The Independent October 28, 1994, Friday

By ROBERT FISK IN DAMASCUS

It was a victory for President Hafez al-Assad, a victory of words. Mr Assad has been using since the Madrid conference three years ago. And it was Bill Clinton who was using them. It was President Clinton's replies - not Mr Assad's – which told the story. He talked about ''a just and comprehensive peace'', about UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and 425, about how peace could never be lasting unless it was just, about ''the principle of land for peace'' upon which a treaty must be based.

Mr. Assad did not talk of victory. He smothered Mr. Clinton in praise for his peace- making efforts and insisted that he wanted ''to express my readiness to work with him for making a real, comprehensive and just peace throughout the region''. ''Comprehensive'' is the code word for withdrawal of Israeli troops from all Arab land. Mr. Assad implied. ''Anyone who does not believe what we are saying doesn't want peace themselves,'' he said. ''Why are the other side not convinced we are serious? I've heard statements from Israeli officials that Syria is serious. ''Our views were identical on the importance of making a comprehensive peace,'' Mr. Assad said. Then came the key phrase. ''I stressed to President Clinton the readiness of Syria to commit itself to the objective requirements of peace through the establishment of peaceful, normal relations with Israel in return for Israel's full withdrawal to the line of June 4, 1967 and from the south of Lebanon.''

16 June 2000

"Assad spent his 30 years in power carrying out a tortuous balancing act. Domestically, he was compelled to maneuver between various social interests and factions Assad's legacy. He is mourned in Washington, London and Paris because his sudden departure is one more destabilizing factor in a region ."

"There was a strong sense that (Assad) was genuinely committed to peace"

BBC News Online

"Syria's shrewd master ,the late Hafez al-Assad was a key player in Middle Eastern politics."

TIME Magazine: JUNE 19, 2000

"He never worried about the clock ticking. He was legendary for his marathon negotiating sessions and infuriating intransigence. He left--as so many negotiators have over the years--reminded that Assad's 30 years in power had made him one of the world's sharpest and most patient negotiators."

BBC

"A Syria - or a Middle East - without President Hafez al-Assad would be hard to imagine."

BBC News Online

"Mr. Assad wants to regain the Golan Heights on his own terms

In the decades since becoming president and overseeing an unprecedented era of stability in Syria,"

The Guardian

Saturday June 10, 2000

President Hafez Assad of Syria died this morning in Damascus. In breaking the news to the Syrian public, state-run television announced: "Death has taken away from Syria a leader." The announcer's voice choked as he began to cry. Syrian television showed MPs standing, heads bowed in the chamber for a moment of silence, wiping away tears.  Assad could never be discounted in the Middle East equation. "The Lion of Damascus" - his family name means lion in Arabic -. He was credited with bringing political stability to a country of repeated coups . He worked long hours and prided himself on managing the minutest details of his administration. His discipline extended to his private life - he was a vegetarian who abstained from alcohol, Like his hero Saladin, the warrior who defeated the Crusaders in the 12th Century, Assad dreamed of becoming the unchallenged leader of the Arab world. Israel, though, was an alternative centre of power in the region and, in Assad's view intent on weakening its Arab neighbours. His attempts to rally other Arab leaders to present a unified front against Israel gained little ground.

Al-Ahram Weekly -June 2000

Issue No. 486

Let's look at a few of the most common adjectives used by the Western press to describe the late Hafez Al-Assad: inexhaustible. Much of the commentary can be summed up in the way Washington Post columnist E J Dionne Jr described Assad in a piece on Tuesday. Dionne says that Assad was "crafty, perhaps even brilliant," On Monday, the highly popular MSNBC (Microsoft NBC) Web site led its world news section with an article entitled, "Mideast Script: Waiting for Bashar." Interestingly, the article mentions that Assad is known as "the Lion of Damascus," but doesn't bother to add that 'lion' is the meaning of the Arabic word "assad."

Newspapers across the Middle East have added their voices to the messages of condolence pouring in from world leaders following the death of Syrian President Hafez Assad.

Lebanon's As-Safir said in its front-page tribute: "The lion of steadfastness... goodbye".

Al-Anwar, alongside a picture of Assad and his son said: "From Hafez to Bashar, the march continues." Assad made Syria a bedrock of Arab determination, a crucial friend to like-minded states and a worthy foe "

Daily Star, Beirut

The Beirut-based Daily Star said: "Few people go to their graves having left such sweeping legacies that their country's history can thereafter be divided into two unmistakably different eras - before them and after them. "Hafez al-Assad was such a man because the Syria he leaves behind bears so little resemblance to the one that he grew up in". The Daily Star said that during his three decades in power Assad made Syria "a bedrock of Arab determination, a crucial friend to like-minded states and a worthy foe for any that opposed it".

The Jordan Times paid tribute to a leader which it said had "shaped much of modern Middle Eastern history". it added that Jordan would support Syria's struggle and work with Assad's successor. He not only maintained his calm at times of crisis, but also restored calm to the entire Arab world.

The English-language Iran Daily said the Arab community had "lost one of its greatest contemporary politicians". "Assad was a no-nonsense politician and truly understood all the complications involved. He not only maintained his calm at times of crisis, but also restored calm to the entire Arab world," it said.

"Assad is no longer with us, but his brilliant track record will always remain documented as a golden page in the history of the Middle East." Israel's 'toughest enemy'

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