Strengthening Muslim solidarity<\/p>\n
The following is based on a paper presented by Indonesian
\nMinister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas at the Islamic Conference
\nof Foreign Ministers held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso from June
\n28 to July 2, 1999. This is the first of two articles.<\/p>\n
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso: The dawning of a new millennium,
\ninstead of bracing our nascent hopes for a better world, has only
\ngiven us a more acute sense of vulnerability. Tensions and armed
\nconflicts continue to embroil various parts of the world while in
\nthe economic sphere, developing nations bear the brunt of the
\nadverse impact of globalization. We must therefore marshal our
\ncollective strength in working for global peace, true
\nindependence and international justice and in addressing the
\ninequities and imbalances of international economic relations.<\/p>\n
In the Middle East, it is imperative that the peace process be
\nrevived. Under a new leadership, Israel now has the opportunity
\nto comply with the peace accords to which it has committed
\nitself, to cease its systematic oppression of the Palestinians
\nand to desist from its brazen attempts to change the demographic
\nmake-up of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in the process of obliterating its
\nreligious, historical and cultural heritage.<\/p>\n
If there is to be peace in the region, Israel must abide by
\nall relevant UN General Assembly and Security Council
\nresolutions, including those overwhelmingly adopted by the Tenth
\nEmergency Special Session of the General Assembly on the
\nimmediate halting of the construction of Jewish settlements in
\nJabal Abu Ghneim.<\/p>\n
Israel must unconditionally withdraw from all Palestinian and
\nArab territories in fulfillment of UN resolutions 242 (1967), 338
\n(1973), and 425 (1978). And it must now resume negotiations in
\naccordance with the principles embodied in the Madrid Conference,
\nespecially the principle of land for peace.<\/p>\n
In Afghanistan, we note with regret that the UN-sponsored
\ntalks among the parties to the internecine conflict that has torn
\nthe country apart has made no progress at all. We fervently hope
\nthat the warring factions avail themselves of this chance to
\nshape the peace that will bring respite for the war-weary people
\nof Afghanistan. Organization of African Unity, in common search
\nfor a political solution to the fraticidal strife.<\/p>\n
My delegation is gratified to note that the stalemate over the
\nLockerbie incident has been resolved through an agreement on the
\ntrial of the suspects before a neutral court and the consequent
\ndecision to lift the sanctions on Libya.<\/p>\n
We fervently hope that the sanctions imposed against Iraq can
\nalso be lifted. Security Council resolution no. 986 must
\ntherefore be fully implemented so that the long-suffering people
\nof Iraq may finally be delivered from the humanitarian tragedy
\nthat has befallen them. We also urge Iraq to keep on working with
\nthe Tripartite Commission and the International Committee of the
\nRed Cross in addressing the issue of Kuwaiti and third country
\nnationals who have been unaccounted for as well as properties of
\nthe Kuwaiti Government that have been missing since the Gulf War.<\/p>\n
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are heartened by the progress in
\nthe building of political and economic institutions. Freedom of
\nmovement has been greatly improved and elections have shown a
\ndefinite trend towards greater mutual tolerance and pluralism.
\nFor lasting peace to be achieved, however, these gains must be
\nenhanced and consolidated. The international community, including
\nour organization, must continue to extend support for the
\nrehabilitation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the Balkans, the ferocious military measures
\ntaken recently in order to resolve the problem of Kosovo have
\nextracted a heavy toll in human lives and devastated the physical
\nand social infrastructures of an entire society. The oppression
\nby a government of a large part of its own population and the
\nmassive use of force by foreign powers to stop the oppression are
\nboth extremely regrettable. But now the task is the expeditious
\nresettlement of half a million refugees and displaced persons
\nbefore the onset of winter. We should therefore join the
\ninternational community in extending whatever support we can
\nmuster for this humanitarian undertaking.<\/p>\n
We are greatly concerned at the renewed tension and conflict
\nin Kashmir along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan,
\nand at the possible escalation of hostilities between the two
\nnuclear-capable neighbors. We urge both sides to forsake armed
\nconfrontation and persevere in resolving their differences
\nthrough negotiations on the basis of the relevant UN Security
\nCouncil resolutions and the 1972 Simla Agreement.<\/p>\n
In Southeast Asia, as may be recalled, the government of the
\nPhilippines and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed
\na Peace Agreement in 1996 after successful negotiations
\nfacilitated by our Organization through the Ministerial Committee
\nof the Six. The Agreement put a close to over two decades of
\ncivil war in the southern Philippine region and brought new hopes
\nfor peace and progress to the region's Muslim population.<\/p>\n
Since then, the implementation of the peace agreement has been
\nlargely on track with the integration of MNLF officers and men
\ninto the Philippine military and national police being its most
\nsatisfactory aspect.<\/p>\n
In recent times, however, implementation has had to contend
\nwith differences in the perception of the two parties on
\npolitical and legal aspects of the agreement, the vagaries of
\npolitical events in the Philippines as well as the impact of the
\nfinancial crisis on the resources of the Philippine government,
\nthus adversely affecting the progress in implementing the socio-
\neconomic plans for the region. The Ministerial Committee of the
\nSix is therefore meeting at the margins of this Session to assess
\nthe situation and thresh out the best possible way of
\nimplementing the Peace Agreement.<\/p>",
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