M Abbas: Joint Sitting of South African Parliament

31 March 2006

Madam Speaker of the National Assembly;
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP);
Mr President;
Ladies and gentlemen;

I would like to express my gratitude for your kind invitation to speak today
before the representatives of the South African people. A great country that
epitomises the model for all countries in their struggle for equality among its
people and has eliminated all kinds of racial discrimination and
injustices.

Your country, despite your painful experience under apartheid, it still
continues supporting all causes of freedom, independence and democracy.

Madam speaker, The Palestinian people are proud of the historic and strong
bonds of relations with the people of South Africa and is looking towards your
country as a model from which we draw lessons and inspirations, to continue our
march to achieve a just and comprehensive peace and regain our rights of self
determination and establishment of independent state of Palestine with
Jerusalem as its capital.

Madam Speaker, Mr President
Dear friends, members of parliament, it is a great honour to me to address this
august assembly and to convey sincere greetings of the Palestinian people,
members or the Palestine National Council and members of the newly-elected
Palestinian Legislative Council. I would like to reaffirm, our deep pride of
the historic relations between our two peoples, which have been establish many
years ago during our common struggle for justice and freedom, which gave birth
to the new South Africa.

At this historic moment I want to salute my great friend President Thabo
Mbeki for his unwavering support for the Palestinian national struggle and his
great efforts to advance the peace process in the Middle East and his prominent
regional and international efforts to achieve peace and stability in the world.
We salute our dear friend Mr Nelson Mandela for his great contribution to our
struggle and remember our dear late leader Yasser Arafat for consolidating the
struggle relations between our two nations.

We are confident that these relations between our two governments and people
will further enhance and develop under the wise leadership or dear brother
Thabo Mbeki and his friendly government. We are always keen to listen to his
wisdom, advice and co-ordinate our common stances regarding various bilateral
and international issues.

South Africa's policies against all forms or human rights violations and its
role in support of political and economic stability and conflict resolutions in
Africa is another testimony of the leading role of South Africa and its
leadership.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your great achievements in lifting the injustice perpetuated against your
people marked by the historic defeat of apartheid, is a unique human
achievement which lead to the political and economic stability and equality
regardless of colour, race and religion.

As you are aware my friends, the Palestinian people has and still continue
to sacrifice and suffer tremendously to obtain their freedom.

Palestinian People are living under extremely difficult and dangerous
conditions, where they are subjected to all kinds of torture, siege,
suffocation and confiscation of land by Israel - the occupying force. These
aggressive and illegal practices are aimed at establishing its occupation,
illegal settlement in our land and to undermine the peace process and all the
regional and international initiatives to reviving it.

It seeks to destroy our National Authority and the recent Israeli military
aggression against the city of Jericho and its crime of kidnapping the
Palestinian prisoners is clear evidence which demonstrates Israel's intentions
to ignore and disregard all the signed international agreements.

Dear friends, your participation and advice, is essential under these
complex and difficult circumstances and we are confident that, with our dear
friend President Thabo Mbeki and members of his government, we can reach common
position, through which we can push towards reviving the peace process in our
region. We Palestinians are very keen and interested in learning more about
your experience that will help us to advance the political process in the
Middle East.

We welcome any effort that your government would make and we assure you,
that despite all our suffering, we will remain committed to all peace
initiatives and continue to be responsible and objective in positively
responding to all regional, international efforts and initiatives aimed at
reviving and protecting the peace process, despite Israeli obstruction of the
negotiation process to replace it with the iron fist and unilateral policies,
which we vehemently reject. We demand that these policies cease immediately as
they intend to draw and define the final solution unilaterally.

We have agreed to the Road Map sponsored by the Quartet Committee. The
government of Israel, however, has put forward 14 reservations on this plan and
has relied on its force and influence to continue expansionist policies and
oppression against r people. It has misled the world by creating the impression
that there is no Palestinian partner to negotiate with.

I want to reiterate before you my dear friends, that we are ready start the
negotiations immediately and to implement all the United Nations (UN)
Resolutions and signed agreements. The real obstacle is the Israeli obstinate
stance from the one side and the lack of effective intervention by the
international community from the other.

It is unacceptable to use the victory of Hamas in the elections of the
second Palestinian Legislative Council, as an excuse to increase the Israeli
aggression against our people and punish our people for its democratic
choice.

Here I would like to call upon you and all peace and freedom loving people
in the world, to exert all necessary efforts to stop the Israeli aggression and
to implement all the signed agreements and the relevant UN resolutions. That
will lead to the establishment of our independent Palestinian state in all the
territories occupied by Israel in June 1967. So as to accomplish the desired
peace, which can ensure stability and security to all the people in the region,
including Israel and would allow our people to live freely, with dignity,
sovereignty and independence on its Palestinian soil.

We have learned from your struggle that peace is possible when justice and
equality prevail. No matter how powerful the enemy is, it cannot defeat the
will and determination of the people to live free and dignified. As much as we
wish to live in peace with our Israeli neighbours, we are determined in
upholding our national rights in our country, to reach the day when we have a
free, independent and democratic Palestine, which will contribute towards the
stability and prosperity or the Middle East.

Madam Speaker, Mr President and dear friends,

Given all the difficult circumstances, we need your continued support,
together with the international community. The extent of the suffering of our
people is beyond imagination and words, either on the economic level, freedom
of movements, the ghettos that are being imposed on our people, who live in
isolated areas surrounded by either Jewish settlements or by the Israeli
military forces. Specific roads and routes are being designed for settlers that
are forbidden for Palestinians. I believe that whoever has visited Palestine
among you and has seen the extent of the suffering, discrimination, injustice,
and oppression, remembers the worst days of racial discrimination in your
past.

Madam Speaker, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,
May I once again congratulate you for your achievements in South Africa. We are
determined to follow your steps towards freedom, sovereignty and
independence.

We will remain together until we have liberated Palestine and we will defend
the freedom of others as we defend ours.

Long live South African-Palestinian friendship.

Issued by: SA Parliament
31 March 2006