Syria’s new PM's violent past
07/06/2012 Asharq Al-Awsat
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29908

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – The Syrian opposition has responded angrily to
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tasking Riyad Hijab with forming the new
Syrian government, appointing him as the new Syrian Prime Minister under
presidential decree 194. At the time that the Syrian revolution began, the
new Syrian prime minister was the Governor of Latakia Governorate, whilst he
also headed a security committee whose mission was to monitor events in
Latakia and the surrounding area. According to opposition political
activists, this security committee was responsible for suppressing peaceful
demonstrators, whilst it also ordered a number of massacres that occurred in
Latakia.

Hijab appeared in a video in late March last year addressing protesters in
the Saliba neighborhood of Latakia, promising to improve their daily lives
and guaranteeing them jobs, however activists have stressed that all such
promises were “lies and attempts to buy time to carry out a security
campaign against the protesters and end the revolution in the city.”

For his part, Adnan, a member of the Latakia Revolutionary Coordination
Committee, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “Riyad Hijab was responsible for
the massacres that occurred in the city of Latakia, one of which took place
in the neighborhood of Sakantori, whilst another took place in Saliba.” He
stressed that Hijab “headed the security committee that was giving orders to
carry out these massacres against the residents of the city, and his
appointment as prime minister is a new insult to the lives of the martyrs.”

Whilst Adel, an opposition political activists in Jabla in the governorate
of Latakia, revealed that “Hijab came to Jabla in the beginning of the
[revolutionary] events and spoke with the coordinators of the demonstrations
in the city as well as the city elders, he tried to entice the people with
jobs in return for stopping the protests against the ruling regime, however
the answer was clear, namely that the city residents want to topple the
regime.”

He added “after Hijab left, the security apparatus carried out the first
raid on Jabla, and this was followed by more raids, arrests, and
suppression.”

Adel stressed that al-Assad’s appointment of Hijab as Syria’s new prime
minister is a reflection of the escalatory message given by al-Assad during
his recent speech before parliament. He said “this man [Hijab] is being
appointed to lead the forthcoming stage, which al-Assad confirmed will see
more massacres, bloodshed and killing against the demonstrators calling for
freedom and who are committed to toppling the Syrian regime.”

Hijab was born in Deir Ezzor in 1966; he is married with four children. He
has a PhD in agricultural engineering and has been a member of the ruling
Baathist party since 1998. He served as head of the Deir Ezzor branch of the
Baathist party between 2004 and 2008. Al-Assad appointed Hijab Governor of
Quneitra Governorate in 2008, whilst he was appointed Governor of Latakia
Governorate in 2011. He was also appointed Minister of Agriculture in the
same year.

Hijab is said to enjoy close ties with Assistant Regional Security of the
Baathist Party, Muhammad Said Bekheitan, which is believed to be one of the
reasons why al-Assad appointed him as his new prime minister.

The government of Muhammad Naji al-Otari announced its resignation on 29
March, 2011. Al-Assad then appointed Adel Safar to form a new government,
which was formed on 14 April, 2011, and was the third government of the
Bashar al-Assad regime. This government was made up of 30 ministers, 15 of
whom were members of the al-Otari government. Presidential decree 194 of
2012 appointed Riyad Hijab as the new Syrian Prime Minister and tasked him
with forming a new government. This comes approximately one month following
the 7 May parliamentary elections, which were held under a revised
constitution that allowed for new political parties to be established.