i do not see any reason why the egyptian economy cannot do the same thing if properly handled. let me outline what we're trying to do. the secretary did reprogram funds. she took it out of what i recall the pipeline of economic assistance. it was not dispersing rapidly. egypt had not met the conditions for disbursement of this pipeline. we took out $150 million and allocated $65 million to the funding source, as i mentioned it, for the procedural organization. we will put $100 million in, essentially, job creation issues like cash for worker, which is not sustainable but will come i think it, some short-term problems. senator, we have the overseas private investment corp., which has a very sophisticated program

for lending. we have the debt swap program. there is the u.s. aid program, which will be refocused to promote economic reform and to do such a varied things out to work with it. tanks and political parties to develop platforms for economic reform to do job creation and training facilitation. in this was a very important issue in my other post, to increase trade which you need a certain amount and interest ductor. but the infrastructure can you build up -- what the character can you build to assist trade flow? if we go to more trade with egypt and northern africa, this will be important, too. that is it merely high-cost, long-term project, but those are what we are looking at to promote jobs. >> ambassador, when you say "cash for work," how does the

program work? >> we try not to do so much of it because it is not sustainable, but it takes a young people, mostly men, of the streets, and it pays them to do basically manual labor. we try not to do very much of this in the assistance programs because it is not sustainable, but sometimes it is necessary in some of these areas because it does put cash in people's pockets. >> it shows that, i think, we feel we are, not to put this to dramatically, but an emergency situation. but there are serious unemployment situation is which creates all the other problems. shifting directions just briefly here, on worries again increasing concerns about the nile river, water shortages in the region, i know that many

countries are increasingly concerned about the high rate of water usage. what role can the u.s. play and what role will you help to facilitate over water conservation? >> related to your previous question, i should mention that we do have projects, certainly, to promote agricultural efficiency. most of these countries do not have very good water management programs. we are working on that as part of the agricultural project. on the nile basin initiative, the department has been very active to encourage the countries to come together, as has the world bank to come to work out a settlement among themselves. >> thank you very much again for your service. >> think you, senator udall. senator menendez. >> thank you for your long

service to our country. you have had a distinguished career in you're going into an exceptionally important assignment at this time in history. i have heard between meetings and glancing up at the tv to try and hear your answers, but i want to pursue that a little more. i want to know your views as it relates to what we will tell egypt as it relates to the state of relations between our countries? in terms of its inherent to the camp david peace treaty with israel putbacks >> i do not think there to be the slightest doubt about our views about their adherence to the camp david peace treaties with israel. as i mentioned before, i think

the egyptian government, at all levels, have made utterly clear their commitment to that treaty, which is in their interest. >> yet, there are a series of actions we have seen that are unsettling to those of us to believe that is the cornerstone of u.s. foreign assistance to egypt. is the egyptian a adherence to their international obligations, including the peace treaty with israel, a prerequisite for u.s. assistance? >> let me put it this way, senator. we inherently anticipate that egypt will abide by their international agreements and the assistance to egypt is, of course, based on those agreements from many years ago. >> so, if we were to come to a conclusion that at a certain point in time we do not believe that egypt is pursuing their international obligations to that agreement then we would

expect that we would not be forthcoming in the $1.50 billion that -- -- stocks >> i do not think we have any reason to expect that egypt will not abide by their commitment with israel. again, as i said, i think this is widely known that the assistance to egypt is essentially as a result and has been tied it to come up for many years, the camp david accord. >> of the opening of the border which as been closed due to concerns about how maas' using that to bring in weapons and fighters into -- about hamas using that to bring fighters into gaza and some of these actions, you are not concerned about that? >> i did not say that, senator menendez. i said we were concerned about these issues and in fact, the egyptians and israelis security

forces are working on these issues and there is a very serious concern about smuggling, of course. the egyptians, which is really concurrence, have put additional troops into sinai. the gas is flowing again. there were two attacks on the pipeline, but the gas is flowing again. there are some pricing disputes, but this is an issue we think they can work out. >> many of us have had a, and have still, a high hopes for a transition here that is both more democratic and continually secular, but many of us also have concerns about some of the actions and where we are headed. our support, certainly this senator's support, for the the levels we have been supported is predicating upon a continuing relationship with a major ally

of the united states that is important to our national security interests. i hope you understand that there are those of us here who are ready to sign a blank check because of a long-term relationship. we will be expecting our next u.s. ambassador to make that very clear. >> senator, i do not think anyone believes the congress to write a blank check anymore. our financial conditions were not permitted. i think the military assistance in particular, as well as civilian, but particularly military significance, the significant amount that has been appropriated has been a source for stability and has encouraged stability in the region. >> financial circumstances certainly create pressures on all of our assistance abroad, but in my mind, this relationship, in terms of what ever continuing assistance the u.s. may produce is beyond even

the financial circumstances of the country and it is about whether. it is living up to our expectations for which we are willing to assist them in moving in the right direction. i think i have made my case and i will leave it there. i want to talk about one other thing that i am seriously concerned about. it is how coptic christians are treated inside of egypt. it is totally unacceptable. you know, we have seen in egyptian court that had 16 suspects that were found not guilty in the two who were convicted were released on bail. i look at the circumstances of a sit in by coptic christians were trying to get churches' reopened or a group of men who are participating it peacefully

using molotov cocktails and over 70 people were wounded. what do you see as progress being made by the military council to end sectarian violence and tension? where the prospects for constitutional changes and the laws that would address sectarian violence and ease restrictions, for example, on building churches? i have a tremendously productive coptic christian community in my state of new jersey. they are very peaceful people. there are very intramural, and i do not understand this continuing violence against them. i hope the u.s. makes it very clear to them that begin tinning attacks upon people simply because of the altar they choose to worship that is not acceptable. >> thank you, senator menendez. we have made this absolutely clear to the egyptian government on many levels and this is

certainly something that flared up after the unrest in career square -- tarir square. the government has arrested the people who have arrested coptic christians. there was a lot drafted the other day, and frankly, we have got mixed reports about this in the construction of these churches. it may not be satisfactory to the coptic community, but we just do not know yet. we certainly expect this government and the new egyptian government to observe the freedom of religion, which is in their constitution and in the universal declaration of human rights, of which egypt is a signatory. that is one of our expectations of this government and any new government. >> as the next ambassador, can i rely upon you to vigorously raise this question to the egyptian government?

>> you certainly can, senator menendez. >> thank you very much. senate -- thank you, chairman. >> of there are no more questions, we thank ambassador patterson for testimony and we wish you well. i know the committee will be taking action very soon. >> thank you very much, senators. >> c-span has launched a new easy to navigate web site for politics in the 2012 debate. you can find biography an affirmation candling stew c-span media partners in the early caucus stage. visit the sap -- us at c- span.org/2012. >> tomorrow night, texas representative ron paul discusses his previous presidential bids, his strategy

for winning the gop nomination, and his years as a doctor, service in the military, and his views on congress. "road to the white house" sunday night on c-span. >> at the syrian president addressed his nation a following months of anti-government protests and riots of violence and attacks against protesters. this speech from damascus university runs 70 minutes and is courtesy of the syrian satellite television. [applause]

ladies and gentleman, peace be upon you. even these seasons of a conspiracy grow blossoms in syria. today and through you, i address every citizen broadbill land.

on to speak to you directly to talk about is characterized our relationship. i wish i had the opportunity to meet every citizen in person, but i know meeting some of you on any occasion makes me feel i'm communicating with all of you. through you, i'd like to send my greetings to every citizen, every brother and sister, every young man and woman, every mother and father, expressing commitment to the national unity. and working hard to ensure the country's safety while giving everything in their power in order for it to remain strong. it took me some time to address to despite the fact that some of those i met with recently forced me to speak for the citizens. it has taken me this time because i did not want to make my speech a platform propaganda. i did not want to speak about

that, but rather what we have achieved and what is in the process of being achieved. i wanted the subject of my speech to be on what i have found through meetings with syrian citizens. the relationship built on the rather than words and on substance rather than a form, this relationship was built the lead basis of trust and has been down in the meetings i recently held. these clearly established the greatness of our people who have put goodness, intelligent, and pride ahead. of course, delaying my speech until today give me rising too many rumors in the country. rumors that we have a heard by both you and i. of these rumors are not

important, but more important is time. every day brought new information. many delegations wanted to come and check on me to verify the authentic east -- authenticity of these rumors. every rumor you have heard and what the president, his family, and his work is without merit. [applause] today, we meet at an important tradition of the history of our nation. this is a moment that, throughout our will and determination, we strive to make a point of departure from a past

burdened with pain and unrest, were innocent blood was shed which has painted the heart of every syrian. if future full of hope for the presence of harmony and tranquillity that our homeland clubs will return based on strong foundations of freedom, solidarity, and engagement. we have been through this and have paid a heavy price in terms of our security and stability. what happened was an unprecedented ideal that over shattered our country. disappointment brought the sabotage of a public and private properties. others were indicted injured. this was a great loss to famil ies and loved ones, and for me,

a personal loss. i pray to almighty god to have mercy on the soul of all murders. i offer my heartfelt condolences. as much as we feel that these have prompted to contemplate this profound experience, based on a loss of property, live, this has been a test to all of us. weakness on the other hand. our only option is to look forecourt and we want to shape the future rather than letting the future shape boss and the events around us.

we have decided to control events rather than let events control laws. we will be rather than be led. this means we should build upon rich experiences in a deep analysis that extrapolates lessons in the souls of our martyrs can rest because their lessons have become sacrificial nourishment to strengthen the country. in all of this, we keep looking forward. with an arrow pointing to the present, it is only natural to ask what is happening to our country and why. there are many natural

[inaudible] others were linked to its political positions on its interest. these are multiplying every moment everywhere. we cannot be eliminated, but we can strengthen the immunity of our bodies in order to strengthen ourselves against them. based on what we have seen in politics and the media, it does not require much analysis to prove that there is indeed a conspiracy. we should not waste time discussing it, rather we should be able to identify the internal weaknesses through which a this conspiracy can in the ultra the country and then we should work from correcting these witnesses. then it cannot be important to discuss the conspiracies as planned core the country it

succeeded. -- as planned since the country succeeded. the solution in the end is to solve our own problems and avoid identification that has weakened our natural -- national immunity. throughout the history of scientific development, scientists have always thought of ways to strengthen the immunity of our bodies. this is what we must think of because it is more important to analyze the conspiracy. i did not think the data will show all the details anytime soon. probably the truth will not emerge for years to come. some, however, say that there is no conspiracy. this is also not objective. not only for the crisis, but for the historical context of syria. what can we say about the political positions who are applying pressure on syria and

trying to interfere on the internal affairs of our country? not out of concern for the syrian citizens but ragged they target what we know in advance pushing us to abandon our beliefs, principles, and interests, and others. what should we say about these positions? what should we say about the media pressure darks what should we say about these sophisticated drones we have found in the hands of vandals? it is definitely a conspiracy, but again, we will not waste our time discussing it. i said this before in my speech, for the people in a family, we must focus on the domestic. i will only address the domestic situation without referring to external factors coming either positively or negatively. [applause]

what is happening on the street has three components. first come out those who have demands or needs that they want the state to made. i have briefly spoken about this demand. it is one of the few things of the state for its edison were they should work tirelessly in order to meet the demands for the best of its ability. we should listen to them, talk to them, and under the umbrella of public order the enforcement of law does not justify neglecting the demands of the people. yes, the urgent needs of some people does not justify the spreading of chaos, the breaking of laws, and the timing of public interest. i met a large number of those who belong to this component. when i say those have needs, i did not mean the demonstrators, but rather those do not

demonstrate, so we need to deal with them as well. the delegations met with work from all sections of society in the areas. it is true that they made an impact and tried to exploit the others, tried to manipulate the good majority of syrian people in order to achieve different purposes. differentiating between these two groups is very important. the first constituted part of are national components and were raised under the national umbrella. they have no for an agenda or foreign connections. they were against any foreign intervention under any pretext. they do not want to be marginalized. they want justice. many issues were raised. for instance, there are cumulative issues dating back three decades since the

confrontations of the muslim brotherhood. that was a dark phase, and we are still paying the price for that time like being refused government employment, for example, or not being given security clearances. in other words, we held certain individuals responsible for their mistakes, which is not right. we have started to solve this problem. i have heard things for other delegations, but i mentioned two in particular. as i said, we have started to solve the pending issues, and we will solve them completely. we cannot continue living in the shadow of the dark phase of our history that happened three decades ago. these issues relate to the justice and injustice of course that citizens can assist you with and there are other issues related. two years ago, on we instructed all ambassadors to start issuing passports, even to those who are

wanted, and whether they have fled the country, or they believe they are wanted in syria. a large number of them were afraid in did not go to the embassy to receive passports. and even after the most recent amnesty was declared, they did not get their passports. there is still a fear which prevents people from taking initiatives. this year makes them feel injustice despite the fact that the injustice does not exist. talking about amnesty, it in recent meetings of felt it did not pass up by many people. the fact is that it is the most comprehensive amnesty in 23 years. i believe a similar one was given in 1988. nevertheless, it should be more comprehensive. we do not usually address names but criteria, like things to give amnesty to all except for drugs, terrorism, weapons, issues of public morality, etc.

in spite of this, and based from what i have heard, i received information from people i did not meet. i will have a steady in order to make the amnesty more productive. we wanted agreed to include all of the others without undermining state security interests. and the one hand the rights of private individuals like those whose relatives were killed by the other. the second component consists about laws and those who are wanted barberries criminal cases who were found in the state's institutions as our enemy and our targets because they propose an obstacle to their interests and they are caught by the state institutions. for those, the golden opportunity should be taken in order to ensure they remain free in their liberty

activities. it is only natural we seek to enforce the law upon all. it does not mean they should not look for solutions to the social aspect in order appeal to the people from taking the wrong path and encourage them to be citizens and integrate them in society. you may be asking how many outlaws are there. it is a surprising number. the number at the beginning of this crisis was more than 54,000 people. imagine this number of wanted people for criminal cases, the sentencing of which remains between a few months and execution who have escaped justice. 24,000 of those are three years and above. a few days ago, the number dropped to less than 63,000 because some of them turn themselves in to authorities. thus, the number, 64,000, is an

approximate, but which equals in military terms almost five military divisions, almost an entire army. if a few thousands of them wanted to carry weapons and engage in sabotage, you can imagine what damage that could cause to the state. the third, and more dangerous, component despite its small size consists of those who are extremists and have extreme ideology. we have experienced this ideology it decades ago when trying to get the treat syria to eliminate wisdom and intelligence. the ideology we see today is different than what we saw of decades ago -- is exactly the same. what has changed is the message and the persons. this type of ideology lurks in back corners in order to emerge when an opportunity presents itself and when it finds a handy masked but on. religion, reform, and it spreads chaos in the name of freedom. it is very sad to see that some

groups who belong to bygone ages have belonged to a. we do not belong to. in fact, this is the biggest obstacle in the reform process because it starts with human beings and. it does not start with computers, machines, legislation, or anything else. it starts with human beings. therefore, we have to contain this ideology of want to develop. in the case of other components i did not talk about, the external components, or the components that we all know. there are people who are well paid to collaborate with the media. some are being paid to participate in demonstrations for a few minutes and be videotapes. this is why i am, in recalling these events come they have always been responding to every reform announced. they are taking to arms but the only available choice remaining to them in order to execute their plans.

in some cases, peaceful demonstrations were used as a cover through which armed men took cover and in other cases they attacked civilians, policemen, and soldiers by attacking military sites a position and by association -- as it -- by assassination. there were closed by force and public property was destroyed deliberately. all of this has posed a direct threat to the normal daily lives of citizens and undermine the economic activities and communication with families. they distorted the country's image to the upside world and open the way for foreign intervention. by doing so, they choose to weaken the political stance which had adhered to the full return of national rights. they invoke the secretary and discourse in which we have never had which had never been a

part of our religious history or traditions it has been and now, and is our grudge to our identity -- and a sacrilege to our identity. with the exception of the first component, i am talking about a small minority which constitutes only a very small spectrum of people. that is why it is not a cause for concern, but once again, this should be addressed. when they fail in the first place to manipulate the first component, those who have demand, they move on to confrontation and act of violence. when they feel about, the move to new action. they started this by committing atrocities and massacres whose images we saw in the media when they killed security men and destroyed a post office. the post office is public property used by the people of that city. there is a great deal of hatred.

the important thing is that they possessed the sophisticated weapons which had not existed before. they have sophisticated communications systems. they tried to attack strategic fuel and gas depots and they were able to take control of them which forced the military to intervene and reclaim them. we were surprised that they had modern four-wheel drive vehicles on which they had a sophisticated weapons capable of dealing with helicopters. they were also able to track and commit another massacre against a security checkpoint. they almost succeeded had the people of the town not intervened to hide the patrol in their houses. some of the townspeople paid the price of being tortured and having their bones broken. i appreciate the work of all those patriot and hope to meet them soon. of course, there were many people who try to do similar

things to prevent this in many parts of syria. many of them succeeded, and some of them have not succeeded so far. the patriotic sentiment is shared by many. the situation could have been much worse. the syrian people have once again come up in force to express their match -- national and patriotic feelings in a manner that has exceeded all expectations. this has made it difficult to distinguish reality from illusion, but the patriotic sentiment that our people possess and which are based on the accumulation of experiences across generations are more powerful. the importance of this experience dent in that it shows the extent of patriotic awareness which is the most important part of the process

which is based upon three pillars. awareness, morals, and institutions. the absence of any of those pillars will definitely lead to a deviation from its intended objective and will lead to failure from all the dangers and consequences. what some people are doing today have nothing to do the development, modernization or reform. with every act of destruction, we are taking away from our objective of modernization and development and from our aspiration. i do not only mean material destruction, for rectifying that can be easy. i rather mean psychological, moral come and behavioral pitch becomes difficult to correct as times goes by. they are gradually developing this respect.

this will lead to a total of atrophy of the patriotic and national sentiment which are essential to the protection of the homeland. this is exactly what our enemies want us to do and the direction they want us to take. today, we have a generation of children with learning this lack of respect for institution, lack of respect for the law, on and later on, the price will be high. here, i want to raise the question whether this has produced more job opportunities or if it has improved public positions? has it improved security? there is no development without stability and there can be no reform through the chaos. the laws in decisions on the run will not be sufficient to achieve in a process in isolation in an appropriate environment.

this is why we should rebuild what has been destroyed these elements or isolate them. only then can we proceed. all involved [unintelligible] it should be based on reality. when we talk about reality, we talk about people. this is why i started the series of meetings which have included all sectors of society from different syrian regions in order to see this reality and understand this as it is and to have as close to reality -- a close as possible ideas in a manner which helps us raise the priority of state institutions in line with the priorities of our citizens. i wanted to understand the details directly from the citizens away from other channels which may do some filtering of information. the relationships between people have emotions, too.

[applause] i want to build a bridge. sam the future on these meetings. the substance of this speech and what i am saying today is based on the dialogue had with the citizens. as i said, i met people from all sections and i have met demonstrators and non- demonstrators. despite the difficult circumstances, the most important thing i have done throughout my years in my official position, despite the pain and frustration and the general atmosphere surrounding these meetings, i can say that the value from them as astonishing. the but i felt from these people who represent most of the syrian

people is something i have never felt at any stage in my life. i certainly reciprocate the love of these people. unheard. [applause] -- of these people. [applause] i certainly reciprocate the love of these people and the love of every syrian citizen that i do not know but hoped for a similar meeting. what i hope more than that is to turn this glove interaction. this can happen with your help. these meetings were useful, frank, in depth, and comprehensive. the covered all issues without exception. some of these issues were local, city, government, and some of them are countrywide. my priority was the issues which have a bearing on the largest sections of the syrian people. they have precedence over local

issues, important as they are. citizens expressed anger mixed with blood and a sense of blame mixed with loyalty. they felt that their state had been -- had distanced themselves from them by adopting certain policies are getting involved in certain practices. i sense that their separate was multifaceted, part of it related to services, and part of relating to undermining citizen dignity come under mining their views, of which they are the object of any substance. i also felt the love of these people or the sincerity, pride, the strength to proceed with political responses, the resistance and noncompliance. as for corruption in, i felt there was a strong desire to eradicate it as a major cause

for the lack of justice and equal opportunities and for the feelings of unfairness, and justice, and oppression. in addition to these dangers moral consequences of our society, which is more dangerous still, the cases of unfair discrimination between citizens and in our mind basis. this cannot on its own, is sufficient to undermine the most powerful nations. corruption is the result of nepotism, patronage, and the absence of the protector and the guarantor of national feelings which are replaced by it peelings of identity. this is why we need to start working immediately in order to strengthen institutions by passing legislation and providing institutions with officials capable instead of being borne by the positions that they occupy. [applause]

there'll be no leniency towards those who are unable to shoulder this responsibility, but success only comes one repine the appropriate channel through which these can play a role and the oversight and point out the errors and failures. i have told many that these reduce corruption of the higher levels. this is the task of the anti- corruption commission has been studied by the committee and suffered the practice. these are nice words, but -- [applause] i'm not complimenting myself here, but it has presented itself for how can be achieved. it is easy to see what can be

done, but auctions are the decisive factor. as i said, i aimed it through these meetings to have a more in-depth knowledge of reality, but i found myself at the heart of genuine national dialogue. national dialogue is not specific to the elite. it and not a dialogue with a party and opposition, nor is it limited to political issues. it is a dialogue between the different sectors of society about all the issues facing the nation. if we assume that the government can be given a certain size, it is true that in all of these societies, the largest section is that which does not belong to either. we cannot talk about the national dialogue, about planning for the future about how this will affect the syria future by neglecting the largest

section of its people, hence, the idea of a national dialogue which has started recently. there is no doubt that i was a part of a national dialogue. nevertheless, i cannot claim to have accomplished it, but in the and i am only an individual. the country includes tens of millions. the basic idea was to launch a dialogue with social, intellectual, and political stakeholders to take part in this forum. for this purpose, in national dialogue committee has been set up charged with identifying the principles and mechanisms for ensuring a comprehensive dialogue on the different issues of concern to syria. and its citizens. the dialogue will allow, on one hand, the discussion of the drafted laws of the state, and on the other provide an opportunity to drop toward the

future of syrian for two decades and generations and help us all our arrival at the mature vision for the future. it will push for the political, social, and economic dynamic in our country so political parties can play a wider role in public life after the new law is passed. and number of you have expressed about the possible format of the dialogue. one of the first tasks of the national dialogue committee is to consult with different stakeholders in order to arrive at the best format which will enable us to accomplish a reform project with a specific timeframe. as i sit in my meeting with the cabinet, everything should be tied to a time frame and i believe that we are all calling for a time frame for everything we talk about. we can then save that the national dialogue will set the stage. pardon me, for the present stage.

when we started with this idea, we thought the dialogue should be at the government level. i have noticed with my meetings that the issues themselves are not looked at from the same perspective. the reason being that the larger social divergency that we have in syria. although there are points of convergence, still, there are differences to a certain extent. from the beginning, we thought of conducting the dialogue as a first phase in order to get to the central dialogue. issues raised in the central dialog will be determined according to agreements reached or the issues around for which there was a consensus in the government dialogue. however, after setting up the dialogue commission and in order to reduce the time needed, and as a result of the condition syria is going through, they start -- they will start directly. there were questions raised which have now become part of the mandate of the commission,

if you want to start the dialogue, where to take part, what the criteria is, how to identify the actors, who will take part of the discussion, and other technical details. at this moment, there is confusion, although it has been explained on television about the role of the commission. the commission does not conduct a dialogue rather supervises the dialogue. it lays out the mechanisms and identify the time frame. after the end of the dialogue coach will be agreed upon by the commission, the dialogue will be looked at by the president as there are other issues which meet certain measures and the state will follow-up on them. the commission did not want to have a monopoly over setting the criteria. it decided to hold a meeting and will invite more than 100 personalities from different sections and sectors of syrian

society in order to come up with the criteria and the mechanism. after that, dialog will start immediately and the commission will identify the time frame, one month, two months, in accordance it with participants of the meeting decided. this dialogue is a very important process and should be given the opportunity. because the whole future of syria should be based on this dialogue, in which all parts of the syrian spectrum take part. we cannot expect a vision from the government. people cannot plant for millions of people. this is the importance of the dialogue. as for the urgent needs and demands of the people, they have been put into implementation before the beginning of the dialogue. we have listed the emergency law with the state accord which will talk about the work of the

relevant agencies in a manner that enhances and protect people's dignity without undermining the country's security. we also passed a law regulating the right to peaceful demonstration which will strengthen the possibility of expressing views and positions in a free, peaceful, an organized manner as a healthy condition which will help to rectify failures and correct trends. questions have been raised about the issue of arrest, for some people found that the tension continues after listing the state of emergency. most people, whether in the state, outside and inside the competent authorities, they did not understand the meaning of the state of emergency, nor the meaning of listing the state of emergency. however, and we stress the importance of this issue. what is important is that any case of arrest takes place after a permit is obtained from the attorney general and there is a

specific time for investigation. if they want to extend, they should get a petition from the judicial system. there is a time limit when someone is caught red handed. there is no need for a permit. the same procedures will be followed with a permit by the attorney general, however, listing the emergency does not mean of violating the law. this should be clear. listing the bird as he has nothing to do with legal punishment for the nature of these punishments. based on our convictions, the citizens should be better represented in elected institutions, particularly in the people's assembly and local councils. a committee was set up to draft a new election process. this will strengthen the role of these institutions for the public good and they may enable them to be more effective and ensure wider participation. this will enhance the principles of justice, equality, integrity, and transparency. these principles will be a hallmark of the future which we seek for our country.

this issue is not subject to public discussion, and the committee has finished the draft law. i believe it will be an important law because most of the citizens have problems revolving around these in the district council. this law will give the opportunity to citizens to let citizens who represent them and their interests. it another committee was set up to draft legislation and design the necessary mechanism to fight corruption and. i believe they have concluded their work yesterday and proposed the last of which is now subject to public discussion. the anti-corruption commission will review it and turned it into an exception rather than a widespread phenomenon or an inevitable reality. citizens will play their role in oversight and participation. no success can be achieved in

eradicating this without the full participation of all citizens. the media plays a central role in this regard, but they should be i in the voice of the citizens. we have started a workshop in order to modernize the media, the scope, and possibilities of they can become a transparent medium of communication between citizens and the state. this law will be subject to public discussion in order to receive and incorporate the back before this past. i believe the committee has until july 24th to complete that work. as for the local administration law, it is being discussed. i believe it is one the most important steps that will be taken in the term of its impact on development or in terms of local administration. this will contribute to address a number of problems which cannot be sold under the present central administration. it will regulate the authorities and relationships between the

different levels of local administration and of a positive impact of the general performance and consequently on the citizens. also, syrian nationality has been given to citizens registered previously as foreigners. this will enhance and could be to more stability in the long term. there have been over 36,000 applications so far and a number of identification cards are over 6700. setting up a new committee was a major step for political democratic life. this will enriched party diversity and allow for more participation for different trends in political life. these laws, this political package to have mentioned, will include a new political reality in syria through a broadening participation in the state's in

make citizens responsible for their own contributions for decision making, oversight, and accountability. they will lead to transformations of the level of political dynamism and activity. this will also lead to a restructuring political activity in the country and consequently make it necessary to revise the constitution it in order to either amend some of that articles are making a constitution in line with the political and social changes in syria during the past four decades since it was passed. this package will be presented for a national dialogue. there are a number of points which need to be mentioned regarding this package. [applause]

some people believe there is a certain degree of procrastination on behalf of the states regarding fiscal reform. in other words, they imply that the state is not serious about this reform. and i want to stress that the reform process for us is a measure of complete and absolute conviction because it represents the interests of the country and because it expresses the desire of the people. no reasonable person can oppose the interests of the country. what is more important is there is no opposition to reform. there is the question which has been put to me. i personally have not met any individual who opposes reform. everyone is enthusiastic for reform. the problem, however, is what

reform do we want? what are the details? the package of laws i have mentioned consists of laws in the general sense, but one of the details we want and we believe are useful? some people expect that a law is passed so it is easy. can this happen? of course. does this lead to positive results for the public interest? maybe. when i say may become i mean that all possibilities are there. -- when i say maybe, all possibilities are there. we cannot pull off in full reform after 50 years of a political restructuring. i leaped into the unknown. we need to know where we are going and what is expected. what we are doing now is making our future and the future is a source of history. the history, or the future we are making, will affect future

generations. even if i make amendments in line, there will be circumstances in the future, but what we do now is something of crucial importance which will affect serial's future. that is why we need to have the broadest possible participation and stress the importance of national dialogue. we need the broadest possible participation in order to have a wider take on the things and have a far reaching impact on the future. when some people say that the president should lead the reform process, it does not mean that the president can take out the reform process on its own. leadership does not mean that one individual stands alone, but rather he should be in front and the people proceed with him. leadership is a process of consultation and direction. here, i reiterate the

importance of a national dialogue. what are the things the dialogue should focus on? what are restocking about? -- what are we talking about election lot? what is in the best interest of syria? do we want small, medium, or large constituencies? everyone has a qualitative aspects. which election law will be best for syrian society and will not lead to a fragmentation? which election law will be better suited to the new party laws that we want? what is a party law that will lead to full integration of syrian society and preserve the syrian unity and at the same time prevent syria from turning there are some of questions which need to be raised. as to the election law, do we

want to elect an individual or a program? there are questions and so far we do not have answers. even if we have an answer, we should not say that this is the right answer and proceed carrying all that negative aspects to future generations. we should take responsibility together. we have people with a great degree of awareness and the question is that of discussion. so we need to answer these questions, and these are only samples of a larger variety of questions. there are others. do we passed the party law and the election law before the election of the people's assembly? the majority said yes. some civil want to separate the elections law from the party law. do you want to postpone the people's assembly for a few months as some people have proposed, or do we have them on time? as far as we are concerned, we do not want to adopt a certain

answer for these questions. we want to be impartial as a state. what is important is public consensus. if there is no consensus on these and other issues, we will have a big problem in syria. s to the constitution, this is a slightly separate question. do we replace a few articles of the constitution including article 8, or do we change the whole constitution since it was written about 40 years ago and it might be better to change it completely? some people suggest we undertake certain steps now and amend some articles and later on make revisions of the whole constitution. and some articles need to be amended, they should be amended by a new people's assembly. if what is needed is changing the whole constitution, this did the public referendum. there are numerous questions about the main question, pardon

me, but the main question is within this framework. it is better to give a timeframe it a lot of these questions. the committee will complete its work in july. the party law will finish in the next two days. the most important for political reform, we can start a national dialogue directly and discuss all these laws and laws which will be passed later. concerning national dialogue, i do not want to set a timeframe on their behalf. some of those involved suggest a month and others suggest two months. in any case, the people's assembly elections are not postponed, they will be held in august and we will have a new people's assembly in august. we can say that we can complete this package by the end of august. by the beginning of september the package will be completed. the constitution is different because it needs the people's

assembly. if a new people's assembly is elected in august, i can directly start studying the constitutional amendments. if there are postponed as a result of the decision taking the process of national dialogue for a few months, the package will be completed before the end of the year. however go-moku -- however, if you want to have a full revision of the constitution and have a new one, the process is completely different. then we should have a constitutional assembly that proposes the constitution but a public referendum, but what we will do immediately is to set up a committee to study the issue of the constitution in order to save time. the committee will start its work in the next few days and we would give it a month, which nothing is sufficient. it will refer its studies to national dialogue and then we will have a clear timeframe.

let's say three months until the beginning of september, or five months until the end of the year. but we are moving ahead with all the loss and studying the constitution, which will be the last stage. a lot has been said about the delays and reform. i talked about this in front of the people's assembly in said that we are a bit late. some people started to ask why we relate. i said that we are late but we did not say that we have stopped. in other words, a loss for lifting the state of emergency was ready about 18 months ago -- a loss for lifting the state of emergency. we started preparing the locals administration law less than a year ago. the reason why we have not passed the first and second loss is that we believe the local law administration law, which is the most important in the reform process, has two aspects to it,

elections and participation. it requires amending the election law. it was a matter of priorities, and we did not neglect the other laws. we looked at parties in a different way than we look at them right now. amidst this herd -- huge workshop of reform, loss, and dialogue, we have not forgotten that day to day living problems of the syrian citizens which remain more urgent. the government passed a number of decisions with the objective of improving people's living standards. one the most important decisions was to reduce these of prices. it was one of the most frequent demands without exception. i hope that this impact on the living standards will be felt in the near future. particularly among the poorest sections of syrian society. we also worked on reducing some

construction cost for related fees in order to ease the financial burden on citizens to the extent available and what resources allow. we hope it will push the economy forward, increased job opportunities, and compensate the large losses covered by the syrian economy during the currency been. they would increase the suffering of the citizens if we did not face them with rapid procedures that mitigate the pressure at the present and reverse direction later on. this is a group of measures aimed at alleviating the crisis and reducing burdens on syrian citizens. there are other measures taken by the government, but what is important now is for all of us to work in order to restore confidence in the syrian economy. the most dangerous thing we will face is the weakness or collapse of the syrian economy.

a large part of the problem is psychological and we should not allow for fear or frustration to defeat us. we should defeat the problem by returning to normal life. it has a moral impact, and the economy is affected by the psychological condition of the population. we should go back to normal life as fast as possible. the crisis might give us a bloody nose. it might give us pain, it might shake us, might throw us on the ground, but we should rise again, stronger and more tenacious, in order to carry our lives properly. [applause] hero want to express my thanks and appreciation for all the citizens who have taken part in the campaign to support the syrian challenge.

one day after we overcome the crisis, god willing, we should ask all of those who have money, about the role they played, how they contributed to this campaign. [applause] administrate development remains the biggest challenge in the work of our institutions. we will proceed in our plans by regulating the party in controlling practices in order to prevent overlapping in the work of individuals from inside and outside the states. we should also adopt sound criteria for choosing personnel and assessing performance. in other words, we should prevent nepotism. measures have been taken, and so for about 120 security clearances which have been part

of the bureaucratic procedures have been abolished. at the same time, the work of the security systems has been recently separated from the work of civil institutions. we need to rely more on inspections, financial controls, and the anti- corruption commission in its new format. writing transparency to government work, and to constitute a channel of communication between state institutions and the citizens. in addition to other channels between state officials and citizens, i would directly or through the order as asians and trade unions that represent their interests. we should examine economic issues and we need to look for new economic models. in the past, there were two models, the socialist and capitalist model. many believe these models have fallen. now we do not have ready-made

experiences to take and implement. we need to look for a model that suits syria. the measures we have taken now have to do with dealing with the media and dealing with suffering. they deal with temporary problems, but do not solve the problems in the long run. if we do not know the model that achieves social equity between the rich and poor, the country in the city, will have a problem. there is already a big problem with disparity between the country and the city, despite the balanced economic policy which syria has followed in terms of providing equal opportunities and economic independence in relying on the local resources. i believe this issue needs national dialogue on the economy, something we must do later to move ahead. these are some basic titles for the next phase. they are the axis around which any other follows. there is no doubt that one

single speech will not address all the issues. therefore, the national dialogue will be the message through which any issue i talk about my speech can be raised. the next phase is a vase of turning syria into a construction site. to compensate for time and damages and to rectify and heal wounds. when the blood of any citizen and in whatever circumstances is expelled, this means the entire nation is bleeding. stopping is bleeding is a national responsibility every citizen should be involved in. sitting on the fence is to deepen the wood. we are all responsible for protecting that the security of what the nation, regardless of our position and views. the delay of legal procedure for bureaucratic reasons does not mean because the damage that

happened impacted everyone, and bringing all those responsible to account is the right of the state as much as it is the right of individuals. the judicial investigation committee is proceeding with its work without any intervention. has full of unity and independence. it does not work according to -- it works in accordance with legal criteria, which means a constantly look for evidence in order to indict any individual. some people believe that the commission has not done anything yet. this is not true. we have arrested a number of individuals involved in the crisis in their continuing their investigation to bring them to justice, and will continue to move in this direction. when we enforce the law, does not mean revenge against people who have violated the law without killing more destruction. the state is like a mother or

father who embraces everyone. the state's relationship with them is based on tolerance and love, not on hatred and revenge. when the state for gives those who make mistakes, it is aiming to have a sound relationship between the state and the citizens. this does not mean the abandonment of toughness when it comes to harming the public interest. there are those who said that some demonstrators continued to demonstrate because they demonstrated in the past, and believe they will be prosecuted by the state picks we have now some amnesty for those who turn themselves in during the month of april and may. they must turn themselves in with their weapons, and they were pardoned immediately. as i say to all those people, who try to contact the state and you will find a positive response and tolerance on part of state institutions, even regarding those who have carried weapons, but did not use them

against anyone. however, as for terrorizing citizens and committing acts of killing in terrorism, this is another issue. i call on all those who have left the city or villages to return. it is a very important issue because the city dies without its people. but cannot talk about normal economic life of their people who left their towns and villages and went to other areas. i call on every individual and every family who left their village or city to return as quickly as possible. i stress that the syrian government call on all those who left the villages to return immediately. they should also suggest to them that the state's i assure them

it is not true that the state will take revenge. the army is there for their security and the secured -- the security of their children. we hope to see them soon. [applause] every individual might ask, how can i contribute? i want to do something. how can i contribute to solving this problem? of course we do not have complete solutions, but we can contribute now. i say that there is a role that the people can play and a role that the state can play. the state plays its role through the reforms i talked about, political, economic reform, and reform in other areas. the state has a role to play in providing services.

there are grievances and there are measures that have harmed the citizens. the state should rectify these deficiencies. those who have been involved in the act of killing, it terror, and destruction will be brought to justice and prosecuted. it is the duty of the state to prosecute them. in this regard, some people debate whether the solution should be political or security based. they say that this security based solution has failed, and consequently, the state should proceed in the direction of a political solution. in fact, we in the state think the solution should be political. what identifies sovereign the problem is not the state's view, but the nature of the problem and self. it is not the state that -- neither can we deal with those politically. this is not reasonable.

there is no political solution for those who carry weapons and killed. we won a political solution and we want army to go back as soon as possible. we want security personnel to go back to their offices as soon as possible. the normal thing is for citizens to deal with the police and the judiciary. citizens have nothing to do with the army or the security personnel. the problem is that the police forces in syria are strong and the police have not been strangtrained for such cases. the capacity is limited. at the same time, training takes a long time. regardless of the crisis, we want to regulate the relationship between the citizens and the state in the direction this leads sometimes. the people, the citizens, the first thing i want to say is we

want to support -- we want them to support reform. this is self-evident, because the people are demanding reforms. it is only natural for them to want reform. but supporting reform takes place by distinguishing between real reformist and those involved in destruction and sabotages an isolating those who want to make personal gain. we want to prevent chaos. parents with children, brothers would each other, friends among each other -- it is a process of awareness raising. we want the demonstrations to be turned into written opinions, to ideas, to dialogue, to act on the ground. i am talking about something possible. in some places, the security forces were withdrawn and the people of the region started to work with the state's development process in fighting

corruption in order to preserve the security of the villages in which they live. this requires the existence of channels between these people and the state. they can turn from demonstrators into individuals who want to build their country. a demonstration is an expression of pain and suffering that the state has not responded to. when the state responded, the situation became completely different. we cannot increase the number of those channels in order to turn every individual into a productive citizen. this is of course a temporary phase. for parties or natural channel of transforming the actions of individuals on the ground and contributing to the return of normal life. this is the most important thing, even if the crisis went on for months or years, we should accommodate or acclimate

ourselves to it. we should make it limited to those who are concerned with the crisis. now we have an army there and we have to support this army. the army consists of the brothers of every syrian citizen and the army always stands for honor and dignity. [applause] young people have an important role to play in this stage, because they have proven themselves to be an act of power -- an active power. there is an electronic army that has been a real army in virtual reality. there are those who took part in the blood donation campaign and other initiatives. i met a number of youth

delegates from different sections of society. young men and young women also, and i have met many youth delegations from many sectors of society and found them to have a high sense of patriotism. this is self evident, because they belong to this country. this generation has to prepare itself for the next political phase so we can become a model for the whole region. if it is taking lessons from others, it is teach them. [applause] in this speech, i touched on a number of important points. i met a large number of delegations and i had a list of issues that numbered over 1000, and 100 big and small issues.

everyone believes that this issue is an important one. issue is an important one.