The people now is waging one of the most important battles of the revolution. We should not misjudge what happens and reduce it to a decisive military battle with this regime. It’s an open Damascene popular uprising in which the revolution mobilizes all its forces and capabilities and all possible forms of struggle, military and popular. What gives the Damascene events all this importance that it is not confined to military action. We experience the participation of the people with all his revolutionary capabilities and energies in the "Damascus uprising". (This has been true since the beginning of the revolution but is especially important in the present moment.) We witness in addition to the armed clashes in the districts of the capital, road blockades, strikes, and social support from other districts, continuous demonstrations and disabling aspects of life in the capital. All this scatters the security forces and weakens the morale of the regime’s elements eventually bringing the revolution nearer to the stage of total civil disobedience.

Whatever the fate of the „Damascus uprising“ might be, the popular revolution is flaming all over Syria, stretching into wider areas and escalating with new force. Whatever news the coming days might bring about the regimes control of Damascus’ revolting districts, even if it reaches the point of extinguishing the torch of the "Damascus uprising", we will continue the revolution to ignite Damascus again. It will lead to the collapse of the regime of absolute power and utter plunder, which put the people under all sorts of suffering and deprivation.

The battle of Damascus is certainly going to shock the regime, and will weaken the morale and cause splits. All Syrians today are called to distance their sons from the military institution. The main and only task of the Syrian Arab Army, after withdrawing its units from the occupied Golan, has been to act against the revolution, and to play the role of the butcher of freedom instead of the role of the protector of freedom for the people and the homeland. The authorities drive the army’s frightened and hesitant elements to fight against the people, but the popular revolution will illuminate the way for these elements, shake them and urge them to split. This is a call to the families of recruits and officers in the Syrian Arab army: help your sons break all the enslaving submissive traditions of the killing army. We mean the submission that turns your sons into armed machines and makes them mere coward tools to suppress the people’s aspirations towards freedom.

The revolutionary democratic awareness has awakened among all the people of Syria. We are confident that the soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army, who are the sons of the revolting people, will rebel against their commanders, will break their fear and tradition of military submission that chain them. The spirit of freedom and people’s revolution has entered all the military barracks, have entered the hearts of all of the soldiers and officers. The dangerous conditions under which the soldiers live, that make it difficult for them to defect, are vanishing under the pressure of the revolution. It is the proper opportunity for a part of the military units to join the ranks of the people and fight with him for comprehensive freedom and full rights, for the absolute real sovereignty of the people.

July 17, 2012