Following are excerpts
from an interview with pro-Bashar Al-Assad actress Raghda, which aired
on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV, August 18, 2011:
Raghda: The Arab
region in its entirety has been under a microscope for a long time,
since the 1973 war. We are going through a very delicate phase. The
Zionists asked the most senior Israeli: When will the Arabs come to an
end? He answered: When the Arabs hate one another more than they hate
Israel. That is what is happening today. Israel, or Palestine, is the
central issue. Everything that is happening is to the benefit of Israel.
One day, the great Hafez Al-Assad, may he rest in peace… And [Bashar]
is the son of Al-Assad, and we love him and we stick by him…
Interviewer: So
today, you support President Bashar Al-Assad, against the backdrop of
what is happening in Syria?
Raghda: Yes, I
support him in the face of any foreign intervention. But this does not
mean that I support corruption, or some leaders who harm…
Interviewer: You
don't think that what is happening in Syria today is the desire of the
Syrian people for change?
Raghda:
No. What change?!
[…]
I support my president,
because he is an Arab, facing foreign intervention.
Interviewer: What,
former president Hosni Mubarak wasn't an Arab?
Raghda: I am not
talking about that. There was no foreign intervention in Egypt, but
in Syria, they want to do what they did in Libya. If my president…
Interviewer: There
was no foreign intervention in Egypt?
Raghda: If Mu'ammar
Al-Qadhafi were my president, I would support him and oppose what is
happening in Libya today. What do you say about that?
Interviewer: Despite
all the casualties…
Raghda: Listen
to me, who are the casualties?
Interviewer: Who?
The Libyans?
Raghda: Brother,
don't mix up the facts. I'm telling you, for one thing…
Interviewer: Raghda,
this proves what I said earlier: You support Arab presidents because
of personal friendships. You are a friend of Al-Qadhafi…
Raghda: Me, a
friend of Al-Qadhafi?!
Interviewer: You
were a friend of Saddam Hussein…
Raghda: It would
have been an honor for me to be friends with Al-Qadhafi, but I never
met him in my life. True, I met Saddam Hussein, King Hassan, King Hussein,
and all the kings. We are in the public eye. I've met the president
of Yemen…
Interviewer: Do
you support Ali Abdallah Saleh or the revolution against him?
Raghda: Listen
to me…
Interviewer: I'm
asking you a question.
Is that you in the photo?
Raghda: That's
me. Why?
Interviewer:
In the photo you are shaking hands with the Yemeni president. Are you
for or against Ali Abdallah Saleh today?
Raghda: I support
any Arab president who opposes foreign intervention. Let his people
hold him accountable in the end.
Interviewer: Only
in Egypt there was no foreign intervention?
Raghda:
I don't know. No, there wasn't. Was there foreign intervention in Egypt?
[…]
