17 - 23 January 2002
Issue No.569
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 17 - 23 January 2002 Issue No.569 |
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Learning from South Africa
Yehya Ghanem reports from Johannesburg on a meeting that took place in South Africa between Palestinian and Israeli officials. Gamal Nkrumah interviewed South African deputy foreign minister, Aziz Pahad, on the subject
A three-day informal meeting between Palestinian and Israeli officials hosted by South African President Thabo Mbeki took place amid tight security in the Spier wine estate outside the university town of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, last Wednesday. "The aim of the deliberations was to support the ongoing initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict. We want to see how our experiences can help the Palestinians and Israelis reach a just and final peace settlement," South African deputy foreign minister, Aziz Pahad, told Al- Ahram Weekly.
"Our experiences in South Africa cannot be copied piecemeal," Pahad explained. "But we need to realise that any two parties negotiating a peace settlement cannot have a win-win attitude. It is vitally important that the position of the interlocutor must not be compromised or weakened. One cannot win by deliberately weakening the position of the people one is negotiating with."
"Any attempt by the Israelis to destroy the Palestinian Authority will lead to a disastrous situation," Pahad said. Moreover, Pahad warned that neither of the negotiating parties should put down preconditions for negotiations. "No negotiations can succeed if they are not genuine. There must be a better understanding of how to get people to go to the negotiating table unconditionally," he explained.
Pahad believes that the people must be involved at all levels. "It is critically important that the negotiating parties explain to their people why they are negotiating certain positions. Both parties must feel confident and hopeful in the negotiating process," he said.
Pahad stressed that the South African meeting was not a new round of negotiations, but, rather, was convened to support the existing initiatives. He said South Africa appreciates the key role played by the US in the Middle East peace process and in mediating between the protagonists in the conflict.
"In our own experience in South Africa, it was vitally important to keep the channels of communications open even if we did occasionally suspend the negotiations," Pahad said.
Pahad is a frequent visitor to the region and understands the obstacles facing the peace process. He visited the West Bank and Gaza and inspected the situation at first hand. He says the meeting in South Africa aims at providing a favourable environment to restart the Middle East peace process -- bringing participants together in an informal setting conducive to sharing experiences and exchanging information.
Pahad stressed that South Africa supports the Egyptian- Jordanian initiative, the Taba recommendations, the proposals of the Mitchell report and former US president Bill Clinton's initiatives.
"The question of self-determination is not debatable. Conditions in the West Bank and Gaza are deplorable. We have stated our strong objections to the policy of collective punishment," Pahad told the Weekly.
The South African deputy minister also stressed that his country was against Israel's construction of new settlements on Palestinian territory and the wanton destruction of Palestinian property.
Among the Palestinian representatives at last week's South African meeting were chief Palestinian negotiator with Israel Saeb Eraykat and Palestinian Authority official Ziad Abu Ziad. On the Israeli side, Speaker of the Knesset Avraham Burg and former Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin attended. The South Africans were represented by an impressive array of ruling African National Congress officials including Minister of Intelligence Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Public Enterprise Jeff Radebe, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa, Minister of Transport Dullah Omar and Ronnie Kasrils, minister of water affairs and forestry. Also present were South African National Assembly Speaker Frene Ginwala and former South African foreign minister, Pik Botha, of the now-opposition National Party.
The South African celebrations marking the International Day for Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which took place last November, was a good pointer to the keen interest South Africans take on the official and popular levels in the struggle for peace in the Middle East. The question now is whether Israel will take heed of South Africa's quest for peace in the conflict- ridden region.
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