BEIRUT — Future Movement leader and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri welcomed the fall of the Syrian regime on Saturday, calling for the dismantling of Assad's governance approach, which he described as "bullying individuals and sects and exercising power arbitrarily."

"Assad has fallen ... This is the day I have been waiting for since that dark hour. How happy I am to see you shouting the voice of freedom in Damascus, after it was freed from its great prison. Today, you celebrate Syria's wedding with the fall of its dictator, who terrorized Syrians and Lebanese and blackmailed Arabs and the world," Hariri posted on X.

On Friday, tens of thousands gathered in Damascus to celebrate the fall of the regime. By Sunday morning, rebel forces announced the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the "liberation" of Damascus after a swift offensive, ending over five decades of Assad family rule.

In 2005, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Saad Hariri’s father, was assassinated in Beirut, a killing widely attributed to the Syrian regime and Hezbollah.

"The regime that traded Palestine for more than half a century has fallen, after selling the Golan Heights cheaply and selling itself for payments or protection against its own people. Assad has fallen, and the mask has dropped, exposing his cowardice and treachery even to his closest associates," Hariri said.

According to Reuters, Bashar al-Assad "confided in almost no one about his plans to flee Syria as his reign collapsed." His "aides, officials and even relatives were deceived or kept in the dark."

Awareness

"The fall of the dictator means little if his policies, based on intimidating individuals and groups and exercising arbitrary power, are not also dismantled. Only the end of these practices will guarantee the rebirth of Syria as a homeland and a state for all its people. This would demonstrate to Syrians and the world that their revolution is too great to fall into the trap of conflict and chaos laid by Assad, and too strong to be derailed by extremism," Hariri continued.

He added, "The awareness shown by Syrians and the leaders of their revolution has amazed the world, setting an example of renouncing violence and vengeance, and revealing the true face of the revolution."

"The greatest lesson remains preserving what has been achieved and completing the civilized transition of power, which will transform Assad’s old Syria into a Syria of the people and freedom. In Lebanon, we once said farewell to Syria [...] and now we come together to renew the commitment and fulfill the promise for our children, our present, and our future."

In 2022, Saad Hariri suspended his political career for various reasons, including Iran’s influence in Lebanon, particularly through Hezbollah.