From: Hadeel
Subject: this is from hussam
Date: 31 December 2011 14:55:14 GMT
To: sam@alshahba.com
See the original Arabic version
Attachment:
Suggestions for the president's speech
After consultations with a good number of people, in addition to the media and the political attache to the Iranian ambassador, I have gathered some points that I think it is important should be mentioned in the speech:
Islam:
Since the majority of our people are from the Sunni sect and are also religious, I would suggest that the speech must carry an Islamic identity, since much of the opposition raise the flag of Islam it is therefore necessary for the president to snatch this identity from them, but in his own way, by using verses from the Holy Qur'an in the speech.
Confirming that the Islam of the Syrian people is the true Islam by connecting Islam with Syria's principles,
1. Resistance
2. Hostility to Israel, the first enemy of the Muslims,
3. Protection of Palestinian people's rights (real prayers should be in the direction of Jerusalem)
Maybe here the president can reiterate his stance by condemning forcefully the recent Israeli practices and policies to Judaise Al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The president could also embarrass his opponents who are raising the Islamic flag (what sort of Islam are they referring to while they daily make concessions to the first enemy of Muslims, and turn a blind eye to their practices?)
A comparison must be made between our stance defending the Islamic holy sites in Palestine and calling for the unification of the Palestinian territories and the stance of those who claim to have Islamic grounds but reassure Israel that they would recognise Israel and commit to signed treaties, once they come to power.
We are a state that observes Islamic affairs in all (all Islamic occasions are taken into consideration by the state, academies for recitation and memorisation of the Qur'an, to ensure the rights of Muslims to practice all the duties of Islam, building mosques, etc.)
To highlight that our opponents want to tarnish the image of Islam through the call for murder and terrorism.
However, Syria is the real cradle of Islam and the Syrian people will never accept such an ideology.
Here I found through my discussions, that some people are unhappy with the idea of connecting Syrian national principles with the figure of the President alone. In my opinion, it is important to confirm that the people are the source of these principles, they are the resistance and it is the true Muslim who can overcome this crisis.
Martyrs:
Here I believe we need the use of an emotional language that touches the hearts and consoles the bereaved families in order to render the figure of the president close to their hearts and maybe we can use phrases and language used by Sayed Hassan Nassrallah to address martyrs and their families as a good example.
We need to confirm that it is the blood of martyrs that is sustaining the victory for Syria and deflecting the international attack on Syria.
A glorification and praise for the martyrs' families and their stances, sacrificing and pledging on every occasion they appear in the media, that they are ready to sacrifice more of their children for the sake of the country.
Focus on the martyrs of the army and security forces as there is a common feeling among people that they were not appreciated by the state. So, addressing them and their families by the president will have a big effect on them.
An emphasis that the martyrs had sacrificed for the sake of the country, all the country not for the sake of the president or the regime, especially that opposition media endeavours to make the army appear as mercenaries or guerrillas by labelling it Assad's forces, Assad's brigades, etc.
What confirms my statement is the way Barbara Walters in her interview with the president asked her question about "your forces", meanwhile the response of the president was reflective of his utmost nationalism, explaining that it was not my forces but rather the country's forces. What Walters said is repeated ten times daily in the opposition media.
The Islamic identity of the speech must come up through using verses of holy Qur'an which praise martyrs.
In my opinion, the issue of the martyrs must be an important part of the speech.
Reforms, the crisis and Syria's future:
Here I believe the language should be balanced and rational with little emotion towards our opponents.
To go back a little, to remind people of what the president promised and what has been achieved and what has not been achieved and why (transparency here is very important because the majority of people have begun to lose confidence in the state.)
Confirm that the train of reform is moving despite the fact that Syria's enemies do not want that. For example, explosions which took place in Damascus were to stop reforms and destroy the country and sow division.
An explanation of some of the problems the people are suffering from and offer realistic solutions (it is important to mention details to indicate to the people that the president feels their pain).
It is important to mention that the state has been busy confronting the conspiracy and achieving reforms. The difficult security circumstances has led to the shortage in securing people's daily needs like food and fuels but the state shall address these as soon as possible.
Referring to this matter, it reflects the fact that the president lives the people's daily life and feels their sufferings - of which he will take care - because a large number of our people do not care that much about politics but about their daily livelihoods.
If convenient, it could be mentioned that the current government is a transitional one until elections of the people's council (parliament) are held. Its main task shall be to issue and implement laws and enactments because there is an obvious disappointment with the performance of the current government.
Confirming that a government of national unity will be formed after the coming elections and in light of its results.
People must be warned of the future which is promised to them by their enemies. For example, Libya, where people are currently fighting each other, while its oil is looted by the west, and Iraq is another example. (Here, the president can congratulate the Iraqi people for their liberation from the occupier.)
Address those who committed mistakes and held weapons or were involved in destruction with a kind and firm tone, raising their awareness that they are committing mistake to themselves and to their country and they are helping without realising the enemies of their country, while confirming at the same time that the state won't forgive criminals.
It is important to confirm the patriotism of the entire Syrian people and that people's demands are righteous and the state will exert all its efforts to respond to them; and that he who commits a wrong deed against his country is deluded because people and specially the opposition are very furious of the language of treason.
Youth:
The youth need to be addressed by the president and they should feel that the president is aware of their demands and will adopt them and he will highly rely on them to change the status quo.
The people:
I have felt that a wide majority of people believe that the president is not close to the people.
It is necessary to remember the people at all times and to relate everything to them such as: political stances, reform, resistance, victory over the crisis, the source of all these things are the people. It is very important to repeat the word 'the people' a lot in the speech.
The Army:
I believe an important part of the speech should be devoted to the army, saluting it, thanking it, confirming that it is the backbone for the country's unity, and that its allegiance to the country is the victory of Syria and its Syrian people.
The economic situation:
It is very important to reassure people about the economic situation because a fear is building up about the risk of an economic collapse.
Offer some details and economic figures to reassure people.
Drawing people's attention to the psychological war practised against them and that currencies and stock prices are not the only indicators of the economic situation. There are other rigid elements that Syria is endowed with (location, resources, freedom from debt, self-sufficiency when it comes to basic needs and strategic relations with many states).
No one can impose an economic embargo on Syria. Anyone who imposes an embargo will impose it on themselves because of Syria's strategic location.
Although it is necessary to reassure people, it is very important that there is clear transparency to make the speech of the president appear realistic by mentioning some economic difficulties we are currently encountering or might face in the future.
The firmness of the Syrian position and its power + foreign pressures + Israeli affair:
Here, I believe the language must be powerful and violent because the people need to see a powerful president defending the country, not shaken, especially after the recent explosions and the fear they incited, along with the escalating international speeches, activism and pressures on Syria.
The speech of the president must give an enormous boost to the morale of the people because we do not want to lose our people's confidence while we seek to please the opposition.
To give a feeling of optimism, it is important to mention that what is happening in Syria with terrorism and explosions has not yet reached the level of explosions faced by the country in the eighties. Syria, nevertheless, was victorious then and the conspiracy against it failed and Syria will win again with God's blessing and the power of our people and our army.
Confirm with a firm language that Syria won't yield to pressure beacuse people have a feeling that we will be defeated due to the foreign pressure.
Here the subject of Israel comes up and it becomes necessary to put stress on the particular merits of the president by linking the foreign pressures on Syria, which differs in its toughness and content to other countries in crisis, with the geographical proximity to Israel and the position of the people and the regime towards Israel.
Furthermore confirming Syria's role in foiling all Israeli and western plots by supporting the resistance and opposing normalisation of relations with Israel, and making a connection with what Syria is facing now in terms of foreign pressures as a revenge for its victories against Israel in (1973, 1982, 2000, 2008).
These victories had changed the balance of power and put Israel in a weaker position where Syria was the major partner in these victories.
Confirm that the Syrian people are the biggest enemy to Israel and that is why the president will not shake hands with the enemy regardless of the pressures and despite the fact that he knows that if accepts that, all the leaders who are calling for him to step down will keep silent.
However, he gets his legitimacy from the people and he seeks to respond to their demands, including their refusal to all forms of normalisation with Israel.
Syria is the only state which refused to hold talks or secret contact with Israel, despite the fact that many of the countries which are giving us lessons in democracy and patriotism have done even more than that.
Take the bad example of the Arab countries which submitted to Israel and the west as an evidence of the correct position of Syria; it is possible that this might appear obvious but after having had many discussions with people from different walks of life, I conclude that people need to be reminded that it is in their interest to have enmity with Israel and not to submit to the west, and this of course is due to the weakness of the political message of our media.
Confirm that Syria is militarily powerful and has the capability to defend its sovereignty and its people's positions. There is a conviction amongst a number of people that we are not strong enough to face up a military attack. It is useful to leak more information related to our military capability before the speech.
The fear of the west about Israel which protects their interest will make them hesitate thousands of times before going through the adventure of attacking us. (My opinion is that this point is very important to support the internal front and clarify the geostrategic and geopolitical dimensions of the crisis.)
Adopt a clear and daring position against statements by Jeffery Feltman and others that are calling for humanitarian corridors and a no fly zone in the north and confirm that Syria will prevent that by force.
All of this is meant to give a dose of confidence and power to the people who began to waver, and as much as talking about these points, it is important to have a balanced talk to avoid making the president sound as if he is accusing people of treason or making Israel appear to be the cause of all of what is happening (like a hanger to hang all that is happening on) or he would sound as if he were running away from the errors which were committed during and before the crisis.
There should be a clear distinction between the west's ambitions and people's demands and that the west and Israel are exploiting part of the Syrian people without their knowledge to break Syria, but the president has a great confidence in the patriotism of the entire Syrian people.
Allied states:
Appreciation for the positions of the states supporting Syria and confirming that the Syrian people won't forget these positions.
Opposition states:
States that are fighting Syria on behalf of America and Israel the Syrian people know how to deal with them later on and won't forget what they have done.
You still have time to revise your positions but there is a deadline.
We have information and documents of what you have done to our people, we won't publish them now to give you a chance for revision.
America has started to leave our region and there will be no ally left to you but your Syrian neighbour.
Message of reassurance to the people:
Emphasising that the army and the security forces will restore security and peace to Syria.
Location to deliver the speech:
It is important that the speech should be delivered before a wide audience taking into consideration all the security measures.
Invite widely the families of the martyrs, to make the speech appear like a celebration.
It is possible to have a band play a strong tune for the martyrs.
Bring one of the martyr's wives to deliver a powerful speech on behalf of the martyr's families and then let the president come onto the stage.
It is necessary for the audience to interact with the president, a matter which will add strength to the speech and it is important not to show that this interaction is not part of the routine.
We have established a website with a survey to reflect what the people would want to hear in the speech, we will send [the results] to your excellency after collecting a good amount of data.