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THE PEACE PROCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

1995-04-12

THE PEACE PROCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

By

Amine Gemayel

* * *

English Speaking Union
Cercle National Des Armées
Paris, April 12th, 1995

LADIES AND GENTELMEN

MAY I FIRST BEGIN BY THANKING THE ENGLISH SPEAKING UNION OF FRANCE FOR THEIR KIND INVITATION TO ME TO COME AND SPEAK TO THIS MOST DISTINGUISHED AUDIENCE.
TWO THOUGHTS CROSSED MY MIND WHEN I WAS ASKED TO SPEAK ON THE SUBJECT OF THE PEACE PROCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THE FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT HERE I WAS AN ARAB AND A LEBANESE IN FRANCE INVITED TO SPEAK IN ENGLISH ABOUT LEBANON AND THE ARAB WORLD. THIS IN ITSELF SEEMS TO EMPHASISE THE FACT THAT IN MANY QUARTERS THERE EXISTS AN APPRECIATION FOR THE ROLE THAT LEBANON HAS PLAYED IN THE PAST AND WHICH IT CAN PLAY TODAY. LEBANON HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MEETING POINT OF THOUGHTS AND IDEAS, HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A SOIL IN WHICH TOLERANCE AMONG RACES AND FAITHS HAS ALWAYS THRIVED. AND AS I AM SPEAKING TO YOU NOW I AM FULLY AWARE THAT AS A LEBANESE AND AN ARAB. I AND EACH OF MY FELLOW COUNTRYMEN HAVE A CONTRIBUTION TO MAKE TOWARDS CREATING A MORE TOLERANT AND PEACEFUL MIDDLE EAST. EVEN AFTER A LONG PERIOD OF SUFFERING, TRAGEDY AND WAR, LEBANON IS STILL IN ESSENCE THE MOST TOLERANT AND DIVERSIFIED SOCIETY IN OUR REGION.

THE SECOND THOUGHT THAT CROSSED MY MIND WAS THAT INDEED THE WORLD HAS BECOME A GLOBAL VILLAGE. THAT WE WHO INHABIT THIS PLANET OF OURS HAVE BECOME INTER-DEPENDENT, TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT EVERY ISSUE THAT CHALLENGES ANY ONE OF US, EQUALY CHALLENGES ALL OF US. PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS, THEREFORE, AS RELEVANT TO THE INTERESTS OF FRANCE, THE UNITED KINGDOM, OR THE UNITED STATES AS ANY NATIONAL ISSUE. YES, INDEED, THE WEB THAT HOLDS US ALL TOGETHER, IF BROKEN IN ONE PART, ENDANGERS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE OTHER PARTS.

MY SUBJECT TONIGHT IS THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS, PARTICULARLY THAT ASPECT OF IT WHICH INVOLVES LEBANON. AS YOU ALL KNOW, LADIES AND GENTELMEN, PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS AS COMPLEX AS THE RELATIONSHIP THAT BIND THE SEVERAL GOVERNMENTS AND PEOPLES OF THE AREA. A PROCESS HAD BEGUN IN THE SEVENTIES WITH THE CAMP DAVID ACCORD WHICH BROUGHT ABOUT A RELATIVELY CALM STATE OF AFFAIRS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT AND THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL. THE NEXT STAGE IN THE PROCESS THUS BEGUN WAS THE OSLO NEGOCIATIONS WHICH RESULTED IN AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PLO AND THE STATE OF ISRAEL. WITHIN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME YET ANOTHER ARRANGEMENT WAS MADE THIS TIME BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JORDAN. IN OTHER WORDS THE PEACE PROCESS INCLUDED SO FAR THREE OF THE FIVE COUNTRIES WITH WHICH ISRAEL HAS A BOARDER IN COMMON. OUT OF THE EQUATION THERE STILL REMAINS LEBANON AND SYRIA.

THE IRONY OF THE SITUATION BETWEEN LEBANON AND ISRAEL IS THAT OF ALL THE COUNTRIES BOARDERING ISRAEL, LEBANON IS THE ONE WITH THE LEAST IMPEDIMENTS FOR THE CONCLUSION OF A GENUINE PEACE TREATY. THE ISSUES BETWEEN ISRAEL AND LEBANON ARE CLEAR AND SOLUBLE, AND THE LEBANESE HAVE NEVER IN THEIR HISTORY POSED A THREAT THEMSELVES TO THE SECURITY OR TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF ANY OF ITS NEIGHBOURS. LEBANESE-ISRAELI RELATIONS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INFLUENCED BY A CONSIDERATION OF THE TIES OF BLOOD AND CULTURE THAT BIND THEM TO THE REST OF THE ARAB WORLD. LEBANON IS PART OF THE ARAB WORLD AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CENTRE OF ARAB CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION. THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WHICH IS FULLY BEHIND THAT PEACE PROCESS SEEMS TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT LEBANON IS AN INDEPENDENT SOVEREIGN NATION, AND IN DEALINGS WITH THE PEACE PROCESS HAS EITHER IGNORED LEBANON OR TREATED IT AS DEPENDENT TERRITORY. THE PRESENCE OF ANY FOREIGN FORCE DIMINISHES LEBANON'S SOVEREIGNTY AND INDEPENDENCE AND DELAYS THE PEACE PROCESS IN LEBANON ITSELF.

IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR US TO PAUSE A WHILE AND TAKE STOCK OF WHAT THE PEACE PROCESS HAS ACHIEVED SO FAR. IT IS OF COURSE UNDENIABLE THAT ANY PROGRESS TOWARDS PEACE IS TO BE COMMENDED, ENCOURAGED AND STRENGTHENED. IN FACT THE PEACE AGREEMENTS AT CAMP DAVID, OSLO AND WADI ARABA HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.

ALTHOUGH WE SHOULD ALL DEDICATE ALL OUR EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN THE PEACE PROCESS AND EXTEND ITS MANDATE, WE NEVER THE LESS MUST INSIST THAT PEACE SHOULD MEAN PEACE. THAT IT IS NOT A TREATY SIGNED, OR AN ECONOMIC ARRANGEMENT MADE, OR A POLITICAL ACCOMODATION REACHED; PEACE IS AN ATITUDE, A STATE OF MIND, A CONDITION OF THE INNER SELF. THE PEACE WE HAVE SEEN ARRIVED AT SO FAR HAS BEEN A PEACE ON PAPER. A PEACE BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS, A PEACE IN WHICH PEOPLE SPEAK OF INSULATING THEMSELVES FROM OTHERS BY BUILDING WALLS WITH WHICH TO SURROUND THEMSELVES. IT HAS NEVER BEEN A PEACE BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF THE AREA. VIOLENCE IS STILL RIFE: CAR BOMBS, SUICIDAL ATTACKS, SENSELESS ACTS OF MURDER, MASSACRES... ALL THESE CAN ONLY BE CONTAINED WHEN THE PEOPLES OF EACH COUNTRY ESPOUSE THE CAUSE OF PEACE AND BECOME PART OF THE PEACE PROCESS.

THE PATH TO PEACE FOR THE WHOLE REGION STILL LIES OPEN BEFORE US. NEVER BEFORE HAS THERE BEEN SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY IF WELL EXPLOITED WILL RESULT IN A REAL BREAKTHROUGH TO BRING ABOUT THE COMPREHENSIVE AND UNIVERSAL PEACE WE ALL DESIRE: A PEACE AMONG THE PEOPLES OF THE REGION. A PEACE OF HEARTS AND MINDS. IF WE, ON THE OTHER HAND, LOSE THIS OPPORTUNITY THERE WILL BE A BREAKDOWN. TO BREAK THROUGH INTO A FUTURE OF PROMISE, POSSIBILITIES AND REAL PEACE, THE PEOPLES OF THE REGION MUST STRIVE TO TRANSFORM THEIR SOCIETIES AND THEIR OWN SELVES.
THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE, FOR THE FORCES OF EXTREMISM ARE GATHERING MOMENTUM. AND THE CURRENT CLIMATE OF A PEACE RELUCTANTLY ENTERED INTO BY ALL SIDES IS NO GUARANTEE FOR A DURABLE PEACE. A PEACE OF ISOLATION IS ONLY A SUSPENSION OF HOSTILITY.

WHAT THEN DO I MEAN BY "PEACE AMONG THE PEOPLES OF THE REGION"? THERE ARE SEVERAL PREREQUISITES FOR THE CREATION OF SUCH PEACE:

THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS A STATE OF AFFAIRS WHEN WE WILL ALL FEEL THAT WE ARE PARTNERS IN PEACE, COULD BE SAID TO EXIST IN THE PROCESS OF DIALOGUE. THIS IS AN IMPLICIT RECOGNITION THAT UNLIKE MUST SPEAK TO UNLIKE IN ORDER FOR EACH TO COME TO A MORE POSITIVE AWARENESS OF THE OTHER'S UNLIKENESS. THIS DIALOGUE SHOULD IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR REGION BE NOT ONLY A POLICAL DIALOGUE, BUT ALSO A RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL ONE. THERE SHOULD BE A GENUINE ATTEMPT AND A POSITIVE DESIRE TO ESTABLISH BONDS OF UNITY BETWEEN FOLLOWERS OF DIFFERENT FAITHS.

IT DOES HOWEVER REQUIRE THE FOLLOWERS OF THE THREE MAJOR MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS TO BREAKDOWN THE WALLS OF RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVISM. LEADERS OF RELIGIOUS THOUGHT SHOULD ENTER INTO SUCH DIALOGUE, INVOLVE THE RANK AND FILE OF THEIR FOLLOWERS.

INITIATION OF RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE WHICH WE HAD BEGUN IN LEBANON BETWEEN 1982 AND 1988 PROVIDED MUCH TO FURNISH US TODAY WITH THE INSTRUMENTS FOR THE BUILDING OF MODELS OF TOLERANCE AND RELIGIOUS COEXISTENCE. WHILE IN THE PAST, IT WAS POSSIPLE IN THE EYES OF THE MOST POWERFULL, EVEN DESIRABLE, TO IGNORE THE CLAIMS OF OTHER FAITHS BESIDES ONE'S OWN, IN THE SHRINKING WORLD OF THE LAST DAYS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IT IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO DO SO.

CONCOMITANT WITH THE INITIATION OF INTELLIGENT RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL DIALOGUE IS THE EMERGENCE OF A UNIFIED APPROACH TO THE WHOLE QUESTION OF DEVELOPMENT. PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT CAN MATERIALIZE ONLY SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE DISPARITY BETWEEN ISRAEL AND ITS ARAB NEIGHBOURS IN TERMS OF MATERIAL RESOURCES AND PROGRESS WILL HAVE TO BE ADRESSED WITHOUT DELAY. WHAT IS NEEDED IS A "PLURALISTIC UNIVERSALISM" IN WHICH WE CAN AGREE TO DEVELOP EACH ACCORDING TO HIS OR HER VALUES AND CAPACITY TO DIALOGUE. COLLECTIVE SURVIVAL CAN ONLY BE POSSIBLE THROUGH CULTURAL IDENTITY AND CULTURAL PLURALISM EXPRESSED IN EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES.

THE CHALLENGE FACING THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, THE ARAB NATIONS AND ISRAEL IS NO OTHER THAN THE CREATION OF A VISION OF THE COLLECTIVE DESTINY OF THE PEOPLES OF THE REGIONS. WE MUST BECOME REAL PARTNERS IN DEVELOPMENT, EQUAL PARTNERS, FOR ONLY WITH A CHANGE IN THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF THE CITIZENS OF THE REGION WILL PEACE ESTABLISH ITSELF. ONCE THE LIVELIHOOD OF JEWS AND ARABS BECOME INTERDEPENDENT, AND ONCE THE BENEFITS OF PEACE BECOME FELT BY ALL, COOPERATION WILL INCREASE AND PEACE WILL BE CONSOLIDATED. IF WE ARE CREATING A NEW SOCIETY IN THE REGION, WE MUST MAKE SURE THAT AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO ESTABLISH SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL THE PARTIES CONCERNED. THERE CAN BE NO DEVELOPMENT UNLESS THE PARTIES CONCERNED ACCEPT THE PRINCIPLE OF COMPREHENSIVE DISARMAMENT AND THE OBLITERATION OF ALL WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

AND FINALLY THERE ARE SEVERAL MAJOR REQUIREMENTS TO BE FULFILLED. THE FIRST IS THE WIDENING OF DEMOCRATIC PRACTICES AFFECTING THE POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE NATIONS OF THE REGION. TRUE DEMOCRACIES RARELY WAGE WAR, TRUE DEMOCRACIES UPHOLD THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN RIGHTS AS A MATTER OF FACT THERE CAN BE NO PEACE IN THE REGION UNTIL THERE IS A GENIUNE COMMITMENT TO THE IDEALS OF HUMAN RIGHTS, AND UNLESS THE RIGHT OF ALL MINORITY GROUPS IS JEALOUSLY GUARDED AND GUARANTEED BY THE CONSCIENCE OF BOTH THE STATE AND ITS INDIVIDUAL SUBJECTS. DEMOCRACY BY ITS VERY NATURE AND PHILOSOPHY IS INCLUSIVE AND CAN NEVER BE EXCLUSIVE. THAT IS WHY WITHIN A DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM ALL RELIGIONS ARE RECOGNIZED AND RESPECTED AND NONE IS RAISED ABOVE ANY OTHER. IN A DEMOCRACY WOMEN'S RIGHTS BECOME AN ISSUE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE.

BUT DEMOCRACY LIKE PEACE IS NOT A SET OF POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, DEMOCRACY IS AN INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL ATTITUDE. THAT IS WHY ALL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS IN THE REGION MUST REFASHION THE SCHOLASTIC CURRICULA AND DESIGN NEW METHODS FOR EDUCATING THE NEW CITIZENS OF A REGION ENTERING A NEW ERA OF PEACE AND CO-EXISTENCE.

ULTIMATELY WE (ALL OF US WHO WANT PEACE AND ARE READY TO WORK FOR IT) MUST DEVELOP A UNIFIED AND INTEGRATED VISION OF THE WORLD, OUR REGION, AND OF HUMAN HISTORY. THERE CANNOT BE AN ISRAELI VERSION OF PEACE, NOR CAN THERE BE AN ARAB VERSION OF PEACE. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE VERSION OF PEACE ACCOMPANIED BY A DEEP-SEATED UNITY OF CONSCIENCE, OUTLOOK AND BELIEF. WITHOUT SUCH A SEA CHANGE IN SOCIETY (ISRAELIS MUST CHANGE, WE MUST CHANGE), A THOROUGH GOING SPIRITUAL REORIENTATION TOWARDS UNITY OF PURPOSE, NO EFFORT TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW SOCIETY CAN ULTIMATELY SUCCEED. THE ENGENDERING IN THE MASSES OF THE PEOPLES OF THE REGION OF A PROFOUND AND ALL-EMBRACING ASPIRATION TOWARDS PEACE DEPENDS ON OUR ABILITY TO BRING TRANQUILLITY AND PROSPERITY TO OUR TROUBLED REGION. WITHOUT IT, THE GENIUNE PEACE, THE PEACE AMONG THE PEOPLES OF THE REGION, THE DURABLE JUST PEACE WE ALL DESIRE, WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE.

THIS NEW SOCIETY THEN MUST ENUST THE VOLANTARY SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLES OF THE REGION. EACH NATION MUST ENTER THE PEACE PROCESS FREED FROM THE INFLUENCE OF ANY OF ITS NEIGHBOURS. EACH MUST BE ENTITLED TO DEMAND FOR ITSELF THOSE GUARANREES THAT WILL PROTECT ITS TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. A PEACE SETTLEMENT WHICH IS REACHED WITHOUT ALLOWING THE LEBANESE PEOPLE TO HAVE A SAY IN IT, WOULD ONLY BE A TIME BOMB THAT WILL EXPLOSE IN THE NOT DISTANT FUTURE.

IN THIS CONTEST, WE MUST NOT CREATE A MIDDLE EASTERN MUNICH. WE MOST NOT FORGET THE LESSONS OF YOUGOSLAVIA AND CHECHENYA. PEACE IN OUR TIME MUST MEAN A PEACE. BASED ON, AND UPHELD BY, THE WHOLEHEATED SUPPORT OF EACH MEMBER OF THE FAMILY OF NATIONS THAT FORM OUR VERY UNIQUE AND SPECIAL REGION. IF WE WERE TO IGNORE THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION, THE SOVEREIGNTY AND INDEPENDENCE OF ANY ONE NATION, WE WOULD CREATE A SITUATION THAT WILL IN TIME REVERSE THE PEACE PROCESS AND USHER US INTO A NEW CYCLE OF WAR AND VIOLENCE. IT IS IMPERATIVE, THEREFORE, TO ALLOW THE LEBANESE PEOPLE TO ENTER THE PEACE PROCESS AS AN INDEPENDENT AND FREE NATION, AND REMOVE ANY PRESSURES THAT MIGHT FALSIFY THEIR LEGITIMATE ASPIRATIONS FOR PEACE. LEBANON CAN NOT BE IGNORED. LEBANON REMAINS THE HEART OF THA PEACE PROCESS; IN ITS HISTORY AND MAKE UP REPRESENTS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT IN COEXISTENCE AND TOLERANCE. LEBANON IS STILL UNIQUE IN SO MANY WAYS, PARTICULARLY IN ITS GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND ITS ADMIXTURE OF ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS. NO PEOPLES IN THE REGION, AS THE LEBANESE, ARE AWARE OF THE INESTIMABLE BLESSINGS THAT FLOW FROM THE HARMONIOUS COEXISTENCE OF DIFFERING PEOPLE AND FAITHS.

WE MUST HELP LEBANON REGAIN THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE, TO ASSIST THE LEBANESE PEOPLE AND ENABLE THEM TO RESTORE FOR THE REGION AND THE WORLD THE LEBANON WE ALL LOVED, THE LEBANON OF CO-EXISTENCE, OF INTER-RELIGIOUS UNDERSTANDING, THE LEBANON OF CULTURAL PLURALISM, OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS, OF THE FREE PRESS, OF INTELLECTUAL ACHIEVEMENT, OF ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL DYNAMISM, AND HUMANITARIANS CONTRIBUTIONS. THE LESSON HAS ALWAYS BEEN CLEAR, THERE CAN BE NO PEACE IN THE REGION WITHOUT A FREE, INDEPENDENT AND SOVEREIGN LEBANON. WHEN LEBANON IS THREATENED THE ENTIRE REGION THREATENED. THIS IS THE TESTIMONY OF HISTORY AND THE BITTER LESSONS OF THE LAST TWO DECADES. LEBANON, FREE AND FULL CONTROL OF ITS DESTINY, IS A PEACE MAKER AND A PROMOTER OF HARMONY AND RECONCILIATION AMONG AL ITS NEIGHBOURS.