President Assad at Islamic Summit: Resistance is legal right, legitimate duty
Regional-Iran, Politics, 12/11/1997

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad delivered a speech at the 8th OIC summit in which he said the convocation of the Islamic conference during the current international situation, with a number of major issues on its agenda underlines the need for possessing the will to resist dangers and stand up against challenges posed before the Islamic world and developing states, foremost of which being aggression against some Arab countries.

Assad went on to say that the Muslim world today faces challenges that target Islam. And behind this campaign stand Zionists who hope to create an imaginary enemy in the international arena, in order to win international parties to their side, arouse fear from and enmity toward Islam and place those parties in confrontation with Islam and Muslims, ultimately reaping the fruit of this confrontation.

Assad said the world is well aware of the role played by Islam in the struggle for liberation from foreign colonialism. The world is also familiar with Islam's historical role in the dissemination of culture and civilization and in the rebirth of the Muslim people, during the modern European renaissance which came about through the civilization of Andalusia, Spain.

He said Israel tries to exploit acts of violence committed by certain people to jeopardize the security and internal stability of one Islamic country or another in order to brand as terrorism acts of resistance to its occupation and aggression.

"While we reject the use of violence in international issues, we very clearly reaffirm the right of people to resist aggression and occupation. Resistance is a legal right and a legitimate duty. We are all called upon to comprehend the dangers of this hostility to Islam. Consequently, our cooperation and mutual assistance are imperative, not to aggress on others, but to defend our values and principles. And in as much cooperation as we can achieve, our people can achieve progress. Through this we can pave the way for a great role that we have to assume in the contribution to the building of a new world," Assad said.

On the Middle East peace process, the Syrian President said the Arabs have declared that peace is their choice. Syria agreed to the American peace initiative in 1991, which is based on the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the principle of land for peace, which calls for an Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied in 1967 and from the Lebanese territories which were occupied thereafter, and recognition of the political rights of the Palestinian people.

"On this basis," Assad added, "we participated in Madrid conference and in the bilateral discussions in Washington with American participation. After years of efforts, we reached a point when a commitment was made by former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin to pull back to the lines of 4 June, and an agreement was reached on the principles and aims of security arrangements. Thus two elements have been decided, which are the most important among peace elements. Other elements remained under discussion. After the coming to power by the new Israeli government a new Israeli policy has been followed, under which Israel continued settlement building, the Judaization of Jerusalem, practicing of violence against civilians in the occupied territories and the creation of new realities, not to mention its continued aggression on Lebanon.

"Israeli military might, however superior, and the foreign support for Israel, however big, can never defeat the will for liberation. Nor can they vanquish our people's resolve for steadfastness. Neither can they implant fear or despair in our hearts," Assad indicated, adding that Israeli aggression against Arabs is an Islamic cause as it is an Arab cause.

He urged cooperation and close ranks in order to end aggression and to recover Arab rights. Concerning developments in the Gulf region, President al-Assad said in the eighties and early nineties, the Gulf region suffered the agonies of two wars. Yet, the most disastrous are those painful wounds which still bleed and those huge losses in casualties and resources.

In the context of talk about the Gulf, the Syrian President said: "If Iraq has to implement the UN Security Council resolutions, then differences about the extent and volume of this implementation must not lead to the use of force, because this will create very serious conditions and will further complicate the situation. The feeling of bitterness heightens as we see sanctions imposed on Arab and Islamic countries such as the siege on Libya and the Sudan, while the Israeli aggression is on the rise and the Israeli rejection of UN resolutions and defiance of international legitimacy continue unabated."

He added that among issues that should attract attention are the conditions in Somalia and Afghanistan where civil war has disrupted the national unity in each of those two Muslim countries, and has caused huge calamities to peoples' lives and resources. He pointed also to the tense situation between Azerbaijan, a member of the OIC conference, and Armenia, the continuation of which constitutes a factor of concern and instability in the region.

"In the past years our organization has achieved cooperation in many cultural and economic fields. Yet. we still have long way to go to achieve the goals envisioned by the organization," Assad said.

He underlined the significance of economic cooperation among Moslem states, particularly under the present international economic situation and economic blocs, and the negative effects produced by the economics of developed states toward the other countries' economies.

For expanded trade exchange between the Islamic states, the Syrian President urged the establishment of free trade areas and for the purpose of creating an Islamic common market during the forthcoming years. Expanded cooperation in the field of exchanging expertise, experiences, sciences and knowledge must be the center of "our" interest, he said, asking the concerned establishments in the OIC and in "our" countries to lay out the basis of cooperation and exchange.

Assad reaffirmed Syria's keenness to establish the broadest cooperation among the OIC countries and Syria's determination to work for seeing the OIC member states in a status that copes with set aspirations and ambitions to strengthen the bonds linking the Islamic states in the political, economic, cultural and other fields.

Previous Stories:
  8th Islamic Summit opens: members united behind a positive stance and future   (12/9/1997)
  Mossad agent with false information on Syria might face trial for high treason   (12/5/1997)
  Assad reviews peace process with Russia's Primakov   (10/27/1997)

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