[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 110 (Friday, July 30, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     INSIGHTS ON THE PEACE PROCESS

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                        HON. JOHN EDWARD PORTER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 29, 1999

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to enter into the record an 
opinion piece from the May 30th Washington Times by former Illinois 
Senator Chuck Percy. In this article, Senator Percy concisely points 
out the present status of the peace process and those steps that must 
occur next for progress to continue. This is a timely and insightful 
piece that I commend to the attention of all members.

                 [From Washington Times, May 30, 1999]

                      Embracing Peace and Progress

       The statement of Ehud Barak, newly elected Israeli prime 
     minister, that he is determined to revive the Middle East 
     peace process, to withdraw Israeli troops from Lebanon and to 
     negotiate with Syria and the Palestinians is good news.
       Mr. Barak's words are encouraging to Israelis who seek the 
     security only peace can bring, to Palestinians whose 
     aspirations for a place of their own can only be satisfied 
     with the acquiescence of Israel, and to the United States, 
     which has worked for a settlement of the Arab-Israeli dispute 
     for so many years.
       Also encouraging is Syria's quick and affirming response 
     expressing a willingness to resume negotiations with Israel 
     and asking that Lebanon be included.
       Apparently, Mr. Barak--once he has put together his 
     government coalition--is prepared to take bold initiatives to 
     break the impasse in Israeli-Palestinian relations. As an 
     example, he might implement the Wye Agreement that requires 
     withdrawal of Israel from 13 percent of the West Bank. This 
     wouldn't require further negotiations because it already was 
     agreed upon and should have been done many months ago, if the 
     Likud government had not reneged on the deal.
       It would be appropriate and wise for Palestinian leader 
     Yasser Arafat to acknowledge openly Israel's need for 
     security by announcing and taking strong, credible new 
     measures to suppress terrorist acts against Israel. Mr. 
     Arafat has to do more than he has done previously.
       Such moves by Mr. Barak and Mr. Arafat would begin to clear 
     the smothering fog or acrimony and distrust left behind by 
     Benjamin Netanyahu and would engender an atmosphere more 
     conducive to serious negotiations.
       Considering the checkered nature of the peace process up to 
     this time, it is hard to have confidence a fresh start will 
     succeed. But Mr. Barak comes to office with a clear mandate 
     from his people, and the Palestinians must recognize that 
     they now have another chance to complete the process 
     developed in Oslo.
       Mr. Barak and Mr. Arafat surely must realize the future of 
     the region lies in peace--not stalemate, and not war. If they 
     determine to choose a future in which their human and 
     financial resources can be concentrated on peacetime tasks, 
     their region can be more secure for all, and there will be an 
     opportunity--with help from the international community--to 
     build their economies and establish trade links between 
     themselves and the entire world. It is still true that 
     political relationships tend to follow the trade lanes.
       In 1974, when I served as a Senate representative on the 
     U.S. delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, I was 
     in the hall when Mr. Arafat made his first speech there. At 
     that time, I thought it might be possible to find the path to 
     peace, if the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians had the 
     courage to meet, to discuss the dimensions and details of 
     their mutual dilemma, and to decide what risks they could 
     afford, what concessions they could make.
       Since then, much progress has been made in communications 
     between Arabs and Israelis. From Camp David to Madrid to 
     Oslo, the peace process became viable and promising. But 
     always there were interruptions in the dialogue due to fears 
     aroused on one side or the other, often by terrorist acts or 
     unwise unilateral moves by leaders.
       Nevertheless, through all the contacts over the years since 
     Egypt's President Anwar Sadat went to Jerusalem, 
     relationships have developed between Arabs and Israelis on 
     many levels, including the official level. We now are at a 
     stage where a considerable majority of Israelis support the 
     peace process and where Mr. Arafat shows increasing 
     sensitivity to the security concerns of Israelis.
       We now are approaching the time when the largest and most 
     difficult issues must be addressed. Mr. Barak and Mr. Arafat 
     have a responsibility to lead and to persuade their 
     constituencies of the necessity to make concessions for 
     peace. They must stand strong against radical elements that 
     will seek to undermine their efforts to settle their problems 
     at the peace table.
       After the horrors of World War II had devastated Europe, 
     the French and Germans, traditional and bitter enemies, came 
     together and gradually their mutual antagonisms faded and 
     they began to enjoy the blessings of peace, security, 
     reconstruction and economic development. And just this year, 
     1999, it has been announced that France and Germany have 
     become each other's major trading partners.
       This is the kind of achievement peace might bring to the 
     peoples of Israel and the Arab world, if they take full 
     advantage of the opportunities created by Ehud Barak.

     

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