WASHINGTON | Secretary of State Warren Christopher spoke before a group of more than one hundred Israeli and Arab teenagers known as “Seeds of Peace,” whom he welcomed to the State Department at the start of the group’s visit to Washington on September 3.
“I sense that you, like I, understand and believe in the importance and the possibilities of peace. We must never forget the threats to peace that continue to exist as we have seen so vividly this week in Saddam Hussein’s brutal attack on the Kurds in Northern Iraq,” Christopher stated.
He praised the young ministers of peace and called their program of interaction “a reminder of the possibilities of peace.”
Seeds of Peace was founded in 1993 by journalist John Wallach in Otisfield, Maine, to promote friendship and understanding between Arab and Israeli youth. This year, the group includes representatives from Israel, Egypt, the Palestine Authority, Jordan, Qatar, Morocco, Tunisia, and Greece. The participants, who were selected by their governments, attended a summer camp in Maine before traveling to Washington for a series of cultural, religious and social events with representatives of Jewish, Arab, and American organizations.
Remarks by Secretary of State Christopher
Thank you John, and to all of you at Seeds of Peace, I want to welcome you here again today. You know, welcoming this group to Washington after your summer camp has become some kind of a tradition for me and certainly is a very pleasant one and I am just delighted to see you all here again today.
Your presence, of course, is a reminder of the possibilities of peace. Plus, we must never forget the threats to peace that continue to exist as we have seen so vividly this week in Saddam Hussein’s brutal attack on the Kurds in Northern Iraq.
Saddam has once again demonstrated that he is a threat to his people, to his neighbors and to peace and stability in the Middle East. And President Clinton has made it plain today that the United States is prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect our interests and those of our friends and allies.
The record is, unfortunately, all too clear. Saddam has threatened and invaded his neighbors, developed and used weapons of mass destruction, sponsored countless acts of terrorism, and for the last two decades he has relentlessly persecuted the Kurds and the Shiites. When Saddam tests the will and resolve of the international community, our response must be and will be forceful and immediate.
Time and again we’ve seen that the United States leadership is essential to provide that response. Military action that the United States launched today has made it clear that Saddam will pay a price whenever he engages in aggression. We are answering in the only language he understands, the language of force. We’re also enlarging the no fly zone over Iraq so as to reduce Saddam’s ability to threaten the region, to threaten the peoples of his country, and to threaten his neighbors.
As President, Clinton said this morning, “We must make it clear that reckless acts have consequences or otherwise those acts will increase.
If I could direct a few words to each of you who are here today with me, let me emphasize that I look forward to these meetings because I sense that you, like I, understand and believe in the importance and the possibilities of peace.
Over the last three years, the President and I have worked hard to make real progress toward peace. Although much remains to be done, we have helped Palestinians, Arabs, and Israelis again turn their dialogue into historic agreements. We’ve helped them convert suspicions and distrust into confidence and trust.
Make no mistake about it, the United States will continue to do everything it can to build upon the progress that we have made and achieve a comprehensive peace.
Essential as our work in diplomacy is, I know very well that real peace can only be achieved by establishing personal bonds of friendship and trust between individuals like you and the communities you represent.
Peace, after all, depends on people. That’s where you come in. Agreements between leaders must be reinforced by relationships between people. Arabs, Israelis, and Palestinians must come to see one another not as adversaries or stereotypes but as individuals with hopes and fears worthy of respect and understanding. Only then will peace surely endure.
Bringing this about, as all of you know too well, will not be easy. Breaking down walls of suspicion and mistrust is very difficult, listening to one another’s fears and hopes takes patience. Understanding those feelings, reaching out to each other, requires, on many occasions, real personal courage, the kind that you have shown.
Those facilitation groups that you have at camp, I know, can be quite painful. But at the same time, the friendships that you develop at those meetings and the kinds of camps you have been attending, can last you a lifetime.
I know that in addition to the difficult minutes, you had a lot of fun at the camp in Maine and your visit to Boston. Some of you have been swimming for many hours. Others have enjoyed the wonders of American baseball for the first time. I know you all love Marvin Hamlisch and the talented group that he brought for the show at camp.
Let me say this to you: Treasure those experiences. Keep them with you when you return to your home. They represent a glimpse of the kind of future you can enjoy in a society of peace.
Aaron Miller, as he’s done before, is going to stay on with you when I get back to my desk and he’ll stay on and answer your questions. But I want to leave you with one final message: To all of you here today from the West Bank, and as John said, the additional countries that are involved — in addition to Israel and Egypt, and Morocco, Jordan, and Qatar — let me emphasize that I believe, and my colleagues here at the State Department believe in what you’re doing and what you stand for. Don’t listen to those that say that you can’t make a difference or that you can’t help achieve peace in the Middle East. You certainly can. Believe in yourselves as you leave here. Believe in yourselves, and believe in what you can achieve, and believe in each other. With courage and determination, you can all work together to achieve peace in your region, the kind of peace you have long been denied and which you so deeply justify.
Thank you again for letting me come down and say, hello. I didn’t know whether I was going to be able to find a small window in today’s hectic events but I’m so glad I found it, John. Thanks very much for the Center of Peace.