| | MIN. AL-SHARA: (Through
interpreter.) Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, ladies and gentlemen. Three
months ago, our council unanimously adopted Resolution 1441. Syria joined the
unanimity after receiving assurances and clarifications that voting in favor of
the resolution meant proceeding seriously towards a peaceful resolution to the
issue of disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and that the resolution
would not be used as a pretext for waging war against Iraq. Mr. President,
our region stands at a grave crossroads, teetering between war and peace. Our
region has tremendously suffered the scourge of many wars, and continues to this
very day to bear the brunt of a racist policy against the defenseless Palestinian
people, a policy based on occupation and settlement, and bent on destroying man
and nature.
We have been advised since 1973 to seek, through our policies,
a peaceful settlement for the Arab-Israeli conflict, to normalize relations with
Israel and to cooperate with it in different fields, despite the fact that Israel,
first, continues to occupy Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese territories, to build
settlements thereon and to threaten its neighbors; second, Israel continues to
possess all kinds of weapons of mass destruction, to be exclusively in possession
of nuclear weapons, and to reject any international oversight or inspection, unlike
the states of the Middle East that accepted such international oversight and inspection;
and third, Israel continues to defy all the United Nations resolutions, over 500
of them, 31 of which were adopted by the Security Council, and refuses to recognize
an independent Palestinian state endorsed by the international community, including
the United States of America. And even when the United States of America voted
on the resolutions, these resolutions remain
"dead letter"; as we
say in Arabic, "ink on paper."
The ink has faded lately, the
paper yellowed, and miraculously Sharon became a man of peace.
Against
this backdrop, allow me to ask: Where does today's Iraq stand? Hadn't Iraq recognized
the state of Kuwait and its international borders that were demarcated by the
Security Council?
Weren't no-fly zones imposed on Iraq in the northern
and southern parts of the country, without legal terms of reference to justify
such a ban? Hasn't Iraq opened all its doors, without conditions or reservations,
to the inspectors, and hasn't it cooperated with them positively at a time when
Israel rejected any form of inspection over its nuclear facilities?
Against
this paradoxical background, aren't many justified to
wonder also whether
such policies are indicative of double standards?
Or perhaps we are
to construe that the real danger lies in the fact that these policies are deliberately
designed to put Iraq and Palestine, in particular, and the Arabs and Muslims,
in general, in a bind and jeopardize their present and their future. Wouldn't
these policies also impact the vital interests of the world at large?
We are in favor of a peaceful solution to the question of Iraq.
Common sense
also dictates that there be no alternative to this solution. We, as neighbors
of Iraq, with considerable experience in what is going on around us, understand
more than anyone else that this is the first war in the Middle East region unanimously
rejected by the Arabs. The majority, the great majority, of the people of the
world are saying no to this war.
This war will result in grave consequences
for the unity and
integrity of Iraq and its people. It will spill over to
the entire
region.
The war will lead to total anarchy, benefiting
solely those who take it upon themselves to spread fear and destruction everywhere.
Those who are beating the drums for war make no secret of their objective,
which is not disarming Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction; rather, they have
a hidden agenda that they are seeking to implement through the entire region,
the prelude to which is their war against Iraq. Had they really been seeking the
elimination of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, they would have done so by
supporting the work of the inspectors and granting them enough time to accomplish
what they were set out to do.
Mr. President, we support the peaceful
solution to the question of Iraq because we also believe that the war option will
erode the international coalition to combat terrorism. The first signs of this
erosion have already surfaced on the Afghan theater. We will spare you any details
with which we assume you are all too familiar.
The simple thought that
war would be one of the options before the Security Council is by itself a proof
not only of the failure of the Security Council to discharge of its task, but
also that of the entire international order. Under these circumstances, we believe
that there is no alternative to respecting the Charter of the United Nations and
using its institutions to safeguard world peace, security and prosperity, instead
of putting the world for months on the edge of a volcano.
The efforts
made by prominent members of the Security Council to stress the need to pursue
a peaceful solution in order to implement Security Council Resolution 1441 gives
us hope that the world order is still in good shape.
In this context,
we recognize the French, German, Russian and Chinese efforts, as well as those
of the majority of the Security Council members, devoted entirely to the promotion
of the United Nations, its charter, and the central role it should play. Such
efforts should be appreciated by us all.
We have considered the French
proposals to strengthen the work of the inspectors. Inspections have brought about
considerable achievements that could not be otherwise realized by military force.
Therefore, we support the French ideas because they are an alternative
to war. They constitute the basis or strengthening the inspections regime so as
to allow it to fulfill the task entrusted to it as soon as possible.
The fulfillment of this task will immediately lead to the lifting, through appropriate
measures, of the sanctions imposed on
Iraq under Security Council Resolution
687. It would also lead to the activation of Paragraph 14 of that resolution,
which calls for the declaration of the Middle East as a zone free from all weapons
of mass destruction -- nuclear, bacteriological and chemical -- without excepting
any state, including Israel, which alone has acquired all of those lethal weapons.
Mr. President, in conclusion, I say it is truly a historic
moment. War
in the 21st century is not a game. It has become a tragedy condemnable by history.
Let us work for peace, because we can achieve peace if we pursue it in good faith,
with strong determination and armed with the political will. These requirements
are readily available among those who are faithful to the charter of the United
Nations, a charter, when all is said and done, remains the sole authority capable
of maintaining world peace and security.
Thank you, sir. | |
