Bureaus. W. Me for mine. There was something in this comparison with lady di we diplomats let ourselves be seduced. We put our hopes in that couple they were perfect. She very much contributed to this image that bashar and his wife would take syria in a different direction. She was very beautiful very sweet lady very nice and she said to me what do i need to do to be a good first lady. You are so. Nice. Its difficult to say that you know everything we know. Many people when they see that kind of photo or they cannot believe you when you say that im a stance or National Says that there are hundreds of thousands of Political Prisoners people under the torture etc etc they dont believe you they say look at her. Ask i last had syrias first lady the west saw in her the ideal of a female arab ruler beautiful educated and modern today shes seen as the accomplice of a dictator who commits crimes against his own people her story is the story of a deception and it starts here in the west as the daughter of wealthy syrians living in london a small our class was raised like an english girl she called herself m. R. At school and went to an exclusive english girls. Her family lived in this london suburb her father was a syrian doctor with his own practice affluent successful established in the west. Was also to become successful. She worked as a finance analyst for dont bank and hope to study at harvard then in the ninetys she met an aspiring eye doctor a syrian unassuming a little bit shy and then in london for a short time. There are two things i always try to work towards. Trying to get to harvard and this was a childhood dream and the other was to try and help syria try and work for syria even living abroad or living in london. When i didnt get accepted to harvard came at a time when i found the man i loved so it was almost not a choice. Who would choose for the over love. As small as great love was bashing assad he was part of the assad family clan his father had fees had seized power in syria in one thousand nine hundred seventy via a coup you didnt know anyone who travels to syria will realize that every Border Crossing where they are namely in assad syria this country is in the private hands of a clan thats organized like the mafia and everything in this country is designed to support assads rule because the whole of society is transfused by a network that the assad created and expanded over the decades. Have fees al assad the socialist one party state in syria with the help of the military and the Intelligence Services all critics were eliminated the dictator had thousands of people arrested to. And killed the countrys economy was run into the ground it was corrupt when have fees died in the year two thousand syria was considered one of the darkest dictatorships in the world the stage to funeral marches were deceptive for many the death of the dictator gave hope for change have fees al assad had chosen his own successor. His son bashar was the only candidate in the president ial election. What to fight when i have died i felt like i had woken up from a nightmare if you had. I was certain that his successor whether it was bashar or someone else would be better and i mean more about official assad was like an octopus that had spread across the end of cya syrian society. Basho was not born to rule it said he hadnt wanted power and would have preferred to become an eye doctor. But i did some photos of the one nine hundred ninety six four years before he was president. I remember mainly someone youre shy but sometimes embarrassed about what was happening around him you know your i had a really hope because i always thought that the regime. Needed someone to say like gorbachev someone who would and the dictatorship opened a new era. This eerie and people hadnt heard of both seen a first lady at the side of the new president their wedding was held in secret as my side elected leader then traveled around the country anonymously to get to know it later she said she wanted to become an ambassador for the syrians. There next and that made. The president of syria wasnt a democratic one but many syrians believed he would bring democracy to the country what we had only heard good things about him people talked about the young pleasant bashar who would bring reforms and democracy. We thought he would herald a new beginning a whole new era for syria. Was. Asked the daughter of a regime opponent jumana saif had lived in constant fear on the half ezine assad the Syrian Secret Services often silence their critics by threatening members of their family. To manas father riyad saif is to this day one of the best known regime critics in syria the one successful businessman angered by assads father by speaking out against corruption and oppression but he went to fall for the regime he had crossed the line i thought so i mean it was in one nine hundred ninety six bashar is father was still in power when my brother just appeared without a trace he was twenty one and had gone to the seaside with a friend his friend returned but my brother didnt he was never found but if you live in syria you know whats meant by that few women visit it was a very clear warning to my father from the old regime because he had become politically active he says had. The fear of fear seemed to come to an end when Bashar Al Assad became president. In his first speech he announced Economic Reforms promised social reforms and even spoke of democracy it was an encouraging message for the many syrians who dreamed of freedom. In what are they at but in two thousand something finally happened in this country people started to meet and debate there were political events the first ones were called National Dialogue and took place in my Fathers House it was always packed. Hundreds came to debate about anything that was on their mind they wanted to talk about syria just. To keep you could feel how great the longing was to be involved and bring about change at long last. Meeting let me tell fals. Six months after he entered office the young president appeared for the first time in public with his wife from england. It was a mystery to say in the first few months because we heard about the slaty coming from. Very fashionable. To not only beautiful she was clever sentence very good studies in london she was working in a major bank etc. To leave all this and to go to syria. Why she did that what was behind it who was she. She contributed to this protest and profile greatly because she was you know obviously fluent in english british accent or grew up in the west very elegant cosmopolitan woman who was determined to play a different type. Role as first lady of syria then her mother in law that was very much behind the scenes you know they both were young at the time. So she very much contributed to this image that bashar and his wife would take syria in a different direction. I met her and she said to me what do i need to do to be a good first lady and i said i dont know but it was very fashionable time laura bush had been going around the middle east and. Africa as well running first ladies conferences so they were wives of political leaders. And she said id like to be a first lady and do what i have to do i said we have to have a program have to have some to work for you have a budget you have to set up an office and you do things and you would you come in do it for me thats a choice if you want to add to that site why i got involved. As not i last i didnt just want to be a good fast lady she also wanted to be a first lady who was accepted in the west it wasnt long before she started organizing conferences for the first ladies from neighboring countries something which had been on i dont think damascus. Im going away the first time i went to see that. And this huge great palace and i had to come in and walk through the great marble holes and past fountains and go and theres a tiny room in the corner where she sat and i was in there and i thought theres nobody else in the place so completely empty palace above me. And me and i wanted a cup of coffee and it took forever to get a cup of coffee but you know thats the way it is. There was a there are suspicion from the Government People who are keeping their eye on it to make sure should get out of control and they get there around me to make sure i didnt encourage it to get out of control so there were there was sort of a slight feeling of being watched and. I saw her last times and we discussed ways of creating the first ladys office. Had vision was a combination of doing good things in syria she was worried about poverty she was worried about people who had been left behind by the progress and she wanted to be seen to be a good person thats what she did you kind of make use of a much more i. Should go to is round serious saying people discussing it is a bit like as a royal tour. I think. She was a good talent at the time shes clearly not a good look back at that time she was vacant very cooperative very helpful very pleasant to say paid on time probably. The investment paid off as an aside soon mastered her role at the perfect fast lady two years after the start of his presidency she accompanied bash on assad to her hometown london it was his last official visit to britain it was a success for the couple that included meeting with the Prime Minister and the queen. President of syria this is outside. What. You said is a very busy time yeah one. That we have got a very full review of the visit of the man if you used to the way i used. But. Of course you can use. A small side was received like a star Tyrone School she had made something of herself she was now a first lady beautiful and rich. One had to is. Their behavior clearly signaled where similar to europe its always pleasant for europe to have heads of state like that who think alike and even in. The idea was people who come across like us who like the same things as we do could also share our political views and rights and not. The political interest of the west in collaborating with Bashar Al Assad was however they stone fear. The fear of islamist terrorism. We condemn totally anybody whos in gauging terrorist activity of any sort at all wherever in the world. I do however believe its important to engage with syria because syria is going to be an important part of building a peaceful and stable future in the middle east and i mean if the three moderate hope for three i dont know how i will feel. Well if im in both and i want as for the issue of terrorism syria is known for its fight against terrorism for the last decades and not just for the last few years have item on hope a signal they want to signal to europe we are a very good partner for you he expressed that explicitly in the fight against terrorism. That was an issue where assad could associate closely with the west and say you are natural partner in the region is right here and he wanted to motivate europe to come towards him. So. They before they leave he told me that i would do with it says a lot about the communication of the regime because. Who run this photo on the first page of the magazine was forbidden in syria because the regime didnt want syrians to see the president i guess its very its very interesting that was an image lets say for abroad that was for europe but for syria the president should not be. Human or a father or or someone nice to say. I think he did want some level of political reform in the big yeah but i think he realized and he was advised and he excepted the view that this could cause chaos that could cause instability and chaos can overthrow the regime. While they are sides presented themselves in london as the bring as of hope for the middle east political change back home in syria was being put down by the government the regime had a new face but it was the same brutality there were no photographs or films capturing this. Fear that his family his clan could lose power he had only important opposition leaders including riad saif arrested by the secret service all they had done was to meet up and debate. It can it. Be addictive i was shocked and afraid that theyd kill him at the same time his arrest meant that it was over as mike. Gone was the hope of freedom and democracy. And. Everything we had dreamed of was over that the. Riyadh saif was sentenced to five years in prison for subversive activities the west reacted with a note of protest. I love wouldnt give belief and everyone was briefed by the foreign ministries that this was a repressive regime that there were massive Human Rights Violations and the prisons were full of Political Prisoners who were coming under. And then you went there and it was lovely. Damascus is a beautiful city with a lovely location near mt. The old town is delightful and the restaurants were full. Yeah. We asked where is their repression. And that why is everything so bad. So. Sad appeared in public as a pleasant person you enjoyed watching and listening to it was a pleasant young man with a western background that he didnt have the as a rule or. He came across as relaxed and as likable. He didnt come across as the head of a repressive regime. And she emphasized the likeable impression her husband made. Thank. You know. When he went to the opera with his wife people clapped one thousand one hundred by phone all. You got the impression they loved him. We diplomats allowed ourselves to be seduced. By anyone who wanted to know about Bashar Al Assads Human Rights Violations didnt know about them it was totally clear that he was a dictator and that the regime hadnt changed there were enough reports about what was going on behind the scenes for anyone who wanted to see what was happening. The swiss not the diplomat the e. U. Representatives also knew that you had to choose do we need aside for our own interests is it really important to talk about the conditions in the prisons all the time or can we ignore that for now and talk about trade deals and the opening of the syrian markets which have to place. Coming out of could from i can remember one time where she swept me away along with others it was during a female Entrepreneurs Convention in damascus schools. She made the opening speech that contained the ideas that had been expressed in london paris and brussels about the need to create open markets about promoting competition to achieve affluence for the population a great speech for one of our. Own government i just thought this is the woman who worked as a finance analyst dont you bank the j. P. Morgan it was great i dont know which journalist it was who called her the lady di of the orient. Was here on the division of. Public and she was good at Public Relations this comparison was apt. On these and. She was a darling. March two thousand and three the United States invaded iraq under the pretext that the iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction president bush wanted to topple him as the direct neighbor of iraq the Syrian Regime felt threatened assad feared it could be in the americans interest to so end the assad era in syria. Bashar al assad was familiar with the wests fear of islamist terrorism he knew that for as long as this threat existed he would be needed as a partner in the fight against the terrorists and he the dictator would always be the lesser of the two evils be a year later at madrid Central Station almost two hundred people died in what was the biggest islamist terrorist attack in europe to date the syrian president and his wife expressed their condolences. This is an interesting two thousand for its the right way station three at the same time they went to the station to put a counter. Thought for the victims of terrorism of the very same. The assad regime was supporting the jihadist who were working in iraq. And who would later i mean it was archived in iraq and then what is today you know its as though its its a very interesting. Photo because its a deal that bashar was offering to the west its Something Like i can protect you from its me or there was and what do you prefer the alternative to me is these people you want them. Its a very good insurance to keep in power is to say ok i can leave but you will have these people this deal of. That many european leaders. Believed or accepted but it was neglecting twenty two million syrians. Assman meanwhile established a whole network of seemingly independent organizations for womens rights education and young people this commitment and her international admiration but she was a part of the regime part of the life. I hope you dont think that people who are not critical of that not complaining about the government and complaining about service havent been about economic crisis people here complain as much as they do anywhere else and whilst that thats not true i think what were trying to and i know what were trying to achieve ensure that theyre not just complaining but they are part of the solution. So she had their fingers dream ambition but on the same moment the prisons were the same the torture was to listening. Openness were arrested. Or detained sometimes without even trying at such etc so the regime. Change that much but she had this public image maybe that was there you could hide the rest. Under Bashar Al Assad through the Syrian Regime and soon became as dark and inhumane as it had ever been it wasnt just Political Prisoners who were in danger but also anyone who was close to them who loved them that was the strategy of the secret service. That we can have that debate they constantly threatened my father and told him to his face that he had already lost one son. But that he still had a daughter and another son whom he could lose very easily to. Its unbelievable. Polisi. We lived in a police state a dictatorship we were worth nothing. They had control over our lives there was no law we could call upon to protect us because she didnt even have the right to dissent. And life is still like that in syria to this day i have heard that. In doing the dance photo can do with the people are tortured in syrias torture cellars and its prisons until they say theres no other god but bashar thats the sentence the secret Service Pol