Morocco welcomes Annan's proposal to deploy multinational force, protect Palestinians
Morocco-Palestine, Politics, 4/20/2002

Morocco welcomed the UN secretary General's initiative to dispatch a multinational force to the occupied Palestinian territories, and stressed the need to rescue the people in Palestine and called for an investigation into the Jenine mass slaughters.

The statement was made by Morocco's permanent representative to the UN, Mohamed Bennouna, Thursday before the UN Security Council which was debating the latest tragic developments in the region and during which the UN secretary general kofi Annan expanded on the concept of a multinational force and outlined the goals, nature and functions of such a force. Bennouna stressed the urgent need to give all means to rescue the people in Palestine, who are lacking everything, and to provide medicare to the injured persons. "To fail doing so immediately would come to becoming culprit of failure to assist a person in danger, and this is a crime, in penal law," he said.

"The Kingdom of Morocco requests that all light be shed on the mass slaughters in Jenine, because the world must know." he said, calling for an impartial investigation to be conducted by unbiased, competent experts.

Touching on the recent mission of the US secretary of state in the Middle East region, the Moroccan diplomat said despite all the efforts he made in good faith, he did not obtain any commitment on the part of Sharon to withdraw his intervention and repress his forces.

Insisting that the action conducted by the world's greatest power, with the backing of the European Union, Russia and the UN, did not have any impcat on Israel, Bennouna wondered if such a challenge to the whole world was acceptable.

"Is it acceptable to maintain the siege on President Yasser Arafat's head-quarters. Is it possible to ignore the peace hand Arabs have extended to Israel during the latest Arab summit (Beirut, March 27-28)? How is Israel intending to exist and prosper in the Middle East while despising its Arab environment?" wondered further the Moroccan diplomat.

He went to say that the failure of Powell's mission was actually the failure of peace and justice, the failure of the international community, the loss of the credibility of the Security Council, which is the major party in charge of peace keeping. "Only a buffer force can today enable an appeasement on the field, and heal the victims' wounds," he said, adding that the trust crisis currently marking Israeli-Palestinian relations requires more than ever before the intervention of a third party to open prospects to the resumption of dialogue, in the frame of a comprehensive peace.

It is likewise imperative to give back total freedom of movement to the legitimate president of the Palestinian authority so that he can lead and orient reconstruction, appeasement and dialogue resumption, with the assistance of the buffer force, Bennouna said, before surveying the efforts made by King Mohammed VI, chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, during the Arab summit, when he received the US secretary of state (on April 8 in Agadir) and through the various contacts he had with all the involved parties in this tragedy, extending backing to the Palestinian innocent victims and encouraging peace initiatives.

Morocco will continue its action in a constructive and responsible way so that justice be rendered to the Palestinian people and so that they can live in peace within their own state with Al-Quds as its capital. This is the only way to keep a generation of Palestinians from despair, and to put an end to the violence that may result from such a situation, Bennouna said.

Previous Stories:
  US continues obstruction of effective international law; multinational force concept made meaningless   (4/19/2002)
  Prayers in Moroccan mosques friday for Palestinian martyrs   (4/18/2002)
  Moroccan speaker calls inter-parliamentary union to intervene for liberation of Palestinian leader   (4/17/2002)
  Morocco calls UN human rights high commissioner to protect Palestinian children   (4/12/2002)

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