October 1973
Letter from Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to GDR State Council Chairman Willi Stoph
Translation from Arabic
Chairman of the State Council
Of the German Democratic Republic
S. E. Willi Stoph
Excellency,
Deeply believing in your help for the cause of freedom, law, justice and peace I forward this letter to you at a time when our armed forces again face an attack on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, unleashed by the aggressive forces of Israel.
You well know Israel's list of mistakes and its aggressive history since its emergence on the territory of Arab Palestine in 1948. Its aggression continued the wrong the Arab people of Palestine suffered, driven from their homeland, denied their legitimate right to return, and the suppression of those who remained in their homeland. Israel's aggression also extended to Palestine's Arab neighboring countries. This extension to Arab territory happened in line with its expansion plan. In the course of a quarter century Israel launched a series of armed aggressions which exacerbated the tensions and which repeatedly exposed security and peace in our region and in the whole world to serious danger.
While realizing this expansion plan, Israel implemented its interests and the interests of those who supported it. In this way Israel aims at decimating the chances and potential of our people, to block their efforts towards development, and force them to submit and surrender. The world has seen clearly enough these expansionist aggression intentions, which Israel announced after the 1967 aggression; the world knows Israel's challenge of the world public through ignoring the UN resolution [242], which called for it to withdraw from occupied Arab territory. This led to an increase of its isolation in the world. Instead of trying to counteract this increasing isolation by implementing the UN resolutions and respecting the world public, Israel shows a growing stubbornness and arrogance, and intensifies its barbaric attacks on innocent civilians in our homeland. Our armed forces and people, who met previous Israeli aggressions with courage, fight nowadays with the same resolve, courage and full belief in the justness of our cause; they fight a fight, which Israel has forced upon us with its renewed treacherous aggression.
By realizing our legitimate right to self-defense, we are more and more convinced that all people, who love freedom, justice, and peace, support us and regard our fight as their own fight, because the cause of freedom in the world is indivisible. Based on this we expect your support, the support of your befriended country and its help for our just cause. We regard this support and help as a contribution to our resistance against the aggression, to defend the cause of freedom, justice, and peace.
Yours respectfully,
Hafez al Assad
President of the Syrian Arabian Republic
Chairman of the State Council
Of the German Democratic Republic
S. E. Willi Stoph
Excellency,
Deeply believing in your help for the cause of freedom, law, justice and peace I forward this letter to you at a time when our armed forces again face an attack on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, unleashed by the aggressive forces of Israel.
You well know Israel's list of mistakes and its aggressive history since its emergence on the territory of Arab Palestine in 1948. Its aggression continued the wrong the Arab people of Palestine suffered, driven from their homeland, denied their legitimate right to return, and the suppression of those who remained in their homeland. Israel's aggression also extended to Palestine's Arab neighboring countries. This extension to Arab territory happened in line with its expansion plan. In the course of a quarter century Israel launched a series of armed aggressions which exacerbated the tensions and which repeatedly exposed security and peace in our region and in the whole world to serious danger.
While realizing this expansion plan, Israel implemented its interests and the interests of those who supported it. In this way Israel aims at decimating the chances and potential of our people, to block their efforts towards development, and force them to submit and surrender. The world has seen clearly enough these expansionist aggression intentions, which Israel announced after the 1967 aggression; the world knows Israel's challenge of the world public through ignoring the UN resolution [242], which called for it to withdraw from occupied Arab territory. This led to an increase of its isolation in the world. Instead of trying to counteract this increasing isolation by implementing the UN resolutions and respecting the world public, Israel shows a growing stubbornness and arrogance, and intensifies its barbaric attacks on innocent civilians in our homeland. Our armed forces and people, who met previous Israeli aggressions with courage, fight nowadays with the same resolve, courage and full belief in the justness of our cause; they fight a fight, which Israel has forced upon us with its renewed treacherous aggression.
By realizing our legitimate right to self-defense, we are more and more convinced that all people, who love freedom, justice, and peace, support us and regard our fight as their own fight, because the cause of freedom in the world is indivisible. Based on this we expect your support, the support of your befriended country and its help for our just cause. We regard this support and help as a contribution to our resistance against the aggression, to defend the cause of freedom, justice, and peace.
Yours respectfully,
Hafez al Assad
President of the Syrian Arabian Republic
Undated letter from Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to GDR State Council Chairman Willi Stoph requesting support in conflict with Israel
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BA-SAPMO IV 2/2A/1721
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