Press Release

World Peace Council and Afro Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organization Middle East Regional conference was held on 25th September 2010 at Cairo – Arab Republic of Egypt – attended by peace committees from Sudan, Iraq, Turkey, India, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel (Arab 48), Palestine, Iran, Egypt, Greece and Cyprus.

The conference was held under the title "Peace Movement and The New Middle East". It discussed issues of:

1- The Peace Process in the Middle East and the future of the Palestinian State.
2- Turning the Middle East to a zone free of nuclear and weapons of mass destruction.
3- The Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
4- The role of peace and solidarity committees in the region in facing the challenges.

The President of the Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organization – Mr. Ahmed Hamrouch inaugurated the Seminar. The Secretary-General – Mr. Nouri Abdul Razzak presented AAPSO speech and the Executive Secretary of World Peace Council – Mr. Iraklis Tsavdaridis presented the Council speech. Also the member of the Secretariat of AAPSO and the Palestinian representative – Ambassador Said Kamal - made a speech on the Palestinian issue “Negotiations and the limited alternatives”
The conference discussed the explosive situation in the region, and the importance of just and comprehensive peace for its peoples in order to achieve stability security, development and prosperity.

Regarding the peace process in the Middle East and the future of the Palestinian state, the participants noticed that the Palestinian issue is suppressed, as Israel is moving in implementing the siege scheme on Gaza Strip, and pressured by all military and non military means to put it in a state of famine on brink of collapse, and the West Bank is threatened by disruption with the more settlements and the racial wall which forms an advanced demarcation to the borders as a de facto, includes a new annexation of Palestinian lands, which contradicts laws including international law, the provocative operation of judaizing Jerusalem and committing war crimes against humanity.

Israel doesn’t make just one gesture reflecting a genuine desire to achieve peace, helping it in this rupture of the Palestinian ranks and the Arab situations as well. That makes the balance unstable to its sake, so, the efforts to achieve the Palestinian reconciliation require support and assistance.

Now, direct negotiations are taking place under endless tensions, noting that the negotiation is one of the means to reach a peaceful solution, but it requires a real balance otherwise it will be derailed from the beginning.

The Palestinian negotiators must find a real support from their people both Arab and from the world public opinion at least to balance the front. They need clear reference around which his negotiations revolve. The terms of reference is the United Nations resolutions: Partition resolutions no. 181, 242 and 1515 which gave the Palestinians their legitimate independent state and defining its borders, the resolution no. 194 regarding refugees, and other resolutions that had been accepted by international bodies for the benefit of the Palestinian cause. The Arab peace initiative which is flexible, realistic and has the desire to achieve peace, Israel so far is neglecting this initiative.

Hence, we support and welcome the Arab Peace Initiative, which needs mobilization of all efforts for its realizations.

The negotiation is an important means for the agreement provided that it is governed with the two parties and uphold sincere wish to reach a solution for the two states.
The peace process in the Middle East is subject, to a large extent, to a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause on the basis of international legitimacy. The continuation of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other Arab countries is a constant source of tension, violence, instability and conflict.

With regard to Middle East issue on elimination weapons of mass destruction, the participants noticed that the nuclear armament in the region, as well as other mass destruction weapons form an unlimited threat to security and safety to the people of the region.

The possession, of any of the parties, of such weapons constitute a full loss of security, the state that possess this weapon, even if it doesn't use it directly, maintains a huge considerable leverage which makes the balance always in its favour, substantially affect the sovereignty of peoples and their security.

Establishing a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East would strengthen regional and international peace and security.

There are many steps that could help to reinvigorate the international non proliferation:

1- Entering all the Middle East countries to the comprehensive nuclear non proliferation treaty and first of these countries is Israel which already has nuclear bombs.
2- Dismantlement of former test sites and fissile material production facilities.
3- Disposal of nuclear materials which are used in weapons industry.
4- Developing new technologies for nuclear fuel cycle.
5- The phasing out of highly enriched uranium and plutonium, and then eliminating them.
6- International investigation with reliable transparent system.
7- Eliminating conclusively of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

The United Nations, United States of America, Russia and United Kingdom called for holding a regional conference in 2012, in which all regional countries are supposed to share, to establish a nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction free zone in the Middle East.

Also, the Review Conference of Nuclear Non-proliferation affirmed the necessity of Israel’s accession to the Treaty and to allow all its facilities be subjected to comprehensive guard system of International Atomic Energy Agency.

All the participants in the conference expressed their support for these positive and constructive steps.

Regarding the current conflicts in the Middle East, there are conflicts arising from acts of invasion and occupation such as what happened in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine, and other disputes arising from internal conflicts between different national factions either on the basis of ethnic or religious as in Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Pakistan.

All these disputes, are threaten by using violence, lead to the increase of the trend towards power, spread of chaos and poor living conditions, as development process is almost stagnated and even the economic life is almost paralyze, the poverty spread and aggravated, health and education services are retarded, and problem of water appeared as current and future serious challenge, and peace becomes difficult to be reached.

Existence of occupation forces in the invaded countries and the intractable problems in other countries, block the paths in front of normal democratic development, destroy countries’ natural resources and increase their backwardness and deterioration.

All these require more responsibility on our committees, peace and solidarity, with their actions as non governmental popular organizations and as a part of international civil society to face these challenges to the interest of our people.