Dear military brothers
Officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers
In these circumstances, in which the suffering of the Syrian people is intensifying and repression and corruption are increasing, the sixty-second anniversary of the founding of the National Army in Syria is marked.
On such an occasion, citizens recall the day on which the establishment of their national army was announced, a symbol of sovereignty, independence, and the strength to defend the homeland and protect the people.
Under a regime that the Syrians have never known is more corrupt and tyrannical, they wonder bitterly about the supposed role of the armed forces in protecting the homeland, defending its sovereignty, and providing reassurance to them, and about its role in protecting the regime, defending it, and using it to terrorize the people.
One of the most dangerous things the regime did was transform the army from a national army into an army to protect the regime. The army weakened and citizens’ suspicions surrounded it.
You know very well, dear military brothers, how the armed forces have been weakened, how their officers and commanders are being treated, and how the decisions related to them have fallen into the hands of some junior officers close to the President of the Republic or those close to him.
All of you felt pain and bitterness when someone lower in rank than you advanced in position and in tasks, and all of you felt bitter when those close to you enjoyed advantages and most of you did not enjoy what provided the minimum requirements of your unit or the needs of your soldiers.
You know very well the state of poverty, hunger, unemployment, high prices, and low standard of living. You all feel the groan of the overwhelming majority of the people because they are deprived of the minimum requirements of life because the corruption segment has plundered and continues to plunder the country.
You all feel sad and bitter when the country's sovereignty is attacked by Israeli aircraft and you are unable to repel the aggression, either because of something that comes to you or because of failure to provide defense requirements.
Do you not feel, soldiers, that the nation is in danger because of the weakness that the regime has produced in the structure of the country and in the structure of the armed forces?
Do you not feel, soldiers, that diverting the armed forces from their basic tasks of protecting the homeland to protecting the regime has made the armed forces lose the national symbolism for which they were established?
Do you not feel, soldiers, that diverting the armed forces from their basic tasks of protecting the homeland to protecting the regime has made the armed forces lose the national symbolism for which they were established?
Do you not feel, dear military brothers, that there is a gap of trust between the people and the armed forces because of the regime’s entrenchment in people’s minds about your role in protecting it and protecting its regime, tyranny and corruption?
On this day, when all military personnel, and indeed all Syrians, must stand in respect of the anniversary of the founding of their national army, we call on you to contemplate and reflect on the situation the country has become and to work to achieve a national review that restores trust between the people and the army and the bond between son and father. The people are like the father and you are like the son.
We call on you to side with your family, your brothers, and your people, to be of help to them in achieving change and salvation, not to help the regime in oppressing them.
Abdul Halim Khaddam