The eye surgeon who trained Bashar Assad in London has delivered a damning indictment of his former student, saying he is ‘not a strong leader’ and should have remained a doctor.
South African-born Edmund Schulenburg, who trained Dr Bashar, as he was known at the Western Eye clinic at London’s St Mary’s Hospital, said: ‘When he left in 1994 after two years, I remember thinking that he was really better suited to being an eye surgeon than a leading politician.
‘I thought he was not strong enough. I don’t think he is a strong leader.’
Contrary to the Syrian President’s image as a thug and a murderer, Mr Schulenburg remembered ‘a sensitive young man who was incredibly polite and punctual’.
‘Everyone who worked with him found him that way,’ said Mr Schulenburg. ‘He wasn’t arrogant. You would never have guessed he was a president’s son.
‘He was quiet and never really spoke about his family. But if anyone asked him a direct question he very politely answered it honestly.’ Read on and comment » | Jo Knowsley | Saturday, August 31, 2013
