Brotherly citizens, Our brave soldiers and army officers, Our great people

Speech Addressed by late President Hafez Al-Assad to the Syrian citizens and armed forces on the first day of the war of liberation, October 6th, 1973

Brotherly citizens,

Our brave soldiers and army officers, 

Our  great people,

 

 I salute each and every one of you. I address in you, today, the true Arabian spirit, the spirit of courage and heroism, the spirit of sacrifice and giving.

I address in you, your love to the homeland, and your faith in the cause you have decided to defend. For more than a week, the enemy has been mobilizing  and premeditating its forces, thinking it will deal a treacherous blow to us. But we were vigilant enough to monitor its movements and cantonments, and to repel its new potential aggression.  We did not allow the enemy to take us by surprise. So, our armed forces respond appropriately  to it  . Our brothers in Egypt did  not allow  the aggression  to take them by surprise. The great army of Egypt rushed to defend the dignity of Egypt and the dignity of the Arab Nation. Greetings to our army and  to our people, and a tribute to the army of Egypt and the great Arab people of Egypt.

 

I must at these  crucial moments pay  another tribute  from the heart to the  brave military forces ,  who came to our  country from our  Arab brotherly country of Morocco to take part in the  battle of pride and dignity and to sacrifice their blood generously ,  shoulder to shoulder with their brothers in Syria and Egypt . Thereby, they embody the unity of the nation, the common destiny and the  sanctity of the goal.

 

Today , we are fighting the battle of honor and pride, in defense of our precious land, for our glorious history , and of the heritage of our forefathers. We fight  the  battle, equipped  with faith in God and in ourselves; and with the solid  and compelling determination  that victory will be on our side.

 

Israel is stubborn  and is  hit  by vanity,  and arrogance filled the heads of its officials. They continued their crime  and aggression. Their hearts  are filled with black hatred  against our people and against humanity. They are fret with thirst for bloodshed. Their footsteps disregard the principles and ideals of humanitarian principles and sublime morals and the international laws and resolutions. 

 

Such persons are, the same, like their predecessors, among  the advocates of war,  do not confine themselves  to a limit, nor get deterred , unless they are deterred  by people who believe in their own  right, and fight for their freedom and own  existence.

 

While we do our duty to defend our land and the honor of our nation, we are ready to make every sacrifice and accept all challenges in order to win the right and win principles, so that  just peace would prevail.

 

Brotherly citizens,

 

Adversity is the touchstone for the nature of peoples, and a test for their authenticity. The more severe the crisis is, the more the pure  metal revealed and the entrenched originality confirmed .

You are the sons of a nation, which has been known throughout history for stances of manhood and pride, of heroism and redemption.  You are the sons of the nation that had carried the message of light and faith into all the corners of the earth, and  the  entire world was a witness to its  highest traits and noblest morals.

 

You are the  descendants of Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, Ali, God bless them.  You are the  grandchildren  of Khalid, Abu Obeida, and Amre, and Saad, and Salah al-Din.  The conscience of our nation calls on us, and the souls of our martyrs ignite us as to abide by the teachings  reflected in  Yarmouk, Qadisiya, Hittin, and  Ein Jallout. The  eyes and hearts  of the masses of our nation from  the Atlantic to the Gulf are now clinging   to our great steadfastness .These masses  are all hope and  confidence  that we are proceeding towards  ultimate victory.

 

Dear brave soldiers and army officers, 

 

We are the rightful  owners and the owners of a just cause, and God grant victory to the one who is  rightful defending his right. You are defending today the honor of the Arab nation, preserving its  dignity and existence, and  rendering sacrifices , so that the future generations  are to live satisfied and secure.

 By accident , it  is the  will of the Almighty God that your Jihad  is in  one of the days of  the holy month, the month of Ramadan, the month of jihad. The month of the Battle of Badr, the month of victory. A bright chapter in the history of our armed forces  to be added   to the many chapters of  heroism and sacrifice, testified by the blood of our martyrs  throughout the history of our country and   Arab nation .

 

Our ancestors have won victory through faith , sacrifice and  through their racing  to win martyrdom in defense of our divine religion and the rightful message . Today, through your courage  and heroism , you have revived  these  spirits alongside the  glorious  Arab tradition.

.

Your weapon is  but a deposit  in your hands , that you have  to use properly. The honor of the Arab soldier is your responsibility  and the future of our peoples is in your hand,  for the sake of which you  have to fight relentlessly.

Our  people whose sons  survive great  enthusiasm stand, one line,  behind you, protecting your back lines , and supporting your struggle by all means .  The masses of our Arab nation stand  behind our people. This position by the Arab nation is dedicated by national duty  in this crucial phase.  Behind our people, there also many friends in the world who stand in support of our cause and struggle.

 

We are not amateurs of killing and destruction, but we are repulsing murder and destruction from ourselves.

 

We are not the aggressors and never were   aggressors; but we were and are still defending ourselves, repulsing the aggression.

 

We do not want death to anyone, but we repulse death off our people.

We love freedom and we want it for ourselves and for others. We are  struggling  today ,  so that our people will  enjoy  their freedom.

We are advocates of peace, and  we work for peace for the sake of  our people and for all the peoples of the world. And we struggle  today in order to live in peace .

 

Proceed with God’s blessing, when Allah render you victory, no one would defeat you.

 

Peace be upon you