Arafat in Geneva: ‘Let Us Make Peace’

Excerpts from the speech by Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. He spoke in Arabic, and the English-language text was provided by the PLO:

We set out in the Palestine Liberation Organization to look for realistic and attainable formulas that would settle the issue on the basis of possible rather than absolute justice while securing the rights of our people to freedom, sovereignty and independence; ensuring for everyone peace, security and stability, and sparing Palestine and the Middle East wars and battles that have been going on for 40 years.

Israel’s response to all this has been the escalation of its settlement and annexation schemes; the fanning of the flames of conflict with more destruction, devastation and bloodshed. . . .

Our people does not want a right which is not its own or which has not been vested in it by international legitimacy and international law. It does not seek its freedom at the expense of anyone else’s freedom, nor does it want a destiny which negates the destiny of another people. Our people refuses to be better or worse than any other people. Our people wants to be the equal of all other peoples, with the same rights and obligations.

It (the Palestine National Council) has also reaffirmed its rejection of terrorism in all its forms, including state terrorism, emphasizing its commitment to its past resolutions . . . and to what was stated on this subject in the Cairo Declaration of 7 November, 1985.

This position, Mr. President, is clear and free of all ambiguity. And yet, I, as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, hereby once more declare that I condemn terrorism in all its forms , and at the same time salute those sitting before me in this hall who, in the days when they fought to free their countries from the yoke of colonialism, were accused of terrorism by their oppressors. . . .

In my capacity as chairman of the PLO Executive Committee, I therefore present the following Palestinian peace initiative:

First: That a serious effort be made to convene, under the supervision of the secretary general of the United Nations, the preparatory committee of the international conference for peace in the Middle East--in accordance with the initiative of (Soviet) President (Mikhail S.) Gorbachev and (French) President Francois Mitterrand, which President Mitterrand presented to your Assembly toward the end of last September and which was supported by many states--to pave the way for the convening of the international conference, which commands universal support except from the government of Israel.

Second: In view of our belief in international legitimacy and the vital role of the United Nations, that actions be undertaken to place our occupied Palestinian land under temporary United Nations supervision, and that international forces be deployed there to protect our people and, at the same time, to supervise the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from our country.

Third: The PLO will seek a comprehensive settlement among the parties concerned in the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the state of Palestine, Israel and other neighbors, within the framework of the international conference for peace in the Middle East on the basis of Resolutions 242 and 338 and so as to guarantee equality and the balance of interests, especially our people’s rights to freedom and national independence and respect the right to exist in peace and security for all.

If these principles are endorsed at the international conference, we will have come a long way toward a just settlement, and this will enable us to reach agreement on all security and peace arrangements.

I ask the leaders of Israel to come here under the sponsorship of the United Nations, so that, together, we can forge that peace.

And here, I would address myself specifically to the Israeli people in all their parties and forces, and especially to the advocates of democracy and peace among them. I say to them: Come let us make peace. Cast away fear and intimidation. Leave behind the specter of the wars that have raged continuously for the past 40 years.