|
Statement by
New York, 2 December 2002 Mr. President, Let me begin by expressing the appreciation of my delegation to the Secretary-General for his valuable report on the Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine. I would also like to welcome the comprehensive report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, of which Indonesia is currently a member. This report contains extensive insight into the situation concerning the question of Palestine in the past year. Both reports underline what we already know concerning the difficulties being faced by the peace process, and collectively supply us with a firm grasp of recent developments by helpful facts and figures. The reports are unanimous about the vast number of Palestinian lives lost in the conflict since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa intifada in September 2000: about 18,000. They put the number of those injured at between 25,000 and 37,000. The Committee reports that some 2,500 of those injured have been left with permanent disabilities. Mr. President, Two years ago, it was our hope and our faith that the Millennium Summit had given fresh impetus to the quest of man for peace not only for himself, but also for others. The coming together of world leaders to reaffirm the Charter of the United Nations and chart a new way forward was the reassurance we needed that the important social, political and economic issues of the day, including the desire of all peoples to enjoy self-determination, would be seriously addressed. For the Palestinian people, those hopes tend to have drifted further and further away in the past year. From the great heights of optimism in September 2000, the historic month which not only saw the coming of the Millennium Declaration but also the decision of Palestinian leaders to defer a decision on the declaration of a Palestinian state until the conclusion of a final peace agreement, we stand today at a point where the prospects of peace lie under the tires of Israeli tanks and trucks visiting deadly force all over Palestinian territory. In the reports before us is a disturbing picture of the mayhem that the Committee has described as “the steady escalation and expansion of the geographic scope of Israeli military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” This has led not only to the heavy death and injury toll about which I have just spoken, but also great damage to Palestinian infrastructure, further deterioration in the humanitarian situation, unprecedented economic destruction, increased tension in the Occupied Territories, and great damage to the peace process. In the Jenin refugee camp alone, Israel’s military activity brought untold destruction and suffering to about 14,000 refugees. I am sure that everyone here remembers that the events in that camp directly led to the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 1405 (2000). Unfortunately, the fact-finding team set up by the Secretary-General to establish an accurate picture of what happened in the camp eventually had to be disbanded following Israel’s refusal to cooperate with it. Mr. President, Rather than invest in peace, Israel, before the eyes of the entire world, embarked on the path of State terrorism: taking and retaking entire towns and villages, deliberately destroying infrastructure, blockading, starving and terrorizing the population, imposing unilateral closures and curfews, deporting civilians from their homes or assassinating them as it so chose on the day. Before our very eyes, inevitably, the peace process was put in danger, the humanitarian situation and the economic life of Palestinians continued to worsen, and human rights violations became the order of the day. It is the strong opinion of my delegation, an opinion that we do not tire of reiterating, that it is the responsibility of the international community, and especially the Security Council, to continue the search for the road to peace in the Middle East. In this regard, we support the efforts of the Committee to continue the mobilization of the international community in support of the Palestinian people, in the execution of its mandate. Indonesia would continue to support ongoing international peace efforts based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and on the fundamental principle of land for peace. Israel must make a commitment to the implementation of those resolutions. Israel must avoid the temptation to close the roads back to the peace process through the deliberate use of policies that negate peace. Towards this end, we are pleased at the work of the Council in the past year, including its widely acknowledged vision of two States: Palestine and Israel. We strongly believe that this vision, encapsulated in resolution 1397 (2002), which provides for both nations to live side by side within secure, internationally recognized borders, can end the cycle of violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Similarly, we recognize and encourage the work and efforts of the Quartet, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative that was adopted in March 2002. It is important that the United Nations continues to accept its historic responsibility for the issue of Palestine. The increased suffering and injustice that the people of Palestine have suffered in the past year make it imperative that the United Nations reaffirms its solidarity with the people of Palestine as they continue their struggle for justice and peace, and insist that the Government of Israel abide by the resolutions of our Organization. As we have said in the past, as long as the inalienable right of the Palestinians to self-determination is being violated with impunity, there can be no lasting peace in that part of the world. We reiterate our call on Israel to recognize that there can be no military solution to the situation in Palestine. The path to peace and stability lies through the implementation of United Nations resolutions and working within the ambit of the international community. Indeed, the solution to the core issue of Palestine would accordingly contribute to the comprehensive settlement of all aspects of the problems in the Middle East. Thank you, Mr. President.
|
