6
Dispatch → Bulletin → News
by 
The Federation of Hashemite Kingdoms.
.
55 reads.
January Address | Jan. 1954
A Commonwealth of Liberty narration
| JANUARY ADDRESS S t a t e ⠀o f ⠀t h e ⠀N a t i o n 1. January 1954, Baghdad Dear citizens, I speak to you during this transition into the new year, 1954, to mark the much more significant transition that our country has gone through and to remind us all of what has been accomplished. Over the past year many things have changed, domestically and internationally. The gains of the April Revolution have been consolidated, and what was still a meek sapling only a few months ago has grown into a mighty tree, with deep roots and far-reaching branches. But as this tree grows, it runs into obstacles and challenges to its continued life. [...] The security we've become accustomed to defies the history of our nation and the general tendencies of our immediate neighborhood. To maintain this security, especially internally, will require ceaseless effort and strong national consciousness on the part of each and every citizen. Sectarianism, be it political, religious, or otherwise, provides fertile soil for discord. If we allow the old divisions to resurface and sharpen, we will once again allow ourselves to be exploited by foreign powers. The security services will keep a trained eye on every form of subversion of the national idea, which so threatens to undermine the Hashemite union. In due time, we will industrialize and become a modern nation. Most importantly, we will be able (if we successfully overcome the divisions with which history has burdened us) to chart our own course towards the future society. Modernization will only occur on our own terms, that is to say, on terms set by the Iraqi and Jordanian peoples, united in a republican Federation of the Hashemite crowns. This idea, as well as the generous fruits which it is sure to bear, ignites our hearts and compels us to work harder than the generations which preceded us. Citizens tell me this everywhere I go, and it is this fire of the will which drives my own every action. [...] Our nation is our life, with it we live or perish. Fate would have it, however, that our nation should remain divided even as the great majority of us begin to claw our way out of the slough of despondency. The occupation of the northern provinces is unacceptable; it serves as a haunting memory of those years of foreign domination and exploitation, a nightmare which will weigh on the brains of future generations. So long as Iraqi lands remain estranged from the nation, true independence will continue to elude us. In the new year and the years ahead, we will take every step necessary to bring about a situation in which our territorial integrity is restored. We are not alone in this endeavor; already the Turks and the Iranians are with us. In earlier times, both would have counted among our enemies. Consistent with the events taking place internally, outwardly the Federation has put aside past grievances for the sake of universal justice. Let us sharpen our swords regularly, so that when the fateful day arrives we will be ready to strike. We shall if we must, and we will do so with all that modern technology has to offer us. Our society will procure the means, through industriousness and friendship, for the ends of our national struggle. God is the greatest! |
|
