“Dear fellow citizens,
On the sixty-third anniversary of the departure of foreign forces from Syria, I address you with my congratulations on this cherished occasion in our modern history. I invite you to reflect on the meaning of independence and to recall the great sacrifices made by our people to achieve the liberation of our homeland from foreign forces.
Our forefathers struggled for the liberation of Syria, ensuring that our people could live freely and sovereign in their own land. They worked to build a nation that provides security, freedom, justice, and equality for all, a nation that protects the country, uplifts the people, and fosters strength, prosperity, and progress while restoring Syria’s role in advancing the Arab nation.
Independence is not merely a word or a day we celebrate each year. Independence means a free and secure people, masters of themselves. Independence is a sovereign state capable of protecting its land, uplifting its people, and ensuring equal rights for citizens regardless of religion, sect, ethnicity, or gender.
Independence is a state of justice, equality, freedom, and democracy—a state for the entire people. Independence is not just a song we sing; it is freedom, dignity, tranquility, progress, and the cohesive national unity that safeguards the nation, a strong, free, and prosperous homeland.
Dear fellow citizens,
The foreign presence forcibly imposed on Syria constituted a constraint on the freedom of our people and a violation of our country’s sovereignty and dignity. It utilized force and repression to maintain its presence in Syria, imprisoning, killing, exiling, and persecuting all advocates of freedom and independence.
The predecessors, our fathers and grandfathers, fought for the liberation of Syria so that our people could live freely and sovereign in their homeland. They fought to build a state that ensures the peace, security, freedom, justice, and equality of the people—a state that protects the country, uplifts the people, and provides the reasons for strength, prosperity, and progress while preserving the interests of the country and restoring Syria’s role in the rise of the Arab nation.
Let us, on the anniversary of independence, reflect on our reality and what has happened and is happening in the country under this regime.
The foreign occupier imposed itself by force on Syria, and the ruling regime imposed itself with military force. The foreign occupier suppressed public and individual freedoms, using repression, imprisonment, killing, and exile—something not dissimilar to what the ruling regime is doing, using all means of repression and terrorism, including imprisonment and killing, to stifle the freedom of the people and the citizens and instill fear.
The foreign occupier governed the country by force and hindered the role of the people, similar to what the ruling regime is doing. The foreign occupier attempted to dismantle national unity to strengthen its presence in the country, just as the ruling regime revived sectarianism, fostered sectarian tension, and created the Kurdish issue through its oppression and arbitrary rule.
The foreign occupier seized the country’s wealth, impoverishing the people—similar to the corruption practiced by the ruling regime.
Dear fellow citizens,
Independence, issues of freedom, and the fundamental rights of citizens, as well as the exercise of the people’s sovereign rights, are not just words uttered in speeches by this or that ruler, through the slogans of this or that party, or in documents that the ruler writes and folds.
Independence is the fate of the people and the destiny of their future.
A people whose sovereignty is diminished has diminished independence. A people whose will is restricted and whose freedoms are confiscated is a people lacking independence. A people frightened by fear and governed by repression is a people with diminished independence.
A people whose wealth is plundered, and who suffers poverty, unemployment, and hunger due to the corruption of the regime, is a people with diminished independence.
A state where the law is absent, its institutions are disabled, its agencies are corrupt, its judiciary is corrupted, and where knowledge recedes and backwardness prevails is a state with diminished sovereignty.
A state where the enemy occupies part of its territory and is subjected to aggression is a state with diminished independence.
A state where speaking about freedom is a crime, punishable by imprisonment or assassination, is a state with diminished sovereignty.
A state rich in natural and human resources, yet most of its people go hungry, and poverty spreads, while a few ruling families and their associates control the country’s wealth, is a state with diminished sovereignty.
Dear fellow citizens,
Independence, freedom, and the basic rights of citizens, as well as the exercise of the people’s sovereign rights, are not just words uttered in speeches by this or that ruler, through the slogans of this or that party, or in documents that the ruler writes and folds.
Independence is the fate of the people and the destiny of their future.
A people whose sovereignty is diminished has diminished independence. A people whose will is restricted and whose freedoms are confiscated is a people lacking independence. A people frightened by fear and governed by repression is a people with diminished independence.
A people whose wealth is plundered, and who suffers poverty, unemployment, and hunger due to the corruption of the regime, is a people with diminished independence.
A state where the law is absent, its institutions are disabled, its agencies are corrupt, its judiciary is corrupted, and where knowledge recedes and backwardness prevails is a state with diminished sovereignty.
A state where the enemy occupies part of its territory and is subjected to aggression is a state with diminished independence.
A state where speaking about freedom is a crime, punishable by imprisonment or assassination, is a state with diminished sovereignty.
A state rich in natural and human resources, yet most of its people go hungry, and poverty spreads, while a few ruling families and their associates control the country’s wealth, is a state with diminished sovereignty.
Dear fellow citizens,
Independence, freedom, and the basic rights of citizens, as well as the exercise of the people’s sovereign rights, are not just words uttered in speeches by this or that ruler, through the slogans of this or that party, or in documents that the ruler writes and folds.
Independence is the fate of the people and the destiny of their future.
A people whose sovereignty is diminished has diminished independence. A people whose will is restricted and whose freedoms are confiscated is a people lacking independence. A people frightened by fear and governed by repression is a people with diminished independence.
A people whose wealth is plundered, and who suffers poverty, unemployment, and hunger due to the corruption of the regime, is a people with diminished independence.
A state where the law is absent, its institutions are disabled, its agencies are corrupt, its judiciary is corrupted, and where knowledge recedes and backwardness prevails is a state with diminished sovereignty.
A state where the enemy occupies part of its territory and is subjected to aggression is a state with diminished independence.
A state where speaking about freedom is a crime, punishable by imprisonment or assassination, is a state with diminished sovereignty.
A state rich in natural and human resources, yet most of its people go hungry, and poverty spreads, while a few ruling families and their associates control the country’s wealth, is a state with diminished sovereignty.
Dear fellow citizens,
Independence, freedom, and the basic rights of citizens, as well as the exercise of the people’s sovereign rights, are not just words uttered in speeches by this or that ruler, through the slogans of this or that party, or in documents that the ruler writes and folds.
Independence is the fate of the people and the destiny of their future.
A people whose sovereignty is diminished has diminished independence. A people whose will is restricted and whose freedoms are confiscated is a people lacking independence. A people frightened by fear and governed by repression is a people with diminished independence.
A people whose wealth is plundered, and who suffers poverty, unemployment, and hunger due to the corruption of the regime, is a people with diminished independence.
A state where the law is absent, its institutions are disabled, its agencies are corrupt, its judiciary is corrupted, and where knowledge recedes and backwardness prevails is a state with diminished sovereignty.
A state where the enemy occupies part of its territory and is subjected to aggression is a state with diminished independence.
A state where speaking about freedom is a crime, punishable by imprisonment or assassination, is a state with diminished sovereignty.
A state rich in natural and human resources, yet most of its people go hungry, and poverty spreads, while a few ruling families and their associates control the country’s wealth, is a state with diminished sovereignty.”
“Dear fellow citizens,
All of you are living the suffering that has exhausted the people and weakened the country. You all recognize the state of collapse that Syria has reached under this regime, and each of you complains to oneself at a time when you should complain to your brother and friend. This is the time when efforts should unite, and the sense of the need to work for the salvation of the Syrian people from their ordeal should strengthen.
All of you feel the bitterness as you witness the state of weakness and decline that the country has reached under this regime. You are all convinced that there is no solution except in achieving change and restoring the Syrian people’s freedom, building a system where the people are the source of authority.
All of you are concerned about the reality and fearful of the future.
All of you know, dear fellow citizens, that the regime has destroyed the national economy with its corruption and policies. It flooded the markets with foreign goods, leading to the paralysis of the national industry and the closure of a large number of factories in both the public and private sectors. There were significant losses in companies due to the inability of national industries to compete with foreign goods due to high taxes, restrictions, customs duties, corruption, and the rise in energy prices. This economic policy, along with the increase in unemployment, dealt a major blow to the agricultural sector due to the government’s agricultural policies, raising the prices of agricultural production requirements, in addition to weather conditions. This led to a decline in cultivated areas, a shortage in production, and significant damage to livestock. The result was the migration of hundreds of thousands of agricultural workers to cities in search of a livelihood, increasing their suffering and that of their brothers living in urban areas.
In every country in the world, governments provide assistance to the agricultural sector because they recognize the danger of agricultural decline not only to their needs but also to the potential economic and social damages it can cause.
The regime’s adoption of a consumption-based economy, halting economic development in industry, agriculture, and labor, poses a significant threat to the country’s future and will increase unemployment.
On this historic day, I call on the youth of Syria to realize the danger to their homeland, their reality, and their future. I urge them to assume their responsibilities and tell them that the independence we celebrate today was achieved by the strength of the Syrian youth in the struggle for it.
Your responsibility, young people, is great. Your national role in achieving change is fundamental. Your responsibility in saving the country calls on you to organize yourselves and overcome fear to be the vanguard of change and its main strength.
In all stages that Syria has gone through, the youth played a leading role. Look closely at what the youth have accomplished in the past years in achieving change and establishing democracy in their countries.
On this national occasion, I call on intellectuals, scholars, educators, lawyers, doctors, engineers, pharmacists, and all those working in free professions to reclaim the role of their predecessors who fought for the liberation of Syria. Today, achieving the second independence requires your efforts and sacrifices.
The suffering of the working class in Syria, including workers, farmers, small earners, the poor, and the oppressed, requires these citizens, living in poverty and suffering, to realize that ending their suffering and regaining their rights will not be achieved by silence and waiting for the ruler’s conscience to awaken. There is no awakening for the conscience of one who has no conscience. For the sake of your children, for the sake of ending your suffering, for the sake of lifting injustice from you, uproot fear, organize yourselves, and fight to achieve your rights and secure the future of your children. Unite your efforts and step forward at the forefront to achieve change and build a state of justice, equality, and freedom.
On this national occasion, I also address the business and trade community, most of whom have become victims of the policies and corruption of this regime. I urge you to revisit the history of Syria and remember the national role played by Syrian traders and businessmen during the struggle for independence. They were one of the main forces against foreign occupation, and their continuous strikes and aid to the national movement at that time played a significant role in achieving independence.
The country needs you. I call on you to collaborate with the forces of the people and contribute to achieving change.
I also appeal to the armed forces to reclaim their national role, which the regime deprived them of when it used them as a tool to protect itself and as a means of terrorizing people. The army was placed outside its national responsibilities in defending the country and liberating the land from aggression.
You all know the extent of the damage that the regime has inflicted on the country and the suffering of the Syrian people at a time when the wealth of the corrupt continues to increase.
The regime terrifies the people with you, making you, in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of Syrians, an army to protect the regime, not an army to protect the country.
I call on you, military personnel, to reclaim the national role of the army and return to your natural position within the embrace of the people.
Dear fellow citizens,
Syria is a country plagued by this regime, a country whose people’s will is constrained by its terrorism and oppression.
Our people today suffer what our fathers and grandfathers suffered under foreign presence. They fought until liberation was achieved on April 17, 1946.
For the sake of the salvation, liberation, and progress of our people, we must unite our efforts to achieve the second liberation.
Unite your ranks, break the wall of fear; the system of injustice, oppression, and tyranny will crumble.
Syria needs all of you to liberate its occupied land. Syria needs your collective efforts to achieve progress and prosperity.
In conclusion, I urge all Syrians to work towards regaining national unity, which the regime weakened. Recognize the danger of sectarianism in the country.
In conclusion of my speech, I address our brothers in the Alawite sect, partners in the homeland and destiny, and in suffering. I urge them to be at the forefront of the struggle for change and remember that their fathers and grandfathers were partners in resisting foreign occupation and achieving independence.
I call on them to remember that foreigners tried to dismantle national unity in Syria, but the response of the Syrian people was stronger than the strength of the foreigners. They thwarted those attempts, and the Syrian people maintained the unity of the country.
The regime has tried to revive sectarianism to make you fear other sects, your partners in the homeland and destiny. At the same time, through its behavior and practices, it has nurtured a sense of injustice among other sects, giving the impression that the regime is sectarian. All of this is aimed at weakening the internal front and placing barriers against the collaboration of societal forces to achieve national change and build a civil, democratic state where religion is for God and the country is for everyone.”
“Dear fellow citizens,
Struggle for the restoration of national unity because it is the guarantee of security, stability, progress, and the protection of the homeland. Struggle for liberation and salvation from this regime that has relentlessly weakened Syria and oppressed its people. Uproot fear and fight for the achievement of the second liberation.
Peace be upon you.
May Syria live, and may its people live free and proud.
Abdul Halim Khaddam”