[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 26, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   ADDRESS BY HIS MAJESTY KING HUSSEIN I OF THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF 
     JORDAN BEFORE THE JOINT MEETING OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS

  KING HUSSEIN I. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, honored guests, Members 
of Congress, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor for me to stand 
before you, the Representatives of the Great American Nation, on this 
historic occasion.
  We have now become partners in shaping the future of all our peoples. 
We seek for them a future of peace, stability, and security, the 
prospects for which are growing before our eyes. It is a heart-warming 
sight for those of us who have continuously pursued this goal 
throughout our lives.
  We in Jordan have always sought a bold peace. We have been conscious 
of our responsibilities toward the coming generations--to ensure that 
they will have the certainty of leading a dignified and fulfilled life. 
We have sought a peace that can harness their creative energies, to 
allow them to realize their true potential, and build their future with 
confidence, devoid of fear and uncertainty.
  None of this can be achieved without establishing a direct dialog at 
the highest level of leadership.
  This meeting in Washington at the invitation of President Clinton 
represents the beginning of a new phase in our common journey toward 
peace between Jordan and Israel. It is a milestone on the road toward 
comprehensive peace in our region.
  This meeting was preceded by a trilateral Jordanian-American-Israeli 
meeting at which my brother, Crown Prince Hassan, represented myself 
and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres 
represented Israel. The trilateral working group was established under 
an agreement completed at the meeting hosted by President Clinton at 
the White House in October 1993.
  Following my recent visit to the United States, in light of the 
status of negotiations, I decided to share with my people the realities 
affecting our search for peace. In a meeting with Members of our 
Parliament, I addressed the entire Jordanian nation. I have been 
rewarded by their approval and support.
  Their expression of confidence has always been the foremost 
consideration in my life. All of Jordan is here with me today.
  We also remember today the three generations of gallant Jordanians 
and so many others who sacrificed themselves for the cause of 
Palestine. Every household in Jordan has sent a son to answer the Arab 
call. Many have not returned. Their sacrifice has made it possible for 
me to be here today.
  My family has also paid a heavy price. My great grandfather, the 
leader of the Great Arab Revolt for Freedom, Independence and Unity, 
lies buried next to the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. I was by 
the side of my grandfather, King Abdullah, at the doors of Al Aqsa 
Mosque when he was martyred. He was a man of peace who gave his life 
for this ideal. I have pledged my life to fulfilling his dream. He too 
is here today.

  Mr. Speaker, in our meeting today I hope you will find a clear 
message to the American Nation and to the world. We are together 
committed to work tirelessly to banish forever the abnormal conditions 
which have dominated our people's lives.
  We want normality and humanity to become the prevailing order.
  Although we have labored for so long under conditions of hostility, I 
am certain that we can see these conditions for what they are: emblems 
of an unnatural and sinister state. We have all known the portents of 
the state: the fear of death, the silence of isolation. And we have all 
felt the fear that has mesmerized us, preventing us from moving forward 
to create together a bright future for the coming generations.
  What we are witnessing today, God willing, is a progression from a 
state of war to a state of peace. These unique circumstances allow us 
to take bold steps.
  Our meeting now represents a revolt against all that is unnatural. It 
is unnatural not to have direct and open meetings between our 
respective officials and their leaders, in order to grapple with all 
aspects of the conflict and, God willing, to resolve them. It is 
unnatural not to wish to bridge this gulf, across which we have all 
paid a shattering toll in blood and tears, the waste of our youth and 
the grief of our forefathers. We have suffered this loss together and 
it will leave its impact on all of us far into the future.
  The two Semitic peoples, the Arabs and the Jews, have endured bitter 
trials and tribulations during the journey of history. Let us resolve 
to end this suffering forever and to fulfill our responsibilities as 
leaders of our peoples, and our duty as human beings toward mankind.
  I come before you today fully conscious of the need to secure a peace 
for all the children of Abraham. Our land is the birthplace of the 
divine faiths and the cradle of the heavenly messages to all humanity.
  I also come before you today as a soldier who seeks to bear arms 
solely in the defense of his homeland, a man who understands the fears 
of his neighbors, and who wishes only to live in peace with them, a man 
who wishes to secure democracy, political pluralism, and human rights 
for his nation.
  I come before you today encouraged in the knowledge that the Prime 
Minister of Israel and his Government have responded to the call for 
peace. They have recognized the Palestinian people and their rights, 
and are negotiating with their chosen leadership in accordance with 
U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
  For our part we will never forget Palestine: not for a moment. We in 
Jordan were the first to shoulder our responsibility, and we were the 
most adversely affected by the legacy of the Palestinian tragedy.
  And still our people in Jordan remain one united family, irrespective 
of their origins, sharing equally, free to choose their political 
future and destiny.
  My religious faith demands that sovereignty over the holy places in 
Jerusalem reside with God and God alone. Dialog between the faiths 
should be strengthened; religious sovereignty should be accorded to all 
believers of the three Abrahamic faiths, in accordance with their 
religions. In this way, Jerusalem will become the symbol of peace and 
its embodiment, as it must be for both Palestinians and Israelis when 
their negotiations determine the final status of Arab East Jerusalem.
  I come before you today fully confident that progress will be made on 
the Syrian-Israeli and Lebanese-Israeli tracks of the peace process, 
and towards the achievement of comprehensive peace.
  Mr. Speaker, the state of war between Israel and Jordan is over. We 
have accepted U.N. Security Council Resolution 338, which calls for 
negotiations between the parties concerned, under appropriate auspices, 
to establish a just and durable peace in the Middle East.
  We have accepted U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which sought 
acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and 
political independence of every state in the area and their right to 
live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries, free from 
threats or acts of force.
  I want to reaffirm, without any reservation, that we, together with 
the other parties concerned, have exercised our sovereign right to make 
peace. We are moving forward and tackling, one by one, all the problems 
listed in our common agenda. We have great faith in our joint progress 
toward the ultimate goal, the culmination of all our efforts, a 
Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty.
  In this, we take courage from the words of God, in his holy book, the 
Koran: ``Then if they should be inclined to make peace, do thou incline 
towards it also, and put thy trust in Allah. Surely, it is He who is 
all-hearing, all-knowing.''
  Mr. Speaker, I value the long friendship between Jordan and the 
United States, inherited from the era of my grandfather. I have sought 
over 34 years, since the Presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, to ensure 
that it be honest and true.
  It has been a friendship built on mutual respect and common 
interests. I am proud to remind you how we stood shoulder to shoulder 
during the long years of the cold war.
  And now, together, we share a great hope: to establish a lasting 
peace in the Middle East.
  We believe that an enduring partnership for cooperation and 
development between Jordan and the United States is essential to the 
realization of this dream.
  We aim to build a better future under peace, to change the pattern of 
life for our people from despair and hopelessness to honor and dignity. 
We want to fashion a new commonwealth of hope on our ancient soil; we 
want all voices to be heard in sharing a new regional order.
  If we are to achieve our aims, all of us must be given the 
opportunity and the tools to play our part in this historic endeavor. 
The creative drive of our region has been crippled by the conflict; the 
healing hand of the international community is now essential.
  It should never be forgotten that peace resides ultimately not in the 
hands of government but in the hands of the people. For unless peace 
can be made real to the men, women, and children of the Middle East, 
the best efforts of negotiators will come to nought.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, I have come before you today to 
demonstrate that we are ready to open a new era in our relations with 
Israel. With the help and cooperation of this august body the peace we 
all want can be achieved.
  With your help, I am certain that the imbalances between our 
societies can be remedied, and that the sources of frustration and 
enmity can be eradicated.
  It is in this spirit and with these hopes that I share this platform 
with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
  To all of you, and to the American people, I offer my thanks for your 
kindness, hospitality, and for all your support.
  May God bless you all.
  Wa Assalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  The SPEAKER. His Excellency Yitzhak Rabin.

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