In his July 16, 2014 inaugural speech to the Syrian parliament, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad thanked the Syrian people for displaying true democracy and revolutionary spirit by rejecting foreign interference and standing by their constitution, parliament and president. He described the war in Syria as a result of plots and intervention by foreign powers – both the 'colonialist West', whose invasion of Iraq sparked terrorism and chaos that have spread throughout the Middle East, and Arab forces, which, he said, are using this selfsame terrorism to forward their own interests. Lashing out at his main rivals in the Arab world – namely Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states – he accused them of serving the West and Israel by sponsoring violence, whether it is the violence of Islamist extremists that are ravaging Syria and other countries in the region, or the unrest and rebellions of "the fake Arab spring."
He also accused these countries of abandoning the oppressed Arabs, such as the Palestinians, in their time of need. "There is no clearer evidence than their current stand regarding the Israeli aggression against Gaza," he said, and added: '"Why haven't they supported Gaza with arms and money? Where are their jihadists; and why haven't they sent them to defend our people in Palestine?"
At the same time, he also lambasted his former Palestinian allies, namely Hamas, saying: "We need to distinguish between the resistant Palestinian people and the ungrateful Palestinians, between true resistance fighters – who we should support – and the amateurs who mask themselves in the mantle of resistance to serve their interests, improve their image or strengthen their authority."
He thanked the Lebanese Hizbullah, whose fighters "stood shoulder to shoulder with the heroes in our army," as well as Iran, Russia and China, who "respected the decision and will of the Syrian people over the course of three years and have truly upheld the UN charter in respecting states' sovereignty and non-interference in their domestic affairs."
Addressing the issue of a solution to the Syrian crisis, he stated that the solution must be "purely Syrian, without any role for foreigners unless they [are] genuine supporters," and added that an end to the war can only be achieved through "internal reconciliation" and "national dialogue" between various Syrian forces – excluding all forces who have "proven their lack of patriotism by evading dialogue" or by "betting on a change in the balance of power."
The following are excerpts from an English translation of the speech issued by Syria's official news agency SANA.[1]
"A few years ago, some called for freedom – your response was to remain free in the age of subservience, to be masters in the age of slaves. They patronised you with their calls for democracy – your response was to show your will in the most democratic manner possible and refuse foreign intervention in your national affairs; you chose your constitution, you chose your parliament, you chose your president. Throughout, the decision was yours and your will has created our democracy. They chanted: 'The Syrian people are united' – your response was to face their storm of sedition, never allowing the winds of division to poison your hearts and minds; you were truly one people with one heart... During these years, whilst they were talking, you were doing; they sank in their illusions, whilst you made today a reality They called for a revolution and you rose to be the true revolutionaries; so, congratulations to you all on your revolution and your victories and congratulations to Syria for her great people and their steadfastness.
"Congratulations to Syria whose people defied all forms of fear and terrorism and voted under fire in the referendum and the elections, thwarting the aggression, the aggressors and their machinery. This steadfastness altered all expectations, circumstances and facts; positions changed, players withdrew, terminology dropped, alliances vanished, councils divided and other bodies disintegrated. Many who were blinded to the truth, either out of ignorance or deception, regained their sense of direction. True motives were revealed when their masks of freedom and revolution fell and they drove their fangs into Syrian flesh; killing, beheading and cannibalizing hearts and livers. Every dirty trick was used; they left no perverse or deviant path untrodden. And still they failed. They failed to assure you of their concern for the rights and interests of the people. They failed to convince you that you needed guardians to manage your own affairs and the affairs of your country. And finally, they absolutely failed to brainwash you or break your will.
"For the enemies of our homeland, these elections were the instruments they had been waiting for to deligitimise the state and to show the Syrian people as weak, disunited and unable to rule themselves or make independent decisions; all of this to create a justification for foreign intervention which they could legitimize under several pretexts... For us citizens, these elections were a true declaration of belonging to our homeland that transcended far beyond an identity card or a passport. They were a battle to defend our sovereignty, legitimacy, national decision-making and the dignity of our people. The huge turnout was a referendum in favour of sovereignty against all forms of terrorism; for many people, what was important was not so much who won, but rather who fell as a result. With your votes, you have brought down both the terrorists and the Syrian agents who gave them political cover. You have brought down their masters – the orchestrators, including superpowers and their satellite states, and decision makers and their obedient executers."
Assad's Electoral Victory Among Syrians Living Abroad Proves The Support For Him Is Genuine
"As for the elections that took place abroad and were of actual and symbolic importance, they constituted a slap in the face to the hostile media outlets that exerted their efforts to position all those who left Syria as being against the state and their homeland. By expressing their views, Syrian expatriates and refugees astonished the world. They embodied the patriotic image of Syrians and their tenacity when it comes to upholding the independence of their decisions and the protection of their sovereignty. Their circumstances as expatriates or refugees did not hinder them from carrying out this crucial national duty.
"They participated in huge numbers despite their physical and moral pains. Some, despite their dire need, risked their livelihood and their residency and faced threats aimed at preventing them from participating. Those against us could not imagine Syrians carrying their passports and choosing their candidate through the ballot box. These simple steps panicked them because they knew and understood that these elections represented a stand to defend the homeland, its sovereignty and dignity. This is why they prevented the elections from taking place in their countries and other Arab states. And here lies the hypocrisy of the West: they claim to defend the same people that they prevented from expressing their views, when it became apparent to them that these views contradict what they had been working so hard for three years to achieve. Nevertheless, we thank them for preventing the elections from taking place in their countries because through their ignorance they have enhanced the legitimacy of the elections rather than undermined them..."
"The [Syrian] Presidential Elections... Proved That All The Empires Of Politics, Oil And The Media Amount To Nothing When Faced With A True Patriotic Position"
"Today, you are more capable of teaching the subservient people in our Arab region concepts they do not know, like sovereignty, perseverance, defiance and dignity. You are more capable of teaching them lessons in democracy, in how people should take part in decision making and determining national destiny, and consequently make them aware of things they have not heard of previously like elections, freedom, rights, the state and civilization; they have only known suppression, extremism, subservience, dependence and exporting terrorism. The presidential elections have been, to many Syrians, a bullet fired at the hearts of terrorists and those who stood behind them. Millions of bullets were fired and hit their sick hearts and minds and settled in the ballot boxes. These bullets proved that all the empires of politics, oil and the media amount to nothing when faced with a true patriotic position; they proved that all their words and statements over the years, disintegrate within hours in front of an honourable and unified people. These bullets declared that all those enemies, with their terror, their terrorism and shells have no value or weight; they may be capable of inflicting harm and damage, but they are incapable of winning, they may threaten, but they cannot frighten us...
"The war waged against the Syrian people is a dirty war... This country that has faced invaders since the dawn of history – the last of whom were the French colonizers who left less than seven decades ago – is still alive and capable of standing fast, building and regenerating life from the throes of catastrophes. This is how nations display their greatness, their history and their civilization. Countries are not measured by the size of their surface area or population, their wealth or their oil; they are measured by their culture and civilization, the role their people played in history, and by their will and their sovereignty in facing the challenges of the present and building the future.
"Because of this role, Syria has always been targeted and continues to be so. The aggression we face is not aimed at individuals or governments – as it appeared to some in the beginning, but rather at the structure of the country and its role, and conditioning the way people think in the long-term, to mere cattle driven by remote control. This aggression aims to preoccupy our people with never ending conflicts that last for generations rather than focusing on our national aspirations and greater prosperity, and strengthening our society and state. It was never intended to rid people of their problems, as was claimed and believed by the naïve. On the contrary, they rejoice in the weaknesses of any Arab society because they want to see these societies remain backward and dependent on them. The clearest evidence of this is that their allies in the region are the most backward, corrupt and oppressive countries. They didn't target our weaknesses to help us overcome them, but rather our strengths to destroy them: our unique patriotism and sovereignty, our pan-Arab identity and the harmony and congruence between our true Islam and Christianity.
"The Colonialist West And Its Arab Flunkies Have Failed In Executing Their Plans So Far"
"The colonialist West is still colonialist; the means may change, but its essence is still the same. If the West and its Arab flunkies have failed in executing their plans so far, this does not mean that they have stopped their destruction of Syria as an alternative goal. This will achieve the same objective over the long term, but unfortunately with the help of those Syrians who have no honour and so sold their homeland.
"Things were clear to us from the early days of the aggression. We all remember the reactions of those who did not believe or were not convinced of what I said at the beginning of the crisis. At the time, many people rejected terms like 'plot' and 'aggression'. They were not convinced – until it was too late – that what was happening in the country had nothing to do with the legitimate demands of an oppressed people; nor were the demonstrations calling for freedom and democracy. It was a sinister plot for the whole region, which will not stop at our borders."
"Erdogan Wants To Free The Syrian People From Injustice... But When Israel Attacked Gaza, He Turned Into A Docile Lamb"
"This spectacle started to unravel during the invasion of Iraq. Our position at the time was neither based on an irrational desire for confrontation nor on having an adversarial position to be applauded. We avoid unnecessary confrontations with the international community, and we avoid the hypocrisy of 'brother' Erdogan. He wants to free the Syrian people from injustice and dreams of praying in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus; but when Israel attacked Gaza, he turned into a docile lamb whose feelings towards Israel are similar to an infant who misses the warmth of his mother's lap, with no dreams of praying in al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. We are also not 'Bandarites' – people who do what Bandar Bin Sultan does in prostrating himself at the feet of his masters and turning himself into an agent of foreign powers, even when they are not looking for agents.
"We belong to neither camp, because both of them are dangerous and lead to disaster. We rejected the invasion of Iraq because we saw it as the beginning of division and sectarianism. It was a real concern towards a dangerous situation we were convinced was inevitable. Today, we can see that it has become a reality and we are the ones paying its hefty price. We also warned, from the very beginning, all those we engaged with that what was happening would not stop at Syria's borders. It would spread because terrorism doesn't recognize national borders; at the time, I was accused of threatening the international community. At that time I referred to the fault lines passing through Syria and said that tampering with these fault lines will lead to disturbances whose aftershocks will not stop at Syria or Syria's neighbours but will have a far reaching affect.
"Isn't what we are seeing today in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and all the countries that have been struck by the malady of the fake spring tangible evidence of the credibility of our repeated warnings? Soon we shall see Arab and regional countries that have supported terrorism also paying a painful price. Many of them will understand, though too late, that the battles fought by the Syrian people in defense of their homeland transcend our national borders. It is actually in defense of many other nations that, sooner or later, will suffer from the same terrorism, either as a result of the shortsightedness of their leaders and their absolute ignorance of the real interests of their nations, or due to their lack of understanding of our region and how to deal with it's people."
The Muslim Brotherhood Should Be Called The "Devils Brotherhood... Because Killing, Terrorism, Corruption, Sedition And All Those Horrendous Sins Are The Work Of Devils"
"The question here is: if the West and their allies do not learn, until too late, from the mistakes of their past experiences, are we also going to be late in our understanding of the events and issues which concern us in our region? Did we need to wait three years and pay for the shortsightedness of some, by sacrificing our children's blood, our lives, our economy, security and reputation in order to realise that what was happening was in fact a plot against our homeland, and not the so called 'spring' for freedom or democracy? Did we need to pay such a hefty price, and still continue to do so, for those people to realise that as a result of their ignorance we now have incubators for terrorism and a springboard for aggression? Did we need to wait twelve years to understand that invading Iraq would only bring terrorism and division to our region? Wasn't our experience with the criminal Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980's enough for us to learn our lesson, or did we have to wait thirty years for the arrival of executioners and cannibals, to realise that terrorism and exploiting religion are two sides of the same coin?
"At the beginning of the crisis, I talked about the 'devils brotherhood,' some commentators thought that in doing so, I left no space for a future compromise. They said, 'How can the president describe them as devils, while they are a political party? He should refer to them as the Muslim Brotherhood'. Well, I apologize, we shouldn't call them the Devils Brotherhood; they are the devils themselves, because killing, terrorism, corruption, sedition and all those horrendous sins are the work of devils..."
"All Those Who Returned To The Right Path Found The State To Be A Compassionate Mother: Angry With Her Ungrateful Children, But Forgiving When They Genuinely Repent"
"In light of the above, and based on our clear understanding of the scheme designed for Syria from the early days of the aggression, we took the decision to proceed on two parallel tracks: striking terrorism mercilessly on the one hand, and facilitating local reconciliations for those who were misled and wanted to abandon their wrong path on the other. We were convinced, from the very beginning, that effective solutions would have to be purely Syrian without any role for foreigners unless they were genuine supporters. All those who returned to the right path found the state to be a compassionate mother: angry with her ungrateful children, but forgiving when they genuinely repent. Today, I repeat my call to all those who have been misled to lay down their arms, because we will not stop fighting terrorism and striking at it until we restore safety and security to every inch of Syria.
"Those who left as traitors, agents or corrupt individuals are of little concern; the country has been cleansed of those individuals and they no longer have a place or status among Syrians. Those who are waiting for a foreign solution to end the war are living in an illusion because the 'political solution', as it is called, can only be based on internal reconciliations, which have proven to be very effective on more than one occasion. I stress that we will continue to proceed on this course because it saves Syrian blood, restores security, leads to the return of the displaced, the reconstruction of those areas and to thwarting any foreign schemes designed around internal shortcomings.
"National reconciliations are not contradictory with, neither do they replace, the national dialogue, which the state has started with various political forces and social actors. We will continue with this dialogue and remain open to all ideas, opinions and perspectives especially since this dialogue should not be limited to the current circumstances. It needs to be a dialogue about the future of the country, the structure of the state and all aspects of our society related or unrelated to the crisis, and regardless of whether they preceded it or are a consequence of it.
"If the state had extended on open hand to all from the beginning of the crisis; today, and after this tough and highly costly national test, the dialogue will not include those who have proven their lack of patriotism by evading dialogue. Neither will it include those who bet on a change of the balance of power and when they lost, changed direction in the hope of not missing the train, nor will it include those who claimed concern for the country whilst giving, through their positions, cover to terrorists in exchange for favours or bribes received from abroad. As for the declared client forces, we do not engage in dialogue with them as Syrians but as representatives of the countries they swore allegiance to and became spokesmen for..."
"There Cannot Be A Civil War... When The Army Is United, The Institutions Are United, The Syrian Street Is United And People Are Going Out Together To The Markets And Restaurants"
"The crisis, brothers and sisters, has validated the strong social cohesion among Syrians and refuted the malicious claims about a civil war, which they tried to promote as a political cover for their foreign aggression with internal tools. The term 'civil war' today is used as a political cover to legitimise the terrorists as one side in a Syrian – Syrian conflict rather than despicable instruments in the hands of external powers. A civil war has its clear geographical fault lines between sects, ethnicities and other warring factions; these fault lines manifest themselves in the division between various components of society resulting in a complete collapse of the state and society. Is this what we are seeing in Syria or rather what they tried to convince us of? There cannot be a civil war or a real division, when the army is united, the institutions are united, the Syrian street is united and people are going out together to the markets and restaurants. This is a mere illusion.
"Today, I see the reality on the ground as being the exact opposite; we have surpassed the concepts of common or shared living, which prevailed before the events to a stage of full integration and social cohesion among Syrians. This was abundantly clear from the scenes of Syrians across the national spectrum at the polling stations, and the popular consensus and high turnout during the elections. The rich colours and different sectors of our society are all members of the same body: whilst they differ in shape, function and task, they are fully integrated in the service of each other and the body to which they belong. Today, there is no coexistence or tolerance, but full integration and harmony."
"There Are Parts Of Our Population – Albeit A Small Portion – That Were The Foundation Upon Which This War Was Based, Who Made It Possible For Foreign Terrorists To Enter The Country"
"Moving forward towards the future cannot happen if we do not deal in all truthfulness and transparency with the root causes of the present situation. In as much as we have proudly witnessed a patriotic people, it has been equally painful and disgraceful that there are parts of our population – albeit a small portion – that were the foundation upon which this war was based, who made it possible for foreign terrorists to enter the country and who facilitated foreign economic, political and military intervention in Syria thus impinging on our sovereignty...
"If the external factors are easy to recognize in what the aggressors say and in the instruments they use, the internal factors must remain the focus of every assessment or decision we make, not only to deal with the challenges today but also to protect ourselves for the future. There is a near consensus among Syrians that the main reason for those who immersed themselves in the destruction of the country – directly or indirectly – is ignorance. The bigger danger, which provided the foundation for the crisis and its different aspects, was the lack of morals by distorting religions, undermining honour, and selling out the homeland. It is the greatest obstacle to the development of societies; development is not only dependent on laws and regulations, important as they are, but rather it is dependent on a culture based on morals. There can be no development without morals; they are inseparable. Good morals may ensure better enforcement of the law; good laws can help develop good morals but they cannot sow their seeds if they haven't already been planted by the family and by society.
"Without morals, there will be no patriotic feeling in our consciousness and public service loses its meaning. When I talk about public service, I am referring to all people involved in government employment or in public services or charities. Without morals, we become a society of selfish individuals each working for their own interests at the expense of others; and we saw this happening on a large scale during this crisis. There are many in this crisis that did not carry arms but they nonetheless damaged people's livelihoods and manipulated their future; they stole, blackmailed, ransacked and were as dangerous as the terrorists themselves. Without morals we are wasting our time trying to reach objectives we do not have the necessary tools to achieve.
Talking about morals, in this speech, is not an alternative to developing laws and regulations nor is it an excuse for exonerating the state of its responsibility. If our morals and culture provide the foundation, state administration and institutions constitute the building; and any building without a solid foundation will always remain fragile."
"We Need To Address Corruption, Which Is The Greatest Challenge For Any Society Or State" And Carry Out An "Administrative Reform Of State Institutions"
"Building on the above, and since the two issues are closely linked, we also need to address corruption, which is the greatest challenge for any society or state. Financial and administrative corruption is based on moral corruption, both of which produce a more dangerous form: national corruption that creates people who sell their homeland and the blood of its children to the highest bidder.
Fighting corruption requires action on a number of parallel tracks. Punishment comes at the top of the corruption fighting strategy. Striking with an iron fist every proven and convicted corrupt person is the most important element; however, when you punish a corrupt individual, society might produce tens of other corrupt and more devious individuals skilled at evading the law in a manner that cannot be detected or punished. In this case, time will play in favour of corruption and the corrupt.
"Accountability is at the top of the corruption fighting strategy, but it is not sufficient on its own. In the middle comes administrative reform of state institutions, a process that has been on-going for a number of years. This is a wide-ranging issue and a science in its own right and there is no doubt that the crisis has delayed progress in this area. Additionally, we need to focus on developing educational curricula in a manner that goes beyond education per se to include instilling moral values and appropriate conduct. The Ministry of Education has started this process, which will take time – it is not something that can be done haphazardly.
"More importantly, we have started and must continue to develop educational religious institutions that produce graduates properly equipped with the right religious teachings that enshrine the moral values we need today more than ever before. In this area also, the Ministry of Religious Endowments, in cooperation with Syrian religious scholars, has taken important steps in setting reference and developing teaching methodologies and mechanisms in their schools.
"We should also not ignore the important role of the media. I am not referring to the media that talks about corruption and attacks it in general – this has little impact. I am referring to developing investigative journalism that looks for corruption cases and proves such incidents with the necessary evidence. Such cases can then be taken to the competent authorities, whether the courts or the oversight and control bodies for appropriate measures to be taken."
"The Most Important Role Is That Of The Family... [Good] Upbringing... Prevents Citizens Becoming Mercenaries To Be Used Against Their Nation By Conspirators Or Foreigners"
"These components constitute the role of the state in the shortest and fastest form, i.e. fighting corruption, administrative reform and the role of the competent institutions. However, the more important and sustainable role, which constitutes the base of the corruption-fighting pyramid, is the role of society and the family in particular. In order to produce an uncorrupt society, we all need to, as mothers and fathers, provide our children with a good upbringing.
"Let us ask ourselves, would we have witnessed the corruption we have seen – the robbery, the exploitation, the kidnaping, treason and other horrendous crimes, had the parents of those deviant people given their children a sound upbringing?...
"This foundation, this education, creates the difference between citizens who abide by the law out of conviction rather than fear of punishment, between the civil servant who serves the public for the benefit of society rather than for personal gain, and between the merchant who realizes that whilst a thief can steal from an individual, by not paying his taxes he is in fact stealing from twenty three million people. This upbringing creates the difference between a citizen supporting his family and community in times of crisis rather than exploiting them and it prevents citizens becoming mercenaries to be used against their nation by conspirators or foreigners. This is what will make all the measures taken by the state effective in terms of depth and breadth...
"Since the greatest damage to our economy was inflicted on the vital material structures of economic growth and sustainability, our economic recovery should start from the same point by focusing on rebuilding these material structures: the buildings, houses, factories, roads, and all other forms of infrastructure that was destroyed or sabotaged. This in itself is a very wide sector that will benefit the different strata of society without exception, and will influence positively and strongly the other economic sectors, which will not recover fully without a comprehensive reconstruction..."
"Had [The Arab Spring] Been A Revolution For More Freedom, Democracy And Justice, It Should Have Started In The Most Oppressive And Tyrannical Countries: The Countries Behind Every Catastrophe That Befell This Nation"
"Brothers and sisters, Your resilience constituted the official obituary of what was falsely called 'the Arab spring' and reset the course. Had this 'spring' been genuine, it should have started in the backward Arab countries. Had it been a revolution for more freedom, democracy and justice, it should have started in the most oppressive and tyrannical countries: the countries behind every catastrophe that befell this nation, behind every war against it, behind the intellectual and religious deviation and moral degradation. The existence of these countries is the West's most important achievement and the most significant cause for Israel's successes and continued existence. There is no clearer evidence than their current stand regarding the Israeli aggression against Gaza. Where is the 'alleged' zeal and ardour that they showed towards Syria or the Syrian people? Why haven't they supported Gaza with arms and money? Where are their jihadists; and why haven't they sent them to defend our people in Palestine?
"In order to know the answer, we should know that what is happening today in Gaza, ladies and gentlemen, is not a separate or passing event. It is an integrated chain of events: from the occupation of Palestine, to the invasion of Iraq and trying to divide it now and the division of the Sudan all planned by Israel and the West and always executed by the states of tyranny and backwardness in our Arab world.
"Let's talk about the facts. Was it not Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman al-Faisal who conceded to Britain that he does not object to giving Palestine to the 'poor' Jews in 1915? Did those states not incite the 1967 war, whose price we are still paying today, in order to get rid of the Abul Naser 'phenomenon' which had become a threat to their thrones at that time? Did those states not support Iran under the Shah, only to stand against it when it decided to support the Palestinian people and turn the Israeli embassy into a Palestinian embassy after the revolution? Did those states not support the crimes of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Devils Brotherhood in Syria in the late 1970s until the 1980s against the Syrian state and people, although the Syrian state has never been involved in any hostility against those countries?
"Those are the countries which made the 'King Fahed Peace Initiative' in 1981 and threatened the Palestinians with rivers of blood if they don't accept it. When the Palestinian factions rejected it, and in less than a year, there was the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the ejection of the PLO from Lebanon, not out of concern for Lebanon, but for Israel.
"Those same states surprised us in 2002 with their greatest concession: 'normalization in return for peace,' which was later modified, in form, to become the less bad 'Arab Peace Initiative' in the Beirut summit. At the time, the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, responded to it by saying that it is not worth the ink it is written and launched an attack against the Palestinians that killed hundreds of martyrs, especially in Nablus and Jenin."
"Because These Satellite Countries Succeeded In Their Tasks, They Were Charged With Funding Chaos Under The Name Of The 'Arab Spring'"
"When Israel attacked Lebanon in 2006, it was those same countries that encouraged Israel and the West not to accept a cease-fire until the Lebanese resistance was destroyed, describing them as 'adventurous.' Because these satellite countries succeeded in their tasks, they were charged with funding chaos under the name of the 'Arab spring,' and with leading the Arab League after other Arab countries abandoned their roles. The Arab League itself was reduced to summoning NATO and imposing a siege on the Arab states that refused to comply.
"All of these events constitute a strongly linked chain aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause; all the money spent by those countries since their creation has been for this purpose. And here they are today playing the same role: in Gaza through Israeli terrorism, and in Syria through terrorism belonging to 83 nationalities. The methods may differ but their objective is the same.
"This leads me to another important issue. Some have expressed indifference towards Gaza, on the premise that we have our fair share of national problems; others have gloated at the Israeli aggression, as a reaction to the ingratitude and disloyalty of some Palestinians towards Syria and everything we have offered for decades. Both cases however, reflect naïve thinking; what is happening in Syria and the region as a whole is strongly linked to what is happening in Palestine. Dissociating ourselves from these events would be like watching a neighbor's house burning and not offering to help, thinking that the fire will not reach them."
"We Need To Distinguish Between The Resistant Palestinian People And The Ungrateful Palestinians"
"That is why those who believe that we can live in safety and distance ourselves from the Palestinian cause are illusioned. It will remain the central cause based on principles and the reality that links what is happening in Palestine with what is happening in Syria. We need to distinguish between the resistant Palestinian people and the ungrateful Palestinians, between true resistance fighters – who we should support – and the amateurs who mask themselves in the mantle of resistance to serve their interests, improve their image or strengthen their authority; otherwise, we will be – consciously or unconsciously, serving Israel's objectives of dividing us even further and making us believe that our crisis is local and isolated. When we believe the illusion that our crisis is isolated and not related to what is happening in Palestine, we are bound to make wrong decisions, and our solutions will be inappropriate and will ultimately fail to address the problems our country faces..."
We Should Not Forget To Thank Members Of The Faithful And Heroic Lebanese Resistance Who Stood Shoulder To Shoulder With The Heroes In Our Army; We Also Thank Iran, Russia And China
"We should not forget to thank members of the faithful and heroic Lebanese resistance who stood shoulder to shoulder with the heroes in our army, fought honourable battles together on both sides of the border and provided martyrs in defence of the axis of resistance. I salute them and the families of every martyr who reciprocated our loyalty with loyalty and considered defending Syria a national duty like defending southern Lebanon.
"We also thank Iran, Russia and China, these states that have respected the decision and will of the Syrian people over the course of three years and have truly upheld the UN charter in respecting States' sovereignty and non-interference in their domestic affairs...
"The new stage has begun, and we are fully prepared for it. Syria deserves all our effort, sweat and work; we shall spare nothing in the same way that our heroes have not spared their blood or their lives. I will always be one of you, living amongst you, guided by your opinions and inspired by your awareness. Together, hand in hand, Syria will remain strong, proud, resilient and inviolable to any foreigner; and we Syrians shall remain the strongest fortification for Syria and her dignity."
[1] Sana.sy, June 17, 2014.
