Observers doubted the veracity of what happened during Assad’s speech before the members of the People’s Assembly, considering it a show during which the president wanted to deliver messages to his supporters, in light of the economic crisis.
Assad appeared in a recorded speech and spoke about a plethora of topics, from the Caesar Act to the Penal Code to the Israeli strikes on Syria, corruption, and the story of his cousin Rami Makhlouf.
Assad stopped talking at one point, claiming that he had not eaten.
He said, “Let me sit for just a minute.” The regime later announced that the president had suffered a drop in blood pressure.
Regime opponents commented on Assad’s speech and what happened to him. Opposition politician Yahya al-Aridi said, “If this ridiculous act was not intended, it could have been edited out, especially since the speech was pre-recorded. What happened points to the level of insignificance of that criminal gang and attests to the degree of close-mindedness of his followers.”
Researcher Radwan Ziadeh commented by saying, “It is really exciting that Assad’s media team made his health problems public. In a country of dictatorship, the president’s health is one of the nation’s deepest secrets, except that the people are tired of this acting which has not brought them any good.”
Assad justified the incident by saying, “I did not have anything to eat yesterday, Anyway, I just had a little sugar and salt so my blood pressure has returned to normal”
Observers considered Assad’s justification to be a confirmation that he stands in solidarity with the hungry people and is not disconnected from reality, an analysis that seems plausible.
Observers believe that publishing the news and disseminating it through the media is yet another plan the regime is devising, similar to the one involving Assad’s wife’s cancer months ago.
The regime’s media is known for its extreme concealment of such news, such as when Hafez al-Assad died, when the news of his death was not broadcast for days, so that the regime had time to get their house in order and hand over the rule to his son, Bashar al-Assad.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
