A/44/PV.76 General Assembly

I now call on the Observer of Palestine, in accordance with resolutions 3237 (XXIX), of 22 November 1974, and 43/177, of 15 ~cember 1988. Mr. TERZI (Palestine), It is almost midnight Palestine time, and our people are all there waiting to hear the good news: 151 votes for the draft resolution, with 3 against and 1 abstention, will encourage our people that the peace process is under way. One must believe that, with a proportion of 50 to 1, the cause of justice is better served. Let me begin, Mr. President, by expressing great appreciation of your unending efforts to overcome an obstacle that was unnecessarily raised by big announcements from Washington, the capital of the United States. I also wish to express great appreciation, on behalf of my people, those who are listening to us now, of the effortq of the spbnsors of draft resolution A/44/L.SO and, more than appreciation, resPect for their decision to yield to your appeal. The matter is still going on, the struggle is long, but we shall persevere. The 1S1 votes give us greater conviction that come next summer the Secretarv-General will not tell us that he could not convene the International Peace Conference on the Middle East because one member of the Securit.y Council does not believe in the process. We believe that that one member which has pro~ed to be the obstacle may now yield to 151 other States and join in the peace process. Last yea r President Arafat presented our peace initia tive to the Assembly, albeit in a different locale, and we are committed to pursuing that peace initiative. We all well recall that three weeks ago the General Assembly almost unanimously endorsed a resolution on enha~cing international peace, security and international co-operation in all its aspects in accordance with the Charter of the Uni ted Na tions. We are delighted that at last the principles of the O1arter have been reaffirmed. We know it took quite some time, but finally that re&ffirmation became a reality. Everybody supported the resolution, but there is a heavier resPOnsibility on those that sponsored it to adhere to what it says. At this point it is important to refer to the declared post tion of the Uni tP.d States Government as set out in the statement made on 1 Oacember. We admit that the aim of affl move should be a comprehensive settlement and \fe believe that it il=! a positive step by the United States Government to suggest that such a comprehensive settlement should be -based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) ••• and legitimate political rights for the Palestinian people." (A/44/PV.70; p. 13) Yet, in thal same statement on 1 December, the representatiqe of the United States said, -the United StatP.s does not ~upport the creation of an independent Palestinian State, nor can we support annexation or permanent Israeli ••• control of the West Bank and Gaza. et (~.) ~Mr. Terzi, Palestine) I wonder what the [ep~esentative of the United States wants. What plan does he have? Here we pause to ask another QUestion. What are the legi timate palitical rights of the Palestinian people? Are not independence and freedom and all that those concepts imply political rig~ts? Againp it is clearly indicated in t~at statement that (~.) ... ·Principles alone, however, are not enough to move the parties forward There is an admission there that principles are the prime factor, if we do not adhere to principles the world will be dealing with methods alien or even contrary to what the United Nations was establis~ed for. Among the principles enshrined in the Charter is the principle of self-determination. Only yesterday, 5 December, the representative of the United States said in a statement that was distributed here: ROur Declaration of Independence contains principles that have inspired the people of the world as they have sought self-determination." Strange, is it not? We read in 'the Congressional Record of 5 June 1986 a letter addressed to the Hon. Lee Hamilton l7/ the Department of State, which says, .!.nter alia, "The te~m 'self-dete rmination' has in the Middle East context come to connote the establishment of a Palestinian State. The united States does not support the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. Therefore such a reference ll - thllt is, to self-detel::mination - "is i\Ot consistent with United States POl icy. a I wonder whethe~ self-determination means different thinqs in different places. That is a matter that one should ponder on, particularly when dealing ",1 th the Government of the United States. (Mr. Terzi, Palestine) Th.~ resolution that "'as acbpted on "Enhancinq international peace. security and international co~peration in all its aspects in accordance ",ith the Charter of the Uni ted Nil tions", represents a landmark for us Palestin ians. It "'as sponsored by the United States. the Soviet Union and the members of the Security Council, among others, and this was probably the first time the General Assembly witnessed such joint constructive action. We believed it aug~red well, narticularly since it affirned adherence to the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. So we hailed it then. The Palestinian people believed - or made themselves believe - that the Un! ted Sta tes had acbpted a significant stand in its "principled positions". But we have yet to see a concrete ~ealization of that position, and, unfortunately, only yesterday tile representative of the United States said something auite different. But, again, how did the entire story start here? I shall not speak about 1917 or 1947, however, when one reads history one learns a great deal. Thus, in a letter marked "Top Secret" and dated 19 January 1949, from the then Acting Secretary of State, Rebert A. Iovett, to Mr. Mark F. Ethridge, the American representative on the Palestine Conciliation Commission, a basic position was set forth for guidance, as follows, "Disposition of Arab Palestine" - just dispose of it, and here is how to do it - "U. S. favours incorpora tion of grea ter part of Arab Palestine in Trans-Jordan. The remainder might be divided among other Arah States as seems desirable. " What does that mean? Was it just a free-far-all? The~ were not satisfied with partition only, they loIanted the mini-partition to be a mini-mini-partition. Those directives were issued notlolithstandinq the so-called commitment by the Uni ted Sta tea to carry out the terms of the parti tion plan. And what do we read in that partition plan? (Mr. Terzi. Palestine) "Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem ••• shall come into existence in Palestine ••• ". (resolution 181 (U), part I A, para. 3) We also read that the General Assembly called upon the inhabitants of Palestine to take such steps as might be necessary on their part to put th~ plan into effect. In its wisdom, the General Assemhly was also prepared for some eventualities when it stressed that I "The period between the adoption hy the General Assembly of its recommendation on the auestion of Palestine and the estahlishw~nt of the independence of the Arab and Jewish States shall be a transitional period." (ibid., para. 4) There was no prescription. There was no time-limit. We are all aware that in November 1988 the Palestine National Council, on behalf of the Palestinian people, took such a step and proclaimed the independent State of Palestine. Yes, it is under foreign occupation, we all admit that. And then, when we say "accept resolution 181 (11), with all that it implies", we are t.old "then we will not pay you lOOney any lOOre". That is an act of financ ial terrorism. If anything is to be deduced from that., it is that the United States Government was never in favour of respecting its international legal obligations in so far as such obligations are related to the future of peace in the Middle East and to the future of the Palestinian people and Palestin ian terd tory - he it independence or sel. f-deterl'llination. (Mr. Terzi, Palestine) (spOke in Arabic) In a few days time, the llPrising of our Palestinian people will enter its third year. The intifidah has over the past two years made enormou.q strides. Our people will persist in its glorious uprising, demonst~ating heroism and making sacrifices towards ending the occupa tion and establ ishing an independent Sta te of Palestine. One historical inevitability is that the people eventually will win. The Uni ted Sta tes Mministra tion fully recognizes this fact. Being aware of the inevitable victory of the Palestinian people and the eventual establishment of the independent sovereign State of Palestine on the land of Palestine, it knows that this victory and this State will inevitably be realized. Thus, the authorities in Washington, D.C. resort to all possible means in order to put spikes in the wheel of history in a bid to impede or postpone this historical inevitability. The State of Palestine does exist, irrespective of all the pressure tactics, blacknail and threats of financial sanctions against the United Nations, in the form of withholding assessed contributions to the budget of the United Nations and its agencies. The escalation of the Palestinian uprising and the intensification of poli tical action, led by the Palestine Libera tion Organiza tion (PLO), which represents the provisional Government of Palestine, are factors that must be borne in mind a t all times. Our favourable respOnse to your appeal, Mr. President, not to press for a vote on the draft resolution in Question represents a constructive steP. However, we maintain that the draft resolution remains valid and relevant, and we intend to resubmit it at a more appropriate time. At this time, what we have to do is pursue fiUt efforts until the time is ripe, even though the United States Administration (Mr. Terzi, Palestine) might opt to maintain its obdurate position, because t.he right of the Palestinian people is certainly too strong to be compromised by United States threats and blackmail. <continued in English) As we are approaching Christmas, would it really be too much - or too unrealistic - to hope that come next Christmas, in 1990, we shall all be toqether to celebrate in ~ home town and in Bethlehem, the shepherds' field and Beit Sahur a merry and peaceful Christmas, and a future of peaceful coexistence amongst peoples and Stat~s? The PRES IDENT, We have thu4 concluded this stage of our conside ration of agenda item 39. The meeting rose at 4.50 p.m. (M~. Ter~i, Palesti~)