Hassan Nasrallah: “Game Over” for Syria and Bashar al-Assad? (English Subtitles)

Speech of Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah, on May 5th, 2015

In this speech, Hassan Nasrallah analyses the fall of Idleb and Jisr al-Choughour in the hands of the terrorist groups as mere local setbacks that should not obscure the major advances of the Syrian Arab Army. He denounces the announcements of the coming fall of the regime as the result of the media and psychological war waged for four years against Syria, and reaffirms the support of Iran, Russia and Hezbollah to Syria.

Transcription:

 

Translation from Arabic: Sayed 7asan

Translation from French: Jenny Bright

[...]

 

Thirdly, in regards to Syria. I will cover certain points in a way that's very frank and explicit.

Recently, and after the fall of the town of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province into the hands of terrorist groups, we have seen – the Syrians, the Lebanese and the wider region – a wave of slogans and allegations, media hype on TV channels and other media, in statements, articles, and news on social networks.

All this, of course, is part of the psychological war, and you know that behind the scenes, psychological warfare has been waged against this region for many years. And this psychological war is constantly renewed in order to take advantage of any opportunity, development or incident to launch new waves of psychological warfare on people. Of course, some of these statements have focused on sectarian aspects. What was the main purpose of all this? What did they mean by all this media hype?

They claimed (let us be frank and explicit), that after the fall of Jisr al-Shughour and Idlib in the hands of armed groups, the regime was over, and that we were witnessing its last days, its last weeks. They have worked to disseminate this scenario, which I briefly summarise in order to comment on it, because it is part of their psychological warfare: they claim that the Syrian army has lost its fighting ability and is collapsing.

As part of this (psychological) war, others claim that Syria’s allies have abandoned her, that Iran sold it for its nuclear deal, and that Russia has also abandoned it for some reason, that all Syria’sallies have turned away.

They still claim in their statements and lies, that the internal situation in Syria is difficult, that people want to desert, flee, take refuge elsewhere, etc. They paint a terrible and very strange image; one example of their lies, is that all the Syrian coast is about to fall. And therefore, this is the sectarian aspect of their propaganda, they claim that a large number of Alawites are leaving the Syrian coast, heading for the Lebanese border, that the Lebanese government prevents them from entering and that Hezbollah lobbies to allow them to enter Lebanon. Completely groundless and senseless lies.

Other allegations claim that the Syrian regime asked the Alawites from Damascus or from certain regions of Damascus to leave the town (before it's too late). But all that has no basis.

Therefore, what we are seeing and what we have seen before, is a psychological war seeking to break the will of the Syrians, their determination and perseverance, and who wish to obtain through lies, false allegations and psychological warfare, that which they were unable to get by the means of a world war imposed on Syria for four years.

Of course, sometimes such claims are successful, such as in Mosul, Salahuddin, this experienced of Daech in Iraq worked, because much of the war consisted of false allegations and psychological warfare.

So let us talk about this.

Firstly, nobody should believe these lies and statements and give in to this psychological warfare. This is of the greatest importance. We must all be aware, especially the Syrians and Lebanese, that all that is said is nothing but psychological warfare, and this is not new. For four years we have heard that this is the end of the regime, the army, that people want to surrender, they want to escape etc., etc. And it must be emphasised that when we started hearing all this four years ago, the situation was much more difficult than it is today. The situation inside Syria, the battles inside the territory, in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, inside towns, in many provinces, as well as the regional situation (of the Middle East), the international situation, etc., was much worse. Today, things are very different. International and regional developments, the developments inside Syria that took place in recent years have put us far from everything that these statements claim.

For example, it was said in particular – I'm going to respond to this point by point. First, what is said about the Iranian position is not true: just a few days ago, in a speech, His Eminence Imam Khamenei (may God protect him) evoked exactly this issue and affirmed: “We negotiate on the nuclear issue, and on nothing else. And even while we are occupied with nuclear negotiations, we remain very attentive to the interests of our allies, and absolutely nothing will be done that will be to the detriment of our allies.” All these statements are meaningless – the idea that Iran has abandoned Syria or would be about to do so.

The same goes for Russia, although so far, I do not know Russia as well as I know Iran, but there is no sign, not the least, however small, suggesting that Russian leaders are about to abandon the situation in Syria, or have begun to do.

Yes, it is true that there can sometimes be setbacks on the ground, but we need to investigate the causes directly. For example, the fall of Idlib. Let’s ponder why Idlib fell. Let us observe the situation of armed groups, the situation of the army, the situation of forces engaged there, whether there is a problem or not, whether it be at the level of management, logistics, etc. Jisr Al-Choughour has fallen? Why is this? So we must look for the causes precisely where the problem is found. We need not automatically search for the causes at the international or regional levels, with the allies, the internal situation, the will of the regime, the army, etc.

How could this regime be dislocated, and this army decaying, while they are fighting on many fronts, they hold out on many fronts and there achieve victories, sometimes daily? How is this possible, how to reconcile the propaganda and the reality on the ground?

Faced with setbacks, the proper approach, wherever they occur, is to focus on the causes that led to the setback, so as to be able to address them and thus prevent a repetition of events. In any war, my brothers and sisters, there are battles. Whoever wins a battle will not necessarily win the war. The Syrian army, the national and popular defence forces and Syria's allies won battle on battle for 4 years and to date, but they have never claimed that they had won the war. And even if we lose a battle, it does not mean that we have lost the war. The Syrian army and their allies have continued to win many battles in recent years, battles that were long, difficult and major.

Therefore, all we or they can say is that there was a battle at a certain place, and that this side has won or lost. But to hastily deduce from the outcome of some battle who will win the war and exploit them as part of a psychological war is far from the reality on the ground.

All these people leading these psychological wars have continued to disappoint the hopes of their masses and their supporters, and they deceive themselves and see their hopes dashed when the situation changes after another battle. And the situation is changing in many battles, and this will continue (in the government’s favour) God willing.

These then are the true proportions of events, and no one should have undue worry.

Obviously, here in Lebanon we have people who are very hasty, and multiplying precipitous actions for 4 years, again and again, they mutually congratulate each other for a supposed victory, before discovering that this new festivity was on false grounds, that there is no fiancé or fiancée, and that they were all making fun of each other.

Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant on this issue, and be aware of all these aspects.

As for Hezbollah, I also want to say tonight to our loved ones and our beloved Syrian people in Syria this: We were with you, and we are with you, at your side, whatever the developments may be. Wherever we needed to be, there we went. And wherever we must be, we'll be there. And lately, we intervened in places where we had never been in past years.

We consider that this struggle is not the struggle of the Syrian people, and that's what we have said from the beginning of our involvement in this war. We did not intervene for emotional, personal, or sectarian reasons, or because of a party spirit. We acted on the basis of a clear vision that has not changed, on the contrary, all the events confirm it day after day, namely the belief that by our intervention, we defend Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and the entire region.

Let us therefore put hatred and resentments aside and take a clear understanding of reality, let us consider it with clarity: if, God forbid, armed splinter groups had been able to take control of Syria for 4 years, what would have been the fate of Syria and the Syrian people? What would have been the fate of Lebanon and the Lebanese people? What would have been the fate of the region? Just look around you to know the answer to that question.

As for us, it is our firm conviction, it is our responsibility. And I confirm tonight that we will continue to assume this responsibility regardless of the sacrifices.

[...]

Bashar al-Assad on the Battle for Syria and Erdogan “the Butcher” (English Subtitles)

Speech of the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Bashar al-Assad, on the occasion of Martyrs' Day, May 6th, 2015

99 years ago, on May 6th 1916, 21 Syrian and Lebanese nationalists were executed by Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Greater Syria, whose cruelty caused him to be dubbed “the butcher”. The Ottoman Empire was then in steep decline, a process that was accelerated by its alliance with imperial powers during World War I. Since Syria's independence, this date has been celebrated as "Martyrs’ Day."

On the occasion of this commemoration, Bashar al-Assad stressed the fact that history is repeating itself: the Turkey of the “Sultan” Erdogan, a megalomaniac whose goal is the rebirth of the Ottoman Empire, is today going against the March of History by openly siding with the Atlanto-Wahhabi terrorists. 

Ankara plays an active role in the international war waged against Syria, providing direct support to Al-Qaeda fighters and the Al-Nosra Front and multiplying acts of war against the Syrian Arab Republic. While the whole international community has recognized that these terrorist movements pose a threat to world peace (if only in their proclamations) and Bashar al-Assad is a key interlocutor, Turkey, along with Israel, remains the last bastion of open support to these terrorist groups and continues to call for the overthrow of the regime.

The Syrian President also referred to the fall of Jisr al-Shughour and Idlib in the hands of Takfirist fighters, to denounce the media propaganda around this event. Far from being a harbinger of the end of the regime, this is only one battle among others, that should not obscure the progress of the Syrian Arab Army, in particular in the strategic region of the Qalamoun area along the Syrian-Lebanese border. All these statements are part of the relentless psychological warfare which for 4 years has been conducted against Syria, and which has constantly predicted the imminent fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Transcript:

Source : http://sana.sy/en/?p=39378 

Translated by Jenny Bright

My dear and beloved sons and daughters of our glorious and heroic martyrs.

Happy holiday to all !

Officials, teachers, workers, in this school of martyrs children, I wish happy celebrations to you all.

I wanted to be with you today because I am overcome by a great joy every time I meet with the martyrs’ children. I wanted to be on your side if only for a moment during your celebration to mark this occasion which is dear to us all, namely the 6th of May [Martyrs’ Day], which is an opportunity to honour a group of sons and daughters of martyrs, who have chosen to follow in their father's footsteps, who have joined the armed forces and carry a weapon while walking the same path. 

Public: With our soul, with our blood, we will be faithful to you oh Bashar!

This commemoration is very dear to us because it has broad meanings. Some of these meanings are symbolic, while others are concrete, being linked to commemorations of special events that the homeland, Syria has experienced.

Nearly 100 years ago [6th May 1916], there had been about a century of this, there was a wave of arrests and executions against a group of Syrian patriots, perpetrated by the Ottomans. And these arrests continued for years. The climax came in the year 1916, when they committed the highest number of executions of patriots defending the Syrian people against the oppression of that time. And the crimes were not limited to this group of patriots, but have expanded and affected millions of people, as you know, among the Armenians, Assyrians and other ethnic groups living under the yoke of Ottoman power at that time. And today, these killings are repeated in the same form, with a difference in some means and some names.

At that time, the one who had perpetrated the killings was, as we have all read in our school books, Jamal Pasha (known as) “the Butcher”. And today,  the perpetrator is Erdogan “the Butcher”.

Thus, history repeats itself, as we see, but the symbolic aspect of this celebration is the message of martyrdom. Martyrdom is the most noble message a man can carry anywhere in the world, when defending his country, his cause, his principles. This is a very valuable message to be carried by man. The nobility of this message is not limited only to the martyr who carried it, but extends to all those who have carried the same message after the death of this martyr. And in all certainty, those who are most able to carry this message are the family members of the martyr.

Public: With our soul, with our blood, we will be faithful to you oh Bashar!

Therefore, any exchange, any meeting with any family of martyrs in Syria is an honour for us and for every patriotic Syrian man. How could it be otherwise when you meet a person who is the son of a martyr and joined the armed forces to follow the same path? In all certainty, the honour is multiplied tenfold in these cases.

Therefore, it is necessary for us to win in this fight, to have faith in this message. And the first act of faith is to believe in God, as we all know that He will stand with the truth at the last.

But there is another kind of faith. There is also, firstly, faith in the necessity of fighting for victory. There is faith on the part of society, and confidence in this fighter. When the fighter believes in his cause and his victory, he will give us morale when victorious in any battle, be it only a minor battle. And when we have faith in this fighter, we give him the moral strength ourselves as a society, a people and home, when he loses one battle or another.

Today, we are conducting a war and not a battle. And a war is different from a battle. A war is a collection of many battles. And when we speak of a ruthless war such as that imposed on Syria over a distance of thousands of kilometres of borders, and thousands of square kilometres inside Syria, we're talking about not dozens, not hundreds but thousands of battles. And it is natural, with such battles, in such numbers and in such conditions – and this is the nature of all battles – that operations include advances and retreats, victories and defeats, ups and downs. Everything can fluctuate, except one thing, as I recalled, and that is faith in our fighters, and the faith of our fighters in the inevitability of victory.

That is why when we suffer a setback, we must do our duty as a society, namely providing morale to the army and not always waiting for the army to bring it to us. It is a reciprocal interaction which must be permanent, unlike those who are now trying to generalise the spirit of disappointment and despair because of a setback suffered here or there, or because they submit to external propaganda.

This propaganda campaign that was launched recently was renewed after failing two years ago. Remember that at the beginning of the crisis, such a campaign lasted a year, two years or a little less, but it ultimately failed, despite the fact that conditions were so difficult, and many Syrians did not know what was actually happening. But the financiers, organizers, politicians and media relentlessly involved in this campaign have taken refuge in their lairs. They have now reappeared because they have seen that there is currently fertile ground for some people in this country.

Therefore, patriotism does not consist simply of verbal statements. Patriotism must be accompanied by courage. I cannot simply call myself a patriot, without fulfilling the necessary requirements. 

And we must distinguish anxiety from fear. We are all worried about our homeland. Not just for now, not only during crises, but permanently, as long as this country will be the target of the ambitions of different countries, as it has been throughout its history. And we must distinguish wisdom from cowardice. Many people determine wisdom or cowardice according to what is expected by some other people. Such views are not acceptable, and we cannot act in such a contradictory way.

War consists of victories and defeats, and it currently has fighters who kill and crush many terrorists on the front lines, and had they been afraid, they would not have accomplished these actions. They fight and go forward. Some of them fight and win victories by their perseverance, and some of them fight and retreat when circumstances dictate. That is why we must arm ourselves against those who are demoralized and discouraged during the battle, as psychological defeat is the final defeat. But I have no worries on the subject. As the first campaign failed at the beginning of the crisis, this campaign will fail and there is no need for us to worry.

But this should not blind us to the fact that the start of discouragement leads to defeat, but we do not see it as being an appropriate response. And the response is here : it is in you, men and women, O brave and heroic fighters who have chosen to walk on this path.

Public: God, Syria, Bashar and nothing else!

You are the response to this campaign, and you're the remedy for those who are afraid. When a state, non-governmental or private organisation honours those who are on the same path as you, it is because they want to convey, through you, their sincere greetings and shake hands with all your fellows, all the children of martyrs who now number in the hundreds, who followed the footsteps of their fathers in military schools or on the front lines. They want, through you, to greet all the families of martyrs, wounded still alive and all their families, while fighting on the front line. They want to salute all brave fighters who persevered through hard battles, who fought under siege. 

These heroic battles did not start during the fighting in Aleppo prisons, and they will not end with the siege of the hospital at Jisr al-Choughour. The first ones have waited until the arrival of the army, they have endured and overcome, and they continued the battle with her. And now, God willing, the army soon will reach the besieged heroes at al-Jisr Choughour hospital to continue the battle to defeat terrorism.

Therefore, through you, we transmit to all those who are like you our greetings, our love, our respect and consideration. And we affirm that our confidence in you is very high. And we declare to all combatants and heroes that our affection for you knows no bounds.

Again, happy celebrations to all, and peace be upon you.

See also : 

Hassan Nasrallah : The End of Syria and Bashar al-Assad ? (ENG SUB)

Sayed Ali Khamenei about police brutality against Blacks in the USA (ENG SUB)

Address by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Sayed Ali Khamenei, to the Commanders of the police forces – April 26, 2015

 In a latest speech to senior officers of the security forces, Sayed Ali Khamenei reminded the duties and prerogatives of the police in a State governed by the Rule of Law. These basic principles are particularly relevant for the Western public, where the police have long been a repression force much more than a protection force, as can be seen in any Amnesty International report: human rights violations, discrimination, police violence, "mistakes" and systemic impunity for the security forces are constants for the USA, Europe and the majority of the so-called "democratic" world. Sayed Ali Khamenei referred in particular to the Baltimore events and the violence and discrimination that are still experienced by Black people in the United States.

It is very interesting to listen to this major world leader uttering resounding and undeniable truths and expose our great moralists, politicians or ignorant journalists, for what they are : as Noam Chomsky put it, they perfectly embody the hypocrisy as defined in the Gospels, namely to refuse to apply to oneself the standards we apply to others. Thus, the real Axis of Evil can demonize his opponents and stifle their voices, although they have a much greater moral authority than his and represent the largest part of humanity. This applies to all the key issues of today (freedoms, human rights, terrorism, war crimes, etc.). When will we see the end of the Empire of Arrogance and Lies?...


 
Full speech (English): http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2049 

Subtitles : Sayed 7asan (http://www.sayed7asan.blogspot.fr)

Transcript : 


[...]
 
Another important issue which I have discussed many times is the issue of the power of the Police Force. The Police Force is the manifestation of the authority of the Islamic Republic in establishing security. One of the responsibilities of the Islamic Republic is to establish security in society. As you explained, moral and social security is one of our responsibilities. It is one of the responsibilities of the Islamic Republic and therefore, we cannot abandon it. The Police Force is the manifestation of this security. It is the agent which is in the middle of this arena. Therefore, you should have power. You should be able to act in a powerful way. You should be able to act with decisiveness and authority.

However, an important point in this regard is that showing power should not be confused with showing oppression. You should not confuse power with crossing boundaries and moving forward in an unbridled way. For example, in some countries - such as America - the police is very powerful. They show muscle-bound people on camera who work as police officers and who arrest the people in the middle of the arena. Well, they are powerful, but they kill the innocent. For example, they kill a person by shooting 15, 16 bullets at him with the excuse that he wanted to draw a gun. This power is not an ideal power because it is accompanied by oppression. This is a kind of power which will not lead to security in the end. On the contrary, it will lead to insecurity. In fact, it is the main factor in creating insecurity. And as you have heard, when they go to a court of law, they acquit them.

Unfortunately today as you can witness, these events are many in a world that is indifferent to spiritual values. Now, the funny part is that in America - whose president is a black - many crimes are committed against blacks. They have a celebration on the occasion of abolishing slavery, which was done by a certain president, but they oppress blacks in a very cruel way. Of course, there are certain criticisms about the abolishment of slavery. They say that Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery, but this is not the truth of the matter according to historical research that has been carried out in a careful way. The issue was not the issue of abolishing slavery. Rather, it was the issue of the north and the south. It was the issue of long and deep-rooted wars between the north and south of America. It was a fight between landowners and agriculture, and industry. This was the main source of contention. They did not abolish slavery because of altruistic feelings.

In any case, despite this celebration, blacks are ignored and humiliated. Besides, their lives are in danger as well. Such police power is not what Islam and we want. We do not at all like to give a cinematic and Hollywood-like color to our police work on the streets. We want tasks to be carried out in the real sense of the word. That is to say, we want complete authority and power accompanied by justice, kindness and mercy - in certain cases, power should be accompanied by mercy. This is the manifestation of Islam. On the one hand, the Holy Being is Beneficent and Merciful and on the other hand, He is a Great Punisher. These two things should be considered together. This should spread in the different levels of the pyramid and affect our lives, behavior and affairs. The same thing should be done in the Police Force.

Another matter which in my opinion is very important is observing the law. Observing the law has two aspects: one is in your contact with the people. You should see in which places the law is violated and then you should confront it. Another aspect of observing the law is in the Police Force itself. The members of the Police Force should observe the law inside the organization in the true sense of the word. Observing the law should receive attention there more than anywhere else. Another issue is the moral health of the personnel. During the recent years, I have always offered this advice to former commanders and now too, I would like to stress that the honorable Commander of the Police Force and other police officials should not take lightly the issue of the moral health of the personnel. The moral health of the personnel is very important.

You are different from other military forces. You are among the people and the people are in contact with you. God forbid, any wrongdoing, flaw, problem, misbehavior and wrong measure will immediately be reflected. This is the case for the Police Force more than any other organization. Perhaps there are very few organizations in the country which are in contact with the people as much as you are. Therefore if - God forbid - there is any problem, wrongdoing and treachery, it will immediately spread among the people. When it spreads, it is not only the reputation of the Police Force that will be ruined. Rather, everyone's reputation will be ruined. As we said, the Police Force is the representative of the Islamic government. It is the representative of the Islamic Republic among the people. This is why you should attach great significance to the moral health of the personnel.

The Police Force can really build the reputation of the Islamic Republic. Even if five, ten organizations do not carry out their duties, but the Police Force acts as a righteous, strong, decisive and efficient force, this will enhance the reputation of the Islamic Republic at a public level. Your performance can be a source of dignity. God forbid, the opposite can happen as well. Therefore, these points - the most important of which is intra-organizational health - should receive attention. This moral health should receive attention because it will affect others outside the organization as well.

Well, the report that the honorable commander delivered contained the fact that spiritual, moral, religious and ideological areas have received attention in the Police Force. This is very good. Attention to those scientific developments and innovations which are related to your work and which emerge in the world on a daily basis is a very essential task and it will improve police work.

You should rely on God the Exalted. You should work for God and fulfill your duties in the right way. If you do so, God the Exalted will bestow blessings on you. He will bestow His blessings on your work and He will turn you into a source of blessing for the Islamic Republic. We will pray for you as well. I hope that God will make all of you successful. I hope that He will enable you to carry out the necessary tasks. There are some tasks in different areas that should be carried out with a joint effort. Other officials should cooperate in accomplishing them. I hope that in cooperation with one another, you will accomplish great feats.

Greetings be upon you and God's Mercy and blessings.