March 4, 2005

MORE THAN 20 COUNTRIES, ANNAN AND RICE PARTICIPATE IN THE LONDON CONFERENCE. THE CONFERENCE LAUDS THE REFORMS ACHIEVED BY THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND WELCOME THE ISRAELI PLAN TO WITHDRAW FROM GAZA . PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL: WE WILL NOT FAIL TO FULFILL OUR COMMITMENTS TO THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND AT THE SAME TIME HOPE THAT OUR FUTURE ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIANS WILL NOT BE DESTROYED BY ISRAELI TANKS, F16s AND BULLDOZERS. RICE AND THE FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: WE WANT THE COMPLETE IMPLEMENTATION OF RESOLUTION 1559. The London conference for supporting the Palestinian Authority wrapped up its activities with the final communique calling on Israel to undertake its commitments under the roadmap. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who hosted the meeting, made comments during a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following the one-day conference in London. Widely seen as a gesture of support for Abbas, it was also attended by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The British Prime Minister said they've reached international consensus on how to move forward on three key principles essential to building a viable Palestinian state: * Governance, including elections and other institutions. * Security, including a coherent security forces. * The development of economic and social structures. US Lt. Gen. William Ward will lead the security co-ordination force, Blair said. The World Bank will play a "key role" in the economic and social development of any future state, said Blair. Abbas, who called the conference "very fruitful", said his government is committed to the peace process and the fragile cease fire he reached with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in early February. The Palestinian Authority has taken measures to capture those responsible for last Friday's bombing in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis and wounded 50, said Abbas. "We are determined to bring the perpetrators before the courts. Whatever it takes." The participants in London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority welcomed the plans for Palestinian institutional renewal reviewed by President Mahmoud Abbas. At the end of the one-day meeting, a document said that the gathering was a good opportunity for both the Palestinians and Israelis. "The London meeting takes place at a moment of promise and opportunity for Palestinians and Israelis," the document said. "Its purpose is to rally the international community in support of the Palestinian Authority's plans to build the institutions of a viable Palestinian state," it added. "In that way it can help sustain the political process which is now being renewed," according to the document. According to the conclusions of the London meeting, "participants condemned the bomb attack in Tel Aviv on 25 February, and expressed their determination that terrorism should be brought to an end and not allowed to sabotage the peace process. They welcomed President Abbas's commitment to bring those responsible to justice," the document said. "Participants noted the continuing significance of US President George Bush's statement of June 2002. They also reaffirmed the importance, as noted in the Roadmap, of the initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard -endorsed by the Beirut Arab League Summit. Participants urged all concerned to take forward this initiative," it added. "Participants in the meeting reaffirmed their commitment to the Roadmap. They urged all parties to the conflict to respect and uphold the obligations set out there. The London meeting will help the Palestinian Authority in this context," the document said. According to the London meeting document, "participants welcomed the important steps forward taken by both parties in recent weeks, including the important progress announced at the Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on February 8." "The participants noted that the situation on the ground remains fragile, they underlined that the Palestinian Authority has a number of urgent short term financing needs, and strongly encouraged the international community to address them," added the document. "The participants in the London Meeting recognized that the implementation of the commitments made by the Palestinian Authority would constitute a major step in implementing its Roadmap commitments," it said. "At the same time participants urged and expect action by Israel in relation to its own Roadmap commitments," said the document. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said ending the Middle East conflict is the world's most pressing political challenge. "Much of the poison we want to take out of international relations has swirled around the failure to make progress on this issue," said Blair. "This is the issue that causes as much misunderstanding, division and worry as virtually any other in the whole of the international community." A peace deal wasn't the intent of the conference, said Blair, who said the two sides are "not there yet." But he offered a glimmer of hope. "Times have seemed very dark indeed," said Blair. "I think we can see some light. " Israel declined to attend the conference, dismissing it as an internal Palestinian matter. Abu Mazen said the Palestinians were committed to the peace process. He said they are working for shoring up the truce with Israel. He expressed hope that the spirit of reconciliation with Israel would be restored. On her part, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States will lead an international group for rebuilding the Palestinian security in Palestinian territories and helping the PA chairman in combating terrorism. In statements, she said General William Ward, the Security Coordinator between the Palestinians and the Israelis will return to the region for leading efforts for reforming the security body which will be affiliated to the Palestinian Authority. She said General Ward will undertake coordination among the states which will want to take part in training, arming and reforming the Palestinian security troops. She added that General Ward would shore up security cooperation between Israelis and the Palestinians when it becomes necessary. She said the government of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon must help and not hinder the peace process. She added Israel should not also take measures that could undermine the final settlement. The US Secretary of State said Israel should help guarantee that the Palestinian State is viable. She said a disconnected Palestinian State will be useless adding that peace should be sponsored by many hands so that it may flourish. Dr Rice called on Arab countries to take measures for reining in hard-line organizations which target Israel and for ending Israel's political isolation. Rice called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to tackle security challenges and urged Israel not to miss the chance for making headway in the peace process. Representatives from over 20 countries had gathered in London on 1 March to attend the London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority. In his opening address, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said that the purpose of the meeting was to 'try and help bring about the vision of the two state solution to the Middle East peace process which is an Israel confident of its security and a viable, independent Palestinian state.' The Prime Minister added that 'the significance of this issue and the Middle East peace process, or frankly lack of it over the past few years... is not confined to Israel, to Palestine, or even to the Middle East. It's something that concerns all the countries represented here today.' He concluded that this is 'a moment of opportunity, it is vital that we seize it.' In his opening remarks at the London meeting on supporting the Palestinian Authority, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: Thank you also of course to the United Nations Secretary General for attending and to everybody from Europe, from the Middle East, from different parts of the world who, who have come here this morning. It's probably just worth pointing out right at the outset as well that the significance of this issue and the Middle East peace process, or frankly lack of it over the past few years, the significance of what we're discussing today is not confined to Israel, to Palestine, or even to the Middle East. It's something that concerns all the countries represented here today. There's probably no more pressing political challenge than to move this process forward because it has a relevance on the streets of Britain, on the streets of European countries as well as in the Middle East itself. It is probably the cause most used or abused by those who try to rally support for extremism and when we therefore make progress on this issue we are not merely enhancing the prospects for the people of Palestine, the people of Israel, we're also enhancing security of every one of the countries represented round this table today. And the significance of that can be seen very clearly in the attempts by terrorist groups still to disrupt the process and the progress that can be made. Last Friday's suicide attack in Tel Aviv shows very clearly what the purpose of these people is, it is to derail this process, it is to stop it. It is to make sure that people of good will can't make progress and that's why it's so important that our response to them is to say we will not be stopped from making progress on the contrary we will redouble our efforts to make sure that a fair and just solution can be found. Of course that comes against the background of progress that has, indeed, been made. The election of President Abbas has obviously been an extremely important event. He has rallied the Palestinian people to the thought of reinvigorating the peace process. There is the proposals carried through with considerable courage by Prime Minister Sharon of disengagement. And yet I think all of us know that despite these good signals of progress this is still a fragile enterprise that can so easily be set back as it has been set back on other occasions. When I was with President Bush at the White House last November we set out there five steps towards a just and peaceful and lasting solution. The first of those was, obviously, successful elections in the Palestinian Authority, that has happened. The second was to make sure that that took place within the context of an over all vision where every one understands the end point is the two state solution that President Bush set out himself and that all of us have endorsed. The fourth element was the disengagement process going forward and the fifth element was then going back in to the road map, reinvigorating that so that the conferences necessary to produce a lasting settlement could be undertaken. And we are here at the third step that we set out which is how do we help and support the Palestinian Authority in their desire to make sure that in the field of governance, security, their economy they can indeed establish that viable Palestinian state? We all know that one element of viability is territory and that is obviously something that has to be negotiated in the negotiations leading to a final settlement. But the other aspects of viability for any state are in the institutions of that state; how it operates, how it works, its democracy, its economy, it's ability to conduct and perform its own security adequately and properly. Here as well where I think the whole of the international community wants to be of support and help. You know in the discussions leading up to today we have gone in to a lot of detail on the plans the Palestinian Authority has and I think people, in a sense, will be surprised when President Abbas outlines it and we, we see the final text of the agreement, at how detailed these are. They have clear plans for the Palestinian state of the future in terms of its institutions. What we need to be saying from the international community is how do we help and support that, how de we bolster that? Because in doing so we are encouraging and supporting the peace process itself. There is financial help available, Europe last week indicated that over the next year somewhere in the region of two hundred and fifty million Euros could be set aside to support this process. We ourselves as the UK Government have contributed an extra ten million pounds taking it to thirty million pounds for our contribution. But there are also many donor countries around this table. But what everyone wants to see is that the support that they are putting in is support that is genuinely going to better the circumstances of the Palestinian people and lead to a situation where they feel confident about their future in a Palestinian state. So I hope what today will allow us to do is to set out very clearly the Palestinian Authority plans in the fields of governance, security, the economy. Set out also what the international community can do in each of these areas to support the Palestinian Authority. To bring some clarity of responsibility then for how we're going to help this because one of the things is that, that, that I find and I think many people do when they look at this from the outside, is that there are whole series of initiatives, there are all sorts of things that people want to do to help, there's no shortage of good will but we need some clarity about the framework for support. And I think if we can bring that clarity today then that would be of tremendous assistance. Now the task force for Palestinian reform, the ad hoc liaison committee, the work done by countries like Norway has been of tremendous importance in the whole of this process, there's no doubt about that at all. But I hope that what we can get out of today is a real sense of the determination that I know is there on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to make the changes necessary to create ultimately a viable, independent Palestinian state. A real sense of the support and solidarity from the international community in helping them get there and there by ensure that we can get back in to the road map and those aspects of negotiation that will lead ultimately to the two state solution that every one wants to see. This is a moment of opportunity, it is vital that we seize it. I'm convinced that we can but I think the one thing that we have learnt over the past few years, certainly I've learnt this since being the Prime Minister of this country, is that the peace process it never happens just because of expressions of good will. It never happens just because we want it to happen. There has to be a patient, hard slog in the detail, in the day to day management to get it done and I hope today's conference can provide some substance to that good will and solidarity that I can assure you Mr President is there for you and for your colleagues. From his side the Palestinian Prime Minister said in his opening speech: We have welcomed this conference and have looked into it with in order to dialogue with our friends and colleagues in the international community concerning what is required to create such an environment through providing sufficient support to the Palestinian Authority whether politically, economically or at the security level. For us as Palestinians we are going forward in arranging our condition and we are committed to the Road Map which we find is the only map which has the effective ability to be implemented and we only have one request, which is the commitment be mutual according to the original text of the Map as the quartet had prepared. Ladies and Gentlemen, during a very short time it was possible for us to move forward in a very complicated process and I mean about the internal reforms. Because after the very quiet change in the authority after the decease of Mr Yassar Arafat we have undertaken elections and we are carrying out local elections and we have said that next August is the time for the legislative elections and the Palestinian population does show that they are aware of its commitment to democracy and these values that will lead to an independent state that is based on multipartism and democracy and which is ruled by institutions that are working under the sovereignty of modern rules and an independent judiciary. These are also the standards and values upon which the Palestinian vision is based and which is linked to the governance and reforms as have been detailed by the text of this conference and as we have expressed in other forums. We and despite our though we know it is difficult to come up with an independent state, however, we have tried to add some value to the Road Map in the Middle East and in the world. My dear friends, I also believe that our Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority have sent very important letters and signals to the world that have to be read that have to be read sincerely and at the same time they are addressed to our neighbours, the Israelis, and the most important of these letters is that we are 100 percent ready to make efforts in that area and we have re-deployed our forces in the field and have taken a decision to unify our security forces and we are implementing this decision despite the difficulties that you are well aware of because you are well aware about the details of our country. And this decision also prevents or actually emphasizes multi-lateralism and these efforts were undertaken and this was from our participation in the conference of Sharm el-Sheikh which was an important stepping point to resuming political negotiations after a period of time where no negotiations took place. A few days ago the Israeli civilians were attacked by a terrorist attack and we emphasize that we condemn very strongly this operation and we re-emphasize that extremist groups are still determined to destroy any effort towards any peace process and to solve the problems through peaceful means and negotiations and to refuse the program of demo that we Palestinians emphasize on implementing it knowing that all the Palestinians organisation have said that they were not responsible for this operation and were committed to peace. My dear colleagues and friends we believe that the security efforts that we are undertaking are in response to the dire needs of the Palestinian citizens who would very much look forward to peace and security, however, this might be set back if we cannot find a serious political solution that we cannot delay settlement between us and the Israelis and experience has showed us that the isolated security measures from any political plan is not enough to strengthen security and to open the peace venues and when I speak about a political settlement, a serious one, I mean about one that gives confidence to put an end to occupation that started in 1967 and this is something that we are committed to do with you all and with Israel in order to implement it, and if this path should come up with such confidence it has to come with an end to confiscation of territories and to occupation and here I would like to express our deep gratitude to the position that President George Bush has emphasized recently in Brussels and which was completely compatible with his vision with the necessity to put an end to the occupation that started in '67 and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State that is sustainable and that lives peacefully next to Israel, our neighbour. And here in London I would like to express the importance to continue our contacts with Israel although they are not represented here today and I would also like to express the importance that has to be given to emphasize Israeli redeployment of forces which will lead to a better environment as was the case before the holding of the Sharm el-Sheikh conference as I spoke about at the beginning of my speech. I would not like here to present my complaints but I'd like to make seize of this very good opportunity where there is true support towards peace process. And I see here also all the important points to give real and genuine support to our people who have suffered during the past 4 years and is in dire need to reconstruct what has been destroyed and here I have to express my thanks to my dear brothers in the Arab countries who are providing us with support that has allowed us to remain unified and I am sure that will always help us in responding to our needs especially during this very critical period in which we need all types of support in order overcome or to go into the right path. I would also thank you all Ladies and Gentlemen and I'd like to thank the United Nations and the United States and Europe and the Russian Federation that constitute quartet that is effective at the international level and not just to put a peace plan but to implement the items of that plan and I do not forget also to thank my other friends in the G8 and the all the donor countries and financial international institutions, the IMF, that are represented here and those that did not participate in today's meeting and once again I would like to thank the United Kingdom and my friend Tony Blair for the efforts and positions he has taken and encouraging steps and I hope that this conference would be the beginning of another international conference and we look forward to hold it according to the Road Map at which we can find a solution to all the lasting problems concerning Jerusalem, water and the territories and all the aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict according to the international legitimacy. Finally, and after years in which we have all been before the wall of despair, I would like to say that the peace that is a necessity at an international Israeli and Palestinian level is possible if we really endeavor to strengthen the concept of justice. Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, delivered a speech at the London conference for peace in the Middle East and support for the Palestinian authority. In the speech, he highlighted that since April 2002 until March 2004, Saudi Arabia contributed about USD184.8 million to the Palestinian authority. He added that during the last six months, Saudi Arabia contributed USD46.2 million. He explained that these amounts of money do not include donations by Saudi citizens to their brethren in Palestine, which amounted to hundreds of millions of US dollars. Prince Turki Al-Faisal said Riyadh would continue to support the Palestinian people. The Kingdom has given more than $230 million to the Palestinian Authority in financial aid during the past two years. "We will not fail to fulfill our commitments to the Palestinian Authority and at the same time hope that our future assistance to the Palestinians will not be destroyed by Israeli tanks, F16s and bulldozers," he told the conference. Meanwhile on the fringes of the London meeting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier held a press conference. The French Foreign Minister said we should consider that after this first stage there will be a second stage during the second half of this year, an international conference to which the Palestinians and the Israelis, but also, the international community, shall come together so as to watch the continuation of this process. But I would also like to say that with Dr. Rice, we have been discussing the question of Lebanon. It is a very important event, as the Lebanese people have very courageously expressed their aspirations, their aspiration to freedom, their aspiration to a sovereign Lebanon. The Lebanese want to be masters of their own fate, and we, in France, we encouraged this because in France nothing, we can never be indifferent to what is happening in Lebanon, and our way of encouraging this is to repeat what is included in the document which we co-sponsored with the United States. We want the complete implementation of Resolution 1559. We also want the truth, we want the truth to know who is responsible for the death of Rafiq Hariri, and we also want all the foreign military troops to be withdrawn from Lebanon, and also the organization of true, genuine elections in this country. From her side Secretary Rice said: We have a lot of work ahead of us over the next several months and I think we will see how the international community can best continue to support this, but the work before us today and over the next several months is to help the Palestinians in their reform efforts and also to help with the peaceful withdrawal of the Israelis from the Gaza. We had a very good discussion of Lebanon and that is why we wanted to appear here together. Obviously events in Lebanon are moving in a very important direction. It is also the case that the Lebanese people are beginning to express their aspirations for democracy, their aspirations that they be able to carry out their political aspirations without foreign interference. This is something that we support very much. Resolution 1559, which was co-sponsored by France and the United States within the UN Security Council, calls very firmly for free elections, free and fair elections to take place in Lebanon, for foreign forces, both troops and intelligence forces, to withdraw and for the Lebanese people to be able to conduct their affairs, Lebanese for Lebanon, and not with foreign interference, and this is something on which we agreed very much. We also want to make certain that we intensify our dialogue about Lebanon and have asked our political directors to meet later today, here in London, to talk about how we can further support the process of elections in Lebanon, how we can further support the removal of foreign elements of interference in Lebanese affairs and how we can move forward to the full implementation of Resolution 1559 within the UN framework. Dr Rice went on to say: the Syrians have a very clear view of what needs to be done. They know what is required in Resolution 1559, it should be recognized. But at this point in time, we have a circumstance in which on several fronts, whether it is Iraqi insurgents who are being supported on Syrian territory and causing the kind of hideous attacks that we had yesterday against the Iraqi people; or support for terrorists who are trying to frustrate the Palestinian/Israeli peace; or, keeping foreign interference in Lebanese affairs that the Syrians are out of step with where the region is going and out of step with the aspirations of the people of the Middle East. The important thing is that Resolution 1559 is very clear that foreign interference should not be carried out. We will focus very much, I think also, on what we can help the Lebanese to do. That means support for free and fair elections, that means election observers if necessary, monitoring if necessary, and as we see how the Lebanese will move forward, I think we have to look at what can be done in terms of helping them to stabilize the situation should that become necessary. But we have not yet had detailed discussions on that. Meanwhile Al-Hayat newspaper said that President Al-Assad will visit Saudi-Arabia. The paper said the Syrian president expressed his wish to visit the Kingdom after he was briefed on the results of Foreign Minister's Al Shara to Saudi Arabia and his talks with Crown Prime Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz. Knowledgeable sources said Crown Prince Abdullah urged Al Shara to speed up the process of investigating the assassination of the Late Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri. The Crown Prince also refused sending a Saudi team to take part in the investigations, while showing anger for the assassination. On the other hand Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, promised to withdraw all his country's troops from neighbouring Lebanon within "a few months". "The withdrawal should be very soon and maybe in the next few months," Mr Assad said in an interview with America's Time magazine. "Not after that. I can't give you a technical answer. The point is the next few months." Following are exerts of the interview published on the Internet: TIME: Can you tell me when you will you be out of Lebanon? ASSAD: Out completely? TIME: Yes. ASSAD: Actually, our discussion should be with Terji Roed-Larsen, United Nations envoy, who is coming back in March. It [withdrawal] should be very soon and maybe in the next few months. Not after that. I can't give you a technical answer. The point is the next few months. TIME: Could you give me a timetable? ASSAD: It's a technical issue, not political. I could not say we could do it in two months because I have not had the meeting with the army people. They may say it will take six months. You need to prepare when you bring your army back to your country. You need to prepare where you will put the troops. There are two factors. The first is security in Lebanon. The security in Lebanon is much better than before. They have an army, they have a state, they have institutions. The second thing, which is related to Syria, is that after withdrawing we have to protect our border. We need to talk about our borders, because when Israel invaded in 1982, they reached that point. It was very close to Damascus. So we will need [fortifications for the troops] along the border with Lebanon.