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1994 - Tributes to the memory of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin |
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Message
from Mr Shimon Peres Presented
and read out by Mr Alioune Traoré Your
Majesties, The Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Federico Mayor, has just received at this very moment an important message from the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Mr Shimon Peres, winner of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize. Before reading the message addressed to this august gathering, I should like to inform you that as soon as the Director-General of UNESCO learnt of the tragic death of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, he decided to organize a special tribute to the memory of the late illustrious man during this ceremony. He therefore invited Mr Shimon Peres and Ms Lea Rabin to participate in the tribute. But by a highly symbolic coincidence - or perhaps fate had a hand in it - Ms Rabin and Mr Peres are even now, as our ceremony is taking place, on Mount Herzel. There, in accordance with the immemorial precepts of Jewish religion and tradition, thirty days after the funeral ceremony, the tombstone of the deceased is being put in place in the presence of the President of the State of Israel, the Israeli Government, its Head and, of course, the family of Mr Rabin. For that reason, the two invited guests were unable to attend, although in spirit Yamoussoukro and Mount Herzel are united in one and the same ardent prayer for the memory of two soldiers of peace, Yitzhak Rabin and Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Your
Majesties, I should now like to read out the message to you. "I need hardly tell you how difficult it is for me to compose these few sentences, or why I am not with you in Yamoussoukro, the village where one of Africa’s leaders most admired in Israel was born: Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the "Old One", the man of peace, patience and dialogue. On 6 July 1994, the three of us: Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the President of the PLO, Yasser Arafat, and I, were there on the podium of UNESCO in Paris, for the award of the UNESCO Peace Prize which bears the name of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. President Konan Bédié, you told us at the time that one of the last wishes of the "Old One", who had learnt with great joy about the signing of the Oslo Agreements by the Palestinians and ourselves, had thus come true. We were highly honoured to be awarded this prestigious prize by the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Federico Mayor, and Dr Kissinger, President of the Jury. We all know how much peace, and especially the war-torn peace of the Middle East, was dear to him. We all appreciated the wisdom of the advice he gave, which was always accompanied by traditional African proverbs and sayings. He was for us all like a clear, deep-flowing spring, a fountain of wisdom which gave us the energy to continue on the one true path: the path of Peace! The recent loss of Yitzhak Rabin, a hero of both war and peace, has profoundly affected us. My personal feeling of grief, and the pain felt by our people and shared by others throughout the world, cannot be put into words. From Jerusalem, I wish to make a solemn promise to you who are assembled in Yamoussoukro: the promise to perpetuate the legacy which Yitzhak Rabin left us - to continue on the path which he mapped out, the path of peace. I know that the "Old One" can hear us; I can picture him, nodding; I can hear him saying to us in his quiet voice, "Yes, my children, you are on the right path!" Lastly, I should like to say to His Majesty King Juan Carlos and President Jimmy Carter that no one deserves more than you to be there, today, in Yamoussoukro. Your outstanding activities earn you a place among the world's greatest peace activists. I am honoured to extend my greetings to you, and to all those present at this memorable gathering. Shalom!" ____________ Mr
Federico Mayor It is not only to the former Prime Minister of a Member State of UNESCO, whose life was tragically ended by the bullets of fanaticism and intolerance, that we today pay heartfelt tribute. We also honour to the winner of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize, and the man who was convinced that peace was the only basis for developing democracy and creating happiness. Yitzhak Rabin was a man of conviction and rectitude. His reaction to the danger hanging over his country was to show a courage and self-sacrifice which made him a hero in the eyes of his people. Then, when the dove of peace rose over the ruins, he successfully assumed the role of a vigilant and committed protector of the fluttering of its wings. Having experienced war, he knew the price of peace. He could hardly wait to give his Israeli brothers and sisters a taste of its unique savour. And he defined the peace to which he devoted all his energies not merely as the result of political agreements, but also as the fruit of a slow and sure process whereby the two peoples move towards living together and sharing a common destiny. As he said, when he was awarded the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Prize, 'Peace will be built slowly, day by day, through modest deeds and countless spontaneous details. It will be built, step by step, by people' ...'The handshakes on the lawn in Washington, the stage in Cairo, and here in Paris must be repeated by the residents of Gaza and Ashkelon, of Jericho and Ma’ale Adumim' .A man who voices such a noble and simple conception of peace deserves to be honoured by all those who share his convictions and enjoy the benefits of his action. In this same speech, he warned his audience in what were, alas, premonitory terms: '...the enemies of peace are even more numerous than we imagined. Extremists on both sides are lying in wait for us, and we (...) must not fail'. How right he was! The finest tribute we can pay to him today is to ensure that the act of terrorism which took his life strengthens the determination of the international community to make his ideas triumph. Notwithstanding the bereavement of his family, his people and all those who favour peace in the Middle East, we can make so bold as to say that Yitzhak Rabin still lives because his faith in dialogue, tolerance and peace will never die. I wish to pay my respects to his grieving family, Government and people, represented here by Ms Shulamit Aloni, the Israeli Minister of Communication, the Sciences and the Arts, to whom I should like to renew my heartfelt condolences. Shalom, Salaam, and may the peace of God, which is now with Yitzhak Rabin for evermore, help us to establish peace among men. As a mark of respect to the memory of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin who was made a martyr to peace, I ask you to stand up and observe a minute's silence. ____________ Mr
Henri Konan Bédié It was after having sung a magnificent song of peace accompanied by an immense crowd of people in the Square of the Kings of Israel which now bears his name, that this universally respected Statesman was gunned down by a fanatic. The latter thought he would thus silence a just man who, throughout his life, was always steadfast in defending, with courage and sincerity, his convictions and the ideals towards which his energies and his devotion to duty were directed. When the lives of his people had to be defended, Yitzhak Rabin was a resolute military chief whose determination and bravery were recognized even by his adversaries. As a soldier and general, he was a strategist. But when the time came for the peace of the brave, he successfully became a resolute peacemaker in the Middle East, showing courage and the same self-sacrifice. He was in the habit of quoting this sentence by former President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, 'Let us proceed slowly, for we are in a hurry'. Yes, we are in a hurry to help accomplish the ultimate ambition of the late great man: that the land of the three divine messages should once again become the fertile valley which will be the meeting point for both common aspirations for peace and hopes for fraternity and love. All people of goodwill, accompanied by his grateful people and inspired by the gentle sounds of his last song, will strive to achieve this ambition with the quiet determination of people who are fighting for a cause which they know is just. During the Ceremony for the Award of the 1993 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize, Mr Yitzhak Rabin spoke, in very moving terms, about the history of a family, the Kaplans, whose members were destroyed, one by one, by war. And Mr Rabin had decided to receive his award in honour of the last surviving member of the family, Amiram Kaplan. Today, in Israel and throughout the world, all the Kaplans, that is all those who have endured the torments of war, will rise up at the name of Rabin to make the cause of peace and justice triumph everywhere. To conclude, I wish to offer my condolences to his widow, his family and the people of Israel. I should also like this ceremony to be enhanced by a fervent thought addressed to the late great man, the prizewinner and friend of Africa who still lives in our hearts and whose final song of peace will never be silenced by the bullets of intolerance. His sacrifice will not be in vain. This is our vow to him. Thank you. ____________ Mr
Abdou Diouf Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin knew about the nature of war perfectly well. About what it meant to make war, be subjected to it and go through it unceasingly, seeing children, one's own and those of one's adversaries, prepare for it. It is admirable that he became a man of peace and that, with other exceptional men and visionaries such as Prime Minister Shimon Peres and President Yasser Arafat, he came to have the conviction that the endless cycle of war had to be broken. This required intelligence of both the mind and the heart, and he showed both to the highest degree. Thus, the finest tribute which can be paid to him lies in the recollection of the images, both poignant and full of hope, which were transmitted around the world after he was tragically assassinated. They showed young people, adolescents and children in communion around lighted candles, bereft of a voice which, for the first time, had shortly before sung a song of peace for Israel, the Middle East and the world. ____________ Mr
Boutros Boutros-Ghali In honouring Yitzhak Rabin in 1993, the international panel meeting in UNESCO prophetically bore witness to the meaning - in every sense of the word - of the Peace Prize. For the intent of the Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize, awarded that year jointly to Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat, was to crown the efforts made by those three men to lead their peoples onto the path of recognition and reconciliation. The tragic death of the Israeli Prime Minister has demonstrated yet again how dangerous that road is, and the extent to which a man of peace immediately becomes a target for every kind of fanaticism and for all extremists. Thus, we are here today to honour his memory. But you will understand if I wish to associate with it also the memory of President Anwar Sadat. The tragic coincidence of the fate of these two sons of Abraham is a sign that it is our duty to recognize. It contains a message which we must be able to read. It carries a lesson which must instruct us and guide us. Like Moses, neither one of them was able to reach the promised land. But, like him, they were able to be the shepherds of their peoples. Like him, they opened the way to the future. Eighteen years ago, it was my privilege to accompany President Sadat to Jerusalem and to see the former enemies exchange words of peace. ____________ Ms
Shulamit Aloni Your
Majesties, King and Queen of Spain, With your permission, I would like to begin on a personal note, because this is a deeply emotional moment for me. All of my adult years have been devoted to furthering the cause of peace between ourselves and our Palestinian neighbours, to fighting for and defending human rights - the rights of all human beings without distinction as to origin, race, religion or gender, for men, women and children alike. For many years my opinions relegated me to an isolated, marginal position in public life. On more than one occasion my life has been in danger: in recent months, many people thought that the first victim of the nationalist-religious fanatics in my country would be me, and not the Prime Minister. Yitzhak Rabin was considered 'Mr Security' by the majority of the people on both sides of the political spectrum: he was famous as a hero during Israel's War of Independence, as leading figure in the Palmach, and even more so as the Chief of Staff in the 1967 War and since then. Now I stand before you, representing the Government of Israel on this important day of the presentation of this UNESCO-sponsored peace prize that is named after one of the great fighters for peace, dialogue and reconciliation, the late President of Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It is a great privilege to be here in the company of great men and women who fight for peace, and for achieving peace, and bringing peace to peoples all over the globe. Today I can truly say that there are some dreams which come true. There are some struggles which end in victory. I am proud to say that we in Israel have also taken the path leading to peace and prosperity for peoples and humanity. I feel profound sorrow that my friend since the days of the Palmach and the War of Independence, my Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, is no longer with us. The number one fighter as a military man, as a soldier, underwent a complete transformation, becoming a number one fighter for peace. It is very painful that it was in this battle of all battles, in which there should have been no bloodshed and no victims, that he fell victim to a killer's hand which was extended by nationalist fanatics, fired by primordial instincts and a false messianic spirit which lit a destructive alien flame. Sadly, the assassin did not act in a vacuum, nor in a moment of insanity. In our country - as among our neighbours and among other peoples and countries -there are still people who think that by virtue of force, they can do anything they feel like. People in whom force inspires a feeling of confidence that the absolute truth is with them. They act outside history and against history; they are intoxicated by fanaticism, and weapons make it unnecessary for them to engage in dialogue and show tolerance. These people have not heard and do not wish to hear of Kant's moral categorical imperative; they have not learned and do not wish to learn the precept 'Do not do unto your fellow human beings that which you would not wish to have done to you'. But in the end, we will win - in our spirit of democracy and by virtue of our devotion to human life, to human dignity, and to human equality. Your
Excellencies, My teacher, Professor Martin Buber, said 'There can be no fundamental distinction between what is morally right and what is politically right. An immoral act may sometimes bring about some temporary advantage, but it will not last down through the generations - not even for one generation'. The history of the twentieth century has demonstrated this. We have seen the fall of the fascist and the communist regimes, of the colonels and the dictators. Our late Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, understood this, that is why he said time and time again that we do not want to rule over other people, and we should respect the Palestinians as a people and as an entity which is entitled to sovereignty. That is why he said that we should separate and put an end to the military regime, in order to live as good neighbours. Peace will come to our part of the world and we will all remember Yitzhak Rabin who was assassinated in his quest for peace, while on his lips there still lingered the words of a great song to peace 'Let the sun rise, let the morning shine brightly; do not whisper a prayer, but sing a song to peace - and sing it out loud!' Yitzhak Rabin acted for the sake of peace, he sang the song of peace out loud, and his blood will continue to cry out from the earth against all the Cains who rise up in order to strike down this peace, and will give them no rest, until the morning shines brightly on us and all our neighbours alike, in equality and prosperity and human fellowship. All of this will come about with the help of wonderful people like today's prizewinners – His Majesty, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Mr President Jimmy Carter, whom I congratulate on behalf of my government and my people for the great work which they are doing, and which, we believe, they will continue to do - as well as the many people who are here with us, and those who could not be with us and are working for the sake of peace. I am sure we will all succeed, although there is still plenty to do. May Yitzhak Rabin's memory be blessed and inspire us, and may his dream come true. Let it be! Two years ago, the Israelis and the Palestinians reached an agreement. And there again I witnessed the handshake which set the seal on that act of peace. And yet, President Sadat was unable to see the advent of the peace he had sought to build. And Yitzhak Rabin, too, will not see the completion of the peace he built. The courage and the greatness of those who make history lie in knowing that they are only laying the first stone of an edifice which will be built by others. Just as President Hosni Mubarak was able to pursue President Sadat's work of peace, I am convinced that Shimon Peres will be able to bring to its conclusion the peace process initiated by Yitzhak Rabin. There are moments in history at which the career of a man is identified with the fate of a nation. There are moments in history which transfigure the innermost nature of a human being. So it was in the case of Yitzhak Rabin. Hence the ennobling mission assigned to succeeding generations by the founding fathers of the Charter of the United Nations, a mission which it is our duty to pursue together. |
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