by Mr. Assad's Shiite-linked Alawite minority sect.

同大多数反对阿萨德政权的人一样，希贾布是叙利亚国内占多数的逊尼派穆斯林的一员。相比之下，现政权的内部圈子则被总统阿萨德的那些什叶派分支阿拉维(Alawite)少数教派人士所把持。

While several top military officials have defected during the increasingly bloody 18-month Syrian uprising, Mr. Hijab represents one of the few top officials or diplomats to have broken ranks. Members of Syria's opposition and their foreign backers have said that an increase in such defections would serve as a catalyst for toppling Mr. Assad.

叙利亚国内已经持续18个月的起义运动日渐血腥，在此期间虽有多位军方高级官员叛逃，但希贾布则是少数公开批评现政权的高级政府官员或外交官之一。叙利亚反对派成员及其外国支持者说，叛逃官员越来越多的事实有可能成为推翻阿萨德政权的催化剂。

Nawaf Fares, Syria's former ambassador to Iraq and the highest-ranking diplomat to defect, said last month the regime was on its 'last legs.'

叙利亚驻伊拉克前大使、迄今为止级别最高的叛逃外交官法瑞斯(Nawaf Fares)上个月曾表示，阿萨德政权已经奄奄一息。

In his statement on Tuesday, Mr. Hijab appealed to the Syrian armed forces to follow earlier precedents in the region's Arab Spring uprisings.

在周二的声明中，希贾布呼吁叙利亚军队学习其它国家军队在该地区“阿拉伯之春(Arab Spring)起义中的做法。

'I urge the army to follow the example of Egypt's and Tunisia's armies─take the side of the people,' he said. Those armies' reversals triggered the collapse of their countries' regimes within weeks.

希贾布说，我呼吁叙利亚军方学习埃及和突尼斯军方的做法，站到人民的一边。埃及和突尼斯军方的倒戈导致两国的政权在几周内倒台。

The U.S. Treasury swiftly recognized Mr. Hijab's move, announcing Tuesday that it was lifting sanctions imposed on the former official. David Cohen, the department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, urged other Syrian officials 'to take similarly courageous steps to reject the Assad regime and stand with the Syrian people.'

美国财政部迅速认可了希贾布的做法，并在周二宣布解除此前对希贾布实施的制裁。美国财政部负责反恐和金融情报搜集的副部长科恩(David Cohen)呼吁叙利亚其他官员采取类似勇敢的做法，反对阿萨德政权，和叙利亚人民站在一起。