Address by President Nelson Mandela at the International Day
of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
4 December 1997, Pretoria
Mr. Chairman;
Mr. Suleyman al-Najab,
Special Emissary of President Yasser Arafat;
Members of the diplomatic corps;
Distinguished Guests,
We have assembled once again as South Africans, our
Palestinian guests and as humanists to express our solidarity with the people
of Palestine.
I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the
organisers of the event, particularly the United Nations Information Centre and
the UNISA Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies for this magnificent act of
compassion, to keep the flames of solidarity, justice and freedom burning.
The temptation in our situation is to speak in muffled tones
about an issue such as the right of the people of Palestine to a state of their
own. We can easily be enticed to read reconciliation and fairness as meaning
parity between justice and injustice. Having achieved our own freedom, we can
fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others faces.
Yet we would be less than human if we did so.
It behoves all South Africans, themselves erstwhile
beneficiaries of generous international support, to stand up and be counted
among those contributing actively to the cause of freedom and justice.
Even during the days of negotiations, our own experience
taught us that the pursuit of human fraternity and equality - irrespective of
race or religion - should stand at the centre of our peaceful endeavours. The
choice is not between freedom and justice, on the one hand, and their opposite,
on the other. Peace and prosperity; tranquility and security are only possible
if these are enjoyed by all without discrimination.
It is in this spirit that I have come to join you today to
add our own voice to the universal call for Palestinian self-determination and
statehood.
We would be beneath our own reason for existence as
government and as a nation, if the resolution of the problems of the Middle
East did not feature prominently on our agenda.
When in 1977, the United Nations passed the resolution
inaugurating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people,
it was asserting the recognition that injustice and gross human rights
violations were being perpetrated in Palestine. In the same period, the UN took
a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international
consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system.
But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without
the freedom of the Palestinians; without the resolution of conflicts in East
Timor, the Sudan and other parts of the world.
We are proud as a government, and as the overwhelming
majority of South Africans to be part of an international consensus taking root
that the time has come to resolve the problems of Palestine.
Indeed, all of us marvelled at the progress made a few years
ago, with the adoption of the Oslo Agreements. Leaders of vision, who saw
problems not merely from the point of view of their own narrow constituency,
had at least found a workable approach towards friendship and peaceful
co-existence in the Middle East.
I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to these
Palestinian and Israeli leaders. In particular, we pay homage to the memory of
Yitshak Rabin who paid the supreme sacrifice in pursuit of peace.
We are proud as humanists, that the international consensus
on the need for the implementation of the Oslo Agreements is finding expression
in the efforts of the multitude of Israeli and Palestinian citizens of goodwill
who are marching together, campaigning together, for an end to prevarication.
These soldiers of peace are indeed sending a message to us all, that the day is
not far off, when Palestinian and Jewish children will enjoy the gay abandon of
children of God in a peaceful and prosperous region.
These soldiers of peace recognise that the world we live in
is rising above the trappings of religious and racial hatred and conflict. They
recognise that the spurning of agreements reached in good faith and the
forceful occupation of land can only fan the flames of conflict. They know from
their own experience that, it is in a situation such as this, that extremists
on all sides thrive, fed by the blood lust of centuries gone by.
These Palestinian and Israeli campaigners for peace know
that security for any nation is not abstract; neither is it exclusive. It
depends on the security of others; it depends on mutual respect and trust.
Indeed, these soldiers of peace know that their destiny is bound together, and
that none can be at peace while others wallow in poverty and insecurity.
Thus, in extending our hands across the miles to the people
of Palestine, we do so in the full knowledge that we are part of a humanity
that is at one, that the time has come for progress in the implementation of
agreements. The majority of the world community; the majority of the people of
the Middle East; the majority of Israelis and Palestinians are suing for peace.
But we know, Mr. Chairman, that all of us need to do much
much more to ensure that this noble ideal is realised.
As early as February 1995, our government formalised its
relations with the State of Palestine when we established full diplomatic
relations. We are proud of the modest technical assistance that our government
is offering Palestine in such areas as Disaster Management, women`s empowerment
and assistance to handicapped children. But the various discussions with our
counterparts in Palestine are an indication that we can do more.
We need to do more as government, as the ANC and other
parties, as South Africans of all religious and political persuasions to spur
on the peace process. All of us should be as vocal in condemning violence and
the violation of human rights in this part of the world as we do with regard to
other areas. We need to send a strong message to all concerned that an attempt
by anyone to isolate partners in negotiations from their own mass base; and
attempt to co-opt tes is bound to hurt the peace process as a whole.
We must make our voices heard calling for stronger action by
world bodies as well as those states that have the power, to act with the same
enthusiasm in dealing with this deadlock as they do on other problems in the
Middle East.
Yes, all of us need to do more in supporting the struggle of
the people of Palestine for self-determination; in supporting the quest for
peace, security and friendship in this region.
But at least we can draw comfort from the fact that, our
meeting today is yet another small expression of our empathy.
We hope that, by this humble act, we are strengthening the
voice of peace and friendship in Israel and Palestine; so that, as we enter the
new millennium, we shall all have taken a giant stride towards a world in which
our humanity will be the hallmark of our relations across colour, religious and
other divides.
I thank you.
