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ADDRESS BY H.E. PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT, CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE PLO, PRESIDENT OF THE PALESTINIAN NATIONAL AUTHORITY, TO THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Brussels, January 24th, 2000
Dr. Jaime Gama
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,
In the name of the Palestinian people, in the name of the Palestinian leadership and in my own name, allow me first of all to express my gratitude for this invitation to meet with you and share with you our assessment of the present situation, our aspirations and also our concerns.
It is indeed a pleasure, as always, to meet you here in Brussels, at the heart of Europe, and in this institution which lies at the heart of European construction. As we enter a new millenium, with the hope that we can leave behind us the era of war and conflict and march together towards a better future for all.
In fact the European Union has contributed to speed up the advent of this future, by giving the world, since the last Great World War half a century ago, an example and a source of inspiration, showing what may be the only way for the realization of this hope.
For after many centuries of pain in European wars, you and your Mediterranean neighbors have managed to evolve new forms of relations between yourselves and other nations, transforming what is called the system of international relations as it existed since the creation of the modern state. You managed to overcome the conflicts of the past centuries and to re-shape them into a new order of cooperation and peaceful unity. That has been your message to the world.
We direct our gaze towards your continent when looking to the future. However, I cannot ignore the fact that many parts of the world still suffer under the yoke of this past era. Among the nations still struggling on the edge of despair and hope is the Middle East, which has been your nearest neighbor since the dawn of history.
At the heart of the Middle East are my people, with an ancient history stretching across the centuries. We teach our children in schools that Palestine is at the crossroads of the three continents Asia, Africa and Europe, the birthplace of our lord Jesus Christ, the first direction for prayer in Islam, and home of the three monotheistic faiths, where lie the Holy Sepulcher, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.
I have often spoken about the sufferings of my people, who have experienced throughout the twentieth century various forms of oppression, occupation, flights and exodus. But these tribulations have not diminished my people's determination and steadfastness and their will to survive. Here we are at the end of a century of conflict and wars, extending our hands to the very people who have tried to silence our history. We say: The time has come for you to make peace. We have always viewed it as the peace of the brave.
You witnessed the signing of the earlier agreements, and some of you even participated in the shaping of these agreements.
You know, ladies and gentlemen, how much we appreciate the support you have given the peace process and the Palestinian people. Palestinians find is all their cities names of your countries and your union on the walls of new schools, children’s playgrounds, roads, community centers and hospitals. The effect of this support has been just as tangible as your political and moral support. I reiterate my thanks to you all, to your nations and your great union for this stance, which reflect Europe's awareness that history and geography have made our destinies interlocked.
For here, on the shores of the Mediterranean, did the greatest centers of civilization flourish. Here, across this sea, did the encounter between nations took place, forging relationship forever charged with a relentless energy of mutual influence.
While we appreciate the importance of Europe’s contribution to the development of our economy and the building of our institutions, we want to emphasize that we have never considered Europe only as a gathering of donor-countries, or as a mere economic and financial actor in our area. We have always thought, and we still believe, that Europe has a considerable political role to play in this region, the stability of which is so vital to its own security and welfare.
Of course, no one can underestimate the major role of the USA in the attempts to achieve a just, durable and comprehensive peace in the Middle-East. We all know that without the relentless efforts of our American friends, little of what has been achieved so far in this field could have been possible. But we do not conceive the European role as contradictory, or as alternative to these efforts. On the contrary, we view them, as most of you do today, as complementary, and we hope to see more American-European political cooperation and coordination in the near future. We view Europe as a full partner in reaching a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle-East.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are now on the threshold of the so-called “final-status” Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, to achieve a permanent settlement of this century-old conflict. For the only way to escape the wounds of the past, to overcome the imbalance of material power which characterizes the present, and to walk resolutely towards a better future, is to introduce in this equation the parameters of justice, fairness, and equity, which is based on international legality. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies at the center of concentric circles of conflict and confrontation which threaten the Mediterranean region as a whole, and it is Europe’s own vital interest to have a say in the shaping of its future map. We call upon you to explore with us, and with our American partners, ways of ensuring this European participation in this endeavour.
In this context, I would like to recall the March 1999 Berlin Declaration, which was an important milestone in the history of European-Palestinian cooperation. On the basis of that solemn European recognition of our right to independence, sovereignty and statehood, we have agreed to postpone the effective proclamation of our Palestinian state at the end of the Interim period as defined by the calendar of the signed agreements, in order to allow the resumption of negotiations and to preserve the possibility of an accord providing for a smooth and peaceful transfer of sovereignty. But we never meant this to be an open-ended process. Palestinian self-determination and statehood cannot be forever taken hostage by the difficulties, delays or stagnation of the negotiating process. In Sharm-El-Sheikh, last September, we have committed ourselves, together with our Israeli partners, to an ambitious time-table, whereby we should reach a Framework Agreement by next month, and agree on the terms of permanent peace before September of this year. We shall do everything in our power to meet these deadlines. But it must be clear that we are, one way or the other, marching towards statehood, and we expect our European friends to stand by our side in this decisive stage. The Berlin Declaration had set one year for its expectation of the conclusion of final status negotiations, and for a European recognition of Palestinian statehood "in due course". September 2000 is therefore setting an ultimate deadline.
At this particular juncture, we would like to convey to you that we fully understand the importance of the ongoing negotiations on the Israeli-Syrian track of negotiations. We rejoice at the perspective of an agreement that will transform regional reality, and put an end to the state of war between the states of our area. Contrary to widespread speculations, we, as Palestinians, have all to gain in such a deal. One should not underrate the importance of the legal and practical precedents provided for by such an agreement. Canceling annexation, dismantling settlements, withdrawing to the international borders according to the letter and spirit of UN Resolution 242, and allowing for the return of international legality - all these elements, and particularly the dismantlement of settlements, are liable to prepare Israeli public opinion to accept similar terms in the shaping of a permanent Israeli-Palestinian peace,
An Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese agreement would create a new reality, a new regional climate, whereby Syria as a state would become a shareholder in Peace, whereby Lebanon would recover its territorial integrity, and whereby Israel could no longer feel threatened on its borders.
Progress on the Syrian and Lebanese track of the negotiations, finally, will create the conditions for the resumption of the Multilateral negotiations, and for a greater involvement and activation of the international community in the reconstruction of our region. But it must also be clear to all that Israeli-Palestinian peace and reconciliation are the key to regional stability and cooperation. There will be no real progress in the Multilateral process so long as the basic core-issue of the conflict in the region is not resolved in a way acceptable to the peoples concerned.
In terms of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, after three years of a destructive stalemate, a new situation has emerged after the electoral victory of Ehud Barak, who received from the Israeli electorate a clear mandate for peace.
However, and in spite of repeated Israeli assurances on the need for parallel and simultaneous progress on all tracks, you have noted that the Israeli side has adopted a minimalist approach in the belated implementation of the commitments of the interim agreement. True, the southern safe passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has been opened, but its operation has been subjected to constraints and procedures which limit considerably its positive social, economic and political impact. Some 400 Palestinians are allowed to use this passage daily, while 120.000 travel daily to Israel, and there is still no agreement on the opening of the northern safe passage route through the Palestinian occupied area of Latrun, as the Israeli side insists on setting the crossing point in the suburbs of Ramallah.
Likewise, the Israeli side is procrastinating in the solution of the economic issues, and still refuses to authorize the refunding of the sums it detains, such as the taxes on imports and customs duties, sums which represent nearly 33% of the PNA's yearly revenue.
Some Palestinian political prisoners have been released, but in very limited numbers. True, a limited redeployment of Israeli military forces has taken placein the West Bank, but it concerns scattered unpopulated areas, unilaterally selected by the Israeli side without any consideration for Palestinian needs, and there are, as of now, no serious negotiations about the third phase of redeployment provided for by the agreements. Let us recall that according to the letter and spirit of the Interim agreement, all the Palestinian territory of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as "a single territorial unit" was supposed to be progressively transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction, during the interim period, "at the exception of issues to be dealt with in the framework of final-status negotiations", namely Jerusalem, settlements and specified military locations.
The same goes for the return of the 1967 and post-1967 Displaced Palestinians. Their right to return during the interim period had been recognized in the Declaration of Principles of September 1993 itself, but the Quadripartite Committee designated to study "the modalities of their admission" has failed to operate due to the reluctance of the Israeli side to cooperate with it, or even agree to a given date and venue.
Last, but unfortunately not least, Israeli settlement colonization on our land has not stopped. According to all authorized reports, it has intensified ! This policy and these activities are particularly intense in the areas which the Israeli government has designated as future "settlement blocs" it proposes to annex to Israeli territory within the framework of a permanent agreement. Settlement growth increases the risks of confrontation on the ground, and sends negative signals to public opinion on both sides. It also undermines the very credibility of the peace-process at the eyes of our people, and fuels the discourse of those who oppose peace. We expect Europe to convey this message unequivocally to our Israeli partners: settlements are illegal, both in terms of international law and in terms of the Oslo Accords and they constitute a permanent attack on the very logic of the peace-process.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are also asking for your help in speeding the forwarding of the financial assistance extended to us, particularly in the important projects aimed at the reconstruction of Palestinian economy at this stage, when we are working to develop our economy, to lay the ground for the rule of Law, democracy and human rights, and engaging into a full reform of our public institutions.
Final status negotiations have now started, and the sessions which have taken place until now have done little more than illustrating the huge gap between the Israeli position and the basic requirements of UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338. The Israeli side continues to speak about its will to annex more than 40% of the Palestinian territory, and it should be clear that without solving the territorial issue, there can be no substantive progress. Furthermore, no progress has been achieved towards a solution of the Palestinian Refugee problem, and the Israeli side continues to ignore the unambiguous affirmation, by international legality, of their inalienable right of return.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
How, in these conditions, can we hope to reach a Framework Agreement on the principles of a permanent solution as early as in February, which is to say a month from now ? Have all parties measured the demoralizing and demobilizing effect of deadlines when they are not respected ?
It is obvious that only a strong involvement of the international community in general, and of the EU in particular, can balance the attempt, on the part of the Israeli side, to take advantage of its position of military strength on the ground to impose unbalanced solutions.
Allow me to repeat it: parameters of justice and international law should become referential in the negotiations to make them operational, and that is precisely where Europe can play a distinctive role. Europe's Mediterranean dimension, its proximity to our region, its past and its traditions as well as its present and future interests make it a strategic imperative. This awareness, since Venice, has guided European involvement, and it is high time for Europe to act as a full partner in the shaping of our common future.
Ladies and gentlemen,
And we must seize the opportunity now opened, the faster the better. And we extend our hand to the government of Israel as a partner in this peace-making, to advance in a sure way, to reach the end of the road and to achieve the peace of the Brave. A peace that will guarantee the rights of all, and at the core of those rights the rights of the Palestinian people to establish its own independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, and become a full-fledged member of the international community.
We are looking at the twentieth century now elapsed with all the pain and sufferings on the altar of history, and with the hope that the New Year, the advent of which we celebrated in Bethlehem, will be the year that will delete the concept of occupation from the human vocabulary. Here is a people who suffered oppression, and yet still oppresses another people. We must all work hard to do away with this suffering. You have experienced this suffering, and this experience will inspire you to help us realize our dream. So that the Palestinians can enjoy the future they dream of, after a long ordeal of suffering.
Just and comprehensive peace is what I reclaim, and I am asking for assistance to achieve it. And I am wholly hopeful that the year 2000 will be the year of Peace for Palestine, when the refugees return home and the combatants go back to their quarters.
Thank you for your attention.
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