International Day of Solidarity (1988) – Special bulletin

i

 SPECIAL BULLETIN ON THE COMMEMORATION

OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY

WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

1988

CONTENTS

I.  Commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

II. Texts of statements made and messages received on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 1988

I. COMMEMORATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

On 29 November 1988, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was observed at United Nations Headquarters, New York, at the United Nations offices in Geneva and Vienna, and in several other cities.  The commemoration focused on the first anniversary of the intifadah in its historical perspective as the most recent evidence of the Palestinian struggle to achieve implementation of General Assembly resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947.

A special meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was held on Tuesday, 29 November, at Headquarters, in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977.  All Member States of the United Nations, specialized agencies and observers were invited to attend.

At the session statements were made by H.E. Mrs. Absa Claude Diallo (Senegal), Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; H.E. Mr. Dante M. Caputo (Argentina), President of the General Assembly; Under-Secretary-General Joseph Verner Reed, on behalf of the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar; H.E. Mr. Giovanni Migliuolo (Italy), President of the Security Council; Mr. Shafiq Al-Hout, Observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), who read out a message from Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO; Mr. Farouk Kaddoumi, Head of the Political Department of the PLO; H.E. Mr. Daya Perera (Sri Lanka), Chairman of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories; Mr. James Manzou (Zimbabwe) for the Chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries; H.E. Mr. Abdullah Salah (Jordan) for the Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference; and H.E. Mr. Clovis Maksoud, Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States.  A representative of the International Co-ordinating Committee for Non-Governmental Organizations on the Question of Palestine also spoke.

A concluding statement was made by the Chairman.

Messages to commemorate the occasion were received from 37 Heads of State, 8 Heads of Government, 9 Ministers of Foreign Affairs, 3 Governments and 1 intergovernmental organization.  Messages were also received from a total of 17 non-governmental organizations.

During the afternoon of 29 November two brief films on the uprising (intifadah) in the occupied Palestinian territories were shown in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.

In further commemoration of the International Day, the Committee arranged the screening of a series of films during the week beginning 29 November, in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium.

At the request of the Committee, in still further commemoration of the International Day, the PLO prepared an exhibition which was displayed in the Public Lobby at the United Nations Headquarters from Tuesday, 29 November to Monday, 5 December 1988.

II.  TEXTS OF STATEMENTS MADE AND MESSAGES DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, 1988

Statement by H.E. Mrs. Absa Claude Diallo,

Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the

Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

[Original: French]

Today the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is holding a solemn meeting to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, in keeping with General Assembly resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977.

It is my pleasure and honour to welcome H.E. Mr. Dante Caputo, President of the General Assembly at its forty-third session; H.E. Mr. Joseph Verner Reed, Under-Secretary-General for Political and General Assembly Affairs and Secretariat Services, representing the United Nations Secretary-General; H.E. Mr. Giovanni Migliuolo, President of the Security Council; H.E. Mr. Daya Perera, Chairman of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories, and H.E. Mr. Farouk Kaddoumi, Chief of the Political Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).  I should also like to welcome representatives of Member States, intergovernmental organizations, members of the press and everyone present here this morning.

I would now invite you to rise and observe a minute of silence in memory of all those who have given their lives for the cause of the Palestinian people.

Before we begin our work, I should like, on behalf of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to express our deep concern at the decision of the host country to reject the application for a visa submitted by Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to come to New York to attend the General Assembly and speak during the debate on the question of Palestine.

Our Committee is firmly convinced that that decision is incompatible with the obligations incumbent upon the host country under the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations.  Such a decision, in effect, denies the PLO the right to participate at the highest level in the meetings and work of the General Assembly, through a designated representative, in keeping with the relevant General Assembly resolutions.

This will have a negative effect on current efforts to work constructively on a negotiated settlement of the question of Palestine and, thus, on the cause of peace in the region.  In its declaration of 15 November 1988, the Palestine National Council (PNC) affirmed the necessity of holding an effective international conference on the Middle East question and its core element, the question of Palestine, on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and with a guarantee of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, first and foremost its right of self-determination.

Therefore, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People joins with all those who have already demanded that the host country reconsider its decision and permit the General Assembly to proceed with its debate on the question of Palestine in conformity with resolutions on the subject.

I shall now make a statement on behalf of the Committee.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People first observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in 1978.  The purpose of that celebration was to highlight the importance that the international community attached to the Palestinian question and to rally greater support from that community for the Committee's recommendations.

That today, so many years later, so many eminent persons are here with us to commemorate this same event is a demonstration, if one was needed, not only of the timeliness and acuteness of the problem, but also of the broad international consensus that has clearly emerged in support of the total emancipation of the Palestinian people.

Over the past 10 years, the Committee has observed a significant increase in the importance attached to resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947, by which the General Assembly adopted the plan for the partition of Palestine, acknowledging the right of both the Arab and Jewish peoples to create a State in Palestinian territory.  We have also witnessed the international community's frustration at the partial implementation of this resolution and the series of dispossessions, wars and sufferings that has ensued.

Nearly 1 million Palestinians became refugees in 1948.  The situation grew worse in 1967 after what remained of historic Palestine came under military occupation.  Today, there are nearly 3 million Palestinians in exile, sentenced to a life of dispersal and wandering.  Nearly 1.5 million who live in the occupied territories are victims of the occupying authority's blind repression.

Thus the failure to see the process of self-determination to completion weighs heavily on the conscience of the international community which, despite its efforts, has succeeded neither in assuming its responsibility of ensuring the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights nor in ensuring a just and lasting peace in the region.

The General Assembly and many Governments and non-governmental organizations have often condemned Israel's policy and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories.  For its part, the Security Council has in several resolutions expressed its deep concern and called upon Israel, the occupying Power, to abide by the terms of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

To date, however, Israel has remained intransigent in its efforts to bring the Palestinian people to heel by establishing its policy of occupation of hegemony and domination as a system of government.

This is why, in December 1987, the Palestinian people living in the occupied territories rose up.  The uprising represents a challenge from within to an unjust order and constitutes a flat rejection of an anachronistic policy of domination of one people by another.  It marks an incontrovertible turning point, and its historic importance is indisputable.  Day after day, children armed with rocks hurl a challenge at the armed forces of the occupying Power.  Despite the brutality of this repression, despite the many casualties caused by military weapons, tear gas and beatings, and despite the economic strangulation of the territories, the uprising continues.

In the course of the uprising, popular institutions were formed to co-ordinate civilian life, thereby demonstrating an extraordinary determination on the part of the people to fight in order to put an end to the occupation and recover the rights of which it has been deprived.

The decision of the King of Jordan to renounce legal and administrative authority over the West Bank and the decision of the Executive Committee of the PLO to assume full responsibility for the territories accelerated the process which led to the decision taken on 15 November 1988, at Algiers, by PNC at its nineteenth special session proclaiming the creation of an independent Palestinian State whose legal foundation was laid by the United Nations 41 years ago.

In the view of the Committee, which it is my privilege to chair, the United Nations and the international community as a whole must give unanimous support to this instrument of emancipation of the Palestinian people.  For its part, the Security Council has a duty, now more than ever, to bring about Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories and take positive steps for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly resolutions 38/58 C and 41/43 D.

We appeal to the Secretary-General to continue to do everything in his power to ensure that active consultations are held on this subject within the framework of the Security Council.  We are convinced that such a conference is still the most appropriate and most widely accepted proposition for achieving a peaceful, just and lasting settlement to the situation in the Middle East, the core of which continues to be the Palestinian question.  This is why the Committee has once again decided to make it the focus of its programme of work for the coming year.

Meanwhile, effective measures must be taken promptly to ensure the protection and safety of Palestinians living in the occupied territories.  The international community, in general, and the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, in particular, have the duty and responsibility to ensure that this Convention is respected by Israel, the occupying Power.

The Committee is asking the Security Council, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the international community as a whole to do everything in their power to:

(a) Increase their assistance to the Palestinian people;

(b) Encourage the autonomous economic and social development of the occupied Palestinian territories, in close collaboration with the PLO;

(c) Ensure that Israel complies with Security Council resolutions 605 (1987) , 607 (1988) and 608 (1988);

(d) Give positive follow-up to the Secretary-General's recommendations contained in document 5/19443, which was submitted in implementation of Security Council resolution 605 (1987) and has been essentially incorporated into General Assembly resolution 43/21, adopted recently.

In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is determined to carry out its mission.  In this context, it will spare no effort to ensure that its recommendations and those adopted in 1983 at Geneva by the International Conference on the Question of Palestine are implemented.  It is for that reason that today, on the forty-first anniversary of the partition of Palestine and the first anniversary of the uprising, the Committee would like to appeal to the international community and to all concerned and interested parties to intensify their efforts with a view to reaching a negotiated settlement that would end so much suffering and bring peace to a region that has already been torn apart by several wars.

Statement by H.E. Mr. Dante Caputo, President of the

forty-third session of the General Assembly

[Original: Spanish]

Today we commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.  In the present circumstances, our commemoration takes on special importance and meaning.

We note with deep concern that, despite a notable improvement in international relations generally, the atmosphere of tension and confrontation in the Middle East is deteriorating.  This deterioration is particularly dangerous in terms of the situation in the occupied territories – a situation which is the result of a policy that has been repeatedly criticized by international public opinion and by the principal organs of the United Nations.

Now, more than ever before, it is urgent and indispensable, in the light of these developments and this background, that we begin to implement United Nations resolutions on the question of Palestine and the Middle East.  Those resolutions recognize the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the right of all States of the region to live in peace within secure boundaries and set forth the best approach to an internationally acceptable solution.

In that context, there is broad consensus among the majority of Member States on the need to convene without delay the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, in conformity with General Assembly resolution 38/58 C, with the participation of all the parties to the conflict.  In that connection it is worth repeating, in the light of recent events, that the General Assembly has recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

There is also broad international support for Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which set out the main principles and guidelines for the solution of the Palestinian question and for the Arab-Israeli conflict in general.  The passage of time and the dangerous prolongation of the Arab-Israeli conflict only confirm the wisdom of those resolutions whose implementation, I stress, is the only path likely to lead to a lasting peace in the region.  Accordingly, I am totally convinced that the results of the recent meeting of the Palestine National Council constitute a very important contribution to the quest for a peaceful solution to the question of Palestine which, I must reiterate, is the very core of the Middle East problem.

In that context, the decision of the Government of the host country to deny the visa recently requested by Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, is a new obstacle in this already very difficult question.  In the light of these facts I wish personally to reiterate here before the Committee my commitment and intention to ensure that questions relating to Palestine receive appropriate consideration by the General Assembly, and my pledge to guarantee that Chairman Arafat will have the opportunity to make his statement before the Assembly, as he has the right to do.

In short, we are gathered here today to reiterate our solidarity with the Palestinian people and to reaffirm the support of the international community for the urgent search for a peaceful solution to that people's problems, in conformity with United Nations resolutions and in a manner that will ensure the exercise of the Palestinians' inalienable right to full self-determination and independence.

In conclusion, I wish to congratulate the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its effective, concrete contributions to the search for a just, peaceful and lasting solution to the question of Palestine and, in general, to enhancing the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Message from H. E. Mr. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Secretary-General,

delivered by Under-Secretary-General for Political and

General Assembly Affairs and Secretariat Services

[Original: English]

Today we observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.  This solemn meeting, organized in accordance with the wishes of the General Assembly, signifies the importance that the United Nations attaches to the question of Palestine.  It also helps focus the attention of the international community on the need for a just, comprehensive and lasting solution of this problem, based on full recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

This year, this meeting takes place on special significance, falling as it does within a few days of the first anniversary of the intifadah and shortly after a landmark session of the Palestine National Council (PNC).  Born of the frustration and despair of a population that has lived under occupation for more than twenty years, the intifadah is a direct result of the stalemate in the search for a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.  The Palestinian people have endured great suffering; the perseverance of the intifadah is evidence of its commitment to exercise its legitimate rights, including self-determination.

For several years now, in compliance with my reporting responsibility under various General Assembly resolutions, I have documented the positions of the Security Council and of all the concerned parties, including the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), with regard to the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East.  And it is with deep regret that I have always been obliged to report, most recently in my report to the General Assembly, of 30 September 1988 (A/43/691-S/20219), that sufficient agreement did not exist to convene such a conference.  At the same time, I would like to stress that a great deal of thought and effort have been devoted in recent years, both within and outside the United Nations, to seeking agreement on the principle of an international conference.  It is encouraging to note, as I did in my report of 30 September, that all members of the Security Council now believe that it is desirable to convene an international conference on the Middle East, and that they have invited me to pursue my efforts and consultations in this regard.  I will proceed on the basis of this mandate.  However, I feel that in the prevailing circumstances, it is insufficient to concentrate solely on procedural matters.  The loss of life and the maiming and wounding of civilians on both sides during the intifadah  compel us to address fundamental questions.

That said, it is important that the intifadah not be viewed solely in the context of Palestinians and Israelis, for it is an integral part of the broader Arab-Israeli dispute with its many complex and interrelated issues.  On 21 January 1988, I submitted to the Security Council a detailed report on the situation in the occupied territories (S/19443), in the final paragraph of which I urged the Security Council to take the lead in the search for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and taking fully into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including self-determination.

The recent session of PNC in Algiers has generated new momentum in the diplomatic process and I believe it offers fresh opportunities for progress towards peace, which should be seized.  In this connection, as you know, I regretted the denial of the visa application of Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO, which would have enabled him to come here this week, since this was incompatible with the obligations of the host country under the Headquarters Agreement.  It has been tragic that, in the history of the Middle East, opportunities have in the past only too often followed war.  The growth of extremism and the alarming proliferation of weapons in the area are trends that must be reversed if we are to avert disaster in a region that has already experienced five major wars, thousands of casualties and untold suffering.  In concluding, therefore, I cannot but reiterate the fundamental importance of devising an effective negotiating process that can secure the interests of both Arabs and Israelis and enable them to live in peace with each other.

Madame Chairman, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, under your able and dedicated leadership, has continued to work untiringly to achieve a just solution to the question of Palestine.  I take this opportunity to extend to you and to the Committee my best wishes for success in your important endeavour.

Statement by H.E. Mr. Giovanni Migliuolo, President of

of the Security Council for the month of November 1988

[Original: English]

This annual occasion serves to mark the importance the international community attaches to a just solution of the Palestinian problem.  We fully recognize that such a solution would prove to be a decisive element in the achievement of a negotiated, just and lasting settlement of the Middle East question.

We are well aware that the situation in the Middle East and the stability of the region have grave implications for the peace and security of the entire world.  Despite the seriousness of this challenge, and despite the great and continuing efforts that have been made to find a just and lasting solution to the problem, the situation in the Middle East continues to be one of the most intractable issues facing the international community.

The Security Council has been closely associated with these efforts.  It has been called upon many times to direct its urgent attention to the repeated crises engendered by the conflict, and to their consequences.  In doing so, the Council has always been aware of the importance of the Palestinian dimension of the problem and of its central relevance in the search for a just and lasting solution.

Guided by its responsibilities under the Charter, the Security Council will continue its efforts to seek a just and lasting peace in the Middle East for the benefit of all parties concerned, including the Palestinian people.

Before concluding, I should like to express the appreciation of the members of the Security Council for the work carried out by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and to wish it success in the accomplishment of its tasks.

Message from Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive

Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and

Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Forces,

delivered by Mr. Shafiq Al-Hout, member of the Palestine

National Council and of the PLO delegation to the

forty-third session of the General Assembly

[Original: Arabic]

On the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, it is my pleasure to express to you, Madam, to your Committee and to all participants in this solemn commemoration, our thanks and gratitude, which convey our deep pride and appreciation of the constructive role that your Committee plays in implementing the resolutions relevant to the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people.

It is also my pleasure to extend my greetings to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, expressing our appreciation for the constructive role he plays in the achievement and realization of the noble objectives of the United Nations.

The commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with our people as it continues its heroic uprising inside Palestinian territories and wherever the Palestinian people exists reflects the Palestinian people's denial and defiance of the Israeli occupation forces and its efforts to express its determination to reject the Israeli occupation.  Through its national unity, our people affirms its determination to put an end to the Israeli occupation and to exercise its inalienable rights, including its right to self-determination in full freedom, to achieve the establishment of its independent State on its national soil, with its capital in Jerusalem.

Recently, the results of the Israeli elections reflected the extreme-right orientation that runs counter to the march of history.  The forces that endorse the perpetuation of Israeli occupation have won the elections.  Those are the forces that are responsible for the escalation of the systematic policy of terror, aggression and expansion, the forces that refuse peace and defy the international will and the resolutions of the United Nations, aiming at the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East.

Faced with the attitude of the extremist forces of Israel, our people chose the road of peace, as was exemplified in the nineteenth special session of the Palestine National Council (PNC), held recently at Algiers, through the peaceful resolutions reached therein and in its positive response to the will of the international community to achieve peace in our region by convening an international peace conference on the basis of United Nations resolutions 242 (1967) and 330 (1973) and on the basis of guaranteeing the national and political rights of our people, foremost among which is its right to self-determination.

We are confident that the historic position adopted by PNC in the declaration of the establishment of the State of Palestine, based on the natural, legal and historical right of our people, represents a solid basis and a positive contribution on the part of our people to advance international efforts to convene the International Peace Conference.

Foremost among the administrations denying our people's right to self-determination and one of the administrations that has shown the most bias against the Palestinian people is the United States Administration.  You are all familiar with the aggressive attitude demonstrated by the Secretary of State of that Administration on 26 November in denying a visa to the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to participate in the general debate on the question of Palestine and to make a statement in which he had wanted to show the suffering of our people under occupation and the majestic dimensions of our uprising to put an end to the occupation and to establish our independent State.  Our Chairman wanted to explain the Palestinian policy that had already been adopted in the National Council, at the meeting held recently at Algiers.

I would like to confirm that we do not view that denial as a mere objection to the PLO.  We consider it an aggressive posture by the United States itself, flagrant interference in the affairs of the Organization and an obstruction of its role and of the role of its Member States.  It is a precedent that must not be condoned.  The United States Administration, by pursuing such a policy, makes the United Nations a hostage to its own will, subordinating it to geographic threats, financial blackmail and political pressures, all so as to serve its will and policies against international legitimacy.  Thus, that attitude, which is unquestionably aggressive, calls on Member States unanimously to stand up to the challenge it represents.  It also calls for the world to guarantee a neutral forum in which the debate can take place in conformity with the Headquarters Agreement already in effect between the United Nations and the United States, in such a way that it would guarantee the independence, autonomy and sovereignty of the Organization and by which the host country will be forced to abide by international law.

We are confident that the Committee will make all the necessary efforts to defend the rights of our people to express themselves before the United Nations.  We are also confident that the Committee will make every effort to crown with success the efforts towards peace and the alleviation of the suffering of our people.

In conclusion, I should like to reiterate my greetings and my wishes for success.  It is a revolution until victory is attained.

Statement by Mr. Farouk Kaddoumi, Head of the  Political

Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization

[Original: Arabic]

I extend a cordial greeting to you as we meet again to observe this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, as decided by the General Assembly, to stand by its side in its fight for justice and to express the condemnation and consternation of the international community over the practices of the Israeli occupying forces in refusing to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people, in violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the principles recognized by our Organization, as well as the principles of international law.

Over the years, we have marked this Day of Solidarity but, to date, have observed no significant progress along the way of bringing peace to the Middle East.  We have not yet brought an end to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian people has brought its just complaint before the international forum in the well-founded hope that the Organization would prove itself equal to its responsibilities and secure a triumph for the cause of freedom and justice, bringing an end to aggression and expansionism as well as other Israeli practices.

The resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council on the question of Palestine have strengthened the resolve of the Palestinian people to persist in its struggle to recover its rights.  The heroic uprising of the people was the bearer of a message.  That message is a rejection of the occupation by Israel and the exercise of its usurped rights.  The uprising has swept away refugee camps, villages and towns.  It is an uprising of major proportions in which Palestinians have stood up, unarmed, to Israeli aggression, placing their bodies before Israel's bayonets.  Their homes have been destroyed, fighters deported, some buried alive and many pregnant women have aborted because of tear-gas attacks.  Hospitals and houses of worship have been attacked.  Curfews have been imposed upon villages and towns for long periods of time.  Scores of children have been deported and forced into exile far from their homeland of Palestine.  Reports by international organizations such as the International Red Cross, Amnesty International, the United Nations itself and its specialized agencies, and the international media have described these activities, and all of them bear witness to the unrivaled cruelty of the Israeli occupying forces, who trample under foot the most elementary principles of international law and the civilized conduct of nations.

Despite the atrocities and long-suffering the Palestinian people have endured, they continue to persevere and stubbornly to work for peace through a just settlement of the problem.  The Palestinian people has not given up.  Quite the contrary.  At the nineteenth special session of its Executive Committee at Algiers, the Palestine National Council (PNC) crystallized this determination for peace, this determination to coexist peacefully and in equity with the peoples of the region, standing aside from policies of hegemony, expansionism or aggression, from policies of military or racial superiority.

The National Council has proclaimed independence, has proclaimed an independent Palestinian State on our Palestinian soil in conformity with international law, in conformity with United Nations resolutions, in a spirit of full respect for international law.  PNC has also urged the holding of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, reaffirming our position of principle and rejecting terrorism in all its forms, while safeguarding our right to resist and to defend ourselves against occupation, in conformity with the Charter and the principles of international law.

There can be no doubt that the messages and dispatches issued by many friendly and brother countries, presidents and officials of international organizations, all bear witness to the overwhelming support given the decision of the National Council and the growing support for a just solution, in conformity with the wishes of the international community and its desire for peace.  The Palestinian people, like all other peoples of the world, aspires to a free and dignified life in its homeland of Palestine, a homeland half of whose inhabitants have been sent into exile for more than 40 years.

Despite all of these vicissitudes, reversals and setbacks that we have faced in our quest for peace, we reaffirm here our resolve to work tirelessly within the framework of this Organization, for peace in our region, a just and lasting peace.  That peace will never come about if the Palestinian people is prevented from exercising its inalienable right recognized by the United Nations: its right to sovereignty and national independence.

I take this opportunity to convey my warmest thanks to everyone here and to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people, as well as to everyone who have sent us message of congratulations.  I thank all for the position of principle they have taken and for their expressions of friendship.  The Palestinian people will continue its heroic uprising, whatever the cost, whatever the sacrifice, and will continue to fight valiantly to recover its national rights, its right of return to its homeland, not losing sight of the lofty ideals of justice, freedom, peace and stability for all.

After reading that message, I cannot, unfortunately, fail to mention the decision taken by the United States Secretary of State, George Shultz, to refuse an entry visa to Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a visa requested in order to enable him to participate in the debate of the General Assembly on the item entitled "Question of Palestine".  That decision fully reflects the American policy of rejection of peace, a policy which turns its back on peace and on the Headquarters Agreement concluded between the United Nations and the host country, as was affirmed by the United Nations Legal Counsel and the Secretary-General and similarly reaffirmed by States Members of the United Nations in perfectly explicit statements on this subject.  Never before has the United Nations experienced such a situation, which is extremely disturbing with regard to the independence and freedom of action of the United Nations, at the very time when the peoples of the world are turning hopefully to signs of international détente which pointed towards the settlement of regional conflicts by peaceful means, at the very time when the United Nations was appearing to assume its role in the forefront of world affairs.

World opinion welcomed the decision of our National Council and the peace initiatives that it had adopted.  The United States would have been well advised to take that into consideration because the United States is a great Power which assumes particular responsibility for international peace and security.  The United States would have been well advised to follow up that Palestinian peace initiative with a favourable response because this country has always said that it sought a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.  Now this country is refusing our brother, Yasser Arafat, the right to read to the General Assembly a message of peace in the setting of the United Nations and to address that message, through the General Assembly, to the peoples of the world and to American public opinion.

We can only express our deep dismay over this decision, which is utterly lacking in political wisdom, a decision which deeply disappointed us and gravely affected the credibility of the United States Administration, a decision which is based upon groundless allegations.

We request the next Administration in the United States to avoid similar errors, to pursue a more balanced policy, which would enable the United States truly to work along the way of peace, adopting an objective position, an impartial position, recognizing the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, a policy which would see the PLO as a valid interlocutor in international affairs and recognize the PLO as the leader of the Palestinian people.

We were very much relieved to see what international reaction has been to the decision of Mr. Shultz.  We are deeply satisfied at this positive reaction and we believe it is an eloquent collective response to the United States decision.  We have observed, similarly, that large sectors of the United States population have expressed their dissatisfaction over this decision of the Administration, which runs counter to United States international obligations and to the sympathy felt by the American people for the Palestinian people and its rights.

After the latest elections in Israel, as the previous speaker has indicated, we have observed a polarization of positions, an upsurge in racism, which implies great danger for the occupied territories.  Unfortunately, the United States Administration is closing its eyes to that danger and increasing its aid to Israel, which tends to make the Middle East region a permanent hotbed of tension and instability.

All those factors place before us a heightened responsibility.  World peace is indivisible, as is freedom, and justice must prevail for everyone.

I should like to reiterate my appreciation to all gathered here for the positions they have taken in favour of the Palestinian people, its new State and the cause of peace.

SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES AFFECTING

THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE POPULATION OF THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

H. E. Mr. Daya Perera, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka

to the United Nations and Chairman of the Special Committee

[Original: English]

On behalf of my two colleagues of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories, and on my own behalf, I have the honour to convey to you this message on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Since its establishment in December 1968 following the 1967 hostilities and the ensuing territorial occupation by Israel, the Special Committee has had the task of preparing for consideration by the General Assembly a total of 20 reports, in which it has continuously endeavoured to put before the Assembly a complete and objective picture of the situation in the occupied territories as it affects the human rights of the civilian population.

Since the inception of the Special Committee, the Government of Israel has, unfortunately, always withheld its co-operation with the Special Committee and has constantly denied it the opportunity to visit the occupied territories.  This attitude, however, has not prevented the Special Committee from fulfilling its mandate to the best of its ability by reflecting in its reports all the available information received orally and in writing relating to human rights in the occupied territories.

Having examined and analyzed, as in previous years, the information and evidence put before it, the Special Committee has drawn the conclusions that the human rights situation in the occupied territories has dramatically deteriorated since the beginning of the uprising of the Palestinian population against the occupation.

As this commemoration takes place, the people of the occupied territories live in a situation of unprecedented tension.  The toll of casualties due to the determination of the occupying authorities to use force in punishing demonstrators becomes heavier everyday, hundreds of civilians of all ages have been killed by security forces or settlers and thousands injured, including children, women and old people.

The day-to-day life in the occupied territories since the start of the uprising has been characterized by constant unrest and violent clashes sparing almost no locality.  The period under consideration has also witnessed an extension and intensification of various forms of collective punishment against civilians, such as the demolition of houses, the systematic and prolonged use of curfews and a wide range of economic sanctions.

The administration of justice has been marked by new summary court proceedings described as "quick justice" and an unprecedented increase in the number of Palestinian detainees, including minors.  This in turn has resulted in the worsening of the already harsh treatment of prisoners, frequently leading to hunger strikes in prisons as an expression of protest against the conditions of detention.

The noticeable increase in the number of deportations from the occupied territories, which have taken place repeatedly in violation of relevant provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, is another illustration of the deterioration of the human rights situation.

Severe limitations have also been imposed on the exercise of various fundamental freedoms.  The right of freedom of expression has been seriously affected by a series of measures such as declaring various areas "closed military zones" to news coverage, and freedom of education has been severely restricted by the prolonged closure of all educational institutions in the occupied territories.

Finally, the persistent Israeli policy of settlement and physical annexation of the occupied territories, as well as the noticeable increase of acts of violence and aggression by Israeli settlers against civilians, have also added to the tension prevailing in the occupied territories.

In view of the gravity of these developments, I should therefore like to appeal once again, together with my two colleagues, to the international community to assume its responsibilities towards the Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories by taking urgent measures to ensure the restoration of the basic human rights of which they have been deprived.

MOVEMENT OF NON-ALIGNED COUNTRIES

H.E. Mr. Robert G. Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe

and Chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries,

delivered by Mr. James Mansou Counsellor, Permanent

Mission of Zimbabwe to the United Nations

[Original: English]

The observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People today takes place at a time of significant developments pertaining to the question of Palestine.

Exactly 41 years ago today, on 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II), popularly known as the United Nations Partition Plan, which provided for the establishment of an Arab and a Jewish State in the mandated territory of Palestine.  Subsequently, only one State, Israel, was created.  For over 40 years now the Palestinian people has been denied its inalienable right to self-determination and the right to establish a sovereign independent State in Palestine.  Its territory has been invaded and continues to be occupied.  Palestinian citizens have been deported from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Israel has been establishing Jewish settlements in these Palestinian territories.  The Palestinians and other Arabs in the occupied territories also continue to be victims of Israel's "iron-fist" policy, arbitrary mass arrests, torture and destruction of homes, in flagrant violation of its human rights and of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The Palestine National Council (PNC), at its "intifadah session" held from 12 to 15 November at Algiers, took the momentous and bold decision to proclaim the establishment of the State of Palestine on Palestinian territory, with Jerusalem as its capital.  That was a historic development.  We in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries consider that, as well as all others taken by PNC, as an invaluable contribution towards the efforts to initiate the Middle East process.  For the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has consistently maintained that a comprehensive, peaceful, just and lasting solution to the Middle East problem cannot be achieved without the total unconditional withdrawal of Israel from all Palestinian and other Arab territories it has occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and without the Palestinian people regaining its inalienable rights, including the right to return to its homes, the right to self-determination without external interference, as well as the right to establish a sovereign independent State in Palestine, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant United Nations resolutions.

The Movement of Non-Aligned Countries continues to be concerned that the Palestinians and other Arabs living in the Israeli-occupied territories, victims of repressive legislation and the intensified "iron-fist" policies of the occupying Power, Israel, lack all forms of protection.  That is why the recent Nicosia Conference of Foreign Ministers of the non-aligned countries called upon the Security Council to place the Palestinian territories under temporary United Nations supervision in order to protect the Palestinian people.

In the next few days we will be observing the first anniversary of the intifadah, the heroic uprising of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.  The intifadah represents a further qualitative step in the struggle against Israeli occupation and is a demonstration of the determination of the Palestinian people to have a State of its own, proving the futility of Israeli efforts to annex occupied Palestine.

The situation created in occupied Palestine by the escalating acts of violence of the occupation forces continues to pose a serious threat to international peace and security.  We therefore urge the Security Council to act without delay in seizing the opportunity to act on the recent decisions of PNC by setting into motion the preparatory process for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, at which the Palestine Liberation Organization, as the sole and authentic representative of the Palestinian people, would participate on an equal and independent footing.

I avail myself of this occasion to extend my warm felicitations to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its efforts to promote a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine, in accordance with the pertinent United Nations resolutions, and I assure the Committee of the full support and co-operation of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries in its noble endeavour.

ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

H.E. Mr. Abdullah Salah, Permanent Representative of Jordan to the

United Nations, speaking on behalf of H.E. Mr. Taher Masri, Minister

for Foreign Affairs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in his capacity

as current Chairman of the Seventeenth Session of Foreign Ministers

of the States Members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference

[Original: Arabic]

It gives me pleasure to speak today on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).  I take this opportunity to pay tribute to you, Madam, and to the other distinguished members of the Committee for your constant efforts aimed at enabling the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable right to self-determination and at ending its continued suffering as a result of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the absence of peace in the Middle East.

Undoubtedly, the wish expressed by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977 to observe an international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people reflects the importance which the United Nations attaches to the question of Palestine.  Also, it focuses the attention of the world community on the need to find a fair solution of this problem based on international law and the right of peoples to self-determination.  We trust that the celebration of this international formal occasion will go beyond mere expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people.  Rather, we should urge the countries of the world to intensify their efforts towards enabling the Palestinian people to enjoy its inherent legitimate rights, especially its right to return to its homeland and its right to self-determination and sovereignty on its land.  This is an essential prerequisite for peace and stability in the Middle East that would in turn promote world peace and enhance the principles of law, justice and human dignity.

Today we also pay tribute to the Palestinian national uprising.  The twelve-month-old ongoing uprising, with its political platform, tenacity and goals to end the Israeli occupation, has become one of the salient contemporary humanitarian and cultural trends that has generated a qualitative transformation in national resistance despite the unfavourable odds.  Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities persist in using the most brutal and oppressive measures against that Palestinian orientation, coupled with a flow of extremist announcements by several Israeli trends that reveal, when analyzed together, the existence of Israeli programmes and blueprints designed to liquidate the uprising and to terrorize and frustrate the Palestinians.  We are, however, confident that the Palestinian people will not stop its march towards a just and comprehensive peace as its valiant uprising did not evolve out of thin air.  Rather, the uprising represents a deep reserve of knowledge and comprehension of the overall political circumstances with its local, Arab and international dimensions.

While the population of the occupied territories suffer all kinds of oppression and suppression as they languish in their large prison, they tend to moderation in their political orientation.  They put us all on guard against inaction, reluctance, or leaving this valuable historic opportunity lapse without translating their uprising into concrete political realities on the ground.  It is imperative to bear in mind the fact that the uprising itself is not a passing event.  It is a collective revolutionary action, almost unmatched in the annals of peoples' struggle since the turn of the current century.  As such, it has created a unique opportunity to wrest the most fundamental and legitimate rights.  Member States of OIC, which have consistently advocated a moderate, flexible and realistic approach and have all along sought to harmonize their efforts with the Palestinian national aspirations, are now anxious to see a positive political outcome.  It is perhaps pertinent to recall at this juncture that the question of Palestine itself was the genesis of OIC.  No wonder then that this organization considers the question as the number one priority issue of all Moslems in view of its legitimacy and the presence of major Moslem shrines under Israeli occupation.

The all-embracing uprising by the Palestinian people throughout the occupied territories has managed, by tilting the balance of power in favour of the Palestinian side and by the momentum given to the promotion of the Palestinian entity and political machinery as a result of the Jordanian Government's decision to sever the administrative and legal links with the West Bank that uprising has managed to create, perhaps for the first time, the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian State.  This uprising has been sustained by blood and tears as well as by an extraordinary moral power.  In addition, it has invigorated the thrust which the Government of my own country, Jordan, throughout its constitutional and national unity with the Palestinian people, has long striven to deepen in the national consciousness of our citizens, that is the defiance of the Zionist plan as we fully identified and recognized the true nature of its objectives.  Thus we have focused on spiking the two chief wheels of that enterprise, i.e.  the land and the population.  The Zionist scheme aimed at depopulating the Palestinian land and undermining the communal ties among the Palestinians.  With an inspiration from the intifadah, the uprising, and following up on the Jordanian move to relinquish the legal and administrative association with the West Bank, and in the light of the well-established facts that military occupation neither terminates the original sovereignty nor establishes a new one, the proclamation of the independent State of Palestine on the Palestinian land now represents a new historic landmark in the evolution of the question of Palestine.  Furthermore, it represents, in the wake of the acceptance by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), an indisputable tangible reality that gives a fresh political impetus to the Palestinian struggle.  Thus the world has now available to it a totally new platform on the basis of which it will be addressing the question of Palestine in all its aspects.  Serious and consistent efforts have now become essential to utilize this decision in order to explore new ways and means conducive to new stances that replace old positions adamantly held by Israel, with backing from the United States of America, like the blanket rejection of any dealing with the PLO, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

The Islamic States, having supported and endorsed all the resolutions adopted by the Palestine National Council in its meetings at Algiers between 13 and 15 November, now hope that intensified action will be taken to translate those resolutions into concrete realities by ensuring an end to the Israeli occupation and to the plight of the Palestinian people.  It is our view that the acceptance of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) by the representative of the Palestinian people is a breakthrough towards establishing peace in the Middle East, as this acceptance meets the requirement of the recalcitrant parties and seeks to obtain their agreement to convene an international peace conference on the Middle East in which all parties concerned, including the PLO, would attend.  Such an international meeting, to be sponsored by the United Nations and to be attended by the permanent members of the Security Council, will be convened on the basis of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) and the guaranteeing of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.  That will represent a step towards putting the peace efforts on the right track in a bid to achieve a just, permanent and comprehensive regional peace that would secure the legitimate rights and interests of all parties to the conflict, as well as ensuring security, stability and prosperity for all peoples in the region.

LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES

H.E. Dr. Clovis Maksoud, Permanent Observer of the

League of Arab States to the United Nations

[Original: English]

The League of Arab States registers its appreciation for you, Madam Chairman, and the Committee, as well as for all those in the Secretariat who throughout the years have demonstrated solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian People.  This year however assumes new significance.  We have witnessed the intifadah of the Palestinian people, the uprising against Israeli occupation.  This year has brought into being a new reality, that of the Palestinian State, which has attracted a large measure of international recognition and approbation and which now puts before all of us the task of and the need for its realization.  The solidarity that the international community has shown has solidified to a very large extent then national unity of the Palestinian people and the great support of the Arab people for the Palestinian cause.

We witness today new qualitative developments in the Palestinian situation which require all of us to give new meaning and a new dimension to the term "solidarity".  It is no longer sufficient to express our sympathy, to articulate our approbation, to strengthen our solidarity, all of which are very useful moral aspects of our mobilization.  What is crucial is that before us there is a task, an opportunity and serious challenges.  The new opportunity is that in the resolutions of the Palestine National Council (PNC), adopted on 15 November 1988, a new opportunity for peace and reconciliation have been proposed.  They now need to be realized.  There has been those who have considered this opening an opportunity to bring about the peace that has long eluded the region.  Yet, we have seen how those who oppose the peace process in its true and authentic meaning have put red herrings.  They have asked the Palestinians to determine the parameters of their national patrimony but they have said that this was inadequate and insufficient because they have mentioned their right to self-determination.  It is amazing how the United States, in responding to the PNC resolutions, sought in those documents ambiguities which did not exist.  Is it ambiguous for the Palestinian people to say that it had acquiesced and acknowledged the right of a two-State system and has defined the State within the parameters of international legitimacy and consensus but that this should be coupled with the natural inevitable affirmation of its right to self-determination, and yet that this right of self-determination should constitute the element that renders it ambiguous?

This American response on the official level is, in our view, mind-boggling because no nation, no people would voluntarily abandon its right of self-determination; this was a necessary complementarity to whatever the international community had designated as the parameters of Palestinian patrimony.

Furthermore, the other ambiguity that has been mentioned in the official response of the United States on this very important issue is that PNC did not eschew violence and terrorism.  The categorical condemnation of terrorism in all its forms was documented long before the existence of PNC because at no time has the mainstream of the Palestinian revolution ever conducted what is called terrorist activities, but for the United States to say that insistence on the right to resist occupation means that there is an ambiguity in the commitment in the fight against terrorism is equally mind-boggling.  The right of the Palestinian people to resist occupation is an inalienable right.  It is its duty because acquiescing to occupation in any form is a prescription for permanent humiliation and disfranchisement.

It is in this respect that we consider the definition of ambiguity on the part of the United States' response to the PNC resolutions to be a mere pretext to buy for Israel more time to annex more territories, to declare

ex cathedra that Jerusalem is its capital, to perpetuate its annexation of the Golan Heights, to proliferate more settlements.  The uprising, for the last one year, heroic as it may be, has set in motion many corrective forces within the Palestinian community in as much as it has enhanced its national unity that has been represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which was not simply an organization that represented the Palestinians, but for the Palestinians, the PLO has been the framework of peoplehood.  The PLO has been a state of mind until PNC declared the Palestinian State.  It is from this angle that we view the need for solidarity to rebut the claims that ambiguity has been interjected in order to delay a comprehensive and just peace which the United Nations has clearly spelled out.  It has set in motion a corrective focus whereby the Palestinian State, now declared and recognized, is seeking realization; in that respect, it must be recognized that this enables, and facilitates the task of the international community to take concrete steps by which the realization of this State would be ascertained.

It has brought a corrective within the world Jewish community.  We have seen how in the last year the intifadah has brought out the worst racist character in the Israeli establishment; its behaviour pattern in the occupied territories has shown the reality of the racism inherent in the Israeli occupation and in the Zionist structure.  But it has equally brought out the best in Jewish values and traditions and that is why we feel that this corrective shows, in the tradition of all liberation movements, that while a people undertakes to liberate itself, it liberates its enemy from the collosal factors that have rendered them adversaries and enemies.

It is the solidarity of the peoples in the world and in this community of the United Nations that brings to the forefront the recklessness of the State Department's decision a few days ago to bar the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO to communicate this new qualitative leap into a new realization of the Palestinian rights and to give in a precise and formal way the parameters of this peace option that has been clearly defined by the PNC resolutions.  It is in this respect that we must move and endeavour this coming year, under your leadership, Madam Chairman, to bring about not only solidarity and commitment but the realization of what we recognize – an independent Palestinian State.

INTERNATIONAL CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL

ORGANIZATIONS ON THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE (ICCP)

Ms. Mia Adjali, Director of the United Methodist Office

for the United Nations, representing the ICCP

[Original: English]

It is my privilege to deliver this message on behalf of the International Co-ordinating Committee for Non-Governmental Organizations on the Question of Palestine (ICCP).  As I prepared this presentation, I could not help but remember a poem by a friend no longer with us, a Palestinian poet, Rashid Hussein, that he entitled in 1975 "Opposition".  Were he alive today he would have retitled it "intifadah".   In "Opposition", the child carries a hand grenade; in intifadah, the child but carries a stone.  Facing the child, fiercer and more determined to quell his cries, his longing for the homeland, the occupier increases the repression, the imprisonment, the expulsions and the use of force.  And yet, 18 years later, Rashid would join us to repeat his plea:

The world has allowed the Palestinian child to be imprisoned, to be tortured, to be killed and to be a hero.  It is the courage of the Palestinian child and of his mother which has generated such hope that the occupation forces cannot but resort to more intensive repression to maintain control over a people who has accepted to pay the price to free itself from the yoke of the occupier.

Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NG0s), in a statement issued on 19 November 1988, noted that

The intifadah is now 11 months' old.  It was clear to the ICCP mission that visited the West Bank and Gaza this past year that the Palestinian people had seized the initiative in order to shape its future.  The Chairman of ICCP, Dr. Don Betz, observed in his opening presentation to the Fifth United Nations International NGO Meeting on the Question of Palestine, in August:

Dr. Betz is sorry that he could not be here today and asked me to represent ICCP.  However, I hope you will not mind my quoting Dr. Betz again because I feel that his words are a fitting tribute to the Palestinian people and would surely be endorsed by NGOs around the world:

The recent "Declaration on the Establishment of a Palestine State" and the acceptance by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) is but a fitting climax.  Can an international peace conference be far behind? The world, the United Nations, must not permit anything else.

This past year has seen a new commitment grow out of the international NGO community invigorated by the spirit of the Palestinian people.  In the United States of America, in spite of the continuing harassment by the United States Government, as illustrated by the attempts to close the PLO offices in New York and Washington and the recent denial of a visa to Chairman Yasser Arafat, NGOs are more active than they have ever been in the past.  Many in this assembly may have witnessed on television Dr. James Zogby, Executive Director of the Arab-American Institute, addressing the Democratic Party Convention in Atlanta on 19 July of this year.  He remarked: "We're making history today.  Today, the issue of Palestinian rights is being debated by our party.  The deadly silence that has for so long submerged the issue of Palestinian rights has been shattered."

In Egypt, the first Arab Trade Union Conference in Support of the Palestinian Popular Uprising was held in May.  An "Arab Workers' Fund" was created to support the intifadah and 8 December was declared "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian Workers".

In Argentina, La Federación de Entidades Culturales Judias (the Federation of Cultural Jewish Organizations) protested the condemnation of the four Israeli Jews who dared to meet with PLO officers in Rumania in 1986.

In Japan, support has been mounted for the In'ash El-Usra Campaign Committee.  In'ash El-Usra was a family and children's society located in Al-Bireh, a town bordering Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.  It was the largest Palestinian institution of its kind and served at least 34,000 Palestinian women and children.  On 20 June, the Israelis closed In'ash El-Usra.

In the German Democratic Republic, the Solidarity Committee condemned Israeli aggression and the continuing occupation.  The Committee also supported the convening of an international peace conference and saluted the democratic and peace-loving forces in Israel.

In Denmark, the Campaign for Palestine (the Palaestinakampagnen) has launched a "Boycott against Israel" and called on the Danish Government to take "concrete sanctions" against Israel at the economic, political and cultural levels.

In the Soviet Union, the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee has developed a large-scale campaign in support of the Palestinian uprising, including financial support for the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

The list is endless and could include the work of NGOs in many other countries throughout the world.  The above is but illustrative.  But I must mention that ICCP staff has started a membership campaign in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Forty-one NGOs from different countries contacted the secretariat and many have completed the application procedure for the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

The struggle of regional and international organizations must be mentioned.  Their work emphasized the need for greater solidarity with the Palestinians and seeks to affirm the Palestinian people.  They set the stage for many of the national NGOs.

The Women's International Democratic Federation issued a tribute on 9 April to Palestinian women, reiterating its full support for "…the unarmed mass uprising of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories, among them thousands of women and children who have shown boundless determination and courage …".

The Middle East Council of Churches has set up an Ecumenical Travel Office designed to help Christian visitors or pilgrims in the Middle East "who want to experience more than stones and walls".  The Council hosted Dr. Frank Chikane, the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, in the occupied territories.  Dr. Chikane was shocked by "… such brutal and dehumanizing acts against other human beings".  His words were later echoed by the top executive of the world Methodist Council, Dr. Joe Hale, who commented upon his return from a week's conference in Jerusalem, "suffering is being inflicted, not in isolated incidents, but as a State policy.  It is both physical and psychological."

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers had made the same observations as the religious officials in their March report of the three fact-finding missions in which lawyers from France, Spain and the Federal Republic of Germany participated.  The Association stated: "It has become clear that it is not a question of bravura, but that these actions are the outcome of the army's (Israel's) new policy with regard to demonstrators which can be summed up in three words: force, aggression and blows."

L'Association Parlementaire pour la Coopération Euro-Arabe urged its national sections to press their Governments to prevent the renewing of trade agreements with Israel as long as the repressive Israeli military repression continues and as long as Israel prevents Palestinian exports to enter European markets.

Two new international organizations were created this past year: the International Committee for Palestinian Human Rights, consisting of prominent legal experts from all continents, will closely monitor the developments in the occupied territories; the International Women's Committee for Solidarity with Palestinian Women and Children, which will investigate violence against women and children and will also seek out the needs of the Palestinians and promote concrete response.

Again the list is endless.  The most important fact is that ICCP has information about NGO activities throughout the world.  Most of the facts I have stated have been gleaned from this year's Newsletters.  ICCP made it clear at its last international meeting at Geneva that it "…cannot replace NGOs, but rather remain a co-ordinator, a body that suggests, co-ordinates, launches initiatives coming from NGOs.  ICCP does not hold any delegation of power from any NGOs but, thanks to the information it receives, it can remind NGOs about the actions to be undertaken in favour of our common causes."

I cannot end without mentioning one other NGO event which Rashid Hussein, the Palestinian poet who grew up in Israel, who worked so hard for equal justice for Palestinians and for Israelis, would have appreciated.  I shall quote from ICCP Newsletter No. 13:

III.  Messages received on the occasion of the International Day

of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

A.  Messages from Heads of State or Government

AFGHANISTAN

H.E. Mr. Najibullah, President of the Republic of Afghanistan

[Original: English]

It is a matter of profound pleasure for me, on the occasion of 29 November, the Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine, to reaffirm the solidarity of the people and the Government of the Republic of Afghanistan with the just and heroic struggle of the people of Palestine at a time when the Palestine National Council (PNC) has passed a resolution on the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital.

The Republic of Afghanistan regards the declaration made by PNC on 15 November 1988 as a major step forward in the struggle of the Palestinian people in realizing its just and long-cherished aspiration.  This success has been achieved as a result of the long and courageous struggle by the Palestinian people, the United Nations and the peace-loving international community.

The Republic of Afghanistan wishes once again to express its deep appreciation of the role played by the United Nations and its Secretary-General in reaching an early settlement of the problem of Palestine and of the question of peace and security in the Middle East.

We believe that the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the convocation of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, under the supervision of the United Nations, with the participation of all parties to the dispute, including the Palestine Liberation Organization

as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, can resolve the grave situation in the Middle East.

unfortunately the Zionist authorities, by embarking on anti-Palestinian campaign, hinder the achievement of a settlement of the Middle East problem through peaceful means and in accordance with the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations.

We call upon all States Members of the United Nations to utilize this opportunity, which has opened the way for new and decisive efforts to achieve an early, just and durable solution to the Palestinian and Middle East problems.

While welcoming the efforts of the United Nations to resolve the problem of the Middle East, the Republic of Afghanistan once again reiterates its solidarity with the people of Palestine and expresses its support for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian problem, including the right of the Palestinian people to establish a sovereign and independent State of its on in Palestine.

ALGERIA

H.E. Mr. Chadli Bendjedid, President of the People's Democratic Republic

[Original: French]

This year's commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is special because of the historic proclamation by the Palestine National Council (PNC) of an independent State on Palestinian soil and because it is taking place on the eve of the first anniversary of the outbreak of the glorious uprising.

Despite the policy of repression and terror, the Palestinian people's uprising against oppression and for the recovery of its homeland and the national rights of which it has been deprived has continued, gathering momentum over the months to become an irreversible movement which no force can overcome.  By their sacrifices, their heroism and the heavy price they have paid in human life, the sons of Palestine will have shown the world their unshakable determination to establish themselves as a free people on their historic soil while at the same time writing one of the most stirring chapters in the annals of the struggle of peoples for freedom and dignity.

While the Palestinian people manifests its rejection of occupation daily, the Zionist régime, heedless of the international community's appeals and the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, pursues its policy of colonizing the occupied territories with utter impunity by establishing settlements, confiscating Arab lands, exploiting natural resources and transferring large numbers of Jewish settlers to Palestinian lands with a view to annexing them permanently.  This policy of colonization is accompanied by a policy of terror towards the Palestinian people which is designed to force it to abandon the land of its ancestors.  Even in exile, in the tent camps where it has found shelter in southern Lebanon, the Palestinian people is the target of incessant acts of aggression by the Zionist forces, each of which leaves dozens of dead and wounded women and children in its wake.

Today, more than ever, the international community finds itself confronted with a challenge and under an obligation to act.  It must do so with the utmost urgency to ensure that justice is done to the Palestinian people by fully restoring to that people its imprescriptible national rights.

The framework for the settlement of the Middle East conflict and the elements of a solution have been clearly identified by the international community and solemnly endorsed by the most recent Extraordinary Arab Summit Conference, held in June 1988 at Algiers, and by PNC at its meeting this month at Algiers.

The United Nations, which has a special responsibility to the Palestinian people, must therefore take all steps to ensure that the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, in which the Palestine Liberation Organization must participate on an equal footing in its capacity as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, is held as soon as possible.

Until the Middle East conflict is settled in a just and definitive manner, the United Nations must assume responsibility for protecting Palestinian civilians who have been arbitrarily handed over to the occupier, and for supervising the occupied territories for a limited time.

Finally, on behalf of the Algerian people and Government, I should like to extend our congratulations once again to the fraternal Palestinian people for having proclaimed its independent State and to express Algeria's unwavering support for the triumph of its struggle and the recovery of its inalienable national rights.

BAHRAIN

His Highness Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa,

Emir of the State of Bahrain

[Original: Arabic]

Since the 1947 catastrophe until the present, the question of the Palestinian people has been the subject of continuing international concern, which has placed it in the forefront of the many issues on the international scene and kept it alive in the mind and conscience of this world as an international issue of human dimensions and unprecedented in history.

Since the pain and suffering faced by this people have been beyond all concept and beyond endurance, it is not surprising that the latent depths of that pain and suffering should erupt in the form of an uprising for which, amid the circumstances of brutal subjugation and repression, it could find only stones with which to express its rejection of the occupation and its resistance to all the attempts to obliterate its Palestinian national identity and its independent Arab personality.

For 40 years, our Palestinian Arab people has been struggling by all means and diverse methods for the establishment of its legitimate rights, through a continuous series of fierce confrontations, unequal as regards materiél, but all the tools of repression and maltreatment have been weak against the will to fight and resolute belief.

The men, women and children who have become symbols of the Palestinian uprising and who have made stones the emblem of that militant spirit, will continue the battle, and their martyrs will light the path of freedom, happy in the immortality that God has ordained for them and the sacrifices that the Almighty has decreed for them.  Their free will to establish their independent State in Palestinian territory, heralded by the historic Algiers Declaration will, sooner or later, prevail.

The State of Bahrain, which welcomed the decision of the Palestinian National Council to declare the establishment of the Palestinian State and gave that step its blessing by its full recognition of it, hails and commends this historic event, which embodies the will of the struggling Palestinian people in its triumphant march towards the restoration of its legitimate and inalienable national rights.

In conclusion, I am pleased to convey my deep gratitude to you and to the members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its genuine and sincere efforts to promote the attainment of its lofty goals by supporting the steadfastness of this struggling people.

BANGLADESH

H.E. Mr. Hussain Muhammad Ershad,

President of the People's Republic of  Bangladesh

[Original: English]

This year, the annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November, as declared by the United Nations, acquires special significance.  It comes in the wake of the historic declaration by the Palestine National Council on 15 November 1988 proclaiming "in the name of God and in the name of the Palestinian people the establishment of the State of Palestine on the territory of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital".

Bangladesh, as a testimony of her resolute and consistent support of and total solidarity with her Palestinian brethren, has wholeheartedly welcomed this historic declaration of State.

Bangladesh firmly believes that the restoration of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including its right to establish a State of its own, is an integral core element in the search for a just and durable settlement of the Middle East problem.  Bangladesh has accordingly extended absolute and unflinching support to the people of Palestine in its just and legitimate struggle for self-determination and national self-realization under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its sole and legitimate representative.  On the basis of this principled position, we fully support the call for an effective international conference on the Middle East question and its cardinal element, the Palestinian issue, under the supervision of the United Nations and with the participation of all concerned parties, including the PLO, on an equal footing.

The present explosive situation in the Middle East is a direct consequence of a historic injustice imposed on the Palestinian people, which has been forcibly uprooted and dispossessed of its homeland and placed under the yoke of an illegal occupying Power which by stages has extended its stranglehold over the territory.  The Palestinian intifadah has unequivocally demonstrated the total rejection of the occupation forces of Israel in the face of brutal repression and organized terror.

It is our firm conviction that the historic developments that have taken place will lead to the early realization of the cherished hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people and its dream of a permanent homeland, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

BULGARIA

H.E. Mr. Todor Zhivkov, Secretary-General of the Central Committee

of the Bulgarian Communist Party and President of the

State Council of  the People's  Republic of Bulgaria

[Original: English]

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

The Bulgarian people sincerely welcome the proclamation of an independent Palestinian State.  We will continue our efforts for the calling of an international peace conference on the Middle East, under the auspices of the United Nations, with the participation of the permanent members of the Security Council and all sides to the conflict, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the friendly Palestinian people.

We are convinced that further progress on the road to a comprehensive, just and durable solution to the Middle East conflict will create favourable opportunities for the practical implementation of the inalienable rights of your heroic people.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

H.E. General André Kolingba,

President of the Central African Republic

[Original: French]

The Government of the Central African Republic particularly welcomes the opportunity provided by the celebration of the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People to reaffirm its support for the just struggle being waged by that valiant people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in order fully to exercise its right to self-determination and for the unsparing efforts made by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to enhance the prospects for an end to that struggle.

There is no need to recall that the question of Palestine remains at the centre of the crisis which is sending tremors through the Middle East, and that lasting peace cannot be achieved in the region if that question is not urgently resolved.

While welcoming the positive step recently taken by the PLO at Algiers with a view to establishing the conditions governing such a settlement, the Central African Republic Government ardently hopes that practical effect will be given to the idea for an international peace conference on the Middle East, thus facilitating the definitive return of peace to the region.

CHINA

H.R. Mr. Li Peng, Premier of the State Council

of the people's Republic of China

[Original: Chinese]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I wish to pay tribute to the heroic Palestinian people on behalf of the Government and people of China.

The meeting marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is in itself testimony to the concern of the international community about the Palestinian question and to the sympathy and support of the world's peace-loving peoples for the just cause of the Palestinian people.  The Palestinian issue is the core of the Middle East question, and there can be no peace and stability in the Middle East without restoring to the Palestinian people its legitimate national rights.  This has been acknowledged by the international community.  Therefore, a just settlement of the Palestinian issue is not only a goal the Palestinian people have been striving for, but also a universal demand of the international community.

The Palestinian question has long been denied a solution because the Israeli authorities, in defiance of strong opposition from the international community, have obstinately clung to their policies of aggression and expansion, refused to recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, disregarded a series of United Nations resolutions, and obstructed the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East.  This stubborn position of the Israeli authorities has not only brought disasters and sufferings to the Palestinian people but also made it impossible for the people of all countries in the Middle East, including Israel, to live in peace and tranquility.

For years, the heroic Palestinian people have waged an arduous and tenacious struggle to oppose Israeli aggression and restore its legitimate national rights.  The nearly year-long struggle of the Palestinian people in the Israeli-occupied territories in particular has dealt a telling blow to the Israeli authorities and their supporters.  This is a demonstration of the firm belief of the Palestinian people, who defy brutality and vow to continue the struggle until the restoration of their national right to existence.  For that they have won wide sympathy and international support.  The declaration of the founding of the State of Palestine at the recent nineteenth special session of the Palestine National Council (PNC) is a historic decision made by the Palestinian people and a major event in the annals of the Palestinian people's struggle.  It marks the beginning of a new stage in the history of the Palestinian revolution.  We believe that the Declaration of Independence and the political statement adopted by PNC at its special session are reasonable and positive, and will help advance the middle East peace process.

The Chinese Government and people cherish deep sympathy with the Palestinian people and firmly support its just struggle.  The Chinese Government extends its warm congratulations on the founding of the Palestinian State, which it has formally recognized.  The Chinese Government has always held that Israel must withdraw from the Arab territories it has occupied since 1967, that the national rights of the Palestinian people must be restored and that all countries in the Middle East have the right to existence and should live together in peace.  We support the convocation of an international peace conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations in the search for a comprehensive and just settlement of the Middle East question.  As a party to this question, the Palestinian State is entitled to the right to attend the Conference with others on an equal footing.

The current international situation is moving towards an easing tensions, and settlement of regional conflict through dialogue has become the main trend in international relations.  It is the hope of the Chinese Government and people that the Israeli authorities will go along with this trend, replacing their rigid position with a flexible attitude and abandoning their policy of aggression and expansion in a realistic approach  to remove the hot spot of the Middle East.  We call on the United Nations and all the justice-upholding countries to join hands in a concerted effort to urge the Israeli authorities to implement all the United Nations resolutions on a comprehensive and just settlement of the Middle East question and advance the process of peace in that region.

CUBA

H.E. Mr. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Council

[Original: Spanish]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I have the honour to transmit to you this message of solidarity from the people and Government of Cuba, as a further demonstration of our support for and full identification with the just struggle tirelessly being waged by the Palestinian people for the restoration of its national rights under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its sole legitimate representative.

The recent declaration of independence of the State of Palestine constitutes a major development, which has been welcomed with great enthusiasm and solidarity throughout the world and marks the beginning of a new, more advanced phase in the noble cause of the brave Palestinian people.

It is more necessary than ever to step up the efforts of the United Nations and the insistent demands by most members of the international community for a just and durable peace in this part of the world.

The Palestinian people responded to the attack of the Israeli invader with a popular uprising which has served to confirm the national characteristics of the Palestinian movement and heralds a new stage in the broad struggle being waged by this people against foreign colonization and domination.

The economic, political, military and diplomatic support of the United States is the major factor that has enabled Israel to perpetuate its aggressive policy in the Middle East, for without that aid Israel would be unable to continue violating the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people or occupying other Arab territories.

Peace-loving forces should not lose heart in the effort to find a just and permanent solution to the Middle East conflict, and it is against this background that the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East – which was proposed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and has received overwhelming support – would appear to be an appropriate step in the search for this solution, despite the fact that no progress has been made in the preparations for the Conference, owing to the imperialist and Zionist obstacles that have arisen.

Cuba reiterates its firm support for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations, with the participation, on an equal footing, of all the parties concerned in the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the PLO.

The Committee over which you so capably preside can rely on our support to continue encouraging any initiatives conducive to the prompt restoration of the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and, to this end, we are honoured to have served as host country for the Eighteenth United Nations Seminar on the Question of Palestine, as a modest contribution to the cause of that heroic people.

I wish to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to you and the other members of the Committee for your dedicated efforts to guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

CYPRUS

H.E. Mr. George Vassiliou,

President of the Republic of Cyprus

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I reiterate the unswerving support of the Government and the people of Cyprus to the just struggle of the Palestinian Arab people for the restoration of its inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and the establishment of its own independent and sovereign State.

In the framework of this policy, the Government of Cyprus welcome the decision of the Palestine National Council (PNC) to proclaim an independent Palestinian State, declaring that it considers the Algiers Declaration a historic encouraging step creating prerequisites for reconciliation and a just and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East problem in accordance with the principles of international law, the Charter and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the Declarations of the Non-Aligned Movement.  The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus, at its first meeting after the PNC session held at Algiers, decided to recognize the Palestinian State.

It is our conviction that the new realistic approach of the Palestinian side, as expressed in the political communiqué of the nineteenth extraordinary session of PNC, can contribute to the achievement of a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, safeguarding the rights of all States and peoples in the area, including their right to live in internationally recognized and secure boundaries.

Such a solution can be achieved through an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations, in which the permanent members of the Security Council and all the parties involved in the conflict should participate, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, on an equal footing.

What is now expected from all interested parties is to realize that, for the materialization of such a conference, an active interest must be shown and skillful diplomacy must be employed.  Moreover, for the finding of a just and permanent solution to the problem, which is rendered much easier in the new favourable international political climate, goodwill and a conciliatory spirit will have to be displayed by all the parties involved in the conflict.

DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

H.E. Mr. Kim Il Sung, President of the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

[Original: English]

On behalf of the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Korean people and myself, I send militant greetings to you, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its resistance fighters and the Palestinian people on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

The Palestinian Arab people, who have long waged an arduous struggle for the liberation and freedom of the fatherland, are now observing the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on such a significant occasion as the founding of the sovereign State of Palestine.

The proclamation of the founding of the sovereign State of Palestine is an important fruition of the just struggle of the Palestinian people.  It is also an event of weighty significance in the development of the revolutionary movement of Palestine.

The Korean people actively support and welcome the proclamation of the founding of the sovereign State of Palestine and will, in the future too, lend wholehearted support to your just struggle to oppose the aggressive and oppressive schemes of the imperialists and Zionists, achieve liberation of the fatherland and territorial integrity and restore completely your legitimate national rights under the leadership of the PLO.

Believing that the militant leadership of and solidarity between the peoples of Korea and Palestine, firmly grounded in the common struggle for independence against imperialism, will grow stronger everyday, I sincerely wish you, the Palestinian resistance fighters and people, ever greater successes in the struggle for the final victory of the Palestinian revolution.

DEMOCRATIC YEMEN

H.E. Mr. Haider Abubakar Al-Attas, Chairman of the Presidium of the

People's Supreme Council of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen

[Original: Arabic]

Permit me, at the outset, to convey to you my warmest greetings and most sincere wishes for health, happiness and success in the discharge of your lofty international functions.

This International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People occurs amid new circumstances, since the struggling Palestinian people and its friends throughout the world have been able to register many gains as a result of the escalation of the popular uprising in the occupied territories and the escalation of the acts of brutal repression and violence of the Israeli occupation forces.  Amid the fierce conflict between the peace-loving people fighting defenceless and unarmed for its freedom and the occupation forces armed to the teeth with the most modern weapons of slaughter and destruction, the cause of the Palestinian people has gained prominence and has advanced towards broader horizons; the concept of the International Conference as the best means for the peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the question of the Palestinian people has also gained more backing and support.

The nineteenth session of the Palestine National Council, held at Algiers, and the decisions issued by it, foremost among them being the declaration of the establishment of the State of Palestine, constitute a major positive contribution towards the creation of a proper background for the International Conference and arrival at a peaceful settlement of the situation in the Middle East.

The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen proclaims its high appreciation of the great efforts being made by the international community, and first and foremost by the United Nations, through the various forms of solidarity with our Palestinian people.  We believe, however, that the new stage of the struggle of this embattled people calls for more active solidarity and the devising of new forms for this solidarity in order that the will for good, peace and justice may triumph.  In this connection, we express our profound condemnation of the provocative and illogical stand taken by the United States Administration, in particular, by denying the Palestinian leader, our militant brother Yasser Arafat, a United States entry visa so that he may speak for the Palestinian people before the General Assembly.  We feel that that decision is totally incompatible with the rights of the Organization and is an affront to international will and prejudicial to the standing of the United States itself.  This calls for a decisive stand on the part of the international community.  Solidarity with the Palestinian people is of the utmost importance at the present time and we are fully confident that the cause that enjoys the solidarity of the broadest sectors of international public opinion will triumph.

EGYPT

H.E. Mr. Mohamed Hosni Mubarak,

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

[Original: Arabic]

First of all, I have pleasure in commending the great efforts which you and the members of the Committee are making in support of the Palestinian right to live in security and peace and to contribute to the stability and prosperity of the region.  The establishment of your esteemed Committee in 1975 was a concrete expression of the international realization of the legitimacy of the Palestinian claim and the pivotal nature of the Palestinian problem as the core issue in the existing conflict in the Middle East region.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People this year comes at an important and historic turning-point for the question of Palestine.  In a few days, the uprising of the heroic Palestinian people in the occupied territories will enter its second year, having proved to the world the tenacity of this people in its resolve to preserve its identity and to defend its land.

The Palestinian uprising has confirmed what Egypt had stressed on many occasions, namely that the just solution of the question of Palestine is the only way to guarantee the security and stability of the region, so that its people may be free to address the challenges of development and construction instead of the arms race and the squandering of resources in frantic competition.

This occasion also comes a few days after the conclusion of the nineteenth session of the Palestine National Council (PNC), the session that was named "the session of the intifadah (uprising)", in affirmation of the bond between the representatives of the Palestinian people in its National Council and their broad base, which is daily registering immortal feats of heroism, sacrifice and devotion.  The resolutions of PNC correspond to the aspirations of the Palestinian people, based as they are on the natural, historical and legal right of the Palestinian people to its homeland and on international legitimacy as represented in the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations.

The communiqué issued by PNC stressed the sincerity of the orientation towards a just and comprehensive peace based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and on acknowledgement of the legitimate political rights of the Palestinian people, including its right to self-determination, and support for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, with the participation, on an equal footing, of all parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

This development undoubtedly represents a step of vast proportions in the course of the Palestinian struggle for liberation and peace and affords a unique opportunity to those of sincere intentions for serious efforts to bring about peace in the land of peace.  That is because the conscient movement of the Palestinian people has been able to crystallize the political formula for one stage of the struggle, a formula based on the natural and undeniable truth of the rejection of the occupation and the impossibility of its continuation, as attested by the souls of hundreds of martyrs and thousands of victims in the towns and villages of the West Bank and Gaza.

The international community is called upon today, more than at any time in the past, to support the Palestinian people's orientation towards a just and comprehensive peace and to assist its struggle for the restoration of its legitimate political rights.  Undoubtedly, the United Nations bears a great responsibility in this regard and this must be stressed, particularly on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which bases itself in its claims and in the definition of its rights on the principles of the Charter and the resolutions of the United Nations and on international legitimacy, which protect the rights of all and quite categorically decrees that the rights of a people are imprescriptible and do not lapse with the passage of time.

The Arab Republic of Egypt, proceeding from its unswerving commitment to the causes of its Arab nation and its continuing support for the struggle of the Palestinian people and from its firm belief in a just peace, reaffirms the necessity of a serious and speedy move towards a peaceful settlement of the Middle East problem.  It considers that the favourable international circumstances that have created an auspicious climate for a positive move towards the solution of many intractable regional problems must, in turn, contribute to the success of the peace process in the Middle East.

The Arab Republic of Egypt also considers that there are certain key elements for the procurement of which every sincere effort must be made in order to vitalize and activate the peace process in the region and which are as follows:

1. Strong international support for the peace orientation of the Palestinian people as reflected in the brave resolutions of its National Council.  The majority of the States of the world have, with their genuine feeling for and deep commitment to peace, realized the positive nature of these resolutions and the responsibility that devolves upon the international community to encourage the constructive development which they represent;

2. Translation of this support into a zealous international move to revive the peace process within the framework of international legitimacy and to pursue the necessary efforts until all realize that there can be no peace through coercion and hegemony or through disregard or denial of the legitimate political and national rights of the Palestinian people, but only through a settlement based on respect for the principles of international law and for the Charter and the resolutions of the United Nations;

3. The commencement of consultations between the various parties concerned, including the permanent members of the Security Council, in preparation for the convening of the International Peace Conference, taking advantage of the strength of the current momentum engendered by recent developments;

4. Respect for Security Council resolutions 605 (1987), 607 (1988) and 608 (1988) concerning the present situation in the occupied territories and the protection of the rights of the Palestinian people under occupation.

The Arab Republic of Egypt considers that the international community bears a special responsibility in the current circumstances to undertake the necessary efforts to ensure the realization of these elements and conditions, which are essential to the success of the peace Process in the region.  I am confident that any peaceful, comprehensive and just settlement will inevitably be in the interest of all the peoples of the region without exception and will also guarantee peace and security for all.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate my thanks to your esteemed Committee and to convey to you and to the members of the Committee the assurances of my highest consideration.

GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

H.E. Mr. Erich Honecker, General Secretary of the Central Committee

of the Socialist Unity Party of German and Chairman of the

Council of State of the German Democratic Republic

[Original: English]

The German Democratic Republic has welcomed with satisfaction the decisions adopted at the session of the Palestine National Council, which will stimulate the process towards achievement of a lasting and just solution of the Middle East conflict, and has recognized in terms of international law the Palestinian State established in accordance with the Charter and the pertinent resolutions of the United Nations.

In view of the aggravated situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, it becomes ever more obvious that, without the recognition and implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to the establishment of an independent State, no solution can be found which will take into account the interests of all States and peoples in the region.  In the view of the German Democratic Republic, an international conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, is the proper way to achieve this objective.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an occasion for me to reassure the Palestinian people and its sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, of the unswerving solidarity of the German Democratic Republic.

The German Democratic Republic, in its capacity as member of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, will continue actively to support the endeavours of the world Organization in its search for a solution of the question of Palestine and peace in the Middle East.

GHANA

H.E. Flt.-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings,

Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council of Ghana

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I am pleased to renew the unwavering commitment and support of the Government and people of Ghana to the people of Palestine in its just struggle for self-determination and freedom from occupation.

The observance of this occasion provides yet another opportunity for serious reflection on the crucial factors that underly the promotion of genuine and lasting settlement of the Middle East problem.  This involves, among other things, the restoration of the fundamental human rights of the Palestinians and the establishment of the Palestinian homeland.

We deeply regret that efforts to achieve this end have proved unsuccessful so far.  The plight of Palestinians, meanwhile, has worsened as they continue to be subjected to the most brutal repression by the occupying Power, Israel, in violation of their fundamental human rights.  It is long past the time for concrete steps to be taken by the international community to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the problem of Palestine by convening the long-proposed Middle East Conference.

We in Ghana support the implacable determination of the Palestinian people in its struggle for a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine, which remains at the heart of a viable peace in the Middle East, a determination evinced by the dimensions of the intifadah.  We wish to reiterate our full support for the cause of the Palestinians.

On this occasion, therefore, the Government of Ghana wishes to extend its heartfelt congratulations to the leadership of the Palestinian people, the Palestine Liberation Organization, in the hope that its endeavours will be fruitfully rewarded.

GUINEA

H.E. Brigadier-General Lansana Conte,

President of the Republic of Guinea

[Original: French]

The celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People gives us the welcome opportunity to address to you, on behalf of the Guinean people and Government and on our own behalf, our very sincere and warm congratulations.  We have been attentively following the praiseworthy efforts which the United Nations continues to make with a view to enabling the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable right to self-determination and national independence.  The struggle of the Palestine Liberation Organization deserves the support of all countries and peoples that love peace, justice and freedom.  The people of Guinea will maintain their solidarity with the Palestinian people in its undertaking of national emancipation for the exercise of its sovereignty within the framework of an independent Palestinian State.

HUNGARY

Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic

[Original: English]

On the international Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic and the people of Hungary pledge support to the Palestinian people and the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in their struggle for the exercise of their inalienable national rights.  A major development in this struggle is the fact that the Palestine National Council, in the decisions adopted at its session at Algiers, recognized the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and issued a declaration of independence, on the basis of which the Hungarian People's Republic recognized the proclamation of the independent State of Palestine.

We are convinced that without the solution of the Palestinian question, the central issue of the Middle East crisis, it is impossible to establish a just and lasting peace in this region.  The continuation of the conflict also proves that a settlement can only be achieved if the interests of all the parties concerned are taken into account.  We again reaffirm our stand supporting and calling for the early convening of an international conference to be held under the auspices of the United Nations and the settlement of the Middle East conflict by guaranteeing the security and independence of all States and peoples concerned, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

On this occasion we reaffirm our solidarity with the just cause of the Palestinian people and wish you every success in achieving the goals of the Palestinian people and in strengthening the unity of the PLO.

INDIA

H.E.  Mr.  Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I would like to reiterate our unstinted and continued support for the Palestinians in their just struggle for their legitimate rights.  This day has a special importance this year.  The recent declaration of a Palestinian State has significantly promoted the goal of an independent Palestinian homeland.  India was amongst the first countries to extend full recognition to the State of Palestine.

The political programme adopted by the Palestine National Council, at its recent Algiers meeting, is constructive and has created a positive climate for negotiations.  In many ways, the situation has never been more favourable for finding a durable and lasting solution.  We hope that this opportunity will be seized.  Every effort must be made to ensure the early convening of a United Nations-sponsored international peace conference on the Middle East, with the full participation of all parties concerned, to negotiate a just and comprehensive settlement.  India will lend its support to these efforts.

INDONESIA

H.E. Mr. Soeharto, President of the Republic of Indonesia

[Original: English]

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is being observed against the backdrop of the momentous decision of the Palestine National Council, taken at its historic nineteenth session, held at Algiers earlier this month, to proclaim an independent Palestinian State.  The Government and people of the Republic of Indonesia welcome and endorse this decision.

The decision of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, recognizing the independent Palestinian State, is fully in line with Indonesia's consistent support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve its inalienable right to self-determination and to sovereign and independent statehood in Palestine.

On the occasion of this solemn observance, I hereby reaffirm our solidarity with the Palestinian people in its struggle against Israeli occupation, as manifested by the intifadah, the sustained popular uprising in the occupied territories.

In this regard, Indonesia condemns Israel for its attempts to suppress the Palestinians' legitimate resistance to its illegal occupation and reiterates its strong protest and deep concern over the use of indiscriminate force, which has resulted in the killing of hundreds of unarmed Palestinian protesters, injuries to thousands, mass detentions and deportations, wanton destruction of Palestinian property and an economic blockade of the Palestinian people.

Given these deeply disturbing developments, it should be self-evident to everyone that the morally and politically bankrupt Israeli régime can no longer contain the revolutionary fervor of the Palestinian people and that its control over the occupied territories can only be sustained by reliance on massive military might to enforce an "iron-fist" policy of bloody repression.  Yet, despite the overwhelming odds, the heroic Palestinian people, with courage and determination, has demonstrated before the world its unconquerable will to wage a relentless struggle for the restoration of its usurped national rights.

Hence, even Israel's friends can no longer attribute the plight of the Palestinian people to social and economic conditions or administrative restrictions, as they too now admit that the intifadah is the direct result of the historical injustices inflicted on the Palestinian people by the ruthless Israeli occupier.  It is essential also to recognize that both the present uprising and the proclamation of the independent Palestinian State imply that there can be no return to the status quo of the preceding two decades, for a qualitative change has taken place in the nature and level of the struggle of the Palestinian people portending far-reaching and inexorable ramifications with regard to the further evolution of the situation.  These developments have galvanized the Palestinian nation, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its sole and legitimate representative, to enter a new and decisive phase in its political struggle.

The grave human tragedy that has unfolded in the occupied territories over the course of the past 12 months calls for swift and concrete measures by the international community to compel Israel to cease the carnage and to comply fully with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and of other universal norms of civilized behaviour.  In this regard, Indonesia fully supports the call for placing the Palestinian territories under temporary United Nations supervision in order to put an end to the daily atrocities and other acts of extreme violence against unarmed Palestinian protesters in the West Bank, Gaza and in the Holy City of Al-Quds.

The urgency of taking measures to protect the Palestinian people under occupation, to guarantee its safety and security, is matched only by the imperative necessity to advance towards the establishment of the proclaimed Palestinian State in Palestine through the initiation of negotiations on a comprehensive settlement, based on Israel's unconditional withdrawal from all Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 and the implementation of General Assembly resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947, as well as all other relevant decisions of the United Nations.  Therefore, Indonesia appeals to the Security Council to shoulder its responsibility by according utmost priority to the early convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, in conformity with General Assembly resolution 38/58 C.

Finally, on behalf of the Government and people of Indonesia, I should like to convey to the heroic Palestinian people and its liberation movement, the PLO, our conviction of their ultimate victory in the realization of their sacred cause to cast off the yoke of Israeli occupation and to live in an independent Palestinian State on their national soil.

May God Almighty bestow His blessings and wise guidance on all of us.

IRAQ

H.E. Mr. Saddam Hussein, President of the Republic of Iraq

[Original: Arabic]

This year the United Nations observes the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People against the background of major developments regarding the question of Palestine, the most important being the heroic uprising of the Palestinian Arab people and the historic decisions adopted by the nineteenth extraordinary session of the Palestine National Council (PNC), held at Algiers on 15 November, the session rightly named "the session of the intifadah".

This uprising, which in a few days will enter into its second year, is the most sincere expression of the resolve of the Palestinian people to resist the Zionist occupation and insist on the restoration of its national rights, which have been usurped for 40 year.

This uprising, which in a few days will enter into its second year, is the most sincere expression of the resolve of the Palestinian people to resist the Zionist occupation and insist on the restoration of its national rights, which have been usurped for 40 years.

The decision of PNC to proclaim the independent Palestinian State constitutes a vital and courageous exercise of the right to self-determination that accords fully with international legitimacy and the resolutions adopted by the United Nations on the question of Palestine since 1947.

I am pleased on this occasion to salute, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people and leadership of Iraq, the glorious uprising of the Palestinian people.  We are confident that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will spare no effort in intensifying its endeavours, in this decisive stage, to call upon the international community to support the Palestinian people in its legitimate struggle of resistance to the occupation and, likewise, to call upon the international community to support the recent decisions of PNC and to recognize the Palestinian State.

The instability from which our region is suffering is a direct reflection of the oppression inflicted on the Palestinian people by the Zionist entity, which continues to use the most repugnant means of repression and extermination, originating in its racist tendency based on aggression and expansion, in the usurped Palestinian territories, its annexation of Jerusalem and its occupation of southern Lebanon.

The United Nations, international forums and all the peoples of the world are called upon today, more urgently than at any time in the past, to censure and condemn the aggressive conduct of the Zionist entity and to prevent its continuation.

At a time when the uprising of the Palestinian people to attain self-determination and reaffirm its human rights is escalating, we find, with deep regret, that some States still deal with human rights selectively and refuse to recognize the Palestinian Arab people's right to self-determination and to establish an independent State under the leadership of its sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization.  Inasmuch as the question of Palestine constitutes the core element of the Arab-Israeli conflict, peace and stability cannot gain a foothold in the region without a just and comprehensive solution to this question that guarantees the Palestinian people its inalienable national rights in their entirety.

In accordance with Iraq's firm position of support for the Palestinian people and its representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, I am pleased to state, on this occasion, that Iraq supports the decision taken by PNC and welcomes the establishment of an independent Palestinian State in the land of Palestine, with its capital at Jerusalem.  Iraq hopes that all friendly and peace-loving States will follow its example in this regard and co-operate to achieve a just and lasting peace and the consolidation of security and stability in the region and in the world.

Lastly, I am pleased to stress the high degree of confidence that we place in your efforts and in your Committee's continued activity in the cause of the Palestinian people with all the diligence, seriousness and effectiveness that characterize it in the discharge of its noble humanitarian tasks.

JORDAN

His Majesty King  Hussein bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of  Jordan

[Original: Arabic]

It is a pleasure for me, as you celebrate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to greet you warmly and to express my appreciation of your intensive efforts to defend the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, which has been subjected to injustice and fraud on a scale without precedent in contemporary history as a result of the continued Israeli occupation of its territory.  Your continuing efforts help, in an important and positive way, to alleviate that people's plight, to enable it to exercise its inalienable rights and thus to bring about a just and lasting peace in the Middle East region.

The designation by the United Nations of this day – 29 November of each year – as a world-wide occasion for commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is living testimony to the justice of the Palestinian cause and an indication of the growing international conviction that peace in the Middle East region must be based on the attainment of justice for that people.  It is our hope that this international commemoration will prompt the entire world community to step up and maintain efforts to apply to that people the long-awaited principles of law, freedom and equality.  Any effort in that direction represents a service to the cause of world peace and to the mission of the United Nations.

At a time when the conscience of the international community has begun to awaken to the inevitability that the values of law, justice and equality must be applied, and to the need to propagate peace in all corners of the globe, we urge that such concern be extended to the Palestinian people, whose cause lies at the root of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and of the resulting absence of peace in the region.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's commitment to the Palestinian cause since its inception is a principled commitment which our national and patriotic duties make obligatory.  Our interaction with that cause, and the fact that we are directly affected by it, are due to our privileged relationship with the land and people of Palestine, based on our shared historical experience, geographical vicinity, the blending of our populations, cultural interaction, economic integration and our common destiny.

We in Jordan have never at any time hesitated to assume the great historic responsibilities which have devolved upon us as a result of that commitment and that relationship.  The Palestinian cause has also been at the centre of my family's attention since the beginning of this century: my family has made sacrifices and exerted great efforts on its behalf, and the cause has continued to be my major preoccupation.  For us, the Palestinian cause is a sacred mission which we are striving to carry out with all the strength given to us by the knowledge that we are right; for its sake, we bear a message for transmission to the entire world, a message of justice and peace.  For the sake of the cause, we have faced the tragedy of the Israeli occupation, with all its consequent aspects and repercussions, and have maintained our support for the Palestinian people, both for those who have remained patiently on their land and for those whose fate it has been to be dispersed.

Jordan's concern for and interaction with the Palestinian cause have been in evidence since the very beginning.  It has endured much for the sake of that cause, has mustered efforts and expended energy on its behalf and lived through its related developments and events day by day and event by event.  Jordan has remained – and continues to remain – steadfast in its position.

In April 1950 Jordan responded to the wishes of the Palestinian people's representatives to establish a union with Jordan, which proved to be an exemplary case of voluntary, elective constitutional union.  The provisions of the union stipulated adherence to the historic rights of the Palestinian people and the preservation of Palestinian rights in any final settlement under international law.  While the union came into being as a result of Jordan's close links with and firm commitment to the Palestinian cause, it also served to strengthen those links and to deepen that commitment.

Since Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in June 1967, we have pursued a consistent policy of support for the defiance of our Palestinian brothers in the occupied territories, to the extent permitted by the circumstances of the occupation, and have persistently striven to end the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories through endeavours to achieve a peaceful, comprehensive and just settlement rooted in international legitimacy, as expressed by United Nations resolutions, and particularly by Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).

Jordan's concern throughout has been that its efforts should be consistent with Palestinian wishes and that its resources should be used to benefit the Palestinian cause.  In that context, we have always heeded the calls of our brothers living under the Israeli occupation because they are a part of us, because we are bound to them by ties of blood, shared experiences and single destiny, and because it is they who are suffering daily under that occupation and enduring its dangerous consequences and inhuman practices.

We are at the same time determined to support the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and to work with that organization in order to facilitate its political work and to ensure its participation as an essential party to any final settlement of the question of Palestine under international law.

In response to the wishes of the PLO and in accordance with the trend in the Arab community to give full prominence to the identity of Palestine in every effort or activity relating to the question of Palestine and its developments, we recently decided to sever our legal and administrative relationship with the West Bank.  This decision does not in any way imply a renunciation by Jordan of its patriotic duty vis-à-vis the Palestinian cause or of its fundamental role in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The decision represented a qualitative contribution to the Palestinian people's struggle at this decisive stage of its continuing battle.  Jordan will maintain its support to the Palestinian people, to the extent that its capacities permit, until such time as the Palestinian struggle achieves its ends and the Palestinian people exercises its inalienable rights in its territory.

Accordingly, we gave our blessing to the uprising of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation from its very outset.  The uprising came as an automatic reaction against the continued Israeli occupation and reflected the Palestinian people's cohesion, insistence on reason and determination to continue the struggle until its usurped rights have been restored.  We in Jordan have provided additional material and moral support in order to enable the uprising to fulfil its historic mission.

Pursuant to this Jordanian policy, we endorsed all the decisions adopted by the Palestine National Council (PNC) during its recent session at Algiers and recognized the Palestinian State which was declared.

We believe that the recent acceptance by the representatives of the Palestinian people at Algiers of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) as a basis for a peaceful settlement is a major qualitative step towards the achievement of peace in the Middle East.  It represents a sound move towards the setting of peace efforts in their proper context, with a view to achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace which will assure the rights of all parties to the conflict, guarantee security and stability in the region and provide tranquility to its peoples.

In our opinion, the PLO – through the recent decisions of PNC – did what was required of it and helped to move the debate forward.  It is now necessary that the world should respond and work towards the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East.

We in Jordan – as a major party to the Arab-Israeli conflict and a basic participant in the peace process – played a role in the achievement of International consensus on the Conference and shall continue our efforts to convene it, believing as we do that it is the appropriate means whereby to bring about a peaceful, comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict and a solution of the question of Palestine in all its aspects.

While we look forward to continued support from your Committee in this endeavour, we also wish your Committee success in its noble task and hope that the international community will be able to maintain and increase its related efforts, in order to bring about the peace awaited by the nations of the region and to diffuse the tranquility for which their peoples yearn.

May peace be upon you, the mercy of God and His blessings.

LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

H.E. Mr. Phoumi Vongvichith,

Acting President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

[Original: French]

On this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, whose Palestine National Council has just adopted unanimously the declaration establishing an independent Palestinian State within its legitimate frontiers, should like to reiterate the unwavering support of the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic for the just struggle of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, its sole legitimate representative, for the restoration and exercise of its fundamental inalienable rights.

The Lao People's Democratic Republic reaffirms its support of the proposition that the settlement of the Middle East conflict, at whose centre lies the question of Palestine, requires the total, immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.  It is also of the view that such a settlement must be made within the framework of an international conference in which the PLO must take part on an equal footing with all other parties directly concerned, as recommended in General Assembly resolution 38/58 C of 13 December 1983.

The current situation in the occupied territories, which is characterized by a major uprising of the Palestinian people against Israeli tyranny, is of serious concern and is a grave threat to international peace and security.  It is essential that Israel, the occupying Power, respect the relevant Security Council resolutions and the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.  The international community is called upon to give its full assistance to that martyred people in its heroic struggle to put an end to the Israeli occupation and to recover its inalienable national rights.

MADAGASCAR

H.E. Mr. Didier Ratsiraka, President of the

Democratic Republic of Madagascar

[Original: French]

The day of 29 November, which the international community has dedicated as a day of support for the Palestinian people, has a special character this time, owing to the new situation which has been brought about by the Palestinian people itself.

Today we are celebrating the first anniversary of the intifadah, the symbol of the rejection of the Zionist occupation of the territories illegally administered by Israel and the solemn and ultimate express of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, namely, the declaration of the independent State of Palestine.

The unprecedented change brought about by those two major events is thus seen as the ongoing and renewed demonstration of the will of the Palestinians themselves, who have been scorned and humiliated for so long in their own land and in exile, to exercise their inalienable rights.

A major step has just been taken by the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of its people, by affirming its steadfast calling to be the protagonist of its own history, in which it invites the international community to play a constructive part.

Today, the full and total recognition of the State of Palestine is a duty for all peoples and all States Members of the United Nations.  The Democratic Republic of Madagascar, for its part, did its duty through its declaration of 15 November 1988 conferring de jure recognition upon the new State.

Thus, it is more unacceptable than ever that undue reticence should continue to stand in the way of restoring the rights of the Palestinian people.

May the hopeful call made to the United Nations by the nineteenth extraordinary session of the Palestine National Council, reaffirming in particular the fundamental responsibilities of the world Organization in the establishment of a lasting peace in the Middle East finally be given the consideration that it deserves.

Such is, in essence, the wish of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar on this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which is struggling for the triumph of peace and love on Earth.

MALAYSIA

H.E. Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia

[Original: English]

I would like to convey the warm greetings and the best wishes of the Government and people of Malaysia on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.  I would like to reaffirm our continued support for and commitment to the Palestinian people in its valiant and tenacious struggle for justice.

As we commemorate this important date, we cannot fail to pay tribute to those Palestinian people who have suffered so much since the occupation of Palestine four decades ago and throughout the 12 months of the intifadah, particularly to those who have paid the price with their lives to defy the ploys of terror and oppression of the Tel Aviv régime.  We admire their sacrifices as they continue their valiant struggle to be free of foreign domination and to attain their inalienable right to return to their homeland.

On 15 November 1988, the international community welcomed the proclamation of an independent Palestinian State by the Palestine National Council in Algeria.  Malaysia is proud to be among the first to recognize the independent Palestinian State.  The event was a historic development lauded not only by the Palestinians who have struggled with courage and perseverance, but also by Muslim and other countries which seek peace and justice.

The recognition by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) is a source of encouragement.  Malaysia hopes that the Palestinians, under the PLO, will continue their endeavour to achieve peace and stability in the region.  It is Malaysia's hope that the current development and improved situation will pave the way to substantive negotiations on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).  Malaysia fully supports the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East, with the participation of all relevant parties, including the PLO, which we regard as the sole and legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people.

I wish to reiterate Malaysia's unswerving commitment to and firm support for the struggle of the Palestinian people and the PLO for a just, lasting and comprehensive solution to the problem of Palestine.

MALI

H.E. General Moussa Traore,

President of the Republic of Mali

[Original: French]

The celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People gives me the opportunity, on behalf of the Malian people, its Party, the Democratic Union of the Malian People, its Government and on my own behalf, to salute your unremitting efforts to mobilize public opinion for a just and lasting settlement of the tragic Palestinian problem.  We are convinced that, despite the trying ordeal that it has undergone for 40 years, the Palestinian people will continue its just struggle until it attains and can exercise its inalienable national rights under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, its sole legitimate representative.  We take this opportunity to pay tribute to the heroic uprising of the Palestinian people in the occupied Arab territories and to reaffirm our recognition of the independent Palestinian State declared by the nineteenth extraordinary session of the Palestine National Council.  While expressing our unwavering support for the untiring efforts of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, I would like to extend to you personally my very best wishes and to voice my sincere hope for the victory of the just cause of the Palestinian people.

MALTA

H.E. Dr. Edward Fenech Adami, Prime Minister of Malta

[Original: English]

It is with a deep sense of expectation and hope that we are today commemorating the heroic and just struggle of the Palestinian people for its inalienable and legitimate rights.

For 11 years now, the United Nations has been commemorating with solemnity and dedication this Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.  The long-standing Palestinian question has been on the agenda of this Organization for over four decades and yet the question of Palestine still eludes us.  Indeed, the plight of the Palestinian people continues.

The General Assembly, with the support of the vast majority of Member States, has laid down the guiding principles for a peaceful settlement to the Palestinian question.  This approach has met with insurmountable obstacles which have up to now stalled any real progress.  Much has been said but little has been achieved.  However, we are heartened to witness that the international community, almost unanimously, has come to realize that the early convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East is the most appropriate vehicle for settling the Arab-Israeli conflict and its core, the question of Palestine.  The present favourable political environment should strengthen our resolve to end the misery and sufferings of the Palestinian people.

Malta has joined other countries in welcoming and expressing support for the important decisions adopted by the Palestine National Council (PNC) at Algiers on 15 November 1988.  The Maltese Government reaffirms its recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to a State of its own.  We acknowledge the Algiers Declaration as a true and genuine expression of the right of the Palestinian people to a State of its own and consider the said declaration of independence as an opportunity for a negotiated peaceful settlement which should not be missed.  The Government of Malta welcomes the endorsement of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) as a very positive step towards a just and peaceful settlement.

We strongly believe that the positive and courageous steps taken at Algiers by PNC should be reciprocated with a favourable and clear response from all parties concerned.  In this respect, Malta joins other countries in reiterating its full support for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East.

The Government of Malta strongly believes that the acknowledged representatives of the Palestinian people, including the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Mr. Yasser Arafat, should be given the necessary access and facilities to address the General Assembly on the plight of the Palestinian people.

As Rapporteur of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People since its establishment 12 years ago, Malta has devoted its efforts and energies to contributing constructively to the work of the Committee in carrying out its important mandate.  The Government of Malta reiterates today its pledge to continue working faithfully and resolutely along this path.

MONGOLIA

H.E. Mr. Jambyn Batmunkh, Chairman of the Presidium

of the Great People’s Hural of the Mongolian People’s Republic

[Original: English]

May I convey to you, dear comrade Yasser Arafat, and to the valiant Palestinian people my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

The Government of the Mongolian People's Republic believes that the declaration of the independent Palestinian State at the recent extraordinary session of the Palestine National Council is an event that will give a powerful impetus to bringing the years' old heroic struggle of your people to final victory and the Middle East crisis to a comprehensive and just settlement.

I extend to the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization and to the Palestinian people my best wishes for greater success in the just struggle for the full implementation of its legitimate rights.

NICARAGUA

H.E. Mr. Daniel Ortega Saavedra,

President of the Republic of Nicaragua

[Original: Spanish]

This celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is of special significance for it offers a fitting opportunity not only to demonstrate our solidarity with that long-suffering people but also to show our full support for the recent decision of the Palestine National Council proclaiming the State of Palestine.

Accordingly, just a few hours after learning of the historic and momentous proclamation of the State of Palestine, my Government officially recognized that State.  We could do no less for that long-suffering and brave people, which has paid a high price, the blood of many generations, to reconquer its homeland and its right to freedom and self-determination.

Nicaragua believes that it is more necessary now than ever to convene an international peace conference on the Middle East under the United Nations auspices, with the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on an equal footing with the other parties to the conflict.

There can be no peace in the Middle East without a just, comprehensive and durable solution that includes the restoration of the rights of the Palestinian People and the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Arab territories.

Nicaragua rejects Israel's policies and practices in the occupied territories and demands compliance with the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force.

Today we once again reiterate our steadfast solidarity with the Palestinian people and the PLO, its sole legitimate representative, and we call upon the international community to keep that spirit of solidarity alive in order that, once and for all, peace may become a reality in the Middle East and the Palestinians may return to their homes in Palestine.

NIGERIA

H.E. General Ibrahim B. Babangida, President and

Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

[Original: English]

On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I extend warm greetings to the people of Palestine on this special day.

The Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People reminds us that despite efforts of a majority of States and the incessant yearnings of the Palestinian people, it has yet to enjoy basic human rights in a State of its own, under its freely-chosen leaders.

In the past 41 years, Palestinian rights have been brutally trampled on, their land annexed, their children killed, their properties destroyed and their leaders unlawfully expelled from their homes.  In short, they have been made homeless, stateless and defenceless.

The suffering of the Palestinian people has been singular.  Yet, the beatings, the torture, the mass detentions and the incessant curfews have not broken the spirit of the Palestinian people in its justified struggle to end Israeli occupation of its land seized in the 1967 war.

The Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria salute the tireless people of Palestine for its steadfastness and crusade for justice.  The Government welcomes the courageous and bold step of the Palestine National Council in its historic declaration of the State of Palestine.  The Declaration is a significant milestone in the quest of the Palestinian people under its sole and legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), to find an acceptable solution to the problem of Palestine.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria believes that the Declaration has opened a new window of opportunity to pursue the long-sought international peace conference.  Such a conference should be held under United Nations auspices, with the participation of the members of the Security Council and all other parties to the conflict, including the PLO, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, which should participate in the conference on an equal footing with all other participants.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria will continue its support for the just cause of the Palestinian people until its attainment of self-determination in the declared State of Palestine.

PAKISTAN

H.E. Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan,

President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the Government and the people of Pakistan once again express their total and unflinching support for the just struggle of the valiant Palestinian people for its right of self-determination and reaffirm their recognition of the State of Palestine proclaimed by the highest Palestinian body, the Palestine National Council, in its meeting at Algiers.

Forty years have passed since the Palestinians were brutally uprooted from their homes.  During these long years, though political changes of monumental significance have taken place in the world, very little has been achieved by the international community in advancing the just cause of the Palestinians and the restitution of their inalienable rights.

The Israeli attitude continues to be characterized by an intolerable arrogance.  This has frustrated all moves designed to find a solution to a poignant and dangerous problem which is a potent source of threat to world peace.  What is even more disturbing is that, in defiance of international public opinion, Israel is persisting in its reprehensibly savage "iron-fist" policy to suppress the brave and irrepressible uprising (intifadah) of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.  The enormity of Israeli repression is reflected in the fact that more than 411 civilian Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed and thousands wounded and crippled.  In addition, the Israeli forces have had the temerity and insolence to violate, on more than one occasion, the sanctity of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the third holiest shrine of Islam.  These barbaric Zionist tactics are doomed to failure given the indomitable courage of the Palestinian people, who are waging a heroic struggle against tyranny and injustice.

The world community must view the unabated uprising in the Arab occupied territories and the Gaza Strip as unmistakable evidence of the resolve of the people of Palestine.  It will consider no sacrifice too great for the liberation of its homeland from the grip of the Zionist usurpers.  The uprising points to the urgent need for an international peace conference on the Middle East, with equal participation by all parties, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, in accordance with the relevant General Assembly resolutions, so that a solution may be found on the basis of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all Arab occupied territories, including Jerusalem, and the recognition of the Palestinian State.

On this solemn occasion I pledge, on behalf of the Government of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan, that we will, as always, stand by our valiant Palestinian brothers in their epic struggle for freedom and in their inexorable march towards independent nationhood.

QATAR

His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani,

Emir of the State of Qatar

[Original: Arabic]

On this anniversary of the declaration, within the portals of the United Nations, of international solidarity with the Palestinian people, it is my pleasure to greet you and your fellow members of the Committee and to express to you the great appreciation of the people and Government of the State of Qatar for your persistent and effective efforts to assist that proud and militant Arab people and to disseminate the facts about Israeli injustice in its territories, the trampling of its rights and the maltreatment of its scions.

During the year which has passed since the tenth meeting of your august Committee, the world has witnessed two closely related events which are of the utmost importance and provide conclusive evidence of the conflicts which threaten the security and stability of the sensitive Middle East region, with devastating consequences for world peace.  These two events are as follows:

First, the fulfilment of the entire world's desire to see a cessation of the Iran-Iraq war, a halt to bloodshed between the peoples of those two nations and the beginning of negotiations towards a settlement of the dispute concerning their respective rights.  That desire was fulfilled as a result of the decisive determination of the international community, expressed in the consensus resolutions adopted by the members of the Security Council, and in particular by the Council's five permanent members.  If we recall the feelings of despair which used to prevail among the international community with respect to the possibility of ending that murderous war, then this great event demonstrates the extent to which concerted international efforts can lead to achievements in solving the most weighty problems of the world today.

Secondly, the uprising of the heroic Palestinian Arab people against the barbaric practices in which Israel persists in an iniquitous aggression against their land and their rights.  Despite the terrible toll taken among their defenceless scions and the near triumph of despair over international efforts to solve their legitimate cause, they rose up as one – young and old, women and men – inside their occupied territories to resist the occupation of their homeland with unequalled bravery.  By means of this unique resistance, they are breaking the most outstanding records of courage and self-sacrifice, defying with firmness and deep faith in their rights the lethal Zionist war machine, using stones, Molotov cocktails and burning tyres.  Images of this resistance have been broadcast by the media in all countries of the world, including the United States of America, showing pictures of the most heinous offences of maltreatment and the vilest crimes of terrorism committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories.

It is a cause for optimism that the uprising has in effect modified the international public opinion in favour of the Palestinian cause and proved, beyond any shadow of doubt, the determination of the Palestinian people to resist the abhorrent Israeli occupation until such time as it recovers its right to freedom, dignity and self-determination.  We must undoubtedly use every means at our disposal to take advantage of the circumstances of this Palestinian uprising on the broadest possible scale, with a view to creating a favourable climate which will promote that international movement and help the world community to heed the call for the utmost serious concerted effort to put an immediate end to the tragedy of the Palestinian people – in which the most basic humanitarian principles are flouted – and to solve the question of Palestine in the necessary just and comprehensive manner.  As the world has agreed, the ideal way in which that question should be solved is to convene an international peace conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, with the participation of all parties concerned – including the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and the custodian of the cause – as well as of the five permanent members of the Security Council.

The State of Qatar, which always does its utmost to support the Palestinian people in its noble struggle to recover its usurped rights and its stolen dignity, fully endorses your sincere and constructive efforts to assist that struggling people and to enable it to fulfil its lofty objectives.  It hopes that your efforts will be crowned with success, particularly now that the people's representatives have adopted confident and resolute decisions – through the Palestine National Council – to declare the establishment of their young nation (the independent Palestinian State) on the soil of their dear homeland under the leadership of the PLO.  Those decisions clearly enjoy the support of all peace-loving forces in the world because they constitute an important and wise step towards the achievement of what those forces desire, namely the approach of the time when the scions of that fraternal Arab State will recover their precious territory and enjoy within it a free and dignified life and a secure and tranquil existence.

May peace be upon you, the mercy of God and His blessings.

SAUDI ARABIA

The Custodian of the Two Holy Places,

King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, King of Saudi Arabia

[Original: Arabic]

In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful,

Your Excellency the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, we share with you now, as we have done every year, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in the United Nations.  We express our appreciation for your efforts and assure you and the Committee which you are chairing of our support for your endeavour, in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are striving to attain their rights and are struggling to defend and recover their country and the heritage of their forefathers and ancestors.

While your gathering in the United Nations today is raising its voice loudly in support of the cause of the Arab people in Palestine, the people, the rightful owners, have risen up on their land, calling for justice for their demands and offering for them all that is precious and dear by confronting oppression and aggression.  The Palestinian people has risen up as it did before, in past generations, to declare to the world its rejection of the oppression inflicted upon it in its own country, and to expose to the world the nature of the terrorist practices being committed against it by the Israeli authorities in violation of all codes and in defiance of all conventions.

I wish to repeat, on this occasion, our appreciation for the efforts of your esteemed Committee in its endeavour to expose the practices of the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian people, and to uncover the Israeli measures and policies which deprive this people of its means of human livelihood, endanger its security and safety and erode its basic rights and vital interests.  The word of truth you are espousing by a mandate of the United Nations is a humane duty made imperative by the fear of God and the fulfilment of His edicts; it is a duty for which you should be thanked and for which you deserve the appreciation of the international community in the best manner that we observe today.

What the Israeli authorities are committing in the occupied territories and against the rights of the Palestinian people as a whole is a violation of all the norms, obligations, conventions and rights; it is a violation of what the United Nations was established for in striving to preserve peace and values as well as human relations between peoples.

Efforts to achieve peace based on right and justice, as we know, should cross the bridge of respect for values, commitment to conventions and reliance on the principles of right and the rule of law.  There is no lasting peace which is not based on them, and no peace can prevail which violates and fails to respect them.

The right of the Arab Palestinian people is undoubtedly a clear one.  While supporting every step leading to peace based on justice, we, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hold the Israeli authorities responsible for obstructing international initiatives, including the initiative of the Arab Fez summit of 1982 to establish peace based upon justice in Palestine and the Middle East, and for thwarting the continuous endeavours of the United Nations in this respect.  We assure you and the international community that no peace can be established or can be lasting unless it is based upon justice, and that the attempts to impose peace based on forced surrender to Zionist ambitions will not lead to peace in the region and in the whole world.

While we salute together today the struggle of the Palestinian people against oppression and hardship, we reiterate our appreciation for your efforts and those of the members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and hope that the United Nations will take a strong stand in supporting the Palestinian State, declared by the Palestine National Council, and the search for peace based upon justice and understanding of the clear truth.  We affirm our steadfast support of your efforts and of those who are oppressed, confident that rights are never lost and that they will be restored to their owner, God willing.

May peace and the blessing of God be upon you.

SENEGAL

H.E. Mr. Abdou Diouf,

President of the Republic of Senegal

[Original: French]

Today the international community commemorates the international Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.  There could be no more fitting time for me to address your Committee and transmit to it, on behalf of the Senegalese people and Government as well as on my own behalf, my every wish for complete success in the achievement of its noble and exalting mission.

On this solemn occasion, which this year coincides with the hope raised by the first indication of a just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine, specifically with the acceptance by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the proclamation on 15 November 1988, at Algiers, of the creation of a Palestinian State, the Government of Senegal wishes to reaffirm its determination to continue, as in the past, to make every effort for the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to return to its homeland, Palestine, so that it can recover its dignity there in a free, independent and sovereign nation.

Senegal continues to believe that any equitable settlement of the question of Palestine must take fully into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including its right to self-determination, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, and must involve the full participation of the PLO, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, in all talks and negotiations undertaken with a view to such a settlement.

The Day being celebrated today with customary zeal is all the more meaningful in that it demonstrates the international community's readiness to make a concerted effort to restore to the Palestinian people its national rights and its determination to play, through the United Nations, the role that it alone can fill in achieving that objective.

In that connection, I am especially pleased to pay a resounding tribute to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for the serious and responsible work it does in circumstances which are often trying.

The Committee has succeeded in promoting widespread awareness of the true facts of the Palestinian question and has drawn up a programme for the exercise of Palestinian rights that is acceptable to the people concerned and to all other peoples and States of the region.

If realism and a spirit of compromise are increasingly taking precedence over the passion and unreasoning violence which have long characterized the peace efforts in the Israeli-Arab conflict, it is due largely to the measured and persuasive approach taken by your Committee.

Here it is fitting to reaffirm the constant and active support which the Senegalese Government gives to the Committee's recommendations and to its ongoing efforts for the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations.  Most of the conditions for such a meeting have now been met.  We must therefore work for reconciliation and peace in the Middle East.

The Senegalese people, its Government and I personally wish to assure you of our full co-operation as you work to this end.

SEYCHELLES

H.E. Mr. France Albert Rene,

President of the Republic of Seychelles

[Original: English]

On this auspicious occasion, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, allow me, in the name of the Government and people of Seychelles, to extend my warm greetings to the people of Palestine and its sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization.  Never has the Palestinian revolution been so determined in its relentless struggle to liberate its homeland from the illegal Zionist occupation.

This is also a day of remembrance for the hundreds of young Palestinians massacred since the beginning of the popular uprising in the occupied territories.  The people of Seychelles will never fail in its support of this just movement.

I am convinced that the recent declaration of the Palestinian State by the Palestine National Council will give additional weight to this liberation struggle and universal recognition of the Palestinian cause.

SIERRA LEONE

H.E. Major-General Dr. Joseph Saidu Momoh,

President of the Republic of Sierra Leone

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I wish, on behalf of the Government and people of Sierra Leone, to extend sincere greetings to the leadership of the Palestinian people, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).  We acknowledge the several major initiatives taken by the PLO recently and express the hope that such initiatives will elicit suitable responses throughout the international community.

SPAIN

H.E. Mr. Felipe Gonzales,

President of the Government of Spain

[Original: Spanish]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People – which assumes special significance in the light of the positive development manifested by the resolutions recently adopted by the Palestine National Council – the Government of Spain reiterates its firm position in favour of respect for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and, in particular, of its right to self-determination, with all the consequences that that implies.

Spain is convinced that the most effective way to settle the Middle East conflict in a just, comprehensive and durable manner would be to convene an international peace conference under United Nations auspices.  Spain is prepared to do its utmost to ensure that the conference takes place under circumstances most conducive to achieving positive results.

However, the Government of Spain notes with concern the serious deterioration of the situation in the occupied territories and strongly urges full compliance with the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, and with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

Spain hopes that the opportunity which the current situation affords, to set in motion the necessary peace negotiations, and thus put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories and elsewhere, will not be wasted.

SRI LANKA

H.E. Mr. J. R. Jayewardene, President of the

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

[Original: English]

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an appropriate occasion for the international community to review the progress made during the year by the Palestinian people in its struggle to achieve its birthright of freedom and self-determination.  This is also an opportunity for the international community to express its solidarity with the Palestinian people and to reaffirm its support for it.

Sri Lanka welcomed the proclamation of an independent State of Palestine by the Palestine National Council which met at Algiers a fortnight ago.  Sri Lanka was among the first countries which extended recognition to the State of Palestine.

The proclamation of the State of Palestine is recognized as a positive step which the international community hopes will lead to a fair, just and lasting solution of the problems of the Middle East and restore to the oppressed people of Palestine its legitimate place in the comity of Nations.

On this occasion the Government and the people of Sri Lanka join me in extending to the people of Palestine our warm greetings and best wishes for every success in its heroic struggle.

THAILAND

H.E. General Chatichai Choonhavan,

Prime Minister of Thailand

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the eleventh anniversary of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I would like to reaffirm, on behalf of the Government and the people of Thailand, our firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinians.  Joining the world community today in expressing strong solidarity with the Palestinian people, we would like to express our hope for the realization of the Palestinians' just and legitimate aspirations.

For 41 years, the question of Palestine has remained the core problem of the Middle East conflict, vital to international peace and security.  We believe that a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement in the Middle East should be based on the relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, particularly Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).  We welcome the political decision passed by the Palestine National Council on 15 November 1988 to accept resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) as a significant constructive effort towards this end.

Thailand shares the concern for the unresolved Palestinian question with her partners in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).  At their twenty-first meeting, held at Bangkok from 4 to 5 July 1988, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN issued a communiqué in which they reiterated their full support for the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people to exercise its rights, including the right to self-determination and the restoration of Arab sovereignty over the occupied territories.  They called for renewed efforts to achieve a just and lasting settlement by negotiation.  They also expressed support for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations.

TUNISIA

H.E. Mr. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,

President of the Republic of Tunisia

[Original: Arabic]

On the occasion of the eleventh anniversary of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, whose sole and authentic representatives recently declared the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, I have pleasure in transmitting herewith to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People the expression of my esteem for the invaluable efforts that the Committee is making to support this intrepid people in its just struggle to defend its legitimate rights with a view to regaining its usurped lands, as well as my admiration for the position that the Committee has taken with regard to this tragedy, unequalled in history, and for its efforts to draw attention to the dangers of Israel's schemes, which are incompatible with human principles and values.

Your distinguished Committee affords an opportunity at these annual meetings at the United Nations to proclaim to the peoples of the world that side with peace, justice and freedom its solidarity with the Palestinian people fighting to establish its independence in its usurped land, and to condemn the daily practices which the Israeli occupiers have carried out daily throughout four decades and the various kinds of oppression and persecution they have visited upon a defenceless and peace-loving people.

This year our observance of this Day of Solidarity coincides with the completion of one year from the beginning of the uprising of the blessed Palestinian people within the occupied territories, the uprising of a people suffering under the most repulsive forms of occupation and using in this uprising only the stones of the earth, the cry for its rights and the raising of the banner of a people and its land under occupation.  Thus, it is subjected by the forces of racist Israel, bristling with arms, to the most repugnant kinds of oppression in which martyrs are gunned down everyday by the Israeli Army, most of them being defenceless women and children trying to prevent the plundering of their property, the destruction of their homes and the desecration and sullying of their sanctuaries and holy places.

Israel, flouting the moral principles on which human rights are based and defying international laws, and instruments through its aggressive excesses, has persisted in driving the sons of the Palestinian people from their usurped land and even pursuing them outside their occupied homeland with a view to annihilating them and eliminating their just cause, thereby imperilling the security and stability of many Arab States which have embraced the Palestinian people and favoured its just cause.

It is an imperative obligation of peace-loving States today, when the stirrings of peace are becoming stronger in most areas of tension in the world, to take a definite and courageous stand against the policy of hegemony pursued by Israel and to recognize the State of Palestine, based on international legitimacy, until the claimants are able to regain their rights and establish sovereignty over their land, enabling the region and the world to enjoy the desired peace and stability.

Tunisia, which considers the Palestinian cause to be the cause of an oppressed and defenceless people, subjugated by an arrogant and vainglorious Power with all means of oppression, destruction and aggression at its disposal, calls for concerted efforts by the international community, in the context of international legitimacy, to assist this people with a view to securing a just and lasting peace.  Tunisia again declares that the best way to solve the Palestinian question is to convene an international peace conference under United Nations auspices with the participation of the five permanent members of the Security Council and all the parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and authentic representative of the Palestinian people, whose cause is at stake.

In appealing for continued support by your distinguished Committee to proclaim the word of truth, support just causes and contribute to the halting of Israeli practices, I hope that your active solidarity with the Palestinian people will take the form of new, effective steps to contribute to the establishment of peace and security.  This is not difficult provided that there are sincere intentions and political will on the part of the international community, despite all the obstacles raised by Israel to a peaceful solution.

TURKEY

H.E. Mr. Turgut Ozal,

Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the eleventh anniversary of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which also coincides with a critical stage in its ongoing struggle, it is a pleasure for me to reaffirm, on behalf of my Government and myself, the continuation of our firm support of the valiant Palestinian people and our solidarity with it.

I am pleased to note that, over the past year, there has been growing support, sympathy and appreciation of the legitimate cause of the Palestinian people.  The continuing Palestinian resistance in the occupied Arab territories for the last year has, no doubt, greatly contributed to focusing the attention of the international community on the importance of this question and has, once again, underscored the urgent need for accelerating efforts to find a just and lasting solution to the Middle East question.  It was also instrumental in bringing about the important developments at the recent meeting of the Palestine National Council (PNC) at Algiers.

Turkey, in keeping with her consistent policy regarding the Middle East, has welcomed the recent decisions taken by PNC as realistic and constructive steps for achieving a just and lasting peace in the region, and with this understanding, has recognized the newly-established Palestine State.

We hope and believe that these decisions will contribute to the establishment of the long awaited peace in the Middle East where all parties will be able to live side by side in secure and internationally recognized borders.  In this context, it is our earnest desire that these constructive steps taken by the Palestine Liberation Organization will be assessed positively by all the interested parties and reciprocated in the same spirit so that the peace process may go forward.

I also wish to commend on this occasion the efforts made by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People under your able leadership to promote a wider awareness of the question of Palestine and thus contribute to the creation of stronger sympathy and support in the international community for the legitimate cause of the Palestinian people.

I take this opportunity to reiterate the best wishes of the Turkish nation and of the Turkish Government to the Palestinian people in its future efforts and sincerely hope that with the constructive and far-sighted approach of all concerned, the way will be paved for a just and stable peace, which we all yearn for in the Middle East.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan,

President of the State of the United Arab Emirates

[Original: Arabic]

Your commemoration this year of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is distinguished by the fact that it occurs in the wake of the declaration by the Palestine National Council, on 15 November 1988, of the establishment of the Palestinian State in the land of Palestine with its capital at Jerusalem.  Thus your commemoration today has historic and distinctive character.

The question of Palestine has been with the United Nations ever since its establishment, and the Organization has considered its essence and its ramifications in most of its primary organs or its sub-committees year after year without interruption.  The Palestinian people was beset by injustice and oppression and suffered from disregard of its rights and hopes on the part of the international community for the first two decades of the Organization's life, when it was dominated by the forces of injustice and colonialism, which allied themselves with zionism, in disregard of the values and principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  God Almighty willed that the scales and balances be redressed in favour of right and justice in that Organization as a result of the entry to it of the young third world States.  This resulted in the alleviation of the injustice and oppression that had befallen the Palestinian people following the Organization's recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including its right of return, its right to self-determination and its right to establish the Palestinian State on Palestinian soil.

Your celebration today constitutes a crowning of those rights to which the Palestinian people, in its National Council, gave concrete expression in the declaration of the establishment of the Palestinian State.  It is your right, nay our duty, to celebrate, for in this there is also reflected honour for the United Nations itself and a reaffirmation of compliance with its Charter and commitment to its purposes and principles regarding respect for the rights of all peoples without exception to freedom and independence.

We, for our part, hoped that your celebration on this occasion would coincide with the celebration by the Palestinian people itself in its dear and sacred territory of the declaration of the establishment of the State in a Palestine liberated from the pollution of Israeli occupation, its usurper régime and its tyrannous despotism.  With the power and munificence of God Almighty and the struggle of the Palestinian people, which is supported by us in the State of the United Arab Emirates and in the other Arab States and in all States that are committed to freedom and justice, we reaffirm our conviction that the promised day of the liberation of the Palestinian territory is nigh and that the sun of freedom will shine forth after the darkness of that long night.  We hope that the States Members of your esteemed Committee will continue, as in the past, to be pioneers in backing and supporting the Palestinian! people until its national hopes and aspirations are realized in full and undiminished.

We in the United Arab Emirates, proceeding from the vow which we made to ourselves upon our independence to be in the forefront of the supporters of the Palestinian people in its struggle, will not be grudging or stinting with regard to any request it makes of us.  We immediately proceeded without hesitation or scruple to announce our recognition of the establishment of the Palestinian State, Realizing that the march towards full liberation is not yet completed, we avail ourselves of this occasion to declare and affirm once again that we shall continue in our backing and support for the Palestinian people until the day when we join in celebration with it in Jerusalem, the cradle of the Prophets and the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first of the two Kiblahs and the third Holy Place, after its full liberation and the restoration of its undiminished Arab Character.

I take this opportunity to convey to you my profound gratitude for your efforts and endeavours towards the implementation of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

Peace and the mercy and blessings of God be upon you.

UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

H.E. Mr. Ali Hassan Mwinyi,

President of the United Republic of Tanzania

[Original: English]

On behalf of the people and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and on my own behalf, I take pride in joining the international community in marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which coincides with the first anniversary of the uprising of the Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.  The uprising has brought the Palestinian issue once again to the attention of the international community and accorded it the importance it rightly deserves.

As we observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we recall with much appreciation your efforts to solve the Middle East question.  We also commend the world Organization for its tireless efforts to reach a just and lasting solution which would lead to the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.  in this regard, the recent declaration of an independent State of Palestine is a step in the right direction.  We welcome this positive development and the acceptance by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) of the relevant Security Council resolutions.

The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania calls upon the international community to seize this opportune moment and convene as soon as possible an international peace conference on the Middle East in which the PLO, as the sole and authentic representative of the Palestinian people, will participate fully and on equal footing with the other parties concerned.

It is my hope that the United Nations will continue to enjoy the support and confidence of all Member States in order to enable it to discharge its noble and much-needed services in preserving international peace, security and prosperity for all mankind.

VIET NAM

H.E. Mr. Du Muoi, Chairman of the Council of Ministers

of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People observed by the United Nations, I would like to convey to you and to the heroic Palestinian people and fighters my warmest congratulations and militant solidarity greetings.

Over the past 40 years, the Palestinian people had been waging an undaunted struggle for the recovery of its sacred national rights, including the right to self-determination and the right to establish a sovereign independent State, and have won important successes.  The proclamation of an independent Palestinian State on 15 November 1988 is a historic event marking the maturity of the Palestinian revolution and reflecting the will of a people to struggle for independence, freedom, peace and justice and against the Israeli Zionists' policies of expansionism, terrorism and repression, which are supported by imperialism.

The Vietnamese people and Government have consistently and firmly supported the just struggle of the Palestinian people against imperialism and zionism and for its inalienable rights.  The Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam has warmly welcomed and recognized the proclamation of an independent Palestinian State.  The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam supports the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East, with the participation on an equal footing of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in order to achieve a judicious and lasting solution to the Palestine question.

We rejoice at the progress of the Palestinian resistance, especially the successes gained over the past 13 months of intifadah in the Israeli-occupied territories.  We are firmly confident that the Palestinian people, bringing into play the force of national unity in combination with the strong support of the Arab people, the socialist countries, the non-aligned countries and the people of the world, will win final victory in its just struggle.

YEMEN ARAB REPUBLIC

H.E. Colonel All Abdulla Saleh, President of the Yemen Arab Republic

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and Secretary-General

of the General People's Congress

[Original: Arabic]

I am pleased to transmit to you my own personal greetings and the greetings of the people and Government of the Yemen Arab Republic on the occasion of the observance by the international community, as represented in the United Nations, of the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people and its just rights.

With these lines addressed to you, I wish first to join the international community, through you, in its observance of this occasion, in which all the peoples of the world have indubitably joined you for years past, within the precincts of the United Nations, which has protected us all with its lofty principles based on respect for rights, the establishment of justice, freedom and peace and the guidance of mankind towards the attainment of its cherished hopes ever since the creation of the Organization.  The timing of its establishment at that point exemplified all the noble concepts of mankind's craving for justice, freedom and peace.

Since the Palestinian people's position is in the vanguard of those yearning for freedom and independence, as expressed in this Day dedicated internationally to solidarity with it, this commemoration reflects, above all, the level of responsibility reached by the international community vis-à-vis that question which exercises our world today.  It also represents the crowning of the continuing struggle and sacrifices of this steadfast people, which deserves to receive from mankind full solidarity and support for its rights and it endeavours to attain them, as it continues to give and sacrifice and to bear the injustice, repression and maltreatment that our international community rejects and struggles to remove and be rid of forever.

The militant striving of the Palestinian people demonstrates daily the authenticity and venerability of its human mission, which, in turn, is rooted in its legitimate rights, rights that must be realized if this people is to continue to play its role of human dedication and genuine contribution towards the progress and enlightenment of mankind.

Having paid tribute to your admirable and responsible position and duly hailed, through you, this progressive and consistent position vis-à-vis the Palestinian people, the Yemen Arab Republic takes this opportunity to reaffirm its lasting, firm and committed backing for the cause of the Palestinian people and its sole inalienable national rights to its land, under the leadership of its sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and its support for that people, in principle and in practice, in its glorious, furious and escalating revolution on its national soil and in all its struggles to attain its legitimate right to liberation, independence and a decent life.

The Yemen Arab Republic also emphatically reminds the international community as a whole that the question of Palestine is the pivot of the conflict in the Middle East and that, consequently, any serious attempt by the international community and the United Nations to put an end to that conflict, which has been raging for close on half a century must be directed primarily towards the question of Palestine, which is the pivot and the essence of the conflict.

We in the Yemen Arab Republic have every hope that the international community will be able to uphold justice and to apply it throughout the earth, and first and foremost in Palestine.

In conclusion, we address, through you, our abiding salutations to benevolent and responsible world public opinion, and repeat in unison:

Long live the Palestinian people and its intrepid revolution!

Salutations to your distinguished commemorative gathering.

Our best wishes to all.

YUGOSLAVIA

H.E. Mr. Raif Dizdarević, President of the Presidency

of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I avail myself of this regular annual opportunity to point out, on behalf of the peoples and nationalities of Yugoslavia, the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and myself, our full support and solidarity with the courageous Palestinian people and its legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).  For more than four decades, the heroic Palestinian people has proved that, as always in history, the spirit of freedom cannot be broken either by force or terror or suppressed by a policy of aggression, annexation, colonization and an all-out denial of national identity.  The uprising of the Palestinian people, which has been growing in strength in the occupied territories for one year already demonstrates, despite all sacrifices, the unbreakable resistance to such a policy of Israel, which is condemned by almost the entire international community.

Based on respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations regarding the right of all peoples to self-determination and independence and on all the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council concerning a comprehensive, lasting and just solution to the Middle East crisis and the question of Palestine, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia therefore decided, immediately after the declaration of the Palestine National Council, to recognize the State of Palestine.  We consider the declaration of an independent State of Palestine to be a step of exceptional political importance for the realization of all the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.  At the same time, we perceive in it a realistic possibility for encouraging the opening up of the peace process in the Middle East and for making a contribution to the efforts of the international community to achieve a comprehensive, lasting and just solution to the Middle East crisis and the question of Palestine – in other words, for the realization of the rights of all the peoples and countries of the region to independent, secure and peaceful development within internationally recognized borders.

By accepting all the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, the Palestinian people has proved once again by this political act its readiness to seek a solution to the Middle East crisis through negotiations, on the basis of equality, and through an international peace conference under United Nations auspices in which all interested parties will participate, including the PLO as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

For the realization of this goal, which is increasingly being confirmed as the most realistic and rational, the role of the United Nations, and particularly of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, is of great importance.  In this context, Yugoslavia will continue to lend its full support to the work of this Committee.

ZAMBIA

H.E. Dr. Kenneth D. Kaunda,

President of the Republic of Zambia

[Original: English]

By resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947, the General Assembly partitioned the land of Palestine into two States, i.e. a Jewish State and a Palestinian State.  It was envisaged that the two States would live side by side.  Whereas a Jewish State known as Israel was established following the United Nations Partition Plan, a Palestinian Arab State enabling the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable right to self-determination and national independence was not established pursuant to the resolution.  However, a few days ago, the Palestinian people took the historic step of declaring the establishment of a Palestinian State.

It is, therefore, in the context of the recent declaration that I wish, on behalf of the United National Independence Party, the Government and the people of the Republic of Zambia, to reaffirm our support and solidarity with the oppressed and dispossessed Palestinian people in its just struggle for self-determination and independence.  There can be no doubt that the question of Palestine is the core of tension and conflicts in the Middle East.  As long as the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and national independence are not justly addressed, peace in the Middle East will continue to elude us.  The Palestinian uprisings in occupied Palestine, now in its twelfth month, are a clear testimony to the need for a negotiated settlement in terms of relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions, in particular Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).

Zambia is gravely concerned at Israel's atrocities committed against Palestinians in occupied Palestine.  We call on Israel to seize the current opportunity to agree to an international peace conference on the Middle East, in which the parties to the conflict would participate on an equal footing.

A peaceful alternative is indeed negotiable.  Zambia urges Israel to have courage and vision by negotiating peace with the genuine Palestinian leaders so that durable peace and stability can be achieved in that troubled region.  The quest for freedom and national independence cannot be suppressed forever as the right to self-determination and national independence is sacrosanct.

B.  Messages from Ministers/Secretaries for Foreign Affairs

GREECE

H.E. Mr. Karolos Papoulias,

Minister of Foreign Affairs

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Greece pays tribute to the struggle of the Palestinians for the recognition of their legitimate and inalienable rights.  Their struggle lies at the core of the Middle East problem, the solution of which is a pre-condition for establishing peace and prosperity in the region.

Greece firmly believes that the solution of this problem can only be found if Palestinians are given the opportunity to participate at an international peace conference under the auspices of the United Nations, along with the other parties directly concerned.

Greece believes that all States in the region have the right to exist within safe and internationally-recognized borders.  The Palestinian people should be given the opportunity to exercise freely its right to self-determination, including the right to its own independent State.

To this end, Greece welcomed the courageous decisions adopted by the Palestine National Council during its recent meeting at Algiers related to the establishment of a Palestinian State, along with the contents of the Political Declaration of 15 November 1988.  Greece considers that these decisions have created the necessary conditions and moral obligation of the international community to find the right approach to the Palestinian question, which is the convening, without delay, of an International Conference.

Moreover, Greece is deeply concerned about the situation in the occupied territories, and condemns all practices used by the Israeli authorities to crush the Palestinian uprising, such as deportations, physical harassment and use of plastic bullets, detentions and measures against the Palestinian press, universities and charitable organizations.

Greece has consistently supported the mission of the United Nations and the work of its specialized agency, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, as well as the tireless efforts undertaken by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and has underlined the role it can play in compliance with the existing resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly.

It is our firm belief that only through a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian question can peace and stability be established in the region.

JAPAN

H.E. Mr. Sousuke Uno, Minister for Foreign Affairs

[Original: English]

On this eleventh International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I wish to extend cordial greetings on behalf of the Government of Japan.

The international community has become increasingly aware of the need to attain a settlement of the Middle East peace problem, the core of which is the Palestinian question.  The importance of the role of the United Nations is once again being emphasized.  The use of the United Nations' good offices in bringing about a ceasefire and the commencement of direct talks between Iran and Iraq provides an excellent example of the role which the Organization can play in resolving international conflicts.

Japan, for its part, as a member of the Security Council and as a country which enjoys extremely friendly relations with the Arab countries, is eager to contribute as much as possible to the settlement of the Middle East peace problem.  My country has long insisted that, in order to attain a settlement that is just, lasting and comprehensive, Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) should be implemented fully and promptly, and that the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, based upon the United Nations Charter and including the right to establish an independent State, as well as the right of Israel to exist must be recognized.  Furthermore, in the belief that such a settlement should be attained through negotiations, Japan supports the early convening of an international conference as a framework for the peace talks.   This is my Government's basic position, which it reaffirmed on the occasion of the recent visit to Japan of Mr.  Farouk Kaddoumi, head of the Political Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Japan thus welcomes, as an important step forward in the realization of peace, the fact that the nineteenth Palestine National Council (PNC), which was convened at Algiers from 12 to 15 November, issued a political statement declaring that an international conference should be held on the basis of United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and others.  Further, my Government notes with great interest the reference made in the statement to the rejection of terrorism, as this will contribute to the creation of an environment conducive to peace negotiations.  It also considers that the declaration by PNC of an independent State is of great significance as an expression of the Palestinian people's long-cherished national desire.  Following the meeting of PNC, the Secretary-General of the United Nations issued a statement to the effect that fresh opportunities now exist for progress toward peace, and that all concerned should seize the opportunity to make a new and determined effort to achieve a just and lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East.  Japan fully shares his view.

Last June, I had the opportunity to visit the occupied territories where the Palestinian uprising (intifadah) has been continuing since last December, and to exchange views with representatives of the Palestinian people.  This visit to the occupied territories, where the situation is extremely deplorable, strengthened my conviction that there is an urgent need to promote the peace process.

Japan has been positively engaged since 1953 in assisting the Palestinian refugees through its contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.  In addition, since 1985, Japan has been extending technical co-operation, which includes training Palestinians in Japan.  It has also established this year the "Japan-Palestinian Trust Fund" in the United Nations Development Programme and has contributed $1 million to the Fund for development projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

On this occasion, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I wish to reiterate Japan's position that it will continue to co-operate with the peace efforts of the parties concerned for a just solution of the Middle East peace problem in concert with the international community.

LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA

H.E. Mr. Jadullah Azuz Talhi, Secretary of the People's Committee

of the People’s Bureau for Foreign Liaison

[Original: Arabic]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which is being commemorated by all justice- and peace-loving peoples in recognition of the just struggle being waged by the Palestinian Arab people to liberate its territory, attain self-determination, build its independent State and take its rightful place beside the peoples of the world, I have the pleasure to greet you and to commend the efforts undertaken by the United Nations, since its foundation, to promote international peace and security and to assist liberation movements and just causes throughout the world.

I should also not fail to pay tribute to the defiance and uprising of the heroic Palestinian Arab people against racist settler colonialism supported by world imperialism.

The question of Palestine has been the object of major international attention within the United Nations over the past 40 years; indeed, no other cause has before so dramatically confronted the United Nations with its responsibilities and so challenged its abilities to meet its declared objectives.

Despite the dozens of resolutions adopted in connection with the question of Palestine, the United Nations has not so far been able to take any practical step towards enabling the Palestinian Arab people to exercise its inalienable rights – first and foremost among which is its right to return, to exercise self-determination and to establish its own independent State on all its national soil as a result of the United States of America's irresponsible use of the veto and continued failure to respect the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations.  The most readily recalled examples of such action have been the United States' measures to close the Office of the Permanent Observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its refusal to grant an entry visa for New York to 'Passer Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, with a view to preventing him from taking part in discussions on the question of Palestine.  In addition, the United States provides political, military and economic support to the Zionist entity, thus encouraging it to persist in its obduracy and contempt for all international resolutions, its continued campaigns of killing, expulsion, detention, demolition of homes, burying alive, massacre of children, old people and women, use of poisonous gases causing sterility and chronic ailments, and other forms of maltreatment and extermination which are unprecedented in the history of mankind.

The United States' barbaric Fascist attack against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in April 1986, its killing of peaceful children, women and old people and its persistence in launching artificial campaigns to fabricate excuses and justifications for a further attack are a direct result of the support provided by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the Palestinian Arab people in its just and legitimate struggle.

It is today more than ever necessary that the international community should stand by the Palestinian Arab people in order to assist its just struggle, support the magnificent uprising and endorse the declaration of its independent State, with a view to affirming its right to and its sovereignty over all its national territory.

The expulsion of the Zionist entity from the United Nations and the imposition of a comprehensive boycott against it have become urgently necessary in the light of that entity's scorn for the Charter and resolutions of the Organization and its pursuit of a policy based on killing, expulsion, terrorism and settlement at the expense of others.

In affirming its adherence to all the resolutions which guarantee the full rights of the Palestinian Arab people, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya reaffirms its willingness to co-operate with you in serious and persistent endeavours to restore those rights and to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination wherever they may occur, thus contributing to the preservation and maintenance of international peace and security.

We are confident that the will of peoples will not be crushed and that the Palestinian Arab people will inevitably be victorious.

In conclusion, permit me to urge all the peace-loving peoples of the world to provide unconditional backing and support for the just struggle of this great people, in order that it may recover those full rights which no one may ignore or deny.

OMAN

H.E. Mr. Yousef Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah,

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs

[Original: Arabic]

Year after year, the international community commemorates the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which gives concrete expression to the international community's concern about this crucial issue and which itself emphasizes that the question of Palestine is the essence of the conflict in the Middle East and demonstrates anew the necessity of finding a solution to the question of the Palestinian people.

On this occasion which is being commemorated by the international community, we must voice our profound concern at Israel's continued occupation of Arab and Palestinian territories and its unresponsiveness to peace offers aimed at enabling the Palestinian people to fulfil its hopes and exercise its legitimate rights to establish its independent State.

It is regrettable, as we once again observe this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to see Israel's persistence in continuing its illegitimate occupation of the Arab territories and in practising violence and aggression.  It is time for Israel to understand that, if it really seeks peace, it must desist from the repressive policies that it applies against the Palestinian people, become aware of the realities of the peaceful uprising of the Palestinian people in the occupied territory of the State of Palestine and respond to it by announcing its agreement to the convening of the International Conference to resolve the Middle East problem, instead of using force and violence against the peace-loving Palestinian people, defying the international will and hindering those efforts.

In this context, the Sultanate of Oman calls upon the international community and all peace-loving forces to give increased support and backing to the efforts to convening the International Peace Conference on the Middle East at a level that will prepare the way for a serious move towards arrival at a peaceful, just and lasting settlement to put an end to the harsh suffering endured by the Palestinian people.  The Sultanate of Oman also commends the positive results achieved by the Palestine National Council (PNC) at its Algiers meeting, which affords a new opportunity for finding a solution that will restore to this struggling people its legitimate rights and guarantee peace and security for all parties concerned.

The Sultanate of Oman considers that the recent decisions of PNC constitute positive and fundamental steps towards the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace in the region, the peace for which the whole world is waiting.  It has declared that it wholeheartedly welcomes the proclamation of the independent Palestinian State.  It hopes that this step will lead to greater understanding on the part of the international community so as to assist in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East region.

In conclusion, I wish to thank you and the members of the esteemed Committee for the important and positive role which you are playing in revealing the truth with regard to the situation being endured by the Palestinian people.

My sincere wishes to you for your success.

PHILIPPINES

H.E. Mr. Raul S. Manglapus,

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

[Original: English]

It is with a particular significance that the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is being observed at this time.  On 15 November, at Algiers, the Palestine National Council affirmed the need to convene an international peace conference on the Middle East on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) in the achievement of a comprehensive political settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.  The Philippine Government welcomes this move, which implies a recognition of the right of every State in the region to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries, as an important step forward in the quest for peace.  It hopes that this will be the beginning of meaningful negotiations by all the parties concerned for a just and durable peace in the Middle East that will guarantee the territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the region and the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights.

On this important occasion, the Government and people of the Philippines reaffirm their support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of its sole and legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, for the exercise of its legitimate rights, including the right to self-determination.  Its long unfulfilled aspirations have spawned the year-old uprising in the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza, which has unfortunately resulted in the further violation of human rights.  We in the Philippines are deeply concerned with this untenable situation and join the international community in calling on Israel to abide by the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949.

The United Nations bears a primary responsibility in striving, despite obstacles, for a lasting solution to the question of Palestine, the core of the conflict in the Middle East.  In this regard, the Filipino people, in paying tribute to the untiring efforts of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, reaffirms its unswerving commitment to all efforts towards the attainment of peace in the region.

POLAND

H.E. Mr. Tadeusz Olechowski,

Minister for Foreign Affairs

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I would like to extend the feelings of solidarity and support of the Polish People's Republic for the just struggle of the Palestinian People.

Poland consistently supports the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and declares itself in favour of a settlement of the conflict in the Middle East through an international conference, with the participation of all interested parties, including the Palestine Liberation Organization.

We have welcomed with satisfaction the Declaration of Independence, adopted on 15 November 1988 at the meeting of the Palestine National Council at Algiers, as a historical act expressing the aspirations of the Palestinian people for self-determination and independence in keeping with United Nations resolutions.

We extend full support to the efforts of the United Nations, as well as those of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for the settlement of the question of Palestine and for the establishment of a lasting peace in the Middle East which would ensure the security and conditions for peaceful development to all the States and nations of the region.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

H.E. Mr. Kwang Soo Choi,

Minister of Foreign Affairs

[Original: English]

As the peoples of the world again observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the people and Government of the Republic of Korea would like to join the international community in reiterating their full support of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and national independence.

The whole world expressed grave concern over the recent disturbances in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.  In that regard, the Government of the Republic of Korea stated in February 1988 that it deplored the acts of violence which had already caused heavy casualties among Palestinian civilians and strongly urged Israel to take the necessary steps to comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions.  Well aware that the question of Palestine is the key element to the solution of the Middle East problem, the Government of the Republic of Korea welcomes the declaration of 15 November 1988 of the Palestine National Council (PNC) in which PNC accepted Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) for the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine.

On this occasion, reaffirming its position that the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent State, recognized by relevant United Nations resolutions, should be respected, the Government of the Republic of Korea hopes that the declaration will contribute to creating an international atmosphere favourable for a just and durable peace in the Middle East.

In line with the world-wide support for the cause of the Palestinian people, the Government of the Republic of Korea contributed $250,000 to the Arab Student Aid International (ASAI) in April 1988 to help sponsor scholarships for Palestinian students, making the Government's total contribution to ASAI $1.25 million.  It has so far contributed $116,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.  The Government of the Republic of Korea has also actively participated in international conferences and seminars on the question of Palestine held under the auspices of the United Nations.

Finally, on behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Korea, I take this opportunity to pay a high tribute to the Chairman and members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for their continued efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to the question of Palestine.

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

H.E. Mr. Farouk Al-Shara',

Minister for Foreign Affairs

[Original: Arabic]

I am pleased to hail, on behalf of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and on my own personal behalf, your commemorative gathering in solidarity with the just struggle being waged by the Palestinian Arab people for the restoration of its inalienable national rights.

I am pleased to salute, at the commencement of this message, the national uprising of the Palestinian Arab people, which everyday continues to confirm, with the stones of its children and the blood of its martyrs, that it is capable of resisting aggression and resolved to oppose the injustice and repression practised by the Israeli occupation authorities.  This heroic uprising has confirmed that it is impossible for the Palestinian people to relinquish its occupied territories and its historic rights, however great the suffering may become and however long the path towards the attainment of liberation and independence.  It also confirms, more clearly than at any time in the past, that the weapons of aggression, brutality and racism cannot turn a people away from its just struggle for the restoration of its right to its land and to self-determination.

Syria has always regarded the question of Palestine as its central cause.  It has endeavoured in the various international forums to bring out the Palestinian national identity and has never hesitated a day to make sacrifices and bear great burdens in support of the people of Palestine and in defence of its national rights and the establishment of its independent State on its national soil.  As all are aware, Syria's deep national commitment to the Palestinian cause has made it a target for ongoing Israeli aggression, and the Syrian Arab Golan has remained under Israeli occupation from 1967 up to the present.  Syria has always considered that the restoration of the occupied territory of the Golan is inseparable from the Palestinian Arab people's restoration of its occupied territory, together with the guaranteeing of its national rights, which constitutes the pivotal point of the struggle which Syria is waging for a just and comprehensive peace.  This peace cannot be achieved except on the basis of Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories and the guaranteeing of the national rights of the Palestinian Arab people in accordance with United Nations resolutions.  We consider the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, under the auspices of the United Nations and with the participation of the five permanent members of the Security Council and of all the parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, to be an appropriate framework for the implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations and the achievement of the just peace aspired to by the peoples of the region and of the world.  However, Israel, supported by world imperialism, is still blocking the path to a just peace because basically, what it aims for is not peace but to impose its hegemony by force on the Arab region and dictate its conditions to the Arab side and the international community.  Its continued occupation of the occupied Arab territories, the annexation of some of them and the proliferation of settlements there, and the imposition of its laws on the others, in addition to its total denial of the rights of the Palestinian people, affirmed by the United Nations, its breaches of international laws and custom and its flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations are but self-evident proofs of the racist character of zionism and Israel's position of opposition to a comprehensive and just settlement.

Proceeding from these firm facts and Syria's desire for the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace, the Syrian Arab Republic will continue its full and firm support for the just struggle being waged by the Palestinian Arab people for the restoration of its inalienable national rights, including the right to establish its own independent State on its national soil, because Syria is firmly convinced that Israel will never enjoy peace as long as it stands as a barrier in the way of peace and that its military force, however relentless, will not be able to repress the will of the Arab people in its just struggle for the attainment of its full rights.  Nor will it be protected forever by the unlimited support afforded it by the United States of America, not even by its strategic alliance with it.

The struggle of the peoples for the attainment of their legitimate aspiration, however long it may last, will inevitably be crowned with success.  This is a venerable and manifest truth that emerges through the pages of human history.

On behalf of the Syrian Arab Republic and on my own behalf personally, I wish your meeting success in supporting and assisting the struggle of the Palestinian Arab people for the restoration of its full national rights, the establishment of which will contribute to the achievement of the just peace for which we all are striving.

UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC

H.E. Mr. Vladimir A. Kravets,

Minister for Foreign Affairs

[Original: Russian]

The Ukrainian SSR proclaims its solidarity with the long-suffering and courageous Palestinian people, which has endured all its trials without yielding to despair and continues as before to fight with colours flying for its inalienable national rights.  We roundly condemn the criminal practices of the Israeli authorities against the peaceful population of the occupied Arab territories, whose protest is natural and justified and is understood by all fair-minded people.

The popular uprising in occupied Palestinian territories has given significant momentum to ale search for practical ways of ensuring a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East and resolving in that framework the core issue – the Palestinian problem.  The most important precondition for breaking the deadlock in the Arab-Israeli conflict is to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and other Arab territories and give the Palestinians the opportunity of freely deciding their own destiny as provided for in the relevant United Nations decisions.  All States and peoples in the Middle East should be guaranteed freedom to develop and a secure existence.

The way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in that region is through the convening of an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations, with the participation of all parties directly concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and the five permanent members of the Security Council.  The United Nations has the potential necessary to accelerate the process of preparing this conference.  We believe that the Security Council, as the principal organ of the United Nations which has the responsibility for the maintenance of peace, should without delay begin practical work to achieve this goal.

The decisions taken by the special session of the Palestine National Council at Algiers are a major contribution to the process of a just political settlement in the Middle East, and clear the way to convening the International Conference.  The proclamation of the Palestinian State has met with approval in the Ukrainian SSR, which has invariably supported the Palestinian people in its aspirations to exercise its national rights and to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East.

You may rest assure that the Ukrainian SSR will continue to participate actively in the work of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

I should like to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations on the occasion of your recent election as Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and to express confidence that under your able guidance, the Committee will achieve new success in the discharge of its mandate.

C.  Messages from Governments

ARGENTINA

[Original: Spanish]

In keeping with Argentina's long-standing position of support for peoples' right to self-determination, for political autonomy and national sovereignty and, in the particular case of the Palestinian people, for the right to establish an independent State in its own territory as called for in Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), Argentina considers that the results of the recent meeting of the Palestine National Council (PNC) constitute a contribution to the search for a peaceful solution to the question of Palestine.

Argentina also notes with satisfaction and appreciation the efforts to convene an international peace conference that would guarantee the rights of all States in the region to live within secure and internationally recognized boundaries, and that would take as its necessary basis Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), as well as the explicit condemnation of terrorism and of the threat to use force, and the explicit recognition of the purposes and principles of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, peaceful coexistence in the region and the peaceful settlement of disputes, as set out in the Algiers Declaration.

This position of PNC renews hopes for a negotiated, peaceful and durable solution to the conflict in the Middle East and reflects efforts to reach an understanding capable of overcoming strong and painful rivalries in an international context with a view to preserving peace as the essential foundation of a new system of relations.

KUWAIT

[Original: Arabic]

As we celebrate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Amir, Government and people of Kuwait salute the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its valuable endeavours.  We take this opportunity to salute the valiant Palestinian people and its steadfast national leadership embodied in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its legitimate and sole representative, which leads its just struggle for freedom and dignity.

It is a pleasure to celebrate today in solidarity with the Palestinian people in its just struggle because the mere continuation of our yearly celebration of this occasion underscores the continued support of the world community for the Palestinian people, its leadership and its cause in order to restore its legitimate rights, at the vertex of which is its right to self-determination.

The Palestinian people in the occupied Arab territories, represented in its popular uprising, the intifadah, has expressed its decisive refection of the continuation of the Israeli occupation which sits heavily on the chest of the Palestinians, and its determination to regain its usurped land and rights.  In the face of this popular revolution, which is at the threshold of its second year, and which uses legitimate means, we find the Israeli repression, which uses all means it possesses to kill, assault and inflict universal punishments indiscriminately and with no regard to children, women and old people.  In spite of that, the intifadah and its ensuing variables on the Arab and international spheres are crystallizing day after day and becoming firm and influential factors in regional and international politics.  In evidence to this intifadah and its variables, which embody the sincere interest of the Palestinian people in moving towards peace, came the Palestine National Council's (PNC) proclamation of the independent Palestinian State in its intifadah session in Algeria.  Through this declaration, the PLO demonstrated moderation and flexibility in response to the new developments in the international field, notwithstanding the immeasurable sacrifices and sufferings of the victimized Palestinian people.

The resolutions issued in Algeria by PNC constitute a message from the intifadah to the world community to remind it of its human, moral and legal obligations to support these historic resolutions and to assist and double its support to the endeavour of the Palestinian people in order to restore its rights, especially now that the Palestinian people and its liberation organization have re-emphasized their serious desire of negotiations to solve the Palestinian problem in a way that allows the Palestinian people to enjoy its legitimate rights, namely its right to self-determination and to the establishment of its independent State.

The world community is required more than any time in the past to spare no effort to press Israel to avail itself of this opportunity offered by the PLO which qualifies the PLO as a full partner in any peaceful negotiations aimed at the solution of this problem.  If Israel is serious and sincere in bringing about peace to the Middle East region, it is more proper for it to respond positively to the overture of the Palestinian people and to hasten to co-operate in convening the International Peace Conference on the Middle East.

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

[Original: Russian]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we send to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and all the Palestinian people our most sincere greetings and good wishes.

Visible and long overdue changes are taking place today everywhere in the world.  The stake on force and confrontation is gradually being superseded in international practices by a transition to political means of solving problems.  This is attested by the growing tendency toward the practical deblocking of regional conflicts.

The heroic peaceful uprising of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip occupied by Israel which has been going on for almost a year has won wide support and sympathy around the world.  It has demonstrated vividly that the Palestinian people will never tolerate occupation and will never give up its national rights.  Today, the entire world realizes that the cessation of confrontation and hostility in the Middle East has become an imperative of the time.

We are deeply satisfied that during the extraordinary session of the Palestine National Council (PNC), an important step has been made toward ensuring more favourable conditions for a practical shift in the process of deblocking the Arab-Israeli conflict and in the solution to its key problem, that of Palestine.

The Soviet Union supported the decision of PNC regarding the establishment of an independent Palestinian State in the framework of a just and comprehensive Middle East settlement and the entire set of the documents adopted at the Council in which the PLO has once again presented itself forcefully as a serious and authoritative partner in peaceful negotiations.  The Council's political declaration opens up new possibilities for the implementation of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and its struggle for a durable and just peace in the region and clears the way for convening an international conference on the Middle East.  The Soviet Union makes a call in favour of beginning without delay preparatory work to convene such a conference under United Nations auspices, involving on an equal basis all the parties concerned, including the PLO, as well as the permanent members of the Security Council.

The Soviet Union declares its solidarity with the friendly Palestinian people and will continue to promote in every way possible a comprehensive and just settlement in the Middle East.

D.  Messages from intergovernmental organizations

with observer status at the United Nations

ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

H.E. Mr. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, Secretary-General

of the Organization of the Islamic Conference

[Original: English]

On this solemn occasion of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) once again joins the international community in renewing its pledge of unstinting support and solidarity with the Palestinian people in its valiant struggle against Zionist aggression, oppression and expansionism.

The United Nations' decision in 1977 to observe this day every year reaffirms the support of the international community for the just and legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its sole and legitimate representative, for the restitution of its inalienable rights of self- determination and return to its homeland, and for the establishment of an independent and sovereign State in Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sherif as its capital.

The question of Palestine remains the crux of the conflict in the Middle East and is a direct result of Zionist usurpation and illegal occupation of Palestine and the large scale oppression, carnage and dispersal to which the Palestine people has been subjected for the past four decades.  Almost a year ago, the uprising (intifadah) of the valiant people of Palestine showed its determination to resist Israel's brutal policies of violent oppression, occupation, deportation, Judaization of Palestine, desecration of the holy places of Islam, establishment of illegal settlements and the adoption of barbaric measures to silence protest by Palestinians, killing hundreds of defenceless and innocent men, women and children.  These policies, which are designed to undermine the Palestinian cause and to destroy the will of the Palestinian people to struggle against illegal occupation and tyranny, were not able to suppress the intifadah and the will of the Palestinian people to continue its struggle for the restitution of its inalienable national rights.

The international community has enunciated the principles of a just and lasting solution to the Palestine question through resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, OIC, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and other international forums.  First among them is the total and immediate withdrawal of Zionist occupation forces from Palestinian and Arab territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem; secondly, the restitution to the Palestinian people of its inalienable national rights, including its right to a sovereign State in Palestine under the leadership of the PLO, its sole legitimate representative, and the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and recognized borders.

OIC heartily congratulates the Palestine National Council on having adopted a historical decision by declaring the establishment of the State of Palestine, with Holy Jerusalem as its capital, a decision that reflects the ardent desire of the Palestinian people for the establishment of a just and durable peace in the Middle East.  OIC hails this historic declaration, which is an eloquent testimony to the wisdom, sagacity and political acumen of the Palestinian leadership.  It calls upon the international community, particularly the parties directly concerned, to seize this opportunity for promoting peace by urgently convening the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, under the auspices of the United Nations, with equal participation by all concerned parties, including the PLO.

In this context, OIC notes with regret and grave concern the recent denial of the visa application of Chairman Yasir Arafat by the United States authorities to come to New York to address the General Assembly, which is totally incompatible with the legal obligations of the host country under the Headquarters agreement.

OIC once again enjoins the international community to shoulder its responsibility and to fulfil its commitment to justice and equality by ensuring that the Palestinian people be allowed to exercise its inalienable rights freely, and reiterates its total support for the people of Palestine in its valiant struggle against Zionist oppression, occupation, expansionism and oppression.

E.  Messages from non-governmental organizations

ARAB INTERPARLIAMENTARY UNION

Mr. Abderrahmene Bouraoui, Secretary-General

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I would like to express the support of Arab parliamentarians, represented by the Arab Interparliamentary Union, to the heroic struggle of the Arab Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation and for their inalienable national rights.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People this year is observed on the eve of the first anniversary of the heroic uprising (intifadah) which crowns the resistance of the Palestinian people against the "iron-fist" policy of the Israeli occupation authorities.

The Palestinian intifadah confirms, without any shadow of doubt, the Palestinian people's categorical refusal to the Israeli occupation, its insistence on achieving its inalienable national rights, namely its right to self-determination, to return to its homeland and to the establishment of its national independent State under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), its sole and legitimate representative.

The intifadah also confirms that the best way for reaching a just, comprehensive and peaceful settlement to the Middle East crisis is prompting the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations and with the participation, on equal footing, of all parties to the conflict, including the PLO, as well as the five permanent members of the Security Council.

The Arab Interparliamentary Union, which made the struggle for the victory of the just cause of the Palestinian people one of its major tasks, reconfirms its support to the fight of this people, hails the martyrs of the intifadah and welcomes the Palestinian State, the birth of which was proclaimed at the recent session of the Palestine National Council at Algiers.  The Arab Interparliamentary Union appeals to all States in the world to recognize this State which materializes the will of the Palestinian people on the one hand and constitutes a serious step towards peace in the Middle East on the other.  The Arab Interparliamentary Union calls upon the international community, through the United Nations, to exert more efforts for the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East with the purpose of reaching a just, comprehensive and peaceful settlement of the conflict in the area.

ARAB THOUGHT FORUM

[Original: English]

The Arab Thought Forum in Jerusalem conveys its warmest regards to you on the anniversary of 29 November.  Noting your distinguished role in carrying out your message, we also express our gratitude and great appreciation of the accomplishments of the Committee.

We, the Palestinians in the occupied territories, as witnesses to the Israeli arbitrary measures against our aspirations, identity, society and culture and as victims to the incessant denial of our national, political and human rights, feel happy that the United Nations, through your distinguished Committee, has acted seriously and earnestly to redress the injustices imposed on us.

While we are proud of the declaration of the independent Palestinian State on 15 November and very happy with the great event, we consider your observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People as explicit proof of your intent to further your activity to its aspired aim.  The convening of the International Conference to establish a just and durable peace in the area has in our opinion become, after 15 November, more urgent than before.

The momentum the intifadah has already gained will definitely facilitate your duty.  The termination of occupation will, when consummated, not only help the Palestinians to realize their aspirations and rights but will also help the Israelis to rid themselves of the social, economic and, last but not least, the moral burden of coercing the Palestinians.

Bless you and the Committee for the most esteemed role you are performing on behalf of the world community and please accept our respect and gratitude.

ASSOCIATION MAROCAINE DE SOUTIEN A LA LUTTE PALESTINIENNE

[Original: French]

The Association Marocaine de Soutien a la Lutte Palestinienne, which comprises all the political, trade union and cultural organizations of Morocco, avails itself of this occasion, the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to reiterate its support for the efforts of the United Nations to secure recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including its right to self-determination and the establishment of its own independent State in Palestine.

In the face of the sheer scale of the daily demonstrations organized by the Palestinian masses in the occupied territories since 7 December 1987, the Association expresses its admiration for the sacrifices accepted by the entire population of those territories, condemns the savage repression carried out by the Israeli occupation forces and urges the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to take all necessary measures to put an end to this aggression of which Palestinians at all social levels are the victims.

The Association finds that the resolutions adopted by the Palestine National Council at Algiers combine moderation, maturity and a sense of responsibility.  They therefore merit the support of the international community, so that a just solution of the Middle East question and, in particular, of the question of Palestine, can be found.

The Association notes with dismay that the United States of America, because of its partial and ill-considered positions, is doing little to bring about the just outcome fervently desired by the international community.

GENERAL ARAB WOMEN FEDERATION

[Original: English]

The day of 29 November is celebrated all over the world to mark the Day of Solidarity with the Arab Palestinian people.  The General Arab Women Federation joins the Arab people, the different organizations and all peace-loving peoples in the world in marking this Day and confirms its solidarity with the Arab Palestinian people in its struggle for its just cause to recover its legitimate rights to express its will freely and to establish its independent State on its national soil.

The celebrations of this Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people this year come at a time when the Palestinian uprising is entering its second consecutive year in spite of the oppression and the military measures taken by the Zionist occupation authorities.  It also coincides with the historical declaration of the Palestinian State.

This declaration was welcomed by the whole world, and the number of countries that have recognized the Palestinian State is continually increasing.  This means a clear political victory for the struggle of our Arab Palestinian people to be added to its victory in its struggle, challenge and resistance against the occupation authorities.

The General Arab Women Federation hails on this occasion the courageous Palestinian boys and girls who are facing all the weapons of the occupation forces with nothing but stones in their hands.  Our Federation hails also the Palestinian women for their heroic role in this struggle which has been continuing for 40 years.

On behalf of all Arab women and their organizations members of our Federation, the General Arab Women Federation hails the Palestinian leadership, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is leading this struggle and reflecting the free Palestinian will to realize the Palestinian legitimate rights.  The Arab Palestinian struggle has always been of deep importance for our Federation and the Palestinian cause has always and will always be on our agenda and will have our full support because it is the cause of all of us.  Victory will be ours, thanks to the people and to the support of all Arabs and all progressive forces and peace- and justice-loving peoples in the world.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRESS ORGANIZATION

Mr. Robert W. Thabit, Representative

[Original: English]

The International Progress Organization, with headquarters at Vienna, Austria, wishes to record again its continued support for the Palestinian people and its sole representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The PLO's Declaration of Independence on 15 November 1988 and its acceptance of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (19731 as the basis for convening an international peace conference, its condemnation of terrorism and its assertion once again of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination constitute a historic development.

The international recognition accorded the nascent Palestinian State by almost four score nations (as of this time) bodes well for its future, notwithstanding Israel's rejection of this positive step taken by the Palestinian people.

Both the United States of America and Israel should be more cautious before rejecting a golden opportunity to bring about a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian problem.  The Palestinian problem, as all serious students of Middle Eastern politics are aware, is the root-cause of the very grave situation in the region, which remains a threat to international peace and security.

We call upon all peace-loving people to support the new Palestinian State and welcome it into the family of nations and we call upon the major Powers to call for an international peace conference without any limitations as to matters to be discussed, so that the PLO, on behalf of the Palestinian people, can meet and negotiate with the Israel representatives, to achieve once and for all a lasting settlement of their people's just grievances which they have suffered for more than 40 years.

MIDDLE EAST FELLOWSHIP OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Rev. Darrel Meyers, Chair

[Original: English]

It is with even added pride that the Middle East Fellowship of Southern California extends its warmest and most supportive affirmation to the Palestinian people on the occasion of this special day of international solidarity that is observed on 29 November 1988.

oppressive occupation and also the recent statements of the Palestine National Council's meeting at Algiers, climaxing in its historic Declaration of Independence.  We are proud to have some small role in advocating for their just rights.

We encourage, and indeed urge, the Member States of the United Nations to continue, and indeed escalate, efforts that will soon affect the emergence of a just peace for the Palestinian people in its own homeland as well as continued security for the people of Israel.

We further encourage and urge all Member States, without exception, to recognize officially the independent State of Palestine which was declared on 15 November 1988.  We believe that the groundswell of world opinion so implicit in such recognition can help create the kind of impetus which will lead the United States of America and Israel to more reasonable positions vis-à-vis negotiations toward a comprehensive and humane peace agreement that is in accord with the best ideals of the Charter of the United Nations.

We commend the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its advocacy and efforts on behalf of so many who have suffered so much.  May God bless you in your labours, granting you continued tenacity and unprecedented fruition.

MOUVEMENT CHRETIEN POUR LA PAIX

[Original: French]

As a mutual-aid organization which has been involved in the occupied territories for over 20 years, we have been attentively following the developments in the region.  We send you our warmest greetings for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

We share your hope that the decision recently taken by the Palestine National Council will enable the Palestinian people to exercise self-determination in its own State, thereby putting an end to its many years of suffering and sadness.

MUSLIM WORLD LEAGUE

H.E. Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, Secretary-General

[Original: English]

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, being observed by the United Nations, the Muslim World League takes the opportunity to express strongly its solidarity and unswearing support for the oppressed people of Palestine whose lands continue to be illegally occupied by Israel, in total defiance of world opinion, clearly expressed year after year in the resolutions of the General Assembly.  A whole nation has been uprooted from its own homeland and denied its human and fundamental rights, but this violation and denial of fundamental rights cannot be perpetrated for too long.  The Palestinian people are braving with courage and fortitude the sufferings and atrocities being committed on them by the Israeli occupying forces.  They are putting up resistance against the continued aggression on their lives, lands and properties and are struggling for the achievement of their inalienable rights and the establishment of an independent State of Palestine.

The ongoing uprising (intifadah) is yet another example of their will to achieve their goal.  And, indeed, the Palestine National Council has already declared at Algiers the establishment of an independent State of Palestine in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Muslim World League wholeheartedly supports the struggle of the Palestinian people and its aspiration for the establishment of its independent State.

The time is ripe for a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine.  It is urged that the United Nations exert its fullest influence to achieve a just, durable and immediate solution to that serious problem, in the interest of regional and world peace.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BLACK LAWYERS

Ms. Adrien K. Wing, NCBL International Section Chair

[Original: English]

In its twentieth anniversary year, the National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) wishes to express its profound solidarity with the international community in recognizing and commemorating the annual observance of 29 November, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.  We are particularly pleased to join this year since 1988 is the year of the declaration of independence of the State of Palestine.  After 40 years of denial of its legitimate international rights, 21 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and one year of the intifadah, the Palestinian people has taken a long deserved and awaited step of taking its destiny into its own hands.

Through their declaration of independence, the Palestinians have drawn the urgent attention of the international community to their continuing plight and help to mobilize international public opinion in support of a peaceful settlement of the question.

The declaration of independence highlights the inalienable rights of the Palestinians to self-determination without external interference and to national independence and sovereignty, including the right to establish their own State in Palestine.

In the coming year, we, at NCBL, plan to continue to utilize our legal, and advocacy skills both here in the United States and abroad to assist the Palestinian people in gaining recognition of its rights from the entire international community, including the United States Government.

[Original: English]

In connection with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People which we commemorate today, 29 November, the first anniversary of the popular uprising in the occupied territories, and with the declaration of an independent Palestinian State, the Soviet public sends its greetings to the heroic Palestinian people, which is valiantly fighting for its inalienable national rights under the guidance of its tested brave vanguard and only legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The intifadah, the Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories, has once again vividly reminded the world that 40 years after the United Nations decision on the partition of Palestine which envisioned the creation of an independent Palestinian State, the tragedy of the Palestinian people continues.  By letting out the wrath and pain of the Palestinians, accumulated over four decades of oppression and persecution, the intifadah has also demonstrated the moral and political strength of the Palestinian people and its brave and patriotic mood, as well as the ever-increasing influence of the PLO.

The intifadah has initiated a qualitatively new and decisive stage in the plight of the Palestinian people, the development of which being the special session of the Palestine National Council (PNC) which has adopted a PLO document of paramount importance, namely, the political statement declaring the independent Palestinian State.

The supreme political forum of the Palestinian people has demonstrated a high degree of political maturity, responsibility and realism.  The reaffirmation by PNC of the need for an international conference on the settlement of the Middle East problem, the recognition of Security Council resolution 242 (19671, the condemnation of terrorism, all this represents new political thinking in international relations, a step towards peace in the Middle East.

By recognizing the declaration of an independent Palestinian State, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has once again firmly reiterated its consistent approach of principle to the Palestinian problem.  That official position enjoys full support and backing of broad strata of the Soviet public, that is actively championing the right cause of the Palestinians.  It is guided by the understanding that achieving a comprehensive settlement would also lead to a practical conclusion of the process of historic importance, that of the creation of a Palestinian State.

The Palestinians are a people of a complex and tragic fate.  But his people is not alone in its struggle for the right cause.  The Soviet Union, all the Soviet people, were and will be on the side of the Palestinian patriots.

By consolidating friendship and solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Soviet people sincerely wish a speediest victory of the right cause, the achieving of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

Long live the heroic and just struggle of the Palestinian people under the PLO!

Long live the intifadah!

Long live the independent Palestinian State!

Long live friendship and solidarity between the Soviet and Palestinian peoples!

WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION

[Original: English]

The Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People comes this year at a significant time when the tireless struggle of the Palestinian people against the imperialist, Zionist and reactionary plans to eliminate its cause and its legitimate human, national and political rights has entered a qualitatively new stage.  The mass uprising in the occupied Palestinian territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is growing step by step.  It is the natural result of the accumulation of bitter sufferings of the Palestinians under occupation and oppression and of more than 20 years of heroic resistance to the occupation forces and all projects of subjugation and annexation.

The mass uprising or intifadah has united different and wide sectors of Palestinian society in the struggle for their essential human right to liberate their land and establish their own independent State on it.  At the same time, the peaceful character of the intifadah has exposed the simulated nature of the Israeli Government's peaceful democratic policy.  It tramples underfoot all international laws and conventions and all demands of the world public to stop the atrocities, to respect the rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories and to guarantee their security.

We sharply condemn the brutal crimes committed by the Israeli military forces against unarmed civilians in the occupied territories in which they use live ammunition and tear-gas against peaceful demonstrations, in closed places and in houses.  In these savage actions, hundreds have been killed, thousands injured and thousands maimed for life.

We condemn all attempts at the systematic destruction of Palestinian society.  We condemn the flagrant violations of human rights and international law such as administrative detention, imprisonment, arbitrary arrests, collective punishment, demolition of houses and the closing down of schools and educational institutions as well as of the offices of charitable organizations and newspapers.  We are very worried about the new policy which is being discussed now in Israel, the plan of mass expulsion and population transfer.  All these actions are specifically contrary to articles 47, 49 and 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

On this occasion and on behalf of millions of women in all continents, the Women's International Democratic Federation expresses its high appreciation and admiration of the hard struggle of the Palestinian people – women, men and children, in and outside the occupied Palestinian land, to defend their cause.

We express our unlimited support of and solidarity with the uprising in the occupied Palestinian land, in which Palestinian women and children play a very positive and vital role in confronting the Israeli military machine.

We appeal to all peace- and justice-loving forces sharply to condemn the Israeli policy of racial discrimination and terror against the Palestinians and to support their uprising for their legitimate rights.

We call on the United Nations to help to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories and to assume its full responsibility for the Palestinian question.

We strongly support the immediate convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East under United Nations auspices, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 38/58 C and 41/43 D, with the participation of all parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, on an equal footing, to help implement the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, to return home and to establish an independent Palestinian State.  Any delay or refusal to convene the Conference will further complicate and worsen the grave situation in the Middle East.

WORLD FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS

Mr. Ibrahim Zakaria, General Secretary

[Original: English]

On this solemn occasion the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) expresses its firm solidarity with the just struggle of the Palestinian workers and people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, their sole legitimate representative, for the achievement of their inalienable rights to return to their homeland and to establish an independent State in their own homeland.

WFTU also expresses its unswerving solidarity with the uprising of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories and with its heroic resistance to the Israeli occupation authorities and the illegal measures and violations perpetrated by these authorities.

We emphasize that the Palestine question is the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and that the Israeli rulers' continuing occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories, their refusal to withdraw from them and their denial of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant United Nations resolutions.

WFTU condemns all deportations and other manifestations of the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the attempts by the occupation forces to eliminate Palestinian society for the future.  We condemn all infringements of human and trade union rights and international law, such as administrative detention, imprisonment, arbitrary arrests, collective punishments, demolition of houses and closing down of trade union offices.

WFTU supports the urgent convening of an effective international conference on peace in the Middle East under the aegis of the United Nations, to be held with the participation of the five permanent members of the Security Council and all parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people, on an equal footing, this being the appropriate approach for achieving a peaceful, comprehensive and just settlement that guarantees the solution of the Palestinian question in all its aspects.

WFTU is of the opinion that the time has come, as has been demonstrated by the uprising of the Palestinian people, for all workers and trade unions, regardless of orientation or affiliation, to work together to achieve a just peace in the Middle East, a peace that ends occupation, aggression and expansionism by the Israeli rulers and guarantees the Palestinian people its inalienable national rights, as recognized by the United Nations.  WFTU will spare no effort in making this unity possible and achieving such a peace.

III.  CONCLUDING REMARKS BY H.E. MRS. ABSA CLAUDE DIALLO, CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

[Original: French]

On this very day, this same solidarity ceremony has been taking place at the United Nations Offices at Geneva and Vienna, under the auspices of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, as well as in the capitals of several countries.

It will have been observed that the ceremony is more than symbolic.  It is a demonstration of confidence in what the United Nations can do to bring about peace in the Middle East and to ensure that the Palestinian people recover its inalienable rights to self-determination and independence.  This ceremony has shown once again that there is a consensus that it is necessary to convene, without any further delay, the International Peace Conference, which is the most opportune and appropriate way to restore peace in the Middle East.

The statements we have heard and the messages of solidarity we have received today have shown that we are on the right path, and that with patience and, above all, with faith and determination we shall be able to reach our final objective, which is the establishment of peace in the Middle East through the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.  I can assure all those present that we, the members of the Committee, will spare no effort – with the assistance of everyone, because work of such importance can be done only by a team – to make progress towards that goal.

As our work is ending today and the ceremony is coming to an end, on behalf of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and on my own behalf, I wish to express to everyone our thanks for the understanding and encouragement we have received.

It is also a great pleasure for me to pay a tribute to the team in the Division for Palestinian Rights, who, with such selflessness, devotion and competence, spare no effort to make our lob easier.  I wish to take this opportunity to thank those who have made this Day possible and who have worked in the background so selflessly and with such dedication.  Here I refer to the interpreters and the whole Secretariat team, without overlooking those who guard the corridors to ensure our security.

I am convinced that the faith we have witnessed today, the flame coming from today will, if it is maintained, represent a very important, even decisive, turning-point towards the objective we are pursuing – the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

Once again I say "Thank you".  Please be assured that the Committee will spare no effort to reach its goal.

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