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1993 - Extracts from other Adresses |
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Message
from Mr Boris Yeltsin Read
out by H. E. Mr Mikhaïl Fedotov “(…) Let me convey to you my sincere congratulations and wish that your uninterrupted noble efforts in laying down the foundations of stable peace and security in the Near-East will continue. I am convinced that your political wisdom and good will, with the tangible support of the international community, will transform the Near East, the peoples of which are tired of confrontation, into a zone of stability, security, good neighbourship and cooperation. The Russian Federation will do everything within its possibilities to contribute to it (…). I would like to seize the opportunity and congratulate wholeheartedly the honourable laureates. Let your search of peace always culminate in positive achievements.” ____________ Message
from His Majesty Hassan II Read
out by Mr Allal Sinaceur “UNESCO has assembled today an Areopagus of eminent figures and leaders for the presentation of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize. In Our view, this is the best tribute that could be paid to this great African who devoted his life to the building of security and peace in his country, in Africa and in the whole world. The name of this sage, as he was rightly called, evokes nothing but peace and development for peace. May he serve as an example on this path, which is so arduous but leads in the end to real glory, the glory of peace and concord between peoples and between generations! (…)." ____________ Address
by Ms Tansu Ciller “ (…).This year's ceremony is one accompanied both by joy and sorrow. A year ago, no one here today could have foreseen the astonishing progress towards peace in the Middle East, but as we celebrate we also mourn the loss last year of the great statesman whose name this Prize proudly bears: President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. He was one of the truly great figures of our time. His advocacy of peace and dialogue has reached out and influenced the whole world. (…)." ____________ Message
from Mr Abdou Diouf Read
out by Mr Habib Thiam “(…) How can one not draw a parallel between the previous winners and those of today? The same will for dialogue that put an end to apartheid in South Africa led to the signing of the Washington Agreement between Israelis and Palestinians on 13 September 1993. In situations which were very different but which both involved long and bloody conflicts, courageous leaders rejected the inevitability of violence, opened negotiations to reach an agreement and together found a way to peace, forgiveness and fellowship. Nothing could have brought President Félix Houpbouët-Boigny more joy than the announcement of this long-awaited news (…).” ____________ Address
by Mr Henri Konan Bédié “(…) President Houphouët-Boigny had always foreseen that peace would only be restored in the Middle East and in South Africa through dialogue, not by force. Back in 1962, on a State visit to Tel Aviv, Félix Houphouët-Boigny said to his Israeli hosts: 'We do not think there is any problem in the world, no matter how difficult or intractable, that cannot be settled through negotiation'. Dialogue finally won the day and, after signing an agreement which turned a page in the history of the Middle East, you are here, Mr Yitzhak Rabin, Mr Shimon Peres and Mr Yasser Arafat, to receive one of the most prestigious international awards, an award earned by your efforts to restore peace in that vital part of the world. (…) Mr President Yasser Arafat, you symbolize the hope of a whole people, whose right to a land of their own, to a country, was not only recognized but confirmed by the Washington Agreement. Mr Yitzhak Rabin, today you symbolize courage and clear-sightedness in the eyes of the whole world, for without your personal action and political courage there would be no dialogue with our Palestinian brothers. Mr Shimon Peres, for your part, we subscribe to the tribute paid to you by Mr Bassam Abou Sharif, one of President Arafat's closest collaborators, who said, 'We feel admiration for you, for your clear vision of the future, for your ability to grasp what is new in the world and for your authentic ideas on the creation of a new Middle East (…).” ____________ Address
by Mr Mário Soares “(…) Before acclaiming the illustrious prize-winners, however, I should like first to pay tribute, be it briefly, to the memory of the late President Houphouët-Boigny. Great African leader, he has throughout our age fought, in various situations and as Head of State, for the noble ideal which brings us here today - peace. His political activity was directed very early to the liberation and self-determination of the African peoples and, subsequently, the leadership of Côte d'Ivoire, in a climate of stability which made him realize that peace is bound up with the development of peoples. Without peace there is in fact no stability, freedom or justice, and even progress and development are impossible to attain. This is what Houphouët-Boigny would call, with rare insight, the indivisibility of peace. That is the message conveyed today by the 1993 Félix Houphout-Boigny Prize. These three great men in the same way as the 1991 prizewinners, Mandela and De Klerk –with a long-term view of the future, were able to distinguish with uncommon courage between the essential and the incidental, and understood that only dialogue and negotiation, absolute open-mindedness and tolerance, serve the true interests of peoples. And that it is only through them that genuine peace – peace won and accepted in the mind – can be attained (…)”. |
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