Mideast situation/Palestine question – SecGen activities – Press release

ACTIVITIES OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL IN THE MIDDLE EAST 8 TO 18 OCTOBER, 2000

On Sunday, 8 October, Secretary-General Kofi Annan decided, because of the continuing violence in the Middle East, to travel to the region. In a statement issued immediately following his decision, it was stated that "the stakes are so high — not least in terms of innocent lives — that he [the Secretary-General] feels it his duty to expend every effort  to lower tensions and restore the peace process" (see SG/SM/7579).

He arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday, where he met immediately with Israel’s acting Foreign Minister, Shlomo Ben Ami. They discussed ways of reducing tensions in the region as a result of continuing clashes between the Israeli authorities and Palestinian demonstrators. At a joint press conference, at the Dan Hotel, the Secretary-General said that he had come to the region to listen, to hear the leaders, to work with them and to see how he could help, and how together they could work to find a solution to the crisis. He said that action must shift from the street to the bargaining table, that bloodshed must stop and that the conflict must not be allowed to spread — "Time is short; the stakes are high; the price of failure is more than any one of us wants to pay", he said. He concluded by calling on ordinary citizens to reject violence and the use of force and reach out for peace (see SG/SM/7582).

From Tel Aviv he flew to Gaza, where he met with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat. Again, the focus of their discussions was how to restore calm so that efforts could be made to resume the peace process.

After each of these meetings the Secretary-General briefly addressed the media, “I have come to listen  to see if I can help,” he said. “Our first objective is clear  the bloodshed must stop.”

President Arafat then hosted a dinner for the Secretary-General, which began at midnight.

On Tuesday morning, the Secretary-General again met with President Arafat, after their aides had been consulting for some time. They discussed, in more specific terms, ways to restore calm.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov then arrived for a meeting with President Arafat. The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister took the opportunity to consult for about twenty minutes, after which the three leaders held a brief meeting.

The Secretary-General then travelled overland to Jerusalem where he had lunch with the United States Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk. After lunch, he met with Israel’s Prime Minister, Ehud Barak. The Secretary-General and the Prime Minister explored ways that the two leaders — the Prime Minister and President Arafat — could get control over the situation so that the peace process could be resumed. The Secretary-General emphasized the threat that continued instability in Israel and the Occupied Territories could present to the region as a whole.

The Prime Minister and the Secretary-General then spoke to the press.

The Secretary-General met next with the President of Israel, Moshe Katsav, for a general review of the political situation and an assessment of the prospects for restoring peace.

Foreign Minister Ivanov then met again with the Secretary-General to report on his own meetings of the day and to coordinate strategy.

The Secretary-General’s last meeting of the day was with the Israeli Minister of Justice, Yossi Beilin.

On Wednesday morning, 11 October, the Secretary-General met again with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for about half an hour. He then consulted with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, before travelling by helicopter to Gaza for another meeting with Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority. He continued his discussions with President Arafat over lunch.

The Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed- Larsen, had worked through much of the night with aides of President Arafat on refining a peace formula. Larsen continued to work with the Palestinians after lunch.

While in Gaza, the Secretary-General had telephone conversations with French President Jacques Chirac, United Kingdom's Foreign Minister Robin Cook and United States President Bill Clinton, among others. He continued to build international support for a formula, not yet accepted fully by both sides, for reducing tensions.

The Secretary-General postponed a planned visit to Beirut, Lebanon, to pursue his efforts with the Israelis and the Palestinians. He returned to Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, where he spent the night, and continued to stay in touch with the parties. On Wednesday evening the Secretary-General announced in a statement that a trilateral security meeting would be convened at the highest level at the earliest possible date (see SG/SM/7585).

On Thursday morning, 12 October, the Secretary-General flew to Beirut in Lebanon, where he met with President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Salim El- Hoss, briefing them on his ongoing efforts in the region. They also discussed the situation along the so-called "blue line". The Secretary-General again urged the Lebanese to deploy additional security resources along the line as a way of promoting stability in the area.

Following that meeting, the Secretary-General met with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi who was also visiting Beirut. Mr. Annan and the Foreign Minister then spoke briefly to the press. The Secretary-General said that he remained in constant touch with both Israeli and Palestinian officials and that he hoped the meeting of the trilateral security commission would still take place.

The Secretary-General then flew to Naqoura, site of the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), where he was briefed by Major-General Seth Obeng, Force Commander, on the situation along the "blue line". While there, news reached him of increasing violence in the West Bank and Gaza.

He returned to Beirut, where he issued a statement, calling the day's events "chilling”.

“I appeal to all”, the Secretary-General said, ”leaders and citizens alike — to stop and think about what they are doing today and what kind of tomorrow they want for their children. Violence breeds violence. I urge you to opt for restraint.”

He concluded his statement by saying: “I want to express my deep sadness at the suffering and loss of so many victims of this chaos, and once again call on all to respect life, renounce violence and return to rational discourse" (see SG/SM/7586).

He then flew back to Jerusalem.

On Friday, 13 October, the Secretary-General spent the day in Jerusalem on the phone with officials from both the Israeli and Palestinian sides — including President Arafat and Prime Minister Barak — as well as with United States President Clinton, United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, President Jacques Chirac of France, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook of Great Britain, Javier Solana of the European Union and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

The Secretary-General also met with Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Mr. Hansen, as Security Coordinator for the area, and with the Secretary-General's approval, then relocated dependents and a certain number of non-essential staff from the mission area. United Nations programmes in the area, however, continued to function normally.

In comments made to journalists, Mr. Annan said that there was a general readiness among the principals to meet that weekend in Egypt at the invitation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

He encouraged both sides to impose a cessation of hostilities in the period leading up to and during the Summit, "as is normal in these circumstances".

The Secretary-General travelled by helicopter and by road to Gaza city late Friday, where he met with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. After that meeting, he told the press, “Tonight, I think we have made progress.” He said that President Arafat had agreed, in principle, to attend a Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. President Arafat needed to have additional consultations with his leadership before giving the Secretary-General his final answer.

The Secretary-General then flew to Tel Aviv, to the home of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, where he arrived at about 11:00 p.m. During this meeting, the Prime Minister confirmed his intention to attend the Summit. The Secretary- General then flew back to his Jerusalem hotel, calling a number of key figures to inform them of the evening’s developments.

A little after 10:00 the next morning, President Arafat called the Secretary-General to inform him that he would attend the Summit.

The Secretary-General then flew to Sharm el-Sheikh, arriving at midday. On leaving the hotel in Jerusalem, he was asked about the risk of failure. “When so many lives are at risk” he replied, “when so much killing is going on Isn’t risk worth it? And if we don’t take the risk of coming to the conference,” he added, “what do we do? Let it continue?”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa met with him shortly after his arrival in Sharm el-Sheikh. After that meeting Mr. Annan told the press that while the Summit was to be hosted by President Mubarak and sponsored by United States President Bill Clinton, who between them would decide on the organizational details, he felt that the Summit would not start before Monday, 16 October. He made a score of phone calls throughout the day, briefing leaders. That evening, he had dinner with Foreign Minister Moussa.

On Sunday morning, 15 October, he met with President Mubarak to review plans for the Summit. On his way out of the hotel journalists asked the Secretary-General: “Can you afford to fail here?" “I don’t think it’s a choice;” he responded. “We don’t have that option.”

He and the Egyptian Foreign Minister addressed the press after the meeting with the President. They were asked about the threat that the recent violence posed to the stability of the region. “The crisis is not limited to the Palestinian Territories and Israel,” the Secretary-General responded. “We’ve seen demonstrations outside the region. It is going to affect global economic growth. Oil prices have hit their highest level in 10 years. It is going to affect all countries, rich and poor.”

“We are going to do our best to succeed,” he concluded.

On Sunday afternoon, he met with Palestinian and United States representatives, continued his telephone contacts and in the early evening met once again with President Mubarak.

At the end of the day, everything seemed in place for the Summit to start the next morning.

The Secretary-General took a long walk along the edge of the Red Sea at about 6:30 on Monday morning to clear his head before an intense day of diplomatic activity.

He went to the Summit meeting site at 10 a.m. where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The Prime Minister briefed him on Israel’s position at the opening of the talks.

He then conferred with Javier Solana, the European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, who represented the European Union at the Summit.

After that, a little after 11:00, he met with Yasser Arafat, the President of the Palestinian Authority, with whom he reviewed their ideas for the Summit.

The United States Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, then called on the Secretary-General before the Secretary-General went into a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, who was also a Summit participant.

At noon, the Foreign Ministers discussed the Summit agenda. Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen and Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, represented the Secretary-General at that meeting.

At about 1:00 p.m., the Secretary-General met with United States President Bill Clinton. They discussed the objectives of the Summit and plans for a fact- finding inquiry into the events of the previous weeks and the way ahead.

The Summit plenary, co-chaired by Egyptian President Mubarak and United States President Clinton, got underway at 1:20 p.m. Five other principals attended — Prime Minister Barak, President Arafat, King Abdullah II, Javier Solana and the Secretary-General. Presidents Mubarak and Clinton made remarks and the plenary adjourned.

President Mubarak then hosted a luncheon for the principals, following which the Foreign Ministers convened again. While the Ministerial meeting was under way, the principals met with each other in a series of bilaterals. The Secretary-General returned to his hotel after lunch, leaving behind his Special Envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, and his Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, to attend the Ministerial meeting and stay in touch with the parties.

While the outcome of the Summit hung in the balance, the mood of most delegations was one of grim determination, summed up by President Clinton, who echoed comments by the Secretary-General, saying, “We cannot afford to fail”.

On Tuesday morning, United States President Bill Clinton called the Secretary-General and asked him to join him at the conference site. At about 9:00 a.m., he briefed the Secretary-General on the outcome of the previous night’s meetings, which had gone until the early hours of the morning. He described a security package, which had been agreed, and proposals for a fact–finding inquiry, which were still not finalized.

Returning to his work area at the conference centre, in a space which he shared with the European Union and the Egyptian delegation, the Secretary- General had the opportunity to confer with the Union's Javier Solana and Egyptian Foreign Minister, Moussa. At one point, a group discussion began, which was joined by Palestinian Minister of Planning, Nabil Sha'ath. The mood was upbeat.

At 10:30, President Mubarak called the Secretary-General into a meeting he was having with Palestinian Authority President, Yasser Arafat. The meeting further expanded when the President asked King Abdullah II of Jordan and later Javier Solana to join.

At noon, the Secretary-General left that meeting briefly to confer with President Clinton, who had just met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The United States President and the Secretary-General together went back to President Mubarak's meeting.

Prime Minister Barak joined that meeting at about 12:20 p.m. At 12:35 p.m., the meeting broke up. Word began to spread that agreement had been reached.

The seven delegations walked to the plenary hall. President Mubarak, President Clinton, Prime Minister Barak, President Arafat, King Abdullah II, Javier Solana and the Secretary-General stood together for the cameras before taking their seats.

President Mubarak made opening remarks. President Clinton then laid out the broad outlines of the agreement and thanked each of the principals for their role in achieving it. Of the Secretary-General, he said that, "he has worked tirelessly to bring an end to violence and to make this meeting possible".

Before heading home to New York via Paris, the Secretary-General issued a statement saying that he was relieved and thankful that Israeli and Palestinian leaders had “stepped back from the abyss and renewed their commitment to resolve their differences by peaceful means”.

The Secretary-General noted that an agreement was secured in three vital areas: on security cooperation; on renewing the peace process; and on a committee of fact-finding to inquire into recent tragic events and how to prevent their recurrence.

He added: “It has not been easy. Feelings run high on both sides. Mutual mistrust is deep. There are wounds in the families and communities concerned that may take a generation to heal.”

He urged all concerned to “move forward, painful though it is, so that the children and youth of today — angry and frustrated as they are — can have a better world to live in.” He added that “we need to look beyond the violence and bitterness, the pain and the hurt, beyond even the outcome of today’s Summit, to a future in which Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in a just and lasting peace.”

The Secretary-General concluded by appealing to the leadership on both sides, to all Israelis and Palestinians, and to the wider international community, "to weigh their words carefully". "For words can inflame or soothe", he cautioned, "and everyone needs a restoration of calm and quiet so as to create the best possible atmosphere for a resumption of peace talks" (see SG/SM/7590).

The Secretary-General arrived back in New York on Wednesday, 18 October.

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