Message Addressed by President Bashar Assad to the 15th World Festival of Youths and Students
Youths and Students of the 15th World Festival, Your Festival represents the
vigour of the youth. In this festival are manifested earnest zeal of your
generation, promising hope and ambition to attain the sublime and lofty in all
fields of life. It is your responsibility to shape the future which we want to
be bright and prosperous for the peoples of all continents. It is a source of
happiness that Algeria, the brotherly country, and the country of martyrdom and
martyrs, is hosting this Youths and Students gathering, in this festival which
is taking place for the first time on Arab territory in Africa. I am, pleased to
address to you a message of affection and encouragement, carried to you by the
delegation of the Syrian Youths and Students. In my message, I am assuring you
that Syria, the cradle of ancient civilizations and the country of
steadfastness, which strives for peace, justice, and prosperity to prevail in
our world, supports your activities in this world festival, and that the people
of Syria which you all success in your works. Undoubtedly, your festival is an
opportunity for intimate acquaintances among the Youths and Students, for
exchanging their experience and for interaction in their thoughts.
The Youths and Students of Syria will prove to you that they are ardent
comrades, ready to contribute to serious work for achieving the hoped for
outcome of this world gathering, and by the positive ideas they bring to the
Festival. I am sure that you realize that ideas have their impact as stimulators
and motivators of deeds, both positive and negative deeds. It is our duty to
combat ideas stimulating evil and to support those which stimulate good,
justice, and peace. The Youths of Syria are carrying out their role in national
activities through their organization, the Revolutionary Youth Organization, and
the Students of Syria are doing the same through their organization, the
National Union of Syrian Students. Both of these Organizations exercise their
activities side by side with the rest of the People's organizations, those of
workers, peasants, women, artisans and professional unions. The main concern of
all of them is to contribute to Homeland construction, to elevate the status of
Homeland at regional and international levels and to work for the good of
humanity. I am glad to mention that we have in Syria a program for innovation
and development aiming at raising the level of life and to improve
administration performance. The youths and Students play an important role in
this program by attending courses at schools, institutes, universities, and
informative centers available throughout the country.
Youths and Students,
You are aware of the conflict in our region caused by a vicious aggression
against Arab lands, which was started by Zionism early in the past century with
the backing of imperialist forces, and is now persisted by Israel and its racist
government which is ever going to extremes in aberrance, arrogance and crime.
The Israeli aggressive acts are led by a government headed by a man who
committed and still committing massacres against the Arabs. He brags his acts
and gathers around him all Zionist extremist elements which went so far to
approve assassination of innocent people, murdering old age men, women and
children, on the basis of opinions of senior clerics in Israel who describe
Arabs as scorpions and snakes to be killed. Such verdicts are contrary to the
teaching of all heavenly religions. The acts of murder and assassinations are
coupled with destruction of houses on their inhabitants, and destruction of Arab
farmlands by uprooting trees and dredging the land. They are also coupled with
denying the Arab people of Palestine drinking and irrigation water resources of
Lebanon and the keeping of Arab prisoners in the Israeli prisons and
concentration camps. We, in Syria and the Arab Homeland at large, seek peace. We
advocate peace, strive for it and want peace to be just and comprehensive,
leading to the liberation of the occupied Arab territories and to the
restoration of the rights to their owners.
The United Nations, responsible for international security and peace and arbiter
in regional and international conflicts, was once a hoped for authority to help
achieving these goals. However, this organization was subjected to pressure,
which weakened her capability to protect peace, deter aggression and defend
rights. We are called upon to back up this world organization and principles of
its Charter, so that its role in spreading peace and solving conflict in various
parts of the world may be bolstered. Israel took advantage of the weakening of
the United Nations role to defy its resolutions and rebel agains6t them. Israel
also despised world public opinion and relished arrogance, and so persisted in
its aggression against the Arab lands, their owners and their wealth, and
continued in expanding its settlements and in desecrating Moslem and Christian
holy places.
Besides, while refraining from joining of Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty,
Israel continues its threats to use mass destruction weapons generously offered
by the United States of America. Maintaining our attachment to just and
comprehensive peace, we also stick to our national constants. We will never give
up any part of the occupied Arab territories or any of the usurped Arab rights.
Youths and Students, You have chosen the proper motto of the 15th Festival; ''
Globalization of Struggle for Peace, and Development and Solidarity against
Imperialism''. I am confident that you will endeavour to transform this motto
into deed and reality, and will make the necessary efforts during your debate of
the agenda, to reach the right resolutions.
Once more I salute you and wish you all success,
M. Abdo Al-Ibrahim
INTERVIEWS
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