A week of celebrations marking the anniversary of the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy and the coming to power of the ruling Baath socialist party were highlighted in Iraq on Saturday (17 July) with a nationwide broadcast by President Ahmed Hassan Al-Bakr.

SYNOPSIS: Speaking on Iraq's radio and television networks, President Al-Bakr took as his theme the development of socialism since the Baath party came to power in July 1968.

He emphasised that socialism is the central objective of the Iraqi revolution and that it would be pursued persistently within a framework of conditions and possibilities.

The President continued by reviewing some of the achievements of the Baath socialist government during the eight years it has been in power. These include the removal of monopolist oil companies, improvement in Iraq's national industrial base and the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish problem.

President Al-Bakr said that such accomplishments represent the true character of the revolution, which aims at effecting profound changes in all walks of life. He also spoke about the tactics adopted by Syria and said that Iraq had long warned against them. He was highly critical of the Damascus government, calling Syria's role in Lebanon "two-faced" and conspirational and supportive of isolationist and imperialist plans.