By Yusuf Diab
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat,  October 19, 2011 – Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Sheikh Khalid al-Khalaf, who is a leader of one of Syria’s largest tribes and a member of the opposition Syrian National Council [SNC] stressed that “the Syrian revolution’s only response to the crimes carried out by the al-Assad regime is the ouster and prosecution of Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and all those responsible for the massacring of innocent Syrian people.”
Sheikh Khalid al-Khalaf, who is the Chairman of the SNC’s Regional Council against Violence and Terrorism and for the Promotion of Freedoms and Human Rights, which is temporarily based in Turkey, revealed that “some time ago, a source within the Syrian regime contacted me and informed me that a decision had been taken at the level of Bashar and Maher al-Assad to assassinate one of the most prominent members of the opposition in Syria.” He added “I understood that the target of this assassination plot was opposition figures Meshal Tammo.”
Sheikh al-Khalaf went on to say “when I received this information I was in Istanbul taking part in the SNC meetings. I met Meshal Tammo’s assistant, Sirdad Murad, and was reassured about Sheikh Meshal [Tammo’s] safety, namely that he was alive and well and leading the protests in Al-Qamishli [northern Syria]. He [Murad] informed me that Tammo was well and that after every protest he would go into hiding in order to avoid being targeted.”
However on 7 October 2011, Tammo was assassinated by masked men who burst into an apartment and gunned him down. Tens of thousands of Syrians attended the Kurdish political activist’s funeral the next day. The official Syrian news agency blamed an “armed terrorist group” for Tammo’s death.
Sheikh al-Khalaf also revealed that “I believed that another person may have been under threat of assassination, namely Nawaf al-Bashir who was in prison. I met with Sheikh Abdel Ilah al-Melham and Sheikh Mohamed Bin Tamer al-Mohayed to discuss this issue.” However contradicting media reports claiming that Sheikh Nawaf al-Bashir had been tortured to death, Sheikh al-Khalaf claimed that he is alive and “under house arrest.”
Sheikh al-Khalaf also told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the martyrdom of Meshal Tammo was a huge loss to the [Syrian] revolution, because he was the main catalyst of the revolution at home.” However he stressed that “our only consolation from his death is that we have all pledged that the price of his death will be the ouster and prosecution of Bashar and Maher al-Assad, their supporters, and the Shabiha militia, particularly as Bashar and Maher al-Assad gave the order for his murder.” He added that “the assassination of Meshal Tammo confirmed the information that we received that the Syrian regime had taken the decision to assassinate one of the symbols of the opposition.”
Sheikh al-Khalaf, who is one of the most important tribal figures in Syria, said that “there exists a confirmation of the unity between the Arab tribes and the Kurds” namely “the code of conduct between us [the Arab tribes] and the Kurds that Tammo was personally asked to draft.” He revealed that this agreement “prohibited bloodshed or aggression” and also called for “mutual cooperation to restore the rights of the Kurds that have been taken away by the Syrian regime.”
Sheikh al-Khalaf also played down the fears that the Syrian regime is attempting to stoke and exploit in order to remain in power, namely that the Kurds may seek to establish an independent state should the al-Assad regime collapse. Al-Khalaf stressed that “we are confident that our Kurdish brothers reject such ideas and that they are committed to a free, united, and democratic Syrian state.” He added that “the Arab tribes are also committed to this agreement – which respects all Syria’s citizens and prohibits bloodshed or aggression between Syrian communities, regardless of class, religion, or ethnicity – on the condition that it is named the Meshal Tammo charter.”