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Saturday, October 03, 1998
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Quarter of a century has elapsed since that memorable day when our great people realized one of their greatest victories along their rich history. Thus, there was created a magnificient epic of patriotism; an everlasting, awe-inspiring masterpiece of nationalism. For an Egyptian, nothing is to be more cherished than to liberate his land, protect his honour, free his own will, practice sovereignty and restore his right and dignity. No other people on earth, have sanctified their national soil as strongly as the Egyptian people do. They sacrifice their lives for its sake; they glorify their homeland among nations being the land of ancestors; makers of past glories and builders of civilization and progress. No wonder, then, that every genuine Egyptian holds his dearly beloved homeland as a high-standing, untouchable and invoilable entity. He is ready to sacrifice his life, children and means of livelihood for it. In the conscience of an Egyptian, land melts into one whole blend together with faith, values, heritage, future, science and knowledge. The homeland is the seat of tough men and castle of heroes, who would challenge even the whole world, to keep national banners fluttering high above and maintain beloved Egypt forever highly placed among nations. The October War was not merely a military battle waged by the country, leading to a most glorious victory, but rather a decisive historical test of the people's ability to make a decisive dream come true and translate into action an aspired hope. This war has made experts and analysts effect an overall review of their assessment and calculations. They had, then, to take into consideration that outcome of wars is not determined by the amount of weapons and military equipment available, but rather by the will and determination of heroes, which can penetrate the most invincible fortresses and can shake the most colossal mountains. Those who described occurences that took place on these blessed days as a miraculous feat beyond imagination should have realized that any extraordinary heroic feat - whatever its consequences and requirements were - could never be beyond the capabilities of the Egyptian people. This people have for humanity achieved the greatest accomplishments over its long history, broke all barriers impeding human creativity. Thus they attained peaks of science, arts and letters, transcending bounds of time, to contemplate life of eternity. Briefly, their major actions were, by all universally acknowledged standards for all nations, a chain of extraordinary feats. But to this time-honoured people, these feats were only a continuing pursuit of a major progress of civilization most honourably recorded in the annals of history. This great achievement was a heroic daring feat, purely dedicated to God and the homeland where each and every citizen contributed everything within his possession and capacity. On the scheduled day, the battle was waged so harmoniously that it deserved to be well-remembered by coming generations of Egyptians with all pride and loyality to the homeland and gratitude to the heroes who sacrificed their lives. In their victorious march, those heroes set out to defend their lands and rights, sacrificing their chaste lives for the sake of freedom and leaving behind -to history- greatest accounts of heroism and sacrifice. This magnificant achievement was, thus, a collective act, where each and every Egyptian took part. The topmost responsibility was assumed by one of Egypt's greatest Egyptian leaders; late President Muhammad Anwar Al-Sadat, the hero of war and peace who sacrificed his life for his homeland and nation. He dedicated every drop of his blood to the service of the supreme national goals. So great he was in his life and so courageous in death. He never cared as he faced his destiny as a warrior wherever in God's kingdom he would die. Since the first moment he took the war decision, he has never been deterred by the perils and horrors involved. All that pre-occupied his mind day and night was the destiny of the homeland and future of the nation. Therefore, he deserved to be highly placed on the list of immortal Egyptians. This Great Crossing is such, a huge achievement unprecedented in modern history. It was accomplished by the valiant Egyptian Armed Forces, through sound planning and scientific preparation based on state-of-the- arts techniques. These efforts were carried out under very hard and difficult conditions in the proper sense of the word. In these endeavours our brave Armed Forces personnel vied with each others for sacrifice. For the sake of the homeland, nobody spared a drop of blood or sweat on their strained, over burdened faces. Not a single personnel has shown reluctance to engage in battle with unparalleled valour and courage. Some of them passed away while others survived. All over my life, I will remain proud of my pre-destined role that I performed in the early moments of this decisive war. It began by demolishing the enemy's invulnerable strongholds, shelling command and control units and disconnecting its communication lines in the depth of Sinai. All this was carried out in a few hours, thus causing imbalance, despair and frustration to the enemy. Before the war, the enemy had boasted of its invincible power and unmatched superiority. However, such superiority largely depended on external resources which provided it with unlimited supplies of the most advanced arms and military equipment in addition to such diplomatic, economic and political cover that gives it a semblance of legitimacy in occupying others' lands and deriving pleasure from wrongdoing and aggression. Not for a moment, I will forget memories of extraordinary heroisms that I witnessed at those flash moments; heroisms which were recorded with the blood of comrades in arms from all the armed forces' main divisions and formations. Those heroes did not only destroy the enemy's fortified sites and Barlev line that had been built over years, but they also made possible for their nation, the great crossing, to the blessed land of Sinai. More significantly it was a crossing from the bitter reality of setback to an era of great victory and undeniable conquest, whereby right, dignity, self-confidence and national pride were restored. The excellent performance of the Armed Forces enabled them to achieve their planned targets within a few hours and the propitious signs of victory loomed in the horizon a few moments after the beginning of the battle when it became obvious that the enemy formations had collapsed and disintegrated after the first stroke. Yet, the fact remains to direct such successful attack and achieve victory would not have been achieved through a few months of preparation, but rather through an exercise that had continued night and day for long years. Throughout these years the Armed Forces personnel have exerted effort hardly within human capacity and patiently bore their lot. With firm-set hearts and feet, they put up with their suffering as if they were holding smoldering embers so that they could regain dignity of the homeland and safeguard its rights and interests. This glorious endeavour lasted for six years, i.e., the interim between the painful setback and the overwhelming victory. During this period an expensive, war of attrition, claiming lives and property was waged, requiring tremendous sacrifices which all categories of the Egyptians had never hesitated to offer. The challenges involved were to rebuild the Armed Forces, reconstruct the sites destroyed in the course of the 1967 War, engaging in an extended war of attrition, leaving to armed forces personnel and the supporting millions of workers, peasants and other classes without exception- no room for a moment of tranquility wherein to summon their power and reconsider their stance. Nonetheless, preparations for the decisive battle had proceeded at an unceasing, accelerated pace. This heroic feat was led by Late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, supported by a distinguished galaxy of leaders, strong warriors and an indefinite number of civilians who devoted themselves for that most sublime objective and the patient and perseverent preparation for the decisive battle. The end result was that what the disillusioned on the other side were proud of; the so-called Six-Day War faded and dissipated in a few moments under the feet of great Egyptian Knights. Preparations for this battle lasted for six years, which should be not discounted. Such great victory would never have been possible, without enormous, concerted efforts by all loyal Egyptians. Thus, Egypt rushed into the victorious October War as one man, all in one and one in all and no-one hesitated to give and sacrifice. For long years, our heroes had tolerated pain, sweat and tears to prepare for an act of blitzk that did not last for more than a few minutes. Thereby they regained balance to the region and rectified the imbalance that had afflicted the regional system. They could even redress deficiencies of the entire world order, already imbalanced. The world order itself had come to suffer from confusion and indulgence by major powers into the snare of agreement to stablize regional conditions, at their current status of imbalance and injustice, heedless of the plundered rights and destiny of other peoples. This historic act had the advantage of an element that must not be discounted; i.e. the national dimension represented in a coordinated integral plan between Egypt and Syria, where our brother President Hafez Al Asad, our ally in war and peace, played a distinguished role. The whizzing of the Egyptian fighters and bombers over Sinai intermingled with the roar of cannons in Golan Hights at a harmonious tempo, stimulates Arab hopes and reviving a sense of dignity in their hearts. Thus, it was normal that our Arab brothers in both east and west would set out to participate in this act, which will remain forever memorable for every Arab. At the initiative of great leaders the oil weapon was used to serve Arab goals. These leaders, rising, in no time, to the level of the occasion, instantly on their own initiative historic steps. Of these leaders, I should recall Late King Faisal Ibn Abdel Aziz who will ever be remembered with veneration and recognition for his role and genuine gallantry. Brothers and Sisters Amidst these blessed memories of the glorious October War, there is a fact that we must face. It is that this memorable event in the history of Egypt, to me and to many citizens, has not received due attention and appreciation from Egypt intellectuals and creative authors. They should have recorded its crucial moments in their writings, drawings, poems and films as to remain alive in the conscience of successive Egyptian and Arab generations and to remain as a marvellous example of the revival of consciousness and confidence in the minds of millions of people when they have a clear vision of their legitimate objective and hope and when the people know well their way. I reiterate, we hoped those creations not to be confined to the depiction of the war blessed itself, from preparation to performance; a mission that have been largely assumed in the first place, by our Armed Forces. We hoped and still expect Egyptian and Arab creative writers and artists to participate in immortalizing such a historic event in serious books, elaborate researches, paintings, well-knit dramatic works commensurate with the significance of the occasion and the magnitude of the achievement. I do say that not as a critic, but as an admonishing observer. May the researches presented and the discussions conducted at this symposium motivate thought and inspire minds, and ignite creative potentialities, awakening them from slumber. This would be made in loyality to the homeland and to such courageous group of the faithful citizens who sacrificed their lives so that Egypt will live forever free and invulnerable to invaders and aggressors; so that right will have the upper hand, truimphing over oppressive power and so that every day millions of flowers would bloom all over the Nile Valley. May Allah peace and mercy be upon you |
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