In The Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Graceful
To: The People of Arab Syria
Dear Family—mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and fathers: we address you at a time when our beloved Arab Syria faces great challenges and dangers —challenges that will make our nation a battlefield and a scene of aggression. The dangers surrounding our nation had precursors in a previous time which was typified by a sense of inability to stand up to the dangers that faced us at internal, national and regional levels.
Free men and women of Syria, the world around us has changed at all levels—political, economic and strategic. Yet we are still in our place repeating the same discourse and using the same methods. All of this has made us lag behind our time.
Throughout history, Syria has always played a key role, raising the Arab flags and carrying national aspirations. Syria made sacrifices in blood to face up to the most daunting and complex of challenges; this in turn, rendered Syria a target for foreign powers. It is required from us now, the sons and daughters of this great nation, to realize the responsibilities we have to carry on our shoulders and the sacrifices we have to make in facing this new aggression from the enemy.
Steadfast Syrians, as we grasp the magnitude of the challenges we are facing, we believe that our great Arab nation has the strength to shoulder the responsibility. Therefore we are required to work to achieve the following demands:
- To amend the constitution in accordance with contemporary human rights safeguards.
- To lift emergency laws as a first step in reviving normal civic life.
- To allow the creation of political parties without restrictions or reservations andgranting political freedoms on the principal of recognizing the other and peaceful reciprocation of power.
- To organize free and fair elections, providing national and international safeguards to guarantee its success. The elections must be organized according to laws that guarantee pluralism and proportional parliamentary representation.
- To guarantee freedom of expression and press as well as ending state monopoly over mass media.
- To exterminate corruption in all walks of life, making all officials accountable.
- To assert the rule of law and to cancel all"Emergency" courts and guarantee the fairness and independence of the judiciary.
- To Apply all the laws safeguarding human, political, economical, social and cultural rights as is stated in national and international conventions.
- Tp Utilize national capabilities to liberate occupied Arab land.
- To Assert the importance of preserving national independence and refuse any reliance on foreign powers.
My fellow Syrian citizens, the demands stated above are popular demands that represent the only way to address, truly and realistically, national concerns— whether internal or regional—and which will enable us to stand united before the challenges that face the people and the state.
Those challenges cannot be faced with traditional answers; it is necessary to find solutions that free the creative abilities of our people. In this way, we may address the world with a modern language and deal with other nations with mutual respect in a way that complies with our national interests, and safeguards international peace and security.
Dr.Rifaat AlAssad
United National Alliance