UNITED NATIONS ASIAN MEETING ON QUESTION OF PALESTINE OPENS IN HANOI
Press Release
GA/PAL/819*
UNITED NATIONS ASIAN MEETING ON QUESTION OF PALESTINE OPENS IN HANOI
20000301HANOI, 1 March (Division for Palestinian Rights) -- The United Nations Asian Meeting on the Question of Palestine, to be held from 1 to 3 March, opened today at the Meli Hotel in Hanoi. Participants included eminent political personalities from Asia, world-renowned experts on the Middle East, the Palestinian Authority, representatives of intergovernmental organizations, United Nations system organizations, parliamentarians, non-governmental organizations and the media. In the coming days, participants will discuss the current situation concerning the question of Palestine and how Asia can contribute to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
Positive developments of the Palestine-Israel negotiations and the resumption of the Israel-Syria talks, after three years of interruption, have opened up a new prospect for a solution to the Middle East issue, Chua Tuan Nha, Minister for Science, Technology and Environment of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, told participants.
The Arab-Israeli conflict has been the most protracted one in modern history, Mr. Nha said in his opening statement. The international community, the League of Arab States, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of the Islamic Conference and others had taken numerous initiatives to end the state of war and promote a lasting peace in the Middle East. It was regrettable that the outcomes of those initiatives had for a long time fallen short of expectations. A new prospect for a solution to the Middle East issue had opened up and the United Nations should play a more active role not only as a peacekeeper but also as a peacemaker.
As a nation which had made untold sacrifice and endured hardship for more than 30 years in its struggle for national independence and reunification, the Vietnamese people understood and shared the misfortunes and difficulties of the Palestinian people in their struggle for legitimate national rights and the future of their nation. The Government and people of Viet Nam fully support the Palestinian people's struggle for the right to self-determination and the right to establish an independent Palestinian State in its homeland, Mr. Nha said. A genuine and lasting peace in the Middle East could only be achieved through a candid and honest dialogue with full respect for the interest of all parties concerned. The Jewish people, more than anyone else, should understand the suffering of displaced people deprived of their fatherland. That painful history should not repeat itself for the Palestinian people.
* Reissued to correct symbol of press release. It had been previously issued as PAL/1878.
- 2 - Press Release GA/PAL/819 1 March 2000
Adrianus Mooy, Under-Secretary-General and Executive-Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), delivering a message on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said the Middle East peace process was in a critical phase with both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations embarked on permanent status talks. Although the target date for reaching the framework agreement had been missed, it was the Secretary-General's fervent hope that the parties would work to overcome the obstacles at hand. The continued construction and expansion of settlements and roads would have a serious impact on the outcome of the permanent status negotiations, the message said. He appealed to the parties to exercise restraint and build instead on the achievements of the peace process.
The Secretary-General expressed the hope that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which had been providing humanitarian assistance, education and health care to more than 3 million Palestine refugees for a half a century, would receive the financial resources it needed to continue its mission. To ensure that United Nations support for the peace process was well-prepared and coordinated, and to make the assistance provided by the United Nations more effective and more focused, the Secretary- General had appointed Terje Rod-Larsen of Norway as Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and as his Personal Representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
All parties in the peace process were urged to reinvigorate their efforts in the critical transitional period ahead to move the peace process forward towards the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).
Ibra Deguene Ka (Senegal), Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said delays by the Israeli side in implementing points already agreed upon only exacerbated long- standing feelings of frustration and despair on the Palestinian side. Regrettably the peace process had been plagued by all sorts of political, legal and procedural problems, with many yet to be encountered. He cautioned that ideas being floated by some high-level Israeli officials on the outcome of permanent settlement negotiations, such as keeping a number of Israeli settlements, annexing part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, controlling the borderline with both Jordan and Egypt, as well as positions contrary to United Nations resolutions related to Jerusalem and Palestine refugees, were counterproductive. Such moves were seen as an effort to reshape the thinking of the international community on the terms of an acceptable final agreement and diminish Palestinian expectations on the outcome of the peace negotiations. He expressed confidence that the Meeting would further advance the peace process and the exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and the establishment of its own independent State.
Suleiman Alnajjab, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Special Envoy of Yasser Arafat, reasserted full solidarity with the Lebanese people, who were facing barbarous attacks by Israeli invaders. He said he supported Lebanese national resistance, which was not in his view terrorism but rather a sacred right of every people who suffer from foreign occupation.
He expressed full solidarity with Syrian negotiating efforts to end the Israeli occupation of Syrian territory. The Palestinian people, who were fighting the same cause -- the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from all occupied territories, including Jerusalem -- considered that any success in applying resolution 242 would set a precedent of real importance and would support and consolidate the attitude of the Palestinian people while it aimed to end the Israeli occupation and Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory. Peace was not in the interest of Palestinians only; it was an Israeli interest as well. Applying international and United Nations resolutions was the only way to achieve peace and security for all the peoples, Arabs and Israelis, in the region.
Mr. Alnajjab thanked the leadership of Viet Nam and its people for convening the Asian Meeting on the Question of Palestine on Vietnamese soil. The words Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam and Hanoi had a special meaning and respect in the hearts of the Palestinian people, as those three words continued to inspire confidence and patience in its struggle to liberate the occupied territories and achieve national independence.
The representative of Japan said his Government was determined to play a political role in the Middle East peace process, as well as continue its social and economic support to the Palestinian people. The Middle East peace process was expected to be discussed as one of the most important regional issues in the G8 Summit Process. Japan, as the chair country and only Asian G8 Summit member, would play a positive role in support of the peace process.
Before any final status could be decided, however, the Palestinian people would have to achieve substantial economic and social development. Japan was the largest single country donor to the Palestinian people and had already disbursed more than $500 million. In October 1999, Japan had hosted an Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in Tokyo that called for concrete and effective implementation of assistance and contributed to creating a favourable political atmosphere for the Palestine track of the peace process.
Events like the Asian Meeting on the Question of Palestine were not only essential for the exchange of ideas and the search for solutions to the complex question of Palestine, but also provided the international community an additional opportunity to reaffirm the need for respecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, the representative of Brazil told the Meeting. His Government's well-known support of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people reflected the multi-ethnic and tolerant character of Brazilian society, as well as its respect for human rights and for the traditional principle of self- determination of all nations.
A just and lasting peace in the Middle East remained elusive, said the representative of Cuba. Recent positive steps had raised the hopes that a comprehensive peace accord could be achieved by the end of this year. However, the real situation in the peace process showed those hopes outpaced the reality. At this delicate and yet decisive moment in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, it was of great importance to encourage the involvement of the international community in the peace process.
The representative of Indonesia said it was now up to Israel to scrupulously implement in letter and spirit the various agreements reached with the Palestinians and resolve questions of the transitional period relating to the boundaries, refugees and Palestinians prisoners, as well as effective establishment of the Gaza seaport. Equally important was meeting the deadline of the year 2000 for completion of the final status negotiations. He hoped that this would coincide with the holding of the Millennium Summit, so that the State of Palestine could participate
as a United Nations Member States and in a symbolic sense represent an end to the conflict in the Middle East.
Tunisia's representative affirmed continued support of the Palestinian people and called for a new era of cooperation and understanding among countries. War and colonization should no longer impede the peace and stability in the region. He expressed the hope that through this Meeting the foundation could be found for realizing peace and progress for the Palestinian people.
The representative of China said the question of Palestine had dragged on for 50 years and today the Palestinian people lived in a miserable plight. Despite progress made in recent times, difficult obstacles remained. The international community had a duty and responsibility to render more support and assist the Palestinian people in developing its economy. Only when the question of Palestine was resolved in a just and reasonable fashion, with rights restored and an independent State established, could lasting peace be achieved. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China would join forces with other Asian countries so that the question of Palestine could be resolved in a just and fair fashion.
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