Press conference with Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority (unofficial transcript)

The visit he is undertaking now is for the same aim and we thank him very much for it. Not just for his visit to us here, but in the entire area.

I have informed the Secretary-General that unfortunately the situation is very difficult and nothing has changed on the ground. The settlers' attacks have increased immensely on the ground, and in a very dangerous fashion. The burning of crops, the assassination of several leading personalities, including the Orthodox monk at the entrance of Jerusalem.

Movement on the roads remains extremely difficult. It is impossible to move on any of the roads crossing into Egypt and Jordan. It is extremely difficult. They have opened some of the side roads, but all the main roads are still blocked.

And I am sorry to say that Israeli soldiers are not listening to the orders they get from the political leadership and they are carrying out their military activities and their aggression.

We have asked the Secretary-General to approve the sending of international monitors to this region so that they can see for themselves on the ground what is and what is not being done, and so that we can begin with the implementation of the Mitchell Report as a whole, as a package, and not just the security aspect of that report.

I also suggested to the Secretary-General that we have another meeting of the Sharm-el-Sheikh Summit group, and at the level that he sees appropriate. And we also hope that the other co-sponsor of the peace process, the Russian Federation, will participate in that meeting.

And I say before you, Mr. Secretary-General, and before the world press, that we are disciplined and we are committed to fulfilling all the agreements related to the cease-fire. And we hope that the other side will make the same commitments, and especially to stop the crimes of the settlers against our crops and our people and our villages.

One more time, I would like to welcome the Secretary-General and to thank him for being here and thank him for his good offices in trying to move the peace process forward.

SG: Thank you very much, President Arafat.

It is important that I am in this region at this critical time. We all have been pained by the tragedy that has been going on here and we've been saddened by the loss of life, by the families who have lost their loved ones, and we send our deepest sympathy and condolences to all those who have lost family members, husbands, children, wives on both sides of the conflict.

But I think as we see the killing, we should see it as one more reason for us to urgently seek a solution, for us to do everything we can to bring the conflict to an end. The only solution is peace. There's nothing to be gained from the conflict or violence.

And I would also want to say that there can be no security without peace. Peace and security are the two sides of the same coin. And I think we need to really focus on that point and move forward.

I am gratified that both parties have accepted the Mitchell Report and its recommendations. Now we have to move forward and implement it in its entirety at the fastest possible pace.

Luckily we have a cease-fire which both parties have accepted. We have to try and consolidate the cease-fire and make sure it holds, so that we can move on to the other essential and important aspects of the Mitchell Report. That would give a sense of hope to the population and for both sides to know that sooner or later, but sooner rather than later, one would be back at the negotiating table trying to resolve these issues politically.

I have been to the region. I visited many countries in the region before I came here. And I can share with you the perception in the region - they are frustrated, they are concerned, they are worried. There is deep mistrust. They would want to see this conflict settled, they would want to see the region at peace. They would want to see a comprehensive settlement in the region, in accordance with UN Resolutions, particularly 242 and 338.

And I would want to assure President Arafat that the UN and other international players and leaders in the Arab world will work as hard as we can with the parties, with you and the Israeli Government, to bring peace to this region.

But the hard part has to be done by you, the parties, you and the Israelis. The international community can help, the international community can press forward, and we will be there working with you.

Later on today, I will have discussions with Prime Minister Sharon and I will also give the same message - that we need to move ahead as quickly as possible. We need to implement the Tenet Agreement and move on very quickly with the Mitchell Report.

I want you to know that you are not alone in this conflict. There are many people around the world, many nations, many leaders who want to help the two of you resolve this conflict and live in peace.

And when I see the faces of people, on television, either burying their dead or taking them to hospital, and you see that agony and that pain, you realize the urgency to resolve this crisis.

I think for the sake of the people, we need to work harder. The people need peace and they want peace. For their sake, let's push as hard and as quickly as we can.

We will now take your questions.

Q: What can the United Nations do to stop the settlements, please, especially on "natural growth."

SG: I think the recommendations of the Mitchell Report, which I believe should be [implemented] in its entirety, are very clear on that and recommend a freeze of all settlement activities.

Q: Is that the UN position then?

SG: We have endorsed the Mitchell Report.

Q: (translated from the Arabic): Mr. Secretary-General, the United Nations has resolved numerous crises. President Arafat has called for international observers to come to this region. Why is it that the United Nations is not implementing UN resolutions on this problem?

SG: I think, on the question of the observer force, as you may know, the Security Council did discuss it fully but the outcome was negative, and the observer force was not approved by the Security Council at that time.

In my discussions with President Arafat, this issue also came up. He believes it is important to have a third party mechanism to monitor what is happening and to monitor the performance of the parties vis-a-vis the implementation of the Mitchell Report. This is something that I will take up and discuss with the Israeli authorities and, I am sure, the other international partners.

On the question of implementation of UN resolutions, let me say that the UN resolutions in this region and on this particular conflict, have provided a very useful basis for the peace discussions and negotiations. In essence, the resolutions recommend land for peace. And this has been the basis for the settlement of the disputes in this region.

In addition to that, let's not forget that the UN and its agency UNRWA, is providing considerable assistance in the meantime to the Palestinian population. And we have troops in southern Lebanon and in Syria. And I am here, I am here because I want to work with you to find peace, and a peaceful solution to this conflict. So the UN is not absent. We are fully engaged, and I intend to stay absolutely committed and engaged in our search for a solution.

Q: (translated from Arabic): Mr. Secretary-General, you are the world's chief diplomat. Everybody is talking about the Mitchell report and not about United Nations resolutions. Are we expected now to ignore United Nations resolutions and replace them with the Mitchell Report while at the same time we are expecting countries like Iraq and Lebanon to implement United Nations resolutions? Has the Mitchell Report replaced international resolutions that the UN has issued?

SG: The UN resolutions stand, and are relevant. What has happened was the Mitchell Committee was set up after the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting. The objective at that time was rather limited -- to look into the violence that exploded after 28 September and to make recommendations as to how one can avoid repetition of that violence.

That implies that, at that time, we thought that the violence was going to be short-lived and that they can deal with the reason for the violence and take steps to make sure it didn't happen again. Here we are, almost nine months on, and we still have the violence. So the five wise men who compose the committee came up with very constructive suggestions that would get us out of the current violence, and move on to confidence-building measures, including the end of the violence, end of the shooting, withdrawal of Israeli military equipment, removal of the blockade and the siege and eventually getting back to the negotiating table to talk about a final settlement.

So, if you wish, the Mitchell Report provides a road map to the negotiating table, and at the negotiating table the discussions that will take place will be in the framework of land-for-peace, which is the essence of the UN resolutions. And so that is the real situation and we should not see the Mitchell report as replacing UN resolutions and I hope my answer makes the picture clear.

President Arafat (translated from the Arabic): We must also remember that the Mitchell Report referred to UN resolutions 242 and 338 as the basis for any solution. This also came in the Egyptian-Jordanian initiative and Resolution 194 concerning the right to return. This was also clear in the recent European-US summit.

Q: This is a question for President Arafat: Are you both, yourself and the Secretary-General, in complete agreement as to the correct path back to peace talks from here, back to a final settlement of the whole situation, or are there areas, such as the deployment of international monitors, where you differ with the UN?

President Arafat: The question of monitors is not a difference between us and the United Nations. This is a resolution that was vetoed. And I remind you of many of the resolutions that have been adopted by the United Nations concerning the Palestinian people. And in particular, stopping settlements and considering it an illegitimate act. And many other resolutions concerning Jerusalem. Resolutions 242 and 338 which the Madrid Conference was convened to implement, under land for peace.

SG: Before we break up, if I may say one thing. I began by referring to the suffering and the economic deprivation of the people in the region. To end that, we need to move ahead very quickly with the peace process. We need to work with the International community to come in with urgent assistance, assistance that will help the people rebuild their lives. And this will have to follow the effective implementation of the Mitchell Report, that we have indicated.

So it is important that we do everything to make sure that the cease-fire holds, do everything to implement it and move forward very quickly with the implementation of all aspects of the Mitchell Report.

I think we have an opportunity, but a brief one, a fleeting opportunity to resolve this issue, and we should seize the moment. If we don't seize it may move away from us.

So I appeal to everyone to work actively for peace, for the sake of the people, for the sake of the region and for the sake of the two parties involved. Thank you. *****