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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 vigor 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 sataus 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 endeavor 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 |
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