The Speech of H.E. President Yasser Arafat

To The AHLC Meeting
Tokyo- October 15th, 1999

Your Excellency Mr. Vollebek, the Foreign Minister of Norway and the Chair of the AHLC.
Your Excellency Mr. Kuno, the Foreign Minister of Japan the host of this conference.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would first like to express my utmost appreciation to the Japanese government and the Japanese people for hosting this unique conference, which is being held after reaching the Sharm Al-Sheikh agreement with the new Israeli government. This came about as a result of the intensive and kind efforts made on our behalf by your friendly nations, the international community, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It is also due to the determination and persistence invested in these periodical conferences, which ascertain the position of the international community as a whole in supporting the Palestinian People in the process of reconstruction and development of Palestine, and its continued effort towards the realization of a permanent, just and comprehensive peace in our region.

On this momentous occasion, I wish to renew our commitment to work faithfully towards placing the peace process on the right track. Indeed, the ultimate objective is to achieve the best for all peoples in the Middle East region: a region that has continuously suffered for nearly a century under the burden of wars and conflicts. It is time for this region to enjoy the fruits of peace, which will ultimately ensure the achievement of the interests of all. It is about time that the people of the Middle East are assured a stable and secure life.

As you all know, the last agreement was reached at the end of difficult times for the peace process, which went on for three long years. The previous Israeli government had sought to destroy the spirit of peace and to bury the hope that inspired us all six years ago, at the time when we signed at the White House, under the sponsorship of President Bill Clinton, the Declaration of Principles in 1993, which paved the way to the historical reconciliation between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

And now, hope has been revived after reaching the Sharm Al-Sheikh agreement with the new Israeli government, that the peace process may take on a new and significant path. This is especially true given the fact that some articles of this agreement have been implemented in a satisfactory manner. The Israeli government has implemented part of the agreement concerning the second redeployment, released part of our prisoners and permitted the opening of the safe passage in an acceptable way. And, in accordance with the agreement, we have made the necessary preparations for the establishment of the Gaza Seaport. What we are currently awaiting is the implementation of the rest of the agreement including the third redeployment set for early next January and speed up the process of Palestinians displaced as the result of the 1967 war. Should all these issues pertinent to the interim phase be completed, then we will be able to advance towards the final status negotiations, under more favorable conditions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I  certainly have no wish to repeat to you what is a fundamental fact: the achievement of peace must be anchored in a solid foundation in order to protect and defend it properly. The will of the parties is therefore a basic element in the establishment of this foundation; however, the Economy is the main factor that will guarantee the durability of peace and provide the responses to any challenge that may affect it.

You are all certainly aware that what we have inherited from the Israeli occupation of our lands for the past 30 years, is a completely destroyed infrastructure.

We are starting development in Palestine from nearly ground zero. Take, for instance, our schools: the students attend schools in three shifts: morning, noon and evening. You can easily imagine the situation we are facing under such conditions. This includes a whole network of facilities and services, which need to be systematically rehabilitated. All of this forms a large part of our development work and efforts in Palestine.

In order to further show my gratitude, I wish to take this opportunity once again, in this conference held by you in this friendly country: a nation with a unique experience that has shaped a model universally emulated in terms of development and progress, to express my feelings of appreciation and gratefulness for all the friendly nations gathered here. Your respective governments have supported our people during the last few years, and without them we could not have surmounted the difficulties placed in our way. Your supportive position has reaffirmed the prevalence of the values of solidarity and humanity among the peoples of the world. These are vital foundations of international relations on the threshold of the third millennium.

This can only be achieved on the basis of the right of the Palestinian people to live freely and be the masters of their own land, resources and wealth, just like any other nation: the ability to live freely in an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, embodying democratic values, guaranteeing the rule of law, encouraging a multi-party system and the building of Palestinian civil society. These are the necessary conditions for winning the economic development battle in Palestine.

We would also like to point out that what has been approved in the Sharm Al Sheikh agreement is an encouraging start, paving the way to final status negotiations without any preconditions, and underlining the commitment of both parties not to alter the current status of the territories. There is also a need to halt Israeli settlement policies on Palestinian land, especially in the Holy City of Jerusalem and around Bethlehem. This will all lead to the creation of a favorable environment for the building of confidence between the parties and for the success of the peace process in its final phase, through the application of international legality, especially UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 425, which embody the principle of land-for­-peace. TThis is why we call upon you, our friends and allies, to continue to support us during the next critical stage by fulfilling the commitments made to us during the Washington conference of November 30th, 1998 and the Frankfurt conference of January 3rd, 1999.

There is no doubt that the carrying out of these commitments, whether they are meant to continue for three years or whether they extend over five years as is the case with American and European support, will help us to go through an important stage in the building of Palestine: a stage we hope will be crowned with the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace between Israel and ourselves, as between Israel and Syria and Lebanon.

We will also be able to witness the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the solution of the Palestinian issue on all fronts, which includes addressing the issue of Palestinian refugees in accordance with international legal resolutions, and first and foremost resolution No.194. Thus the conditions will be set for the launching of the real economic development we all aspire to within the framework of peace and regional cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

During the five-year interim period, the Palestinian people have engaged in a large part of the hard work still waiting to be completed for further economic development. This was done side by side and in parallel to the defense of the peace process, its protection while confronting many pressures, restrictions and factors of frustration placed on our path during the previous years. We have made important strides in terms of education, training and rehabilitation of our people, our cadres, our organizations, the establishment of institutions and the rehabilitation of the basic components of our public utilities, including the reconstruction of the Palestinian infrastructure that can be privatized. We started with electricity, communications and numerous other projects wherein the private sector has the ownership and management responsibility. It breeds confidence and faith among our people that the goal is to progress and to improve, something that has become tangible and merits support. We certainly welcome the suggestion made by IMF to form a committee encompassing the ministries of Finance, Planning and Trade in order to cooperate with them in preparing an appropriate work plan.

Moreover, we have great confidence in the will and the awareness of our people to win this battle. We realize, at the same time, that this grand strategy requires the enactment of many laws concomitant with the growth witnessed in the private sector, in the development of civil society and the building process of modern executive institutions capable of adjusting to worldwide changes. We also aspire to achieve justice and social equality, especially in terms of the rights of Palestinian women and the protection of the Palestinian environment. The combination of these issues forms a protective cover for our future and the future of our neighbors. We will also build our auditing and monitoring institutions which will guide us in the right direction, in accordance with the set plans. There is a need to build a judicial system that protects the rights of citizens, that ensures justice and the rule of law, and guarantees freedom of the press within our Palestinian community.

I have a beholden duty to inform you that, without your support and assistance, it will be difficult to realize all our aspirations. We are fully confident that you will courageously stand by our people in this crucial and difficult period, and will seek to provide the necessary conditions for the growth of the Palestinian economy within the framework of peace and regional cooperation and in context of the globalized World order, which is the greatest breakthrough for mankind on the edge of the third millenium.

Obviously, this work requires the smooth speeding up of financial commitments made by the participants of the Washington conference on November 28th, 1998 and of the Frankfurt conference held on February 3rd, 1999. The decisions that will be reached by your conference should reaffirm the international commitment that you represent to lead the peace strategy in

the region to success in order to enable our people to transcend the difficult economic conditions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We realize what difficult work has been achieved during the first five years elapsed since the establishment of our nascent National Authority, which will be the basis for establishing our own independent state in the era of peace. We realize and have the courage to confess that, under our difficult circumstances, some mistakes were made; however, as the proverb says, it is only the dead who do not make mistakes. These mistakes are a cost of achievements every time there is a new order of doing things.

Courage indeed requires us to confess committing such mistakes. But confessing having made such mistakes is not enough to confront them frontally. This is what we have realized and we are correcting these mistakes within the legislative, auditing and judicial frameworks. Also, through the committee  for  administrative development and reform, which includes members from the highest leadership positions in order to avoid making such mistakes and deficiencies and to draw lessons and examples from them. I am also working diligently and sincerely with the elected Legislative Council, the National Council and the Central Council in order to issue the necessary laws for the protection of investments, a free economy and the drafting of laws within a modern framework that ensures effectiveness, integrity, openness, transparency and accountability. But I would also like to point out that our problems are not a result of internal issues or of the difficulties of the tasks set before us alone. We are still facing problems which result from the long blockade imposed on us, the continuation of Israeli settlement policies, the confiscation of lands, the closures, the Judaization of Jerusalem and the siege of Bethlehem and so forth. These and many other such practices can weigh down on this experience of ours and has formed, during the last years, pressure points affecting negatively our efforts for further development.

In spite of this, I wish to reconfirm our intention of continuing with our development plan by concentrating on establishing the elements of infrastructure that cannot be privatized, especially in the field of water, roads, sewerage, the building of schools and hospitals, supporting the manufacturing sector and institution building. I wish to further renew our commitment to make the peace process succeed as a strategic choice that benefits our people. All of this is part of our hope to see the peace process succeed and to realize the right of our people to live in an independent state. This is the only basis on which peace can be ensured and the development of our Palestinian people guaranteed.

Once again, I wish to thank you wholeheartedly, in my name and the name of the Palestinian people, for the support you have given us for the past few years. I take this opportunity to invite you to visit Palestine, Bethlehem and Jerusalem as we are preparing for the second millenium celebration of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem.

May Peace Be Upon You All