Online NewsHour: The Syrian Response -- February 5, 2003



	THE SYRIAN RESPONSE
February 5, 2003

Syrian Ambassador to the U.N. Mikhail Wehbe urges the Security Council to opt for a peaceful solution, saying it would "probably save the lives of thousands of the potential innocent victims in Iraq," and that war would symbolize failure on the part of the U.N.

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The United Nations

AMB. MIKHAIL WEHBE (Syrian ambassador to the U.N.): (Through interpreter.) Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. President, allow me first to address our sincere condolences to the government and people of the United States of America for the tragic disaster of the Columbia space shuttle.

It is my privilege, sir, to read a text of the statement by Mr.
Farouk al Shara, the deputy premier minister for Foreign Affairs in the Syrian Arab Republic, because it was impossible for him to participate in person in our important deliberations.

I quote: It gives me pleasure to congratulate you on your
country's presiding over the Security Council during the month of February. I would like to express my confidence that leading our deliberations would probably lead us to arrive at a just settlement to the questions on our agenda, particularly arriving at a peaceful settlement of the Iraqi question on the basis of implementing Security Council Resolution 1441, which is our common objective.

It also gives me pleasure to thank France, a friend of Syria, for successfully leading the deliberations of the Security Council during last month. We'd like to thank France for the efforts they made to give precedence to the option of peace, not battle war.

We listened attentively, sir, to the information and opinions
presented by Mr. Colin Powell, the Secretary of State of the United States of America. And since the time would not allow me to discuss the contents of his statement, we believe that the way to ascertain the facts and arrive at the conclusion with regards to the irrefutable evidence would be to refer such facts to UNMOVIC and to IAEA.
We urge all member states that have accurate information on Iraq's WMD to submit such information to the inspectors so that they can assess the information, its accuracy and inform our council accordingly, hoping that we will not inundate them with information or opinions that do not stand up to the facts, so that we will not confuse them and cause a derailment from the tracks entrusted to them by the Security
Council.

Our council adopted unanimously Resolution 1441. It is no secret for us to say that Syria joined the consensus on the draft resolution after receiving guarantees and clarifications from permanent members in the council that voting in favor of the resolution will mean seriously proceeding towards a peaceful settlement of Iraq's disarmament of all weapons of mass destruction and not using this resolution as a pretext to wage war against Iraq.
The fact that some of the members of the council are talking about the need to adopt a second resolution is in our view yet a second confirmation of such explanations and guarantees.

Nevertheless, and two months after the adoption of this
resolution and after the resumption of the inspections and the fact that it has realized some reasonable progress that has not yet been met with any insurmountable obstacles, our region is at a grave crossroads, teetering between peace and war.

Thinking that war could be one of the options before the Security Council is by itself a proof of our collective failure to implement peacefully Resolution 1441.
While our council, we believe, can still make a lot of effort to arrive at a peaceful solution to the Iraq question compatible with the authority and the mandate of the Security Council in preserving international peace and security, Syria also believes that the option of war is not only a proof of the failure by the council to undertake its duties, but it is also a proof of the failure of the international system that should, in this stage, depend, more than in any other time before, on the Charter of the United Nations as a reference to bring peace to prevail all over the world.
Syria, sir, still believes in the possibility of arriving at a peaceful settlement that spares Iraq war and spares the region the dangerous repercussions of such war -- a solution that will guarantee the implementation of 1441 and probably save the lives of the thousands of the potential innocent victims in Iraq, as well as the lives of those who have crossed the continents, and would probably bring those soldiers back safely to their families.

Our peaceful conviction is compatible with the approach of the Security Council that adopted a couple of days ago a presidential statement on protecting civilians in armed conflicts and a resolution on the protection of children in armed conflicts as well.

And at a time when our council adopts one statement after the other to save innocents in many parts of the world, it is truly questionable.
How can we talk about going to war against Iraq, which
no longer occupies the territories of others, not (sic) alone
threatens its neighbors, at a time when Israel still occupies
Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territories, in violation of the United Nations Charter and its resolutions, and it threatens its neighbors every now and then?

Syria was kept abreast of the efforts made by the inspectors and also of the Iraqi cooperation with these inspectors. Those who believe that the inspections in any part of the world can be free from a problem here or an obstacle there are totally wrong.

Nevertheless, and after listening to the reports of Messrs Blix and ElBaradei, we ask, are the obstacles to which we are referred insurmountable, and do they truly deserve that a destructive war against Iraq be waged for their sake? This is the important question.

Iraq expressed, through statements by senior officials, its readiness to continue to cooperate, to enhance its cooperation, and to make yet extra efforts to arrive at a solution that is acceptable for the problems in a way that will guarantee that the inspectors would undertake their tasks as defined by the Security Council.

This requires that both parties -- Iraq and the inspectors --
should build a common denominator of trust on the basis of the cooperation by Iraq with the inspectors so that they can undertake their tasks as soon as possible, on the understanding that this will contribute to the interests of all parties concerned.
In return, the continuation by the inspectors to undertake their work objectively and in a way that will respect the sensitivities of the Iraqi people would definitely lead to building confidence, which is a desired goal between the two parties.

Therefore, Syria is calling on the Security Council to continue to support the work of the inspectors and to give them the sufficient time to undertake their task. Syria points to the Iraqi commitment to continue to cooperate actively with the inspectors and to present all what is required under 1441.
In parallel, the Security Council must undertake the measures necessary to lift the sanctions imposed on the
Iraqi people under Article 22 of 687, as well as activate Article 14 of the resolution which is calling for the declaration of the Middle East region as a zone free from all weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, bacteriological and chemical, with no exceptions of any state, including Israel, which solely requires all of these lethal weapons.

Mr. President, Syria made strenuous efforts and it went ahead and held contacts on the regional and the international level, and at the highest echelons so that we can arise at a peaceful solution to the Iraqi question on the basis of the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1441.
Syria also worked with Iraq's neighboring countries that expressed readiness to cooperate with the Security Council in the efforts to arrive at a peaceful settlement of the Iraqi question.

The deliberations that were held in Istanbul proved that Iraq does not constitute a threat to its neighbors. The message of the neighbors of Iraq to the world is, no to war, yes to peaceful solutions based on the implementation of Security Council resolutions.
This message is extremely significant because it comes from a region that has suffered from the scourge of many wars, and it is still suffering from the continued policy of occupation and destruction against the defenseless Palestinian people and against its property and legitimate rights.

The people of the world look forward to our deliberations, hoping that a peaceful settlement to the Iraqi question will be reached -- a settlement that would save the lives of thousands of the Iraqis and other people, should the military option outside the framework of international legitimacy be exercised.
Let us all work for peace, because we are capable of realizing peace if we have the good faith, the determination and the political will, and such are available among
most of the members of this council, which was entrusted by the charter to preserve the world peace and security.
This is what Syria and the Arab countries are trying to achieve, and this is what we hope the Security Council and the international community would be working towards also.
Thank you.