Communique by PLO Central Council/Convening of an effective Int’l Peace Conference under UN auspices – Letter from Palestine

Letter dated 10 April 1989 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

On instructions from Mr. Yasser Arafat, President of the State of Palestine, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is entrusted with the functions and responsibilities of the Provisional Government, I am transmitting herewith the communique issued by the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization on 3 April 1989.

I request that the annexed communique be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under items 37 and 39 of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council.

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* A/44/50/Rev.1.

Annex

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Communique issued by the Central Council of the

Palestine Liberation Organization

Enjoying the hospitality of the militant President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali and the generosity of Tunisia and its magnanimous fraternal people, the Palestine Central Council, under the presidency of Sheikh Abd el Hamid al-Sayeh, President of the Palestine National Council, and in the presence of Mr. Yasser Arafat, held its regular session from 23 to 26 Sha'ban A.H. 1409 (31 March to 3 April A.D. 1989).

Having heard the reports presented by the Chairman of the Executive Committee, the head of the Political Department and the head of the Department for the Affairs of the Occupied Homeland concerning the topics included in its agenda, and having held exhaustive discussions thereon, the Central Council stressed the importance of continuing the escalation of the uprising of our people and addressed greetings of admiration and pride to our masses, children, women and men, and also to our steadfast prisoners and detainees and stood in tribute to our innocent martyrs.

The Council also focused on the role of the mass organizations, beginning with the united national leadership and proceeding to the popular committees, the strike groups, the workers' cadres, the academic, women's and students' cadres and the economic, commercial, agricultural and health activities and all the sectors of our people, united through the higher councils and the united national committees in the various regions. It stressed their capacity for undertaking most competently the foiling of Israeli manoeuvres, which are presented under fallacious titles, such as "municipal elections" and "autonomy" and are aimed at creating illusory alternatives to the Palestine Liberation Organization. The masses of our people have stood under the banner of the Liberation Organization and its political programme valiantly defending their right to national independence. They have loyally and resolutely withstood Israel's bloody repression, collective punishments, schemes to render the Palestinians ignorant, the closing of schools and mosques, repressive practices and blatant violations of human rights, which have gone so far as the use of poisonous gases, the killing of children, causing women to miscarry, the demolition of homes and the desecration of Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The Central Council declares to the whole world that the blessed popular uprising will not come to a halt and that the holy war and struggle of our people will continue by all means and in all forms until our national flag flies over Jerusalem, the capital of our independent Palestinian State.

The Central Council appeals to all the States of the world and the various regional and international bodies to take immediate and practical action to halt the Israeli death machine directed against our children, women and men and against our holy sites and our territory. It draws attention to the fact that this machine is used in the context of the practice of Israeli official terrorism, as proclaimed by the Israeli Government in its statement of December 1988 in the Israeli Knesset, which exposes the repugnant face of Israeli official terrorism. This calls for immediate action on the part of the international community as a whole to halt this terrorism, aggression and blatant violation of human rights, which require the adoption of international deterrent measures against Israel to put an end to Israeli occupation of our Palestinian homeland.

The Palestine Central Council has adopted the necessary plans for ensuring the continuation of the uprising of our heroic people and providing for steadfastness and resistance by all means.

After discussing Palestinian political action based on the resolutions of our National Council and giving expression to them and to the Palestinian national fixed positions, the Central Council proceeded to state that our course in this action is rightly directed and will, with God's permission, attain its desired goal.

Having taken note of the major successes achieved by the Palestine Liberation Organization in the light of the resolutions of our national councils and our Palestinian fixed positions, the Central Council declared that the Palestinian political initiative is a clear and serious political course and that the Palestine Central Council salutes those States of the world which have recognized the State of Palestine. It salutes the support of the peoples of the States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and their Governments for our people's struggle and also the stand of the African and Asian peoples and their Governments, the non-aligned States and all the liberation movements in support of our people's struggle. It salutes the friendly States which have expressed their full solidarity with our people's struggle and with its blessed uprising. It salutes in particular the position of the friendly Soviet Union and the friendly Socialist States, including the statement of the Soviet leadership and Comrade Shevardnadze in Cairo during his meeting with Mr. Yasser Arafat. It salutes also the friendly Chinese position and commends the evolving and positive European positions, at both the popular and the official levels, on the justice of the struggle of our Palestinian people, as expressed, inter alia, at the recent meeting with the tripartite committee of the European Common Market. It appreciates the French position, as stated by President Mitterrand, to whom we owe gratitude, and also the new United Kingdom position, the contacts made recently and the significance of the evolving Japanese position, Japan's recent statement and the new position of Canada.

The Central Council took note of the facts and details of the United States-Palestinian dialogue and welcomed the initiation, continuation and significance of this dialogue. At the same time, it stressed the political, international and moral responsibility of the United States of America to put a halt to the Israeli occupation and Palestinian suffering. It also stressed the positive and major role which the new Administration has begun to play with a view to the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region and looks forward to its maintenance of a balanced and impartial position on the conflict, eschewing the use of the veto in Israel's favour.

The Central Council calls upon the new United States Administration to take speedily the steps required of it for the convening of an effective International Peace Conference under the auspices of the United Nations and with the participation of the permanent members of the Security Council and all the parties to the conflict, including the Palestine Liberation Organization on an equal footing and with the same rights as the other parties, on the basis of the regional and international developments and data emerging from the glorious uprising and from the steadfast solidarity of our people in our camps with the Lebanese national movement in southern Lebanon, and also on the basis of the international consensus and the Arab will following the victory of fraternal Iraq on the eastern front of our Arab nation.

Having noted from the reports submitted to it the facts regarding Israeli political manoeuvres, the Central Council declares to our masses and to the world our people's total and absolute rejection of any Israeli attempt tc divide our people into those inside the occupied territories and those outside. The Council rejects all attempts and manoeuvres aimed at halting or diminishing the uprising or holding spurious elections under the occupation.

Accordingly, the Central Council calls upon the Security Council to take appropriate steps and measures to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian and Arab territories, including the Golan and southern Lebanon, and to place the Palestinian areas under interim international supervision so that our people may be able to exercise its natural and legitimate rights and to enforce its national rights, including the right to return, to self-determination and to establish an independent State with its capital at Jerusalem, first of the two kiblahs, third of the Holy Sanctuaries, goal of the nocturnal journey of the Prophet Muhammad (God bless Him and grant Him salvation) and cradle of Christ Our Lord (Peace be upon Him).

The Central Council stresses the importance of focusing on the need for the International Conference to be held this year, of the preparatory committee, made up of the five permanent members of the Security Council, meeting as soon as possible and of the appointment of a special representative of the United Nations for the question of Palestine and the Middle East problem.

The Central Council has stressed the importance of the Arab role in support of the uprising. It has expressed gratitude and appreciation to all the Arab States and the masses of our Arab nation for their support for the holy war of the people of Palestine. The Central Council addresses to all brothers an earnest appeal for greater moral, material and political support for the uprising and for the revolutionary course adopted by our people. It calls upon our Arab brothers to give practical effect to the resolutions of the Arab Summit at Algiers, a matter of importance for the continuation and escalation of the uprising, which is today approaching its seventeenth month of so much legendary steadfastness and such epic sacrifices made by our freedom-fighting masses.

The Central Council's reading of the international situation and of the concord among the various forces at the international level requires the adoption of a progressive Arab stand with a view to action on the basis of a unified position and a unified goal.

Accordingly, the Central Council declares that it welcomes the increased forms of solidarity among fraternal Arab States and their newly established federative groupings, and that in the framework of the aspiration of our Arab nation for total unity.

The Central Council calls for the convening of the Arab Summit in order to reinforce Arab solidarity and to serve the goals of our Arab nation, including those of the uprising of our valiant people and of assistance to Lebanon in restoring its unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability and security. The Council stresses the role of inherent Arab strength as a basic and decisive factor in ensuring victory for the foremost Arab cause, that of Palestine, and in safeguarding the national security of the Arab nation.

The Council calls for the achievement of lasting peace between Iraq and Iran and for the implementation of all of the provisions of Security Council resolution 598 (1987).

The Central Council, in reaffirming its resolution relating to contact with democratic and progressive forces and Israeli forces for peace, acclaims their stance condemning the occupation and Israeli repression and siding with the rights of our people, and calls upon them to step up their campaign against the occupation and its crimes.

The course of victory and unity is today manifest in its most self-evident forms, both at home and abroad, and in the achievement of historic victories for our people.

Accordingly, the Central Council calls for the increased revolutionary cohesion of our masses and for the unity of the forces and cells of the revolution within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization and on the basis of the resolutions of the historic session of our Palestine National Council, the session of the intifadah, the session of the martyred leader and symbolic figure Abu Jihad, the first anniversary of whose martyrdom is this month being hailed by our people with even greater resolve to defeat the occupation and wrest its freedom and its inevitable national independence.

Support for collective action for unity within the framework of the Organization, its institutions and structures; the perpetuation of traditions of respect for resolutions and their implementation: adherence to democratic dialogue within institutions and the development of their apparatus and the improvement of their capabilities and effectiveness; the building up of national institutions and structures capable of assuming the burdens of the stage ahead and of continuing the struggle: this is the central task in enabling our masses to persist in their heroic struggle, their hallowed uprising and their valiant steadfastness in the camps on the way to victory until such time as the independent State of Palestine emerges.

Having considered the Constitution of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the resolution adopted by the Palestine National Council at its nineteenth session, the Central Council has adopted an important resolution with a view to perpetuating Palestinian sovereignty and the Palestinian State by electing Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, President of the State of Palestine.

The Council has entrusted the Executive Committee with the task of drawing up the necessary statute, principles and ordinances for action in accordance with the resolutions of the Palestine National Council, including those defining the powers of the Head of State and of institutions, for submission to the Central Council for adoption at its next meeting. This on the understanding that the Executive Committee will continue to perform the functions of the Provisional Government, in accordance with the resolution of the National Council, until such time as the Government is formed.

The Central Council, in hailing the initiative taken by Palestinian women outside our occupied land to contribute their ornaments and jewellery to provide backing for bonds in support of the uprising, further calls for the generalization of this initiative to all countries in which there are Palestinian communities. It welcomes the participation of Arab women in this national initiative in support of the steadfastness of Palestinian women living under the occupation and the escalation of the blessed uprising of our people.

The Central Council entrusts the Board of Governors of the Palestine National Fund, together with the Executive Committee, with the task of closely supervising this campaign and of associating members of the Council and of the popular federations in such Palestinian communities in this generous act.

In conclusion, the Central Council conveys its congratulations to the fraternal Tunisian people and to the Arab nation as a whole on the election of the freedom-fighter, President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali. We say to him, to all our brothers of the Arab and Islamic nation – together and jointly unto victory and on to liberated Jerusalem with the help of Almighty God – and to our people and our struggling masses defying with their naked breasts the Zionist occupation Army: we pledge to you, God willing, to continue the course unto victory.

The dawn is indeed approaching.

Victory is indeed at hand.

"… and to enter the mosque, as they entered it the first time, and to destroy utterly that which they ascended to."

Almighty God has spoken the truth.