His Excellency Mr. Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, attended today the 44th Symposium entitled “A Fatherland of Heroes”, organized on the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of the glorious victories on 6 October, at the Al-Safwa Centre of the International Conferences of the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Capital.
The official spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic said that, upon his repairs, President Al-Sissi was greeted by Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, General Ashraf Salem Zaher, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defence and Military Production, and General Ahmed Khalifa, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. H.E. Mr. President was also welcomed by Councillor Hicham Badawy, President of the House of Representatives, Councillor Essam Al-Dine Farid, President of the Egyptian Senate, Dr. Hussein Eissa, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, several ministers and senior commanders of the Armed Forces.
The official spokesman said that the ceremony began with the recitation of verses of the Holy Qur’an, followed by a sequence entitled “The Time Machine”, under the title “The Story of My Grandfather, the Hero”, punctuated by the screening of a documentary film entitled “A Journey Through Time”.
The programme also included a sequence devoted to the “Role of Egyptian Diplomacy during the October 1973 War”, followed by the song “In Voice and Images”, performed with the participation of the choir of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The ceremony also included a screening of a documentary film entitled “L-Egypt speaks of itself”, followed by a sequence entitled “The soil of Egypt is worth more than gold”. This sequence ended with the handing over to the President of the Republic, by a group of children, of a shield bearing the name “The soil of the homeland”. President Al-Sissi then greeted several heroes of the October war and took a commemorative photo with them. The programme also included a sequence entitled “The Heroes”, followed by the song “The Egyptians”, with the participation of the choir of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Mr. Ziad Abdel-Tawab, an expert in digital transformation and information security and member of the Higher Council of Culture, then delivered a speech on “The influence of social networks in the dissemination of misconceptions and disinformation in society”. The ceremony continued with the presentation of “Egypt, History”.
The official spokesman said that the President had then honoured several heroes of the glorious victories of the October war, before speaking on that occasion. Here is the content of his intervention:
President Al-Sissi began his speech by indicating that he chose to resume the content of a speech he had delivered several years earlier. He stressed that the message conveyed by this speech remains relevant in the light of current events, given the lack of fundamental change in the nature of the challenges facing the State, which requires constant vigilance and caution.
President Al-Sissi added that Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, with extensive political experience and as a witness to many important phases of national history, compared the challenges faced by the Egyptian state in 1973 with those experienced in 2013. President Al-Sissi explained that the main challenge of 2013 was to restore the Egyptian state and preserve its national identity, after an attempt to take control of the state and divert its trajectory. SE stressed that in both cases the Egyptians and their Armed Forces had united to defend the homeland and its resources.
HE said that there was a link between the events of 1973 and those of 2013, pointing out that former President Anwar Al-Sadate was a man of vision and reflection, who had begun implementing an economic reform programme from 1976. However, some of the measures adopted at the time, including the increase in the prices of certain products, had provoked protests and demonstrations, pushing the State to give up pursuing this path, despite the great popularity enjoyed by President Al-Sadate after the October victory.
In this context, President Al-Sissi stressed the importance of preserving national consciousness. SE cautioned against attempts to distort national memory and erase historical truths, stressing that the construction of the State is a continuous effort that should never be interrupted. He recalled, however, that the means available to the State in 1977 did not allow this to continue, even though the Egyptian population did not exceed 40 million inhabitants at the time.
President Al-Sissi stressed that attempts to influence the conscience of citizens and to falsify the facts were still ongoing today. In particular, he cited efforts to challenge or minimize the glorious October victory, using media tools and modern technologies, particularly social networks.
President Al-Sissi affirmed that national memory is the first line of defence for any nation and that any manipulation or distortion of this memory ultimately weakens the ability of peoples to grasp the facts and distinguish the true from the false, thus directly affecting the future and stability of their homelands.
SE Mr. President added that the Egyptian State had begun attempts at economic reform in 1976 and that it was now continuing to implement an economic reform programme aimed at strengthening its capacity and achieving development. SE explained that a politician had advised former President Anwar Al-Sadate to release members of the religious movement from prison in order to counter another political trend that then played an active role on the Egyptian scene. This decision eventually led to the assassination of President Al-Sadate.
President Al-Sissi said that attempts to undermine national consciousness, destroy collective memory and weaken the will of citizens continued, stressing that economic difficulties could be overcome and that the essential thing was to preserve the State, ensure its sustainability and ensure its continuity, especially since the challenges remained inherent in the course of States, regardless of their stage of development.
In this context, the President said that in 2013, the Egyptian people considered Marshal Al-Sissi a hero, adding that, over the past 14 years, Egypt had waged a fierce war against terrorism, in which the State had incurred a cost exceeding $120 billion, not to mention the sacrifices made by the sons of the homeland and the martyrs who had fallen in that struggle. SE stressed that thanks to Allah the Almighty, this battle had led to the restoration of security and stability.
President Al-Sissi stated that the main remaining danger was attempts to target national consciousness and manipulate the Egyptian collective memory. He stressed that Allah had saved Egypt and its people from the situation that the country faced before 2013. SE stressed the need for everyone to assume their responsibilities, instead of their own, in order to strengthen public consciousness and to highlight the dangers of attempts to break down States from within, particularly in the context of systematic campaigns against the Egyptian state and seeking to undermine its stability and cohesion.
President Al-Sissi also affirmed that combating these challenges is not the sole responsibility of State institutions, but is a common national responsibility requiring the joint mobilization of the State and society as a whole.
President Al-Sissi explained that, when he was in charge of military intelligence, he had been keen to communicate and meet with various political currents and presidential candidates, in order to assess their visions and their ability to face the challenges facing the Egyptian state and to propose concrete solutions. He added that he raised many questions for some representatives of religious currents about how to manage state affairs and how to meet existing challenges, in order to assess their ability to assume power responsibilities.
President Al-Sissi stressed that it was difficult to imagine that a person or organization could lead the state while calling on citizens to demonstrate continuously for a year and a half. Such a situation had led to considerable depletion of State resources and capacities, including the erosion of the Central Bank’s foreign reserves and the decline in the tourism sector, not to mention its negative impact on the overall economic situation and investment in the country.
In this context, President Al-Sisi said that Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawy, whom Allah grants him his mercy, asked him if it was possible to hand over power to the Muslim Brotherhood. President Al-Sissi then replied at a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that if the people elected them, power could be handed over to them.
SE added that at the time it considered the preservation of the State and the continuity of its institutions to be a top priority. In his view, it was better for a group or political current to assume responsibility for power in accordance with popular will rather than for the state to be exposed to the risk of disappearance or collapse. He stressed that the most important criterion for any person loyal to his homeland was the preservation and continuity of the State, independent of those who led it.
President Al-Sissi explained that the United States ambassador in Cairo at the time questioned, while he was in charge of Military Intelligence, his expectations of the person or group that would gain power in Egypt. He thought the Muslim Brotherhood would come to power. He expected, however, that they would not stay there for long, convinced that the challenges faced by the Egyptian state exceeded the capabilities of any political current, president or group, but that they did not exceed those of the Egyptian people or their will. He claimed that Marshal Tantawy, whom Allah has mercy on him, was a wise man.
In the same context, President Al-Sissi said that the biggest challenge facing the Egyptian state was, at the most, ten years to be overcome and that the state had to face one challenge after another. SE added that before the 1973 war, the national duty was to work and that the Armed Forces were working day and night in preparation for the battle, stressing that today too, the national duty is to work.
In this regard, Mr. President recalled that in 2014, during a meeting with journalists Ibrahim Issa and Lamis Al-Hadi, he stated that work and patience were the only possible paths. SE stressed that the value of work was recognized by all and that this responsibility was not limited to those responsible.
Turning to the issue of social networks, the President said that Dr. Ziad Abdel-Tawab had addressed the topic of psychological warfare in his speech. He explained that, as early as the 1960s and 1970s, psychological warfare already existed, albeit carried out using different tools, and that it would continue. He stressed that it aims at the will of the Egyptians and warned the Egyptian people against disinformation campaigns.
President Al-Sissi recalled that the State has a Constitution, a Constitution that citizens have approved, and has repeatedly stated that no one will infringe it. SE thus insisted on the need not to let anyone manipulate the minds of the Egyptians.
The President explained that the rumours and deliberate attempts to manipulate public conscience and exacerbate public opinion observed in recent months were part of efforts to destabilize the country and provoke unrest within the Egyptian state. He affirmed that the responsibility for dealing with these manoeuvres rests with all, including strengthening public awareness and exposing the facts to public opinion. He cautioned against the serious consequences of a new period of disturbances comparable to those of 2011, which would threaten the stability of the State and its ability to endure.
President Al-Sisi stressed that Allah the Almighty preserved Egypt during the difficult turns in 2011 and 2013, giving its people a new chance to preserve its state and to restore its trajectory. In this context, President Al-Sissi appealed to all Egyptians, young and old, men and women, urging them to remain committed to their homeland, to strengthen their conscience and to protect their country from attempts to target and conspire against it. He stated that the preservation of the State was the primary national responsibility of all. He added: “Protect your country against this plot… I’m not telling you to protect the President. »
Commenting on the recent statements by an Israeli official about Sinai, President Al-Sisi claimed that Egypt had waged a war to defend its territory and that it had recovered all its land. He wondered whether certain circles in Israel had unwarranted perceptions or concerns about possible Egyptian ambitions towards them. SE stressed that Egypt’s primary and ultimate goal is to preserve its security, stability and the resources of its people, affirming that the Egyptian State does not pursue any hidden agenda and that its fundamental priority is to protect its borders and national security in a framework of peace and stability.
The President added that the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel was the framework for relations between the two parties and affirmed that Egypt had no territorial ambition towards anyone. SE also explained that Egypt’s support for the two-State solution is based on a constant vision and deep conviction: this is the realistic way to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region, through the establishment of a dignified Palestinian State and a dignified Israeli State.SE stressed that this is not a new proposal, but the Egyptian vision to ensure stability for future generations.
He added that Egypt was working towards de-escalation in the region, seeking a solution to the Gulf crisis and strengthening the security and stability of the fraternal Gulf countries, stressing that the national security of the Gulf countries was an integral part of Egyptian national security, as was Egypt’s national security as an extension of that of the Gulf. SE also affirmed that, from this perspective, Egypt supports its brothers in the Gulf countries and stands ready to take all necessary measures to reduce escalation, secure maritime navigation and restore stability in the region.
President Al-Sissi concluded his speech by sending a message to the Egyptians: “Watch over Egypt… Watch your country. »