[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PEACE AND TOLERANCE

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 3, 1994

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I inserted into the Record the 
``Bosphorus Declaration'' of a conference of leaders of various 
religious faiths held in early February 1994 in Istanbul, Turkey.
  Today, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues a 
resolution and statement made at the conference.
  Among the participants in the conference was our distinguished former 
colleague, Dr. John Brademas, president emeritus of New York 
University, who is also chairman of the National Endowment for 
Democracy. Dr. Brademas chaired a working group in Istanbul that dealt 
with the situation in the Balkans and made a significant contribution 
to the final document of the conference.
  The resolution adopted by the working group chaired by Dr. Brademas 
and the statement with which he opened its discussion follow:

 The Appeal of Conscience Berne Declaration Working Group Resolution, 
                            February 9, 1994

       The mortar shell that killed 68 persons in the marketplace 
     of Sarajevo only days ago dramatizes anew the horror of the 
     continuing war in the former Yugoslavia.
       As men and women of different religious faiths--Christian 
     Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic; Jewish and Muslim--
     we are united in our call for an end to the slaughter and the 
     suffering.
       We realize that as religious leaders, we do not have the 
     power to stop the war. But we cannot be spectators only, 
     leaving the field solely to military and political leaders. 
     We have a responsibility not to remain silent when, in the 
     last years of the twentieth century, such terrible 
     devastation is carried out by man against man.


          we condemn use of religion as instrument of conflict

       We strongly condemn the use of religion as an instrument of 
     the conflict.
       The war in Yugoslavia is not a religious war, and appeal to 
     religion and the exploitation of religious symbols to further 
     the cause of aggressive nationalism are a betrayal of the 
     universality of religious faith.
       We echo here the words of the Appeal of Conscience Berne 
     Declaration of November 1992: ``Crime in the name of religion 
     is the greatest crime against religion.''
       We call on the representatives of the religious communities 
     of the countries of former Yugoslavia to urge an end to 
     hatred and a beginning of the process of healing and 
     reconciliation. Indeed, we call on men and women of religious 
     conviction in all lands everywhere to raise their voices 
     against the fires of rampant nationalism. For if these fires 
     are not now curbed, they will spread elsewhere in this 
     tormented part of the world, bringing still further 
     fratricide and suffering.


              fires of nationalism not confined to balkans

       And we warn that the fires of nationalism are not confined 
     to the Balkans, but smoulder elsewhere as well, in Central 
     Asia and the Caucasus.
       We observe that for many years people of different 
     religions--Muslim, Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Jew--lived 
     side by side in former Yugoslavia, and without civil war.
       We pray for a renewal of respect for the rights of all, 
     particularly for minorities--ethnic, national and religious. 
     We emphasize the imperative of freedom of conscience of every 
     person and of freedom of religion of every minority in every 
     country.
       We call for an end to the confiscation, desecration and 
     destruction of houses of worship and of holy and sacred 
     places, of whatever religious tradition.


                    we condemn ``ethnic cleansing''

       We especially condemn the practice of ``ethnic cleansing'' 
     and the rape and murder of women and children.
       We urge the removal of obstacles that prevent humanitarian 
     assistance from reaching the suffering--the sick and wounded, 
     the elderly, the very young--for whom it is intended. 
     Specifically, we call upon religious leaders in areas of 
     conflict to press political and military authorities to 
     facilitate access of relief supplies to besieged populations.
       As leaders of our several religious faiths, we call upon 
     Christians, Jews and Muslims to encourage respect for one 
     another, for the universal power of religion must not be a 
     force for hatred, division and violence but for tolerance and 
     peace among peoples and nations.


         An appeal of conscience conflict resolution task force

       Specifically, we demand the intensification of negotiations 
     to resolve the conflict in former Yugoslavia and to advance 
     the cause of peace and justice there.
       Finally, we propose the creation of an ``Appeal of 
     Conscience Conflict Resolution Task Force'' to monitor 
     conflicts, ethnic or national; to sensitize world opinion to 
     them; and to be a moral force for conciliation and peace.
                                  ____


                   Opening Statement by John Brademas

       I am pleased to have been invited to participate in this 
     International Conference on Peace and Tolerance here in the 
     great city of Istanbul * * * and I want to pay tribute to the 
     co-hosts of our gathering--His All Holiness, Bartholomew I, 
     the Ecumenical Patriarch, and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, the 
     Founder and President of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.
       I had the privilege of meeting His All Holiness when he 
     visited the United States with his beloved predecessor, 
     Dimitrios I, in 1990 and I am honored now to be here at a 
     conference inspired by Patriarch Bartholomew. His All 
     Holiness knows the high regard and great esteem in which I 
     hold him.
       I am glad, too, to be in Istanbul with my friend and fellow 
     New Yorker, Rabbi Schneier, who works tirelessly to encourage 
     respect for men and women of different faiths and national 
     backgrounds.
       This is not my first visit to Turkey. I came here over 30 
     years ago when, as a young Member of the Congress of the 
     United States, I visited Phanar and had the privilege of 
     being received by another great Ecumenical Patriarch, His All 
     Holiness Athenagoras I.
       Because this is a conference devoted to promoting 
     tolerance--I prefer the word ``respect''!--for people of 
     differing religious convictions, I take the liberty of 
     telling you of my own religious background.


                        an ecumenical background

       May late father was born in Kalamata, Greece, and was Greek 
     Orthodox while my mother, now 92, of Anglo-Saxon descent, is 
     a Protestant, a member of the Disciples of Christ Church.
       My two brothers and sister and I grew up in what is now 
     called the United Methodist Church, also Protestant.
       I was for a brief time a professor at a Roman Catholic 
     college, and I sit today on the Board of trustees of 
     the University of Notre Dame, one of America's most 
     important Roman Catholic institutions of higher learning.
       While serving in Congress, I was for several years a member 
     of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.
       Then for 11 years, I was president of a university with the 
     largest number of Jewish students in the world and largest 
     number of Roman Catholic students in the United States.
       You can see, therefore, that I have a very ecumenical 
     background.
       But I would be less than candid if I did not tell you that 
     a number of my fellow Americans of Greek origin are not at 
     all happy about my being with you in Istanbul for this 
     conference.


                some reservations about this conference

       And as an American politician for many years and a person 
     still active in the political life of my country, I think you 
     should know why some of my friends have expressed 
     reservations about this meeting.
       First, in order that you have as clear an understanding as 
     possible, I should remind you that I was the first native-
     born American of Greek origin elected to the Congress of the 
     United States.
       Second, you should know that I was strongly and openly 
     opposed to the military junta that ruled Greece for seven 
     years and that because the Greek Government at that time was 
     not freely and democratically elected, I publicly spoke 
     against U.S. military aid to Greece.
       Third, you should be aware that while serving in Congress, 
     I led the effort 20 years ago this summer, following the fall 
     of the junta after the abortive coup against President 
     Makarios of Cyprus, and the subsequent invasion and 
     occupation of that independent republic by Turkish troops, 
     equipped with weapons supplied by the United States, to 
     impose an arms embargo on Turkey.
       For American law mandated an immediate termination of 
     further American arms to any country using them for other 
     than defensive purposes.
       And I continue to be distressed by the occupation of Cyprus 
     by Turkish military forces and regard that occupation as a 
     major obstacle to stability in this part of the world.
       In like fashion, I have on a number of occasions echoed the 
     concern that many Christians all over the world--and not 
     Christians only--have voiced about what they believe has been 
     unjust treatment of the Ecumenical and Armenian Patriarchates 
     and of Christians living in Turkey.
       So I do not come to Istanbul without a considerable degree 
     of skepticism.
       But I am, nonetheless, here.


                       why do i come to istanbul?

       Why do I come?
       I take part in this conference because I believe that men 
     and women of differing values and traditions, even on matters 
     so fundamental as religion, can, if they are true to the best 
     in their religious heritage, whether Christian, Jewish or 
     Muslim, find enough common ground to make cooperation rather 
     than conflict in the best interest of the people whom they 
     serve and, ultimately, in the best interest of humankind.
       I voice this view in no sentimental, romantic way but 
     rather because I believe it to be true. That Israelis and 
     Palestinians are now taking concrete steps towards some 
     viable peace with each other is a concrete manifestation of 
     the validity of my assertion.
       So what is the situation in the world as we meet in 
     Istanbul in February 1994? I cite only a few obvious 
     illustrations.
       In the former Soviet Union, the cascade of events has been 
     dizzying--the crumbling of the Communist system, the 
     disintegration of seventy years of totalitarian governments 
     and command economies and the beginnings, fitful and 
     uneven, of reform of the old, inhumane and ultimately 
     unworkable structures. The Damoclean sword of potential 
     war between the Western Alliance and the Soviet empire has 
     for all intents and purposes been removed.
       In the Middle East, as I have said, ancient enemies are 
     engaged in a genuine dialogue about how to find a lasting 
     peace.
       In the Union of South Africa, after decades of cruelty and 
     oppression under apartheid, the people of that country will 
     be engaged in democratic elections in April.
       In Central and Eastern Europe, nations formerly under 
     Communist rule have elected governments that are working to 
     strengthen democratic processes and develop mixed economies.
       Indeed, as Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy 
     in the United States, I lead a bipartisan, nongovernmental 
     organization devoted to promoting democratic institutions in 
     parts of the world where they do not exist or are just 
     emerging.
       Despite these signs of hope, as everyone in this room 
     knows, the planet Earth is still full of serious conflicts. 
     These conflicts are born not only of economic and political 
     differences but, increasingly, are of ethnic, national, 
     racial and religious origin. And the conflicts are not 
     confined to any one country--they are to be found on every 
     continent.
       Discrimination against racial minorities continues in many 
     parts of the world including Britain, France, Germany and the 
     United States.
       So, too, can one observe almost everywhere prejudice on the 
     basis of differences of religion, ethnic origin or 
     nationality. Anti-Semitism is a continuing menace in Western 
     and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
       And you all know how Turks in Germany have been the victims 
     of xenophobic, and sometimes murderous, attacks.


                    the tragedy of former yugoslavia

       Of course, the most dramatic, urgent and contemporary of 
     these national, ethnic and religious conflicts is in the 
     former Yugoslavia. Croatian Catholics, Serbian Orthodox and 
     Bosnian Muslims are every day more deeply engaged in a bloody 
     and terrible war, with Western Europe and the United States 
     seemingly unable to help bring about a just and peaceful 
     resolution.
       Last Saturday's attack on Sarajevo, which caused 68 deaths, 
     can only deepen our concern.
       Indeed, it is the hope of the organizers of this week's 
     conference in Istanbul that we can here renew the call voiced 
     by Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox and Roman Catholic leaders in 
     Berne in November 1992, under the sponsorship of the Appeal 
     of Conscience Foundation, that the forces of religion, 
     demanding an end to the hostilities and human suffering, will 
     at last be heard and heeded.
       Once again, I speak to you with total candor. Even as I 
     have over the years been highly critical of Turkish 
     persecution of the Christian Orthodox community in this 
     country, I am highly critical of the policy of Serbia of 
     ``ethnic cleansing'' in Bosnia.
       And while I am well aware of the Serbian argument that all 
     are equally guilty--Bosnians, Croats and Serbs--I can tell 
     you that public opinion in the United States certainly 
     assigns greatest culpability for the tragedy to the Serbs.
       Here I must observe to those who insist that it is 
     impossible for peoples of different ethnic backgrounds to 
     live together that, as the highly regarded American writer, 
     William Pfaff, said recently: ``* * * [C]o-existence was the 
     reality of Yugoslavia from 1917 until 1991, with the 
     exception of the four Second World War years, which saw a 
     genocidal assault upon the Serbs by Croatia's fascist 
     collaborationist wartime government--one cause of the 
     atrocities practiced by Serbs in recent months. * * *''\1\
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     \1\William Pfaff, ``Invitation to War,'' Foreign Affairs, 
     Summer 1993, page 104.
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               putting forward the best values of mankind

       Let me summarize what I have tried to say. I have indicated 
     to you my own general views on the kinds of problems that 
     bring us together in Istanbul--questions of tolerance and 
     peace, or, if you like, intolerance and war. You are, of 
     course, free to disagree with me, as I am sure many of you 
     will!
       I am not, however, so much anxious that the members of this 
     group debate my views with me as that, working together, we 
     ask ourselves:
       First, what are the matters on which we, as men and women 
     of religious conviction, can agree to encourage respect for 
     each other's religion? * * * and
       Second, with regard to the current crisis in the Balkans, 
     what can we say to encourage an end to the fighting and a 
     settlement of the war that will bring peace and a tolerable 
     justice to this tormented part of the world?
       I conclude these remarks by reminding you what our eminent 
     co-host, His All Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch, said in 
     London last November. Speaking of attacks upon both those of 
     Christian Orthodox faith and, in the Patriarch's words, ``our 
     Muslim neighbors,'' Patriarch Bartholomew declared: ``We hope 
     to put behind what is unpleasant while putting forward the 
     best values of mankind. * * * As leaders [His All Holiness 
     concluded], we must stand prophetically, and work for 
     brotherly and sisterly co-existence among those of different 
     faiths, for the benefit of all. We must set aside our 
     differences and, learn to ``speak the truth in love'' as 
     persons created in the image of the one, true God.''\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     \2\``Mnemosyne and the Children of Memory.'' Address by His 
     All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. British 
     Museum, London. 12 November 1993.
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       In this spirit, let us begin our discussion.

                          ____________________