Address by Ambassador C.R. Gharekhan, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister for West Asia and Middle East Peace Process at the concluding session of the International Conference on West Asia convened by the Observer Research Foundation

November 22, 2007

India has a deep and abiding interest in West Asia. Our links with the region literally go back to millennia, and pre-date, by many centuries, the discovery of oil. It would not be out of place to point out that the interests and policies of the rest of the world in West Asia are motivated, if not solely, then certainly largely, by the existence of two-thirds of the hydrocarbon reserves of the world in the region. But for us in India, West Asia has been and continues to remain a part of our extended neighbourhood.

2.I am not suggesting for a moment that oil, or energy is not of importance to India. Indeed, we obtain 70% of our energy imports from the countries of West Asia. In the years to come, this proportion will only increase. We have other interests also in the region. About 4.5 million Indians are working there, in other countries bordering the Gulf. They are making significant contribution to the growth and development of those countries. They send remittances back home to their families amounting to nearly $20 billion per annum, thereby generating employment and prosperity in different parts of India. We have increasing economic and commercial relations which are in genuine mutual interest of all the parties. Investment from the countries of the region in India has steadily increased, though there is undoubted scope for considerable expansion in this area. A comparatively new phenomenon, which is to be welcomed, is the increasing interest shown by Indian capital to invest in the region.

3.On the political side, the issue of primary concern to the people of India as well as to successive Governments has been the struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve their legitimate national aspirations. As a country which fought against colonial occupation for several decades, it was natural for India to empathize and support the desire of the Palestinian people for an independent State of their own. Mahatma Gandhi said to a delegation of Jewish leaders a quarter of a century ago : “Palestine is for the Palestinian people just as France is for the French people and England is for the English people”. Please note that Gandhiji did not say that Palestine is for the Muslims or even for the Arabs; he wisely used the words “Palestinian people”, thereby clearly implying that Palestine should belong to those who lived on the Palestinian soil, without distinction based on race or religion.

4.Life, like rivers, does not stand still. The world has moved on since Mahatma Gandhi’s meeting with Jewish leaders in London in 1931. The State of Israel has come into existence and is very much a fact of international life. Whatever the circumstances surrounding its birth, Israel is entitled to be accepted as a full member of the international community, with the right to live in peace and good neighbourly relations with its neighbours within secure and recognized borders. It goes without saying that this will happen once, and as soon as, it resolves all its problems with its neighbours in a just and equitable manner.

5.Concomitant to interests, India also has concerns in the region. Our foremost concern obviously is for the safety, well-being and welfare of our citizens who are working there. We are also concerned at the increased and increasing volatility and radicalization in the region. In recent years, West Asia has emerged as one of the two most important breeding grounds of terrorism. It is not only the markets and telecommunications which have been globalized; so has terrorism. Indeed, the globalization of telecommunications has facilitated the growth of global terrorism. India, being next door to West Asia, has every reason to feel worried and concerned.

6.Yet another area of major concern is the growing tension between the Sunni and Shia Muslims. The Shia-Sunni divide, which has been acute in neighbouring Pakistan for several decades, has been accentuated by the events following the American intervention in Iraq in 2003. Whether we call the situation in Iraq by its proper description as a civil war or not, the sectarian divide in that unfortunate country is here to stay for a long time. India, with the second largest Muslim population in the world, having a significant proportion of Shias, is understandably concerned. We have had a healthy tradition of Muslims of all denominations living peacefully and happily together. We must not and will not permit external influences to vitiate this harmonious atmosphere, but for that we shall have to remain vigilant.

7.It is, therefore, of the utmost importance to India that the problems of West Asia be resolved as early as possible. The irony, indeed the tragedy, is that West Asia is a problem waiting to be resolved. The elements needed to settle the various issues are well known to all concerned. What is required is political vision and statesmanship on the part of the leaders, the will and determination to offer and accept mutual concessions as well as the willingness of the international community to provide such political and material assistance as might be needed by the parties. This is true of the entire Arab-Israeli conflict. Iraq is in a different category, more complex and more difficult, but nevertheless deserving of the utmost attention of the international community. Recent weeks have witnessed welcome signs of USA and Iran engaging each other in a dialogue on the Iraqi situation. Secretary Rice has had conversations, however brief, with the Syrian Foreign Minister. This approach needs to be maintained.

8.Let me deal with the Arab-Israeli situation. The broad outlines for a settlement have been laid down in United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The core issue, of course, is the question of Palestine. Here again, the parameters are well known. Israel must end its occupation and withdraw from the territories it occupied in 1967. In practical terms, what this amounts to is that Israel should make available to the future Palestine State an area of the same size as the whole of the occupied West Bank. This principle, I believe, is broadly accepted by both sides. The Palestinian leadership is realistic enough to recognize that Israel simply will not give up the land on which some of its large settlement blocks have been built. At the same time, Israel will also have to accept that, in return for the West Bank territory that they wish to absorb in Israel, they will have to yield an equivalent area from somewhere else to the Palestinian State.

9.Similarly, there are formulae for tackling the refugee problem, perhaps the most emotional of the six issues between the Israeli and Palestinian sides. The Palestinian leadership will be loath to formally give up “the right of return”, offered to the refugees in United Nations Resolution 194. At the same time, no Israeli leadership of any political persuasion will ever acknowledge or agree to the return of over 4 million Palestinian refugees to Israel proper. One has reason to expect that it is not beyond the bounds of human ingenuity to evolve a mutually acceptable formula on this issue.

10.Jerusalem is yet another emotional and complex issue. It has an added complicating factor, in that Jerusalem has enormous significance for followers of three major religions. The Palestinian leadership, in particular, has to take into account the feelings of the Muslim community throughout the world. Highly creative minds on both sides have worked for the last two decades to find a solution. Any solution to the question of Jerusalem will not satisfy all the peoples on both sides. It will need courage and statesmanship for the leaders on the two sides to try and reach an agreement on all these questions. So long as the eventual agreement is broadly acceptable to the public opinion, in Israel as also in Palestine, I am confident that such courage and determination will be forthcoming.

11.It might be appropriate at this stage to refer to the forthcoming conference in Annapolis, USA. The very fact that the conference is being convened would suggest that adequate common ground has been achieved between the two sides during their pre-negotiations, bilateral as well as with the active participation and involvement of the American Secretary of State Ms. Condoleezza Rice, for the American government to feel encouraged enough to issue the invitations. President Abbas as well as the Arab States were understandably reluctant to attend the meeting if it was going to turn out to be merely another photo opportunity occasion. The Palestinians would like the Annapolis meeting to be a genuine launching pad for intensive, meaningful and well-directed negotiations, covering all aspects, to be concluded within a definite timeframe. The Israeli Prime Minister, from several accounts, seems to want to engage in purposeful negotiations with President Abbas, in whom he says he has a credible negotiating partner. President Abbas told me a few weeks ago that he too finds Mr. Olmert a valid negotiating partner. I am personally convinced that President Abbas is committed to finding a reasonable settlement and will not shy away from reaching an agreement if he is genuinely satisfied about its reasonableness, even if it will not meet all the demands of the Palestinian people. It is of the utmost importance that the Annapolis meeting not fail or be perceived to fail by either side. Yet another failure would have negative consequences and would greatly strengthen the extremist and radical forces.

India has been invited to the Annapolis conference and looks forward to its participation in it.

12.Syria’s dispute with Israel should, on paper, be even easier to be resolved. Israel clearly has to vacate the Golan Heights. Israel knows and acknowledges this fact. Indeed, Israel and Syria came tantalizingly close to a solution a few years ago. The technological advances during the past four decades have rendered less valid Israel’s earlier security concerns. In any case, whatever concerns Israel might have can easily be taken care of through mutual negotiations, and with the help of technology.

13.There are influential voices in Israel in favour of starting negotiations with Syria. Reports in Israeli media, including respectable newspapers such as Haaretz, revealed secret contacts between the two sides some months ago. It was also reported that President Bush was not in favour of Israel reopening a dialogue with Syria. Whatever the truth behind all these reports, I remain convinced that the Syrian-Israeli question will have to be tackled sooner rather than later. As they say, no war in West Asia can take place without the involvement of Egypt and there can be no solution to the West Asia problem without Syria being a part of it. The Syrians have declared repeatedly that they are anxious to become a part of the solution; they should be tried out.

14.Of the three situations – Palestine, Syria and Lebanon – Lebanon at the moment is the most worrisome. That hapless country has been buffeted between opposing forces, many of them coming from outside the country. Lebanon emerged from the disastrous 14 year long civil war in 1988, bruised and battered. The late Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri performed a marvelous job in rebuilding Lebanon and restoring to it the unique privilege of being a genuine democracy and the freest country in the region. His tragic assassination on 14th February 2005 has unleashed forces which have once again led the country on the verge of another civil war. Left to themselves, the Lebanese people, I am convinced, would resolve the differences through their own genius. Today, the 22nd of November, is the National Day of Lebanon. Can there be a greater misfortune for a country not to be able to celebrate its independence anniversary?

15.Israel’s second war on Lebanon in July-August 2006 caused immense damage to Lebanon in terms of lives lost and properties destroyed. But, perhaps more significantly, it caused a serious dent in the prestige of Israeli defence forces. The second Lebanon war has led to lot of introspection within Israel and the report of the Winograd Enquiry Commission has been damaging for Prime Minister Olmert and for the senior most echelon of Israeli army. It is entirely possible that Hamas, the Islamist movement which took over Gaza Strip in June 2007, has felt emboldened by what has been widely perceived as the success of Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon last year. Israel’s border with Lebanon has been largely settled. There remains a small area of about 25 sq. kms. known as Sheba Farms, which is still under contention and which Israel occupies. Since both Lebanon and Syria agree that the Sheba Farms belong to Lebanon, it should be easy to settle this issue at an early stage, thus removing the last remaining obstacle to the normalization of Israeli-Lebanon relations.

16. The two biggest beneficiaries of the recent developments in West Asia have been the forces of extremism, and Iran. I have already dealt with the former. As for Iran, it has now become a most significant player in the region. Its influence in Iraq is evident. Its capacity to contribute to an improvement in the security situation in Iraq has been amply demonstrated by the decision of Moqtada Sadr to order a ceasefire for six months. The present comparatively reduced level of violence in Iraq is a result of the restraint exercised by the Mahdi army and it would be premature to read too much into it.

17. Iran has become a factor to reckon with also in the Palestinian situation. Israel’s concern at the firing of mortars into Israel from the Gaza Strip is understandable. However, according to Amos Harel, a well known Israeli journalist, the Israeli defence forces’ tactical advantage over Hamas in Gaza is shrinking. According to him, the efforts by Iran and Hezbollah to improve Hamas’ military capability are beginning to be felt. Let us also not forget that the senior leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, lives in Damascus. The Palestinians, including Hamas, have always been known for their secular approach. They have never subscribed to fundamentalist ideology. It is indeed sad and extremely disconcerting that fundamentalism in the form of Al Qaida has acquired a foothold in the Palestinian society. In the words of Danny Rubinstein, a highly respected Israeli columnist, it is not only the Palestinians who will pay the price for this, but also Israel, which did not want Hamas and is getting Al Qaida. Sometimes, one has to think of the unthinkable. The international community must deliberate about the role of Hamas. Assuming, in the best of circumstances, that the projected meeting in Annapolis leads to a serious negotiating process and to an agreed package at the end of it, President Abbas is on record as saying that he will submit any such result to a public referendum. It would not be prudent to dismiss Hamas as an insignificant factor while assessing the likely outcome of such a referendum.

18.The Hon’ble Vice President, in his inaugural address yesterday, eloquently analyzed the situation concerning Iran and the triangular relationship between Iran, Israel and USA. As far as India is concerned, we firmly believe that the problem arising out of Iran’s nuclear programme must be dealt with on the basis of Iran’s rights, and obligations, under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which Iran is a party. We believe that the solution must be found only through peaceful, diplomatic means.

19. The international community has consistently advocated a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli question. The logic behind this position was, and is, that a piecemeal effort to settle one dispute in isolation would not succeed, since no Arab government would like to appear to be arriving at a settlement with Israel on its own for political reasons. In actual practice, some Arab States have concluded separate peace treaties with Israel, as indeed they had every right to do. It is the primary duty of a State to protect and promote its own interests. For the remaining Arab-Israeli questions, the Arab side has come up with a constructive initiative which was originally advocated by the then Crown Prince and the present King of Saudi Arabia and which was re-launched by the Arab League in March this year. The Arab offer, in its essence, is: full normalization with Israel by all Arab countries in return for full withdrawal by Israel from all occupied territories. The principle behind this Arab initiative is unexceptionable. There are many in Israel including the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister who find positive elements in the Arab initiative. India supports and welcomes the Arab initiative. Politics, however, is the art of the possible. While it would be ideal to settle all the remaining Arab-Israeli questions at one go, nobody would object, and most would be happy if one of the issues gets resolved first. In this sense, should the Annapolis meeting lay down a firm groundwork for serious negotiations on the Israeli-Palestinian track, it would constitute a most significant step towards calming the troubled waters in the West Asian region.

20. Ambassador Rasgotra, in his welcoming remarks yesterday, posed a question about India’s role in West Asia. I am sure the participants have had occasion and opportunity to exchange views about this matter. We in India get easily flattered when a non-Indian pays us a compliment. During my visits to the capitals in West Asia, my interlocutors have invariably been generous in speaking highly of the role that Indian can play in the region. When pressed, they are understandably less specific than one would like. Nevertheless, I am convinced that India, with its close ties with all the parties and countries including Israel as well as Iran, is well placed to offer its good offices in the search for a peaceful solution to the various crises in the region. Additionally, India is perhaps a unique country with a fully functioning democracy, a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual pluralist society, with an enviable record of all sections of society living in harmony and prosperity with one another. India thus could provide a model to the societies in West Asia. Indeed, this possible role of a model has been emphasized to me by leaders in responsible positions in my conversations with them. It is in this spirit that India will participate in the Annapolis conference next week.