Syria, 2001

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate you,

Sir, on your election to the presidency of this session.

We are confident that the posts you held in your

country and the respect you enjoy will facilitate your

task in leading the deliberations of this session of the

General Assembly to their desired objectives.

I would also like to express our appreciation to

your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, for the efforts he

made last year to lead the work of the previous session

to a successful conclusion. Let me also congratulate

Mr. Kofi Annan on his re-election to a second term as

Secretary-General of our international Organization

and on winning the Nobel Peace Prize, together with

the United Nations. I would like to assure him that our

cooperation with him will continue in order to

consolidate the role of the United Nations in various

domains.

The international and regional circumstances

prevailing since the events of last September have cast

a dark shadow on our work. The new world order,

whose emergence was announced after the

disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Gulf war,

soon faltered, due to the failure or lack of desire to

adopt the language of dialogue in order to eliminate

hostile climates and the refusal to apply equal

standards in international relations to resolve regional

conflicts, and due to the adoption of the method of

daily crisis management, which consists of addressing

only surface issues, instead of delving deep into the

root causes and addressing them according to the

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criteria of justice, international legitimacy and human

solidarity.

The world watched in disbelief the horrifying

attacks on Washington, D.C., and New York. We in

Syria and in the Arab world did not hesitate to

denounce those attacks and to condemn them in the

strongest possible terms. In the aftermath of those

attacks, we also called for international cooperation

under the auspices of the United Nations to uproot

terrorism in all its forms. Likewise, we called for an

agreement on measures to define terrorism in an effort

to guarantee effectiveness in combating it and in

addressing its root causes.

The phenomenon of terrorism is not confined to a

particular society, culture or religion. It has appeared,

and is still appearing, in many countries made up of

numerous groups with different demands, beliefs and

objectives. That is why it is a gross injustice and is

totally unrealistic to link terrorism to Arabs and

Muslims. Suffice it to mention, for example, a number

of infamous terrorist organizations such as Bader-

Meinhoff gang, in Germany, the Red Brigades, in Italy

and Japan, and what has been taking place in Northern

Ireland and in Spain, not to mention the various

extremist organizations in the United States of

America.

Those who link terrorist acts to Islam ignore the

fact that Islam respects all monotheistic religions, calls

for tolerance among their followers and prohibits the

killing of innocents or acts of aggression against their

properties. But the pressing question now is how to

eliminate from the minds of American citizens the

feeling of hatred against Arabs and Muslims, feelings

promoted by tens of thousands of publications, articles

and films for the last 50 years.

Senior officials at the highest level in the

American Administration and in European countries

have warned against linking terrorism to Arabs and

Muslims and have issued positive statements. But,

regrettably, those statements, though important, cannot

erase the long history of defamation in books and films

that have distorted the image of Arabs and remain in

circulation. Moreover, we have recently heard that new

films are being made, and books being prepared for

publication, that incite feelings of hatred and link

terrorism to Arabs and Muslims, thereby manipulating

the tragic events of September.

Syria has always stressed the need to work on all

levels to combat international terrorism in all its forms

and in a way that is consistent with the principles and

purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. Syria

was the first country to call, in 1985, for the convening

of an international conference under the auspices of the

United Nations to define terrorism and to differentiate

it from the struggle of peoples for national liberation.

In response to a request by Syria, an item was listed on

the agenda of the General Assembly, stressing the

importance of determining the root causes of terrorism

and taking appropriate measures to prevent it, combat

it and address its root causes.

Syria has also called upon all countries to take the

necessary measures at the national, regional and

international levels to combat terrorism and implement

the provisions of international law and relevant

international resolutions, with the aim of preventing

the perpetration of terrorist acts or their financing and

inciting. We would also like to indicate that, since

1952, the Syrian Arab Republic has been one of the

first countries to adopt firm national laws and

legislation to combat terrorism.

International terrorism is not a new phenomenon.

Syria and other Arab countries have also been victims

of terrorism. For years we have called upon the

international community to condemn all types of

terrorism, especially the State terrorism practised by

Israel. In this context, I would like to refer to the

values of tolerance that have distinguished our region

throughout history. Our region had never known the

phenomenon of terrorism until after Israel was created

on the basis of religion, in 1948, supported by the

efforts of such well-known terrorist organizations as

the Irgun, Tzioni, the Stern gang, the Lehy and the

Haganah, which were responsible for sowing the seeds

of terrorism and fear in Palestine and outside it.

Israel has invented new types of terrorist

practices in order to continue its occupation of Arab

territories. It expelled Palestinians from their homes

and lands and perpetrated numerous massacres,

beginning with the massacre of Deir Yassin in 1948, to

that of Beit Reima just a few weeks ago. But despite

that, it has not been held accountable for these crimes.

The Palestinian people have, therefore, had no

alternative in their struggle to rid themselves of their

state of frustration, despair and international disregard

for their plight but to start one uprising after another as

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a way to liberate their lands from occupation and to

restore their dignity like any other people in the world.

What is both odd and surprising is that whenever

Palestinian refugees and their organizations residing in

Syria are mentioned, the United States describes them

as terrorist organizations and considers the country that

hosts them as one that sponsors terrorism. It ignores

the fact that Israel was completely responsible for

uprooting those Palestinians from their homes,

expelling them from their homeland and denying them,

up until this very moment, their right of return in

accordance with General Assembly resolution 194

(III). Regrettably, there are some countries and certain

media outlets that believe those claims and describe

those Palestinian organizations as terrorist. They do not

stop there, but extend that allegation to Syria as well,

instead of condemning Israel and expressing

appreciation to Syria for hosting about 500,000

Palestinian refugees and offering them work, security

and a dignified life.

But in any case the request on the part of Israel

and those who support it to have these Palestinian

refugees and their organizations expelled from Syria

raises the very important question of where those

refugees should go. The natural and human answer

says that they should go back to their country,

Palestine. They are more entitled to go back to their

homes than the million Russian Jews who were brought

in by Israel during the last 10 years. They are also more

entitled than another 1 million Jews that the head of the

Israeli Government plans to bring into Israel, although

they live well and securely in their countries. Although

the rulers of Israel claim that the Palestinians have no

place in their towns and villages and that the return of

Palestinians threatens the existence of Israel, the truth

is that the return of Palestinian refugees will alleviate

racism in Israel and will not threaten its existence.

During its invasion of Lebanon in 1982 Israel

perpetrated the ugliest of crimes when it shelled and

besieged Beirut for over 80 days, during which time

thousands of innocent Lebanese civilians were killed,

the infrastructure of Lebanon was destroyed and many

horrific massacres were perpetrated. Those massacres

included the atrocities at Sabra and Shatila, which the

entire world witnessed and is aware of.

Faced with Israeli arrogance, the failure of the

international community to stop Israel from

perpetrating its crimes, and the provision of Israel with

the latest American warplanes and the most destructive

and sophisticated weapons, the Lebanese people had no

choice but to stand fast and resist occupation. This

resistance continued until it achieved its most

important victory in May 2000, when it forced the

Israeli occupying forces to abandon most Lebanese

territories. No one in the world should forget that the

battles of the Lebanese resistance were fought on the

occupied territories of Lebanon against occupying

Israeli soldiers and that this resistance did not act

beyond Lebanese borders and did not hurt Israeli

civilians during the 20 years of occupation, whereas

the occupying Israeli forces killed thousands of

Lebanese civilians, not to mention their repeated

destruction of hundreds of houses and much of the

Lebanese infrastructure.

After all this, how could anyone fail to

distinguish between terrorism and resistance? Anyone

wishing to target terrorism in our region must target

Israeli terrorism first and foremost, because what Israel

does is the utmost form of terrorism; it is absolutely

bereft of human compassion. There is no alternative

but to address the root causes of this terrorism once and

for all and uproot it from our modern life through the

implementation of international legitimacy in order to

restore rights, end injustice and occupation and grant

the Palestinian people the right to self-determination

freely and wholly.

These days mark the tenth anniversary of the

convening of the Madrid Peace Conference, for which

we made sincere efforts so it would create an opening

for a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

The serious and purposeful negotiations that Syria has

engaged in during recent years have shown two things

to the international community: first, that Israel neither

desires nor is serious about achieving a just and

comprehensive peace in accordance with United

Nations resolutions; secondly, that Syria has the right

to recover its territory in the Golan to the border of 4

June 1967, without compromise. However, we were

always faced with Israel’s intransigence, denial of

rights, evasion of the real issues and of the

requirements of peace. Indeed, Israel has done what its

Prime Minister promised at the time: to make

negotiations go in circles for 10 years, with all the

dangerous repercussions and tragic results that would

produce.

There is talk now about an opportunity for the

resumption of the peace process according to the terms

25

of reference of the Madrid Conference. We believe that

unless the two sponsors of the peace process, the

European Union and the United Nations, make a

serious effort to implement the relevant United Nations

resolutions, this opportunity will be wasted again, with

all the dangerous repercussions that will hold for this

important and sensitive region of the world.

The dialogue among civilizations has gained

increasing importance in the aftermath of the escalation

of hostile attacks on certain cultures, religions and

nationalities. Syria, which is the cradle of early

civilizations and a source of scientific and intellectual

enlightenment, recognizes the importance of this

dialogue and the necessity of pursuing it in the service

of humanity and future generations. Our region, at its

pinnacle, was a lively example of dialogue and

interaction among civilizations. Within its broad

horizons, the civilizations of East and West met.

Intellectuals, men of letters, scientists and philosophers

from different parts of the world contributed to the

formation of these civilizations. In this context we

hope that the Global Agenda for Dialogue among

Civilizations, recently adopted by the General

Assembly, will be implemented. We find in this agenda

a horizon that responds to the aspirations of people

towards enriching the awareness of common human

values among all peoples and deepening the spirit of

understanding among them.

In conclusion, allow me to convey to you the

gratitude of my country, Syria, and its President,

Government and people for the precious trust and the

great support that so many countries in the world

expressed when they elected the Syrian Arab Republic

to the Security Council. I would like to assure you that

Syria shall remain, as it has always been, in the

forefront of those who defend international legitimacy

and the Charter of the United Nations and will make

every possible effort during its membership on the

Security Council to contribute to preserving

international peace and security.