Former VP says Syria's president a traitor

Khaddam has been attempting to rally support for overthrowing the regime.

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PARIS, France (CNN) -- Syria's former vice president says the country's leader is a "traitor" who has damaged Syria and caused it to be alienated from the Arab world.

Abdel-Halim Khaddam also says President Bashar al-Assad's actions led to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri -- although he did not directly link al-Assad to the murder -- and resulted in the "humiliating" withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

"The traitor is the one who causes damage to the country and to the people. Bashar al-Assad has taken serious decisions and brought serious damage to Syria," he told CNN in an interview in Paris, where he is in self-imposed exile.

"One of those decisions was to have the Lebanese presidency extended for President Lahood and that led to the assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri," he said.

"It also led to the humiliating pullout of Syrian forces from Lebanon and brought about a split in relations between Syria and Lebanon, and also led to Syria's isolations in the Arab world and internationally.

"The one who caused all of this is Bashar al-Assad. So, he is the traitor."

Khaddam, who himself has been labeled a traitor by Syrian officials for criticizing al-Assad, has been attempting to rally support for overthrowing the regime.

He said pressure was growing to ease "the misery and suffering of the Syrian people in Syria."

"That is why I decided to speak up," he said. "To remain silent is tantamount to condoning what is going on."

Khaddam's recent comments about Syria prompted the government to freeze assets and those of his family.

A former close aide to Hafez al-Assad -- the president's late father and former Syrian leader -- Khaddam became a critic of the government after the son came to power after Hafez al-Assad's death in 2000.

In particular, Khaddam has accused al-Assad of failing to introduce political and economic reforms. He resigned as Syria's vice president in June.

A United Nations report has already implicated Syria in the February 2005 assassination of Hariri -- a Lebanese nationalist who sought to help his country break free from Syrian control. Syria has denied any involvement in Hariri's murder.

Last week, Khaddam told the al-Arabiya network that al-Assad had made direct personal threats against Hariri months before he was murdered.

In his interview with al-Arabiya, an Arab television network, the former vice president said he was not accusing al-Assad of complicity in Hariri's death.

Hariri's death led to mass anti-Syrian demonstrations in Lebanon. Syria later withdrew its troops that originally entered the country in 1976 as a stabilizing force early in the country's civil war.

Khaddam denies that his motive for seeking regime change was to regain power for himself.

"If I was interested in influence and power, I would have stayed with Bashar al-Assad. That was not my ambition," he said. "I have patriotic ambitions and have no personal ambitions."