ADDRESS BY KING HUSSEIN OF THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN
TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 1994
Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, honored guests, members of Congress, ladies
and gentlemen,
It is an honor for me to stand before you, the representatives of the
great American nation, on this historic occasion.
We have now become partners in shaping the future of all our peoples. We
seek for them a future of peace, stability and security, the prospects for
which are growing before our eyes. It is a heartwarming sight for those of
us who have continuously pursued this goal throughout our lives.
We in Jordan have always sought a bold peace. We have been conscious of
our responsibilities towards the coming generations to ensure that they
will have the certainty of leading a dignified and fulfilled life. We have
sought a peace that can harness the creative energies to allow them to
realize their true potential and build their future with confidence,
devoid of fear and uncertainty. None of this can be achieved without
establishing a direct dialogue at the highest level of leadership.
This meeting in Washington, at the invitation of President Clinton,
represents the beginning of a new phase in our common journey towards
peace between Jordan and Israel. It is a milestone on the road toward
comprehensive peace in our region. This meeting was preceded by a
trilateral Jordanian-American-Israeli meeting at which my brother, Crown
Prince Hassan, represented myself and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres represented Israel.
The trilateral working group was established under an agreement completed
at the meeting hosted by President Clinton at the White House in October
1993.
Following my recent visit to the United States, in light of the status of
negotiations, I decided to share with my people the realities affecting
our search for peace. In a meeting with members of our parliament, I
addressed the entire Jordanian nation. I have been rewarded by their
approval and support. Their expression of confidence has always been the
foremost consideration in my life. All of Jordan is here with me today.
We also remember today the three generations of gallant Jordanians and so
many others who sacrificed themselves for the cause of Palestine. Every
household in Jordan has sent a son to answer the Arab call. Many have not
returned. Their sacrifice has made it possible for me to be here today.
My family has also paid a heavy price. My great grandfather, the leader of
the great Arab revolt for freedom, independence and unity, lies buried
next to the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. I was by the side of my
grandfather, King Abdallah, at the doors of Al Aqsa Mosque when he was
martyred. He was a man of peace who gave his life for this ideal. I have
pledged my life to fulfilling his dream. He, too, is here today.
Mr. Speaker, at our meeting today I hope you will find a clear message to
the American nation and to the world.
We are, together, committed to work tirelessly, to banish forever the
abnormal conditions which have dominated our people's lives. We want
normality and humanity to become the prevailing order.
Although we have labored for so long under conditions of hostility, I am
certain that we can see these conditions for what they are: emblems of an
unnatural and sinister state. We have all known the portents of the state
the fear of death, the silence of isolation and we have all felt the
fear that has mesmerized us, preventing us from moving forward to create
together a bright future for the coming generations. What we are
witnessing today, God willing, is a progression from a state of war to a
state of peace.
These unique circumstances allow us to take bold steps. Our meeting now
represents a revolt against all that is unnatural. It is unnatural not to
have direct and open meetings between our respective officials and their
leaders in order to grapple with all aspects of the conflict and, God
willing, to resolve them. It is unnatural not to wish to bridge this gulf
across which we have all paid a shattering toll in blood and tears, the
waste of our youth, and the grief of our forefathers. We have suffered
this loss together, and it will leave its impact on all of us far into the
future.
The two Semitic people, the Arabs and the Jews, have endured bitter trials
and tribulations during the journey of history. Let us resolve to end this
suffering forever and to fulfill our responsibilities as leaders of our
peoples and our duty as human beings towards mankind. I come before you
today fully conscious of the need to secure a peace for all the children
of Abraham. Our land is the birthplace of the divine faiths and the cradle
of the heavenly messages to all humanity.
I also come before you today as a soldier who seeks to bear arms solely in
the defense of his homeland, a man who understands the fears of his
neighbors and who wishes only to live in peace with them, a man who wishes
to secure democracy, political pluralism and human rights for his nation.
I come before you today encouraged in the knowledge that the prime
minister of Israel and his government have responded to the call for
peace. They have recognized the Palestinian people and their rights and
are negotiating with their chosen leadership in accordance with United
Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
For our part, we will never forget Palestine, not for a moment. We in
Jordan were the first to shoulder our responsibility, and we were the most
adversely affected by the legacy of the Palestinian tragedy. And still our
people in Jordan remain one united family irrespective of their origins,
sharing equally, free to choose our political future and destiny.
My religious faith demands that sovereignty over the holy places in
Jerusalem reside with God, and God alone. Dialogue between the faiths
should be strengthened. Religious sovereignty should be accorded to all
believers of the three Abrahamic faiths in accordance with their
religions, and this way Jerusalem will become the symbol of peace and its
embodiment as it must be for both Palestinians and Israelis when their
negotiations determine the final status of Arab East Jerusalem.
I come before you today fully confident that progress will be made on the
Syrian-Israeli and Lebanese-Israeli tracks of the peace process and
towards achievement of comprehensive peace.
Mr. Speaker, the state of war between Israel and Jordan is over.
We have accepted United Nations Security Council Resolution 338, which
calls for negotiations between the parties concerned under appropriate
auspices to establish a just and durable peace in the Middle East. We have
accepted United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which sought
acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political
independence of every state in the area and thereby to live in peace
within secure and recognized boundaries, free from threats or acts of
force.
I want to reaffirm, without any reservation, that we, together with other
parties concerned, have exercised our sovereign right to make peace.
We are moving forward and tackling, one by one, all the problems listed in
our common agenda. We have great faith in our joint progress towards the
ultimate goal, the culmination of all our efforts, a Jordanian-Israeli
peace treaty.
In this we take courage from the words of God in his holy book, the Koran,
that if they should be inclined to make peace, do thou incline towards it
also, and put thy trust in Allah. Surely it is he who is all hearing, all
knowing.
Mr. Speaker, I value the long friendship between Jordan and the United
States inherited from the era of my grandfather. I have strived over 34
years since the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower to ensure that it be
honest and true.
It has been a friendship built on mutual respect and common interests, and
I am proud to remind how we stood shoulder to shoulder during the long
years of the Cold War. And now, together we share a great hope to
establish a lasting peace in the Middle East.
We believe that an enduring partnership for cooperation and development
between Jordan and the United States is essential to the realization of
this dream. We aim to build a better future under peace, to change the
pattern of life for our people from despair and hopelessness to honor and
dignity. We want to fashion a new commonwealth of hope on our ancient
soil. We want all voices to be heard in shaping a new regional order. If
we are to achieve our aims, all of us must be given the opportunity and
the tools to play our part in this historic endeavor.
The creative drive of our region has been crippled by the conflict. The
healing hand of the international community is now essential. It should
never be forgotten that peace resides ultimately not in the hands of
governments but in the hands of the people, for unless peace can be made
real to the men, women and children of the Middle East, the best efforts
of negotiators will come to naught.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, I have come before you today to demonstrate
that we are ready to open a new era in our relations with Israel. With the
help and cooperation of this august body, the peace we all want can be
achieved. With your help, I am certain that the imbalances between our
societies can be remedied and that the sources of frustration and enmity
can be eradicated. It is in this spirit and with these hopes that I share
this platform with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
To all of you and to the American people, I offer my thanks for your
kindness, hospitality, and for all your support. May God bless you all.
Assalamu alaikum, wa-rahmatu Allah, wa-barakatuh.