No Partisans, No Division, No Hatred

Translated by Mohaned Mohammed

Fellow Citizens,

With this high spirit, and through the unity of the people of the United Arab Republic, we will be able, God willing and with His help, to develop our country and work toward establishing a socialist, democratic, and cooperative society. This society reflects the hope of these people for a free and dignified life, built on equality and equal opportunity. The unity I felt today in the hearts of these people only reflects the great hope that we will succeed, with God’s help, in achieving this goal. No partisanship, no division, no hatred, but rather a nation whose will is determined to march forward to create a society where prosperity prevails. A society bound by love and brotherhood. A society built on genuine cooperation. Every individual is a support to their brother, every individual is a protective shield to their brother, and every citizen of this Republic feels that this Republic belongs to them and to their children after them, not to a small elite. For this Republic has freed itself from colonialism, and then freed itself from exploitation in all its meanings and forms, whether political, social, or economic. It has set out on its path to make up for what was lost, to build, to strengthen its power, to boost its production, and to create and provide a free and dignified life for every one of its citizens.

This is our society in which we are moving forward. This Republic, with these principles that you have declared and we have declared and whose slogans you have raised, is nothing but a Republic built on equality and social justice. The principles we declared were meant to eradicate feudalism, eliminate the domination of capital over governance, and establish social justice, a strong national army, and a true, sound democracy. This, my brothers, was the expression of what lies deep within the soul of every individual in this Republic, from its south to its north.

Now, fellow citizens, we are putting this into execution, working to establish a sound democracy, a sound democratic life! But it is a democracy of the people, not the artificial democracies introduced to us by colonialism in the past to divide the people of our country, turning them into factions and parties to revile, divide, and disagree with one another, and then fight over power, prestige, authority, and influence. This is by no means the democracy we envision, or that every single one of you feels deep down inside.

Every individual in this Republic wants a sound democratic life that frees them from political and social exploitation. When we abolished partisanship, eliminated division and hatred, and did away with methods of exploitation in every sense, that, my brothers, was the beginning of sound democracy.

Today, fellow citizens, we march forward to build for ourselves, our nation, and our Republic a democracy that fulfills our demands and goals: a sound democracy built on love, cooperation, and mutual support, built on political and social democracy, built on the premise that these people have resolved to unify themselves and stand united. And so they unified themselves and stood united, marching on the path of strength to develop and build their country, marching on the path of nationalism to raise its banner high, marching on the path of unity to secure the Arab world and all Arab nations, and marching on the path of solidarity. This, my brothers, is the path we have walked.

Today, two years after the unity that expresses the Great Arab Revolution, we feel that we have covered a great deal of the road. The hardest part of the road is always the beginning. Today, after rejecting partisanship, division, and hatred, after feeling that this homeland belongs to all of us, and after believing that we must build a democratic, cooperative, socialist society free from political, social, and economic exploitation, the road to the future is not easy. Yet, with the resolve I have seen in you in every town I visited, it is not an impossible road either.

With God’s help, despite conspiracies and despite the threats of colonialism and its henchmen, we will press forward to build our country according to our desire and will. We will construct our society to be one where prosperity reigns, enjoying freedom, justice, and equality. As I have said in the past: the dogs bark around us, but the caravan moves on. And I have seen, my brothers, that the caravan moves on in every corner of the Republic to achieve the grand goals you have agreed upon. We will press forward on our path, relying on God. May God grant us success.

May the peace and mercy of God be upon you.

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Speech of President Gamal Abdel Nasser at the Guest Palace in Aleppo

On February 17, 1960