By
H.E. Mr.
George A. Papandreou
Minister
for Foreign Affairs of Greece
55TH
SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
GENERAL DEBATE
Mr. President,
Allow me to express my most
sincere congratulations on your election. I am certain that your qualities and
skills will bring the work of the 55th Session of the General Assembly to a
successful conclusion.
I also wish to extend
congratulations to your predecessor, Mr. Theo Ben-Gourirab, on his commitment
and the effective manner in which he conducted his duties.
Earlier this week, the Foreign
Minister of France, in his capacity as President of the Council of the European
Union, delivered a statement to which my Government fully subscribes. Our
government also subscribes to the "European Union's Priorities Paper"
for the current General Assembly.
Mr. President,
Violence might be an intrinsic
part of humanity. But, so are humanity's relentless efforts to rule out
violence, regulate antagonism, peacefully solve confrontational situations and
prevent hatred and prejudice. Whether we come together to understand each other
or we come together to debate each other our goal has always been to better our
lives and build a more secure future.
Since ancient times we have
attempted to establish norms of peaceful coexistence: in our effort we have
build traditions, religions as well as political structures. Through these
norms we have tried to battle a fate seemingly dictated by force, poverty,
oppression, prejudice, chronic and contagious illness, inequality and a
withering environment.
Throughout history our efforts
have taken various forms. But they have all commenced with a unique first step:
an overriding principle that in order to solve our problems we need to come
together.
Mr. President,
This month will be marked by two
events that will bring our world closer together than any other time in
history: the Millennium Assembly and the Olympic Games. At the dawn of the 21st
century nations shall meet, compete,
clash, differ and disagree. And yet our world has never looked closer together
or more determined to tackle its problems as one, indivisible community.
In the current environment, our
efforts to build a better world for our children can and ought to be pan
cosmic. We each have our role as governments, as communities and as individual
citizens. We can all contribute to a future that inspires in our children the
will to grow and to create.
As the Secretary General, Mr. Kofi
Annan, very wisely said during his address at the United Nations' Millennium
Summit: "We face global challenges which oblige us to work together. If
that is true in the economic and social sphere, it applies even more to the
challenge of massacre and war." These words command even more authority
coming from a man whose political skill, moral authority and devotion have
contributed, in numerous cases, to the resolution of conflicting issues.
Mr. President,
When a child misses its childhood
and its education in a dark prison cell, when a child is maimed from the
explosion of a mine or when a child dies of hunger, of AIDS or in war we do not
just witness a tragic event. We do not only witness the sad state of some
distant community. In today's world, when we see a child die we lose another
ray of hope that our global community will come together as one, that we shall
live in peace and that we will finally tackle the challenges we all face
together.
Mr. President,
In Greece, we have become deeply
conscious of this reality. What goes on in a neighboring community directly
affects the way by which our children will grow and develop. So we have made a
commitment to our world and more specifically to our region and this commitment
I have come to share with you today.
The two global events of this
September, this Assembly and the Olympic Games, symbolize the beginning of an
era for my country. After this General Assembly completes its work, Greece
shall raise the Olympic flag in Sydney. For the second time in almost a
century, the international community will bestow upon Athens the responsibility
of the Olympiad.
For the next four years Athens has
committed itself to run both an athletic and a cultural Olympiad. Today, I
commit our county to an Olympiad for Peace: four years of the most relentless
effort to inspire the international community with a fight against the evils
that have kept our community of nations at war, under totalitarianism and into
oppression.
We shall focus our efforts on
several levels: We shall fight in international fora. We shall take initiatives
wherever we feel we can make a difference. And we shall fight relentlessly for
peace and prosperity in our own region.
Mr. President,
I pledge to you today that when
the Olympic flame of our ancestors rises over the Athenian sky it will light up
more than a shiny stadium. It will light up a whole area fighting for peace,
democracy and justice. Athens will use this flame to light up a region
committed to its children and proud of its history.
Our work is the next four years
will start in the context of international organizations. The next four years,
the years that coincide with the Greek Olympiad, will set of the stage upon
which future global event will unfold. The globalization of the economy, the
increased power of the media, rapid developments in information technology,
communications and biotechnology, are just some of the challenges that will set
the stage.
Globalisation, while creating
incredible wealth for many, fosters conditions for conflict. The new global
economy cannot be dominated by interests, and must be monitored to promote human
security. For the next four years Greece will take an active role in
international fora to do its part in dealing with globalisation. This is why
Greece has enthusiastically accepted an invitation to join the Human Security
Network.
Human rights laws cannot alone
provide for human rights. Civic responsibility and democratic institutions
provide for human rights. In a world moving towards global integration we need
to create structures that will reach beyond the democratic deficits of the
global community. We need to create regional cooperation, we need to build
civic structures through community services and Non Government Organizations,
and we need to educate our citizens and our societies in making this process
their own.
This, in our view, is the role of
the United Nations. This honourable organization can and must bridge the gap
between the global challenges we face and the democratic deficits that exist in
our global culture. It is the only democratic forum we know where we can
discuss our new dilemmas and make choices for our common future. We believe
that now is the time to turn the United Nations from an organization working to
Globalise Democracy to an organization able to Democratise Globalisation. The
Millennium Summit agenda is proof that the international community shares our
views. And it is within this context that initiatives taken within the United
Nations can make our world a better place.
I shall use a single and yet
powerful example. September 7 marks a highly significant date in the campaign
to stop the use of child soldiers. On this day, nations were invited to sign
and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
Whatever the causes of modern-day
brutality towards children, the time has come to call for a halt. The most
fundamental principle is that children should have no part in war. The
international community must denounce this brutality on children for it is
intolerable and unacceptable. This is only one type of initiative that Greece
will actively support in the international arena in the coming years. But our
participation in the United Nations and in international initiatives is only
one aspect of our goals for the next four years.
Mr. President,
Our view on the purpose of
international organizations comes from the rich experience we have amassed in
our region. Starting with the war in Kosovo my country has been deeply involved
in the events unfolding in the area. The lessons of this involvement, we
believe, can greatly contribute to the work of these organizations. We are
eager to share our experience with the international community.
We believe that stability in our
region is the pre-requisite for Greek security and we define stability to mean
the practice of democracy, the strengthening of institutions that provide
transparency and accountability, the reduction of economic inequalities and the
rule of law in our societies and between our countries. Our security lies in
being members of the European Union and of NATO and we work so that countries
of the region may benefit from the stabilizing influence of membership in these
institutions.
During the Kosovo war, my
colleagues in neighbouring countries and I decided to cooperate closely to
alleviate human suffering and avoid further instability in our region. We grew
to understand that our fates were intrinsically linked. As a result, we were
compelled to discover ways to increase our cooperation and effectiveness in
dealing with our problems or we felt we would be condemned to constant strife
and conflict.
In the next four years Greece will
build upon this base. We are determined to transform the plight of a war and
its brutal memories into an opportunity for the generations to come.
Through the process of a
neighbouring war Greece has managed to inspire in the international community
the importance of a consistent, universal and unifying policy towards South
Eastern Europe. From Bosnia to Cyprus we have the same objectives: we want the
countries in the region to be integral, peaceful and democratic, we want them
to remain multi-cultural and we want then to join the European Union. In this
political framework, Yugoslavia is an essential part.
This is our message. Even though
simple sounding, our message is a radical break from the past where
favouritism, cold war intricacies and double standards, have consistently
broken the spirit of the people in the region.
Mr. President,
Now is the time to put a firm end
to this. We must stop redrawing borders around ethnically homogeneous
communities while compelling them to seek the favours of greater powers. In the
next four years we commit Greece to an effort to transform the multitude of
races, religions and ethnicities in the region into an instrument of
solidarity, stability, a beautiful kaleidoscope of creative multicultural
cooperation.
Greece's vision for the Balkans is
one of a region in which democracy finally becomes the norm; where citizens'
aspirations can finally be realized through peaceful and democratic practices;
where the rights of minorities are respected; where governments are
accountable, economies are transparent and politics allow for the fullest
participation of all elements of,society.
The world has a responsibility in
supporting this vision for our region: First we need to empower the region that
has historically, been handicapped, dependent and divided by a world community
of competing interests and a babble of conflicting signals. This
"balkanisation" of the region must be replaced by coordination of
international efforts. Secondly, we need to support cooperation within the
region. Thirdly we need to invest in the region: in infrastructure and most
importantly in education in order to tap into its full human potential.
We have actively supported and
promoted this new vision within the international community. Last year, our
efforts have helped more than 40 countries develop a unique contract between
the international community and South Eastern Europe: the contract was coined
"the Stability Pact". We have a clear sense of how the Stability Pact
can achieve its goals and it is an optimistic sign that the EU, the US and
Russia cooperate closely within its framework. Regional integration can be
achieved as the Stability Pact promotes investment in infrastructure projects.
Education is primary to our strategy and democratic leadership training and
institution building will bring us together, stimulate economic development and
promote systematic cooperation. The pact actively promotes respect for the rule
law amongst states and peoples in the region.
The heart of the European ethos
lies in building the institutions and practices of inclusiveness. That is why
Greece has always supported EU enlargement, as a means to build a bridge of
security, co-operation and development between nations.
Mr. President,
Our stand in international
organizations and our agenda for the next four years is colored also be our
recent experience with Turkey. The earthquakes that shook Greece and Turkey a
year ago created a new climate for the first time in our recent diplomatic
history. Tragedy generated a genuine feeling of human warmth between two
peoples involved in historic strife. Spontaneous and dramatic acts of
fraternity and solidarity were expressed between the citizens of both
countries. These acts short-circuited elaborate diplomatic strategies and
exerted powerful pressure on our governments to move ahead boldly. Our mandate
was clear. Our peoples desire to live in peace together.
Since the earthquakes, Greeks and
Turks are using every opportunity to explore their newfound neighbors, and to
come together, meet, exchange experiences and make up for lost time. On a
bilateral level we have signed ten agreements that will radically change the
environment in which we interact. We do not view these developments as
momentary results of what was later coined as seismic diplomacy. We view them
as the beginning of a long process that will radically affect our lives in the
coming years.
We have opened a dialogue. One
that is honest. And although we may and do differ on many issues, such as how
we see Cyprus and how we approach our bilateral relations, this open approach
can only lead to a progressive resolution of our problems. When speak today I know that the Turkish side will
not agree. But I do hope that they will soon realize that the procedure that
has commenced is a one-way avenue that will benefit all our people.
I believe that Greece and Turkey
have no choice but to explore new avenues for cooperation. I believe our
mutual interests can outweigh our political differences. We can and must
resolve these differences through peaceful means at the International Court of
Justice.
The European Union's decision to
upgrade Turkey's status to that of candidate country in Helsinki in December
marked a historic turning point in Greek-Turkish relations. Helsinki does not
signal the end of Greece's efforts; it represents the beginning of new and
equally courageous Greek initiatives. We believe that Turkey will succeed in
showing the same courage. We hope to capitalize on the positive climate to
resolve issues such as the continental shelf and the Cyprus question.
Reconciliation processes are the result of persistent and often painful
efforts. Our country has repeatedly proven that it is prepared for the
challenges ahead. In this context we're ready to discuss Confidence Building
Measures that can be implemented in time.
Problems like Cyprus - which is
not a bilateral issue - do exist. I do not want to give the false impression
that all our problems have suddenly been resolved. It is most distressing that
a variety of statements and acts still undermine this very genuine and
difficult effort. It is our historical duty to overcome these difficulties and
maintain the momentum in response to our peoples' mandate for peace.
Mr. President,
A solution to the Cyprus problem
can and should be seen as a win-win situation. It is vital for peace, stability
and security in our region. Along with the G-8 member countries, we call on
Ankara to show its political will in order to eliminate the most apparent cause
of tension that threatens regional peace, as well as E=uropean and NATO
coherence and integrity.
I truly believe that the Greek
Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities can find solutions that will allow them
to live together peacefully. We can aid them in this process. Cyprus will
either unite or divide our two countries. We have a responsibility to cooperate
on the Cyprus problem and to facilitate the process. Greece and Turkey, through
their rapprochement, share a rare opportunity, to help the citizens of Cyprus
rebuild their island, their homes and their dreams. The outcome of these
efforts should be that every Cypriot enjoys safety, equality under the law, protection
of their human rights, appropriate representation and the security under a
European roof.
I would like to thank the
Secretary General and all those who labour with him towards a just solution in
Cyprus: a solution based on UN resolutions for a bi-zonal, bi-communal
federation with one international personality, one citizenship and one
sovereignty.
At this time, I would appeal to
him to move forward with the peace talks on this basis. The implementation of
UN Resolutions is not only important for Cyprus. It is important for the moral
standing of this all-important organization. Double standards and inaction only
serve to undermine the credibility of this organization in the eyes of so many
countries and peoples.
One cannot accept developments
such as those that recently took place in Strovilia. The last Berlin Wall of
Europe has to come down, not be strengthened. This responsibility rests with
the United Nations, with the guarantor powers and all those who have a saying
in international developments. It has become obvious that the current situation
in Cyprus and its occupation by foreign forces challenges the integrity and
credibility of this honourable organization.
The international community
appreciates the responsible and consistent stance of the Cypriot government
throughout all efforts towards a just solution as well as its will to defend
the interests of the whole population of Cyprus: the interests of both communities
in Cyprus.
Greece supports the effort and
commitment of the Cypriot Government so that proximity talks become
substantive; so that they lead to a just and viable solution for Cyprus; so
that they secure the essence of the Republic of Cyprus as a modern multi-cultural
society, inseparable part of the European Union.
Cyprus, Turkey and Greece: for
anyone willing to vision the future, our futures are as interwoven as our
histories. A reunified federal Cyprus, member of the European Union, will not
only serve the European aspiration for stability in the region but the aspirations
of every citizen in every one of the countries; involved.
I extend my appeal to the Turkish
Cypriots. We want them near us, in our wider European family. In this family we
do not only guarantee the solidarity of the Greek people but also the
commitment of the Greek government. Our citizens will never master the
possibilities that lie ahead of them unless they witness this last wall in
Cyprus come tumbling down.
Our experience in our region, our
rapprochement with Turkey and our consistent efforts for a just solution in
Cyprus has given us a voice in the international community. We treasure our new
capacity and intend to grow it further: During our Olympiad for Peace we plan
to keep a close eye on developments in the Middle East always seeking methods to
facilitate the process. We shall follow closely developments in the South and
particularly in Africa, a continent for which the Greek people share a special
place in their hearts.
Mr. President,
We believe that if our principles
apply to our practice in our immediate geographical vicinity they must also
apply globally. The final area of our concentration in our Olympiad for peace
is new international initiatives in which our country can play a role. Drawing
on our ancient traditions, we are working to re-establish the practice of
Olympic Truce. We aspire to the day when the tradition of suspending all
hostilities during the Olympic Games becomes the seed of a more lasting peace.
To this end and in close co-operation with the International Olympic Committee
we have established the International Centre for Olympic Truce in Olympia. It
is a worthy project, upon which we all place high hopes: we aspire in enhancing
the relevance of the Olympic message in today's world, in strengthening the
bond between contemporary Games and Olympic ideals and in deepening respect for
global peace.
In both
ancient and modern Greek, the word for truce is ekecheiria. It has a dual meaning: It means setting one's weapons
aside and it means reaching out one's hand in friendship. We do not simply
aspire to a momentary truce but a continuous truce; an "active
Truce". We aspire to a truce where the cessation of hostilities during the
Olympic games will be used to engage in activities that can have a long lasting
effect towards peace and reconciliation. Examples of such activities include humanitarian
aid, dialogue between civil society leaders and exchanges of youth in an effort
to discover each other's culture.
The concept of Olympic Truce as
well as; the Centre can add an important new dimension to already flourishing
activities for peace. It can complement the work of national and international
organisations specialising in conflict prevention and resolution and
intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations sharing similar
objectives. The Centre in Olympia will offer a sanctuary to support peace-building;
it can become a site for peace, bringing together all relevant forces and
opposing sides of a dispute. In this context truce may become an important step
towards the ultimate achievement, of lasting peace.
I started my address by saying
that people coming together has always been the prerequisite for building a
better world and a more secure future. By coming together we learn from each
other, educate each other, understand each other. By coming together we learn
of each other's problems and needs. In this respect the Centre for Olympic
Truce can and will become a forum were we share and explore our problems.
Whether local or global, whether related to poverty, security, health or the
environment we can use the centre to publicize and voice our concerns.
This, Mr. President, is the
objective of the Olympic Truce. And this is the foundation upon which Greece
shall build its Olympiad for Peace.
Thank you, Mr. President.