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29 November 2006

Your Excellency, Ambassador Halimeh
Your Excellencies, Ambassador and High Commissioners
Other members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

"Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It is the product of faith, strength, energy, will, sympathy, justice, imagine and the triumph of principle. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism."

I have used this quote by Dorothy Thompson, a prominent journalist, political commentator and a leading opponent of Hitler and 1930s fascism, to illustrate the point that peace requires people of courage to reach out and engage with those whom they consider their enemy. This was especially applicable to our country when we made the historic decision to engage with the apartheid regime, which culminated in the peaceful transition to democracy in South Africa.

Peace has become an illusive concept in today's world. Wherever we look on our planet, we see conflict and we wish to find a way to stop it, but we struggle to find the means to do so. This is no more apparent than in the conflict in the Middle East, between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. It pains us to see the unrewarded quest for peace of both the Israeli and Palestinian people, given our own recent history of conflict.

Our heartfelt sympathy especially goes out to the Palestinian people, who are currently living in such difficult circumstances. We recognise that the Palestinian people have been displaced from and dispossessed of their historic homeland. Our people understand that there is no greater yearning than the wish to return to the land of one's origin.

The South African people have stood steadfast in support for the rights of the Palestinian people, to a state and homeland of their own. Our Government has consistently supported the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in line with the will of the international community, such as United Nations resolutions 242, 338, 465, 681, 1397 and 1515.

During President Mahmoud Abbas' visit to our country earlier this year, we emphasized to him the close and historic relationship between the South African and Palestinian people. The warm reception that President Abbas received from the South African people was a further indication of the deep support of the South African people for the just struggle of the Palestinian people, for their liberation and attainment of their own freedom and self-determination. During this address to our National Assembly, President Abbas expressed his thanks for our government's unwavering support for the Palestinian national struggle and our efforts to advance the peace process in the Middle East.

President Abbas said and I quote: "The Palestinian people are proud of the historic and strong bonds of relations with the people of South Africa and is looking towards your country as a model, from which we draw lessons and inspirations, to continue our march to achieve a just and comprehensive peace, and regain our rights of self determination, and establishment of an independent State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. I would like to reaffirm, our deep pride of the historic relations between our two peoples, which have been established many years ago during our common struggle for justice and freedom, which gave birth to the new South Africa."

South Africa has welcomed President Abbas' position since he assumed power in the Presidential elections in January 2005, namely that he was willing to engage in final status negotiations without preconditions with Israel. We have also opposed the international boycott of the Hamas government which came to power in the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006. The position of the South African government has been that Hamas is the democratically elected government of the Palestinian people and that the democratic will of the Palestinian people must be respected. We will continue to engage with the Palestinian National Authority guided by this principle. At the same time, we call on the Hamas government to comply with international agreements entered into by the previous Palestinian government, including the Oslo Process and the Road Map.

As a government, we remain deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories. The continuing isolation of the Hamas government has led to the non-payment of salaries for civil servants since Hamas assumed power in January. The Palestinian economy continues to shrink in the West Bank as a result of the closures, checkpoints and the ongoing construction of the Separation Wall. The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, with more than 70 percent of the population living below the poverty line, is deeply distressing, particularly the suffering endured by women and children.

The South African government consequently notes with concern the route of the Separation Wall that runs deep into the West Bank. In its completed form it could leave large area of the West Bank on the Israeli side of the barrier. South Africa presented a written argument to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and also participated in the oral deliberations in The Hague on 23 February 2004 on the issue of the wall. We also condemn the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank that continue to jeopardise prospects for the attainment of a viable Palestinian state existing alongside Israel. Our stance has consistently been that Israel's settlement expansion is a direct contravention of the obligations set out in the Road Map and works against the trust and goodwill needed to bring about a negotiated solutions.

The position of the South African government has been that there is an urgent need for both Palestinians and Israelis to resume dialogue. We have maintained that the assumption of power by Hamas should not be used as a pretext by Israel to argue that there is no Palestinian partner to talk to. Unilateral actions will not create conditions for a lasting solution.

The South African Government is also concerned about the factional fighting between Fatah and Hamas, which will only heighten the already volatile situation in the Palestinian territories. We welcomed the attempts by President Abbas to form a Government of National Unity in Palestine between Fatah and Hamas. The South African Government has called on both Fatah and Hamas to end the rivalry between them and seek a means of governing the Palestinian people that will address the Palestinian national interests.

South Africa also calls on the international community to act more decisively to address and resolve the conflict, and to do more to ensure that the humanitarian plight of the Palestinian people is effectively addressed.

South Africa will continue to engage with both the Palestinian and Israeli leadership, in terms of experience sharing in our own transition from conflict to democratic rule. We believe that we do have a role to play in creating suitable conditions in Palestine and Israel for a resumption of the Middle East Peace Process.

In ending, I would like to quote Martin Luther King Junior, who said: "One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means."

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
29 November 2006
Source: Department of Science and Technology (http://www.dst.gov.za)