Text 1042, 389 rader
Skriven 2005-05-26 23:33:16 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (050526) for Thu, 2005 May 26
===================================================
===========================================================================
President Welcomes Palestinian President Abbas to the White House
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 26, 2005

President Welcomes Palestinian President Abbas to the White House
The Rose Garden

President's Remarks
"); //--> view


11:31 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you. Mr. President, it is my honor to welcome the
democratically elected leader of the Palestinian people to the White House.

We meet at a time when a great achievement of history is within reach, the
creation of a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state. President Abbas is
seeking that goal by rejecting violence and working for democratic reform.
I believe the Palestinian people are fully capable of justly governing
themselves, in peace with their neighbors. I believe the interests of the
Israeli people would be served by a peaceful Palestinian state. And I
believe that now is the time for all parties of this conflict to move
beyond old grievances and act forcefully in the cause of peace.

President Abbas's election four months ago was a tribute to the power and
appeal of democracy, and an inspiration to the people across the region.
Palestinians voted against violence, and for sovereignty, because only the
defeat of violence will lead to sovereignty.

Mr. President, the United States and the international community applaud
your rejection of terrorism. All who engage in terror are the enemies of a
Palestinian state, and must be held to account. We will stand with you, Mr.
President, as you combat corruption, reform the Palestinian security
services and your justice system, and revive your economy. Mr. President,
you have made a new start on a difficult journey, requiring courage and
leadership each day -- and we will take that journey together.

As we work for peace, other countries must step up to their
responsibilities. Arab states must take concrete measures to create a
regional environment conducive to peace. They must offer financial
assistance to all -- to support the peaceful efforts of President Abbas,
his government and the Palestinian people. And they must refuse to assist
or harbor terrorists.

Israel must continue to take steps toward a peaceful future, and work with
the Palestinian leadership to improve the daily lives of Palestinians,
especially their humanitarian situation. Israel should not undertake any
activity that contravenes road map obligations or prejudice final status
negotiations with regard to Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Therefore, Israel must remove unauthorized outposts and stop settlement
expansion. The barrier being erected by Israel as a part of its security
effort must be a security, rather than political, barrier. And its route
should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on
Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities. As we make progress
toward security, and in accordance with the road map, Israeli forces should
withdraw to their positions on September the 28th, 2000.

Any final status agreement must be reached between the two parties, and
changes to the 1949 Armistice lines must be mutually agreed to. A viable
two-state solution must ensure contiguity of the West Bank, and a state of
scattered territories will not work. There must also be meaningful linkages
between the West Bank and Gaza. This is the position of the United States
today, it will be the position of the United States at the time of final
status negotiations.

The imminent Israeli disengagement from Gaza, parts of the West Bank,
presents an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a return to the road map.
All parties have a responsibility to make this hopeful moment in the region
a new and peaceful beginning. That is why I assigned General Kip Ward, who
is with us today, to support your efforts, Mr. President, to reform the
Palestinian security services and to coordinate the efforts of the
international community to make that crucial task a success. The United
States also strongly supports the mission of the Quartet's special envoy,
Jim Wolfensohn, to make sure that the Gaza disengagement brings
Palestinians a better life.

To help ensure that the Gaza disengagement is a success, the United States
will provide to the Palestinian Authority $50 million to be used for new
housing and infrastructure projects in the Gaza. These funds will be used
to improve the quality of life of the Palestinians living in Gaza, where
poverty and unemployment are very high. I've also asked Secretary Rice to
travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah before the beginning of the Israeli
withdrawal. Secretary Rice will consult with Israelis and Palestinians on
the disengagement, their shared commitments and the way back on the road
map.

As we work to make the disengagement succeed, we must not lose sight of the
path ahead. The United States remains committed to the road map as the only
way to realize the vision of two democratic states living side-by-side in
peace and security. It is through the road map that the parties can achieve
a final permanent status agreement through direct negotiations.

The people of the Middle East have endured a long period of challenge, and
now, we have reached a moment of hope. Leaders from around the world have
made a moral commitment: We will not stand by as another generation in the
Holy Land grows up in an atmosphere of violence and hopelessness. With
concrete actions by the United States, the Palestinians, Israel, and other
nations, we can transform this opportunity into real momentum.

Mr. President, we will work with you to help realize the dream of a free
and democratic Palestine, to bring greater freedom, security and prosperity
to all peoples in the region, and to achieve the lasting peace we all seek.

Welcome back to the White House.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (As translated.) Thank you, very much, Mr. President. I'd
like to thank you for this warm welcome and express my view in order to
strengthen the relationship between Palestine and the United States. The
Palestinian people share with the American people the same values of peace,
freedom and democracy. We are confident that the two peoples will benefit
from continuing and developing this relationship.

Today, we have conducted very intensive and constructive discussions with
you, Mr. President, and with your senior administration officials. We
discussed ways to support the opportunities to revive and resume the peace
process in the Middle East. These discussions afford us with the
opportunity to emphasize the central and essential role played by you, Mr.
President, and by your administration, in supporting and advancing the
peace process toward the realization of your vision of ending the Israeli
occupation that started in 1967 and the establishment of a democratic, free
and independent Palestine to live side-by-side with the state of Israel in
order to create a better future for the peoples of the region. We have
reiterated again to you, Mr. President, our strong commitment to the peace
option, and through negotiations, we can achieve, the two sides can achieve
their objectives.

We also discussed the efforts that have been undertaken by the Palestinian
Authority throughout the past few months to bring about calm. These efforts
have brought about the reduction of violence to the lowest level in four
years, and once again reopened the window of hope for progress toward
peace.

We emphasized our determination to maintain and preserve this calm. The
Palestinian Authority exerts a great deal of efforts in reforming our
security organizations, and the truth is, our efforts are fully supported
by our own people who repeatedly reaffirmed their commitment to peace and
negotiations.

In our talks we also discussed the ongoing democratic process in Palestine.
This process has successfully presented, through the presidential elections
and the local municipal elections, that the Palestinians have succeeded in
carrying out transparent and fair elections under very difficult
circumstances, another example of the capability of our people and their
ability to build an independent democratic state once we achieve our
freedom and our independence.

We expect that our people will be helped and supported to make their
democratic experiment a successful one. We look forward to the free
movement and the freedom of movement and the removal of Israeli roadblock
and check points, and the Israeli withdrawal to positions prior to
September 28th, 2000, and as well as implementing the various understanding
that we have reached with the Israeli government in Sharm el-Sheikh. We
stress that democracy cannot flourish under occupation and in the absence
of freedom.

In this regard, we expressed our deep concern over the continuous Israeli
settlement activities and the construction of the wall on our land,
particularly in the area of Jerusalem. These settlement activities, in
addition to undermining President Bush's vision in establishing a
Palestinian and contiguous state, that it is a viable state that can live
side-by-side by the state of Israel, it also contributes to the feeling of
frustration and despair and the loss of hope. Stopping this is one of the
requirements of the road map. Time is becoming our greatest enemy. We
should end this conflict before it is too late.

We are extending our hands to the Israeli people in good intention. We are
saying that peace and dialogue and the recognition of the other side's
rights is what will create a good neighborhood and achieve security and
prosperity for our people and the peoples of the region.

We have assured the President that the Palestinian Authority is ready to
coordinate with the Israeli side in order to ensure the success of its
withdrawal from Gaza and the West Bank upon the Israeli evacuation. We see
this evacuation as a part of ending the occupation, and it should not be at
the expense of the West Bank. We must then immediately move to permanent
status negotiations to deal with the issues of Al-Quds, East Jerusalem as a
capital of the future state of Palestine, the issues of refugees,
settlements, borders, security, and water, on the basis of President Bush's
vision, and on the basis of U.N. resolutions, and the basis of the Arab
Initiative.

It is time for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to end, right now. It is
time for our people, after many decades of suffering and dispossessions, to
enjoy living in freedom and independence on their own land. And we should
accelerate the freedom of our prisoners in order to be a part of
peace-making.

Mr. President, we end our discussions in Washington and we are more
determined to move forward in the path of freedom, reform, and democracy.
We depart Washington, we are more confident about the role that you will
play and the role that your administration will play in order to move the
process forward and achieve lasting peace.

Mr. President, at the end I would like to thank you very much for your
hospitality and expressing the American -- and demonstrating the American
support to the Palestinian administration and the Palestinian people. We
continue to look forward to work with you ahead in order to achieve our
common objectives of peace, security and democracy and freedom.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Good job, good job. Two questions a side, starting with
Terry.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, you just spoke about the
rejection of terror. Are you satisfied that President Abbas is moving
aggressively enough, doing everything he can to shut down terror groups?
And do you think that he should, for example, close Hamas or remove from
positions of power associates of Yasser Arafat?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I believe that -- and I know the President is committed to
democracy. After all, he ran on a platform that said, vote for me, I'm for
peace, and I believe in democracy. That's what he told the Palestinian
people when he ran. And he won with 62 percent of the vote, I think it was.
So in other words, he's committed; that's what he said he was going to do
and he's now fulfilling it.

Our position on Hamas is very clear, it's a well-known position and it
hasn't changed about Hamas: Hamas is a terrorist group, it's on a terrorist
list for a reason. As the elections go forward, of course, we want
everybody to participate in the vote. There is something healthy about
people campaigning, saying, this is what I'm for. The President ran on a
peace platform; you know, maybe somebody will run on a war platform -- you
know, vote for me, I promise violence. I don't think they're going to get
elected, because I think Palestinian moms want their children to grow up in
peace just like American moms want their children to grow up in peace. As a
matter of fact, I think the people that campaign for peace will win.

The goal of a -- is, of course, a Palestinian state based upon rule of law,
and you cannot have a democracy based upon rule of law if you have armed
bands of people who will use their weapons to try to achieve a political
outcome. We discussed this with the President. He can give you his own
views. I will just tell you, he is -- he believes strongly in democracy and
understands that aspect of democracy.

And so I'm -- I think there's something healing about asking people to
vote. And hopefully, as more people participate and more people see
progress on the ground, in terms of real tangible benefits when it comes to
democracy -- like being able to make a living, or being able to send your
child to a school that works, or being able to get good quality health care
-- that more and more people will reject the notion that the only state
based upon violence is a positive state.

Q President Abbas, regarding settlements and the erection of the wall, your
positions before that you gave to your voters among the Palestinian public?
And the question to President Bush, we heard your remarks. You talked about
clear American position about the issue of settlements. But Israel
continues to build settlements and continues to seize Palestinian
territories. What is your position, Mr. President?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I told you what my position was. And it's exactly
what I said when I was in Crawford, by the way, when Prime Minister Sharon
was there, as well. I mean, when you say you're going to accept the road
map, you accept the road map. And part of the obligations of the road map
is not the expansion of settlements. And we continue to remind our friends,
the Israelis, about their obligations under the road map, just like we
remind President Abbas about the obligations under the road map that the
Palestinians have accepted. So nothing has changed.

Adam, yes.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Oh, I'm sorry. I beg your pardon.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: The first one.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I beg your -- sorry, yes. Just trying to cut you off.
(Laughter.) It's an old Rose Garden trick.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: Regarding the issue of settlements and the wall, our
position is very clear from the beginning. When we talk about two states,
we are talking about a Palestinian state within the boundaries of 1967.
That means that those boundaries, in our views, should go back to the
Palestinian people. This is what the road map states, and this is what is
in various U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Also President Bush talked about ending the occupation that started in
1967. In our views, the wall -- there is no justification for the wall, and
it is illegitimate, as well as settlements, it is illegitimate and should
not allow. We heard from the President that these activities should stop. I
believe this is an important step in order to get to the permanent status
negotiations. During the permanent status negotiations, we will put all
these issues on the table. And we express our views that does not
contradict international legitimacy.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Now Adam.

Q Mr. President, President Bush, the First Lady under the Egyptian pyramids
this week enthusiastically endorsed Mubarak's first steps towards direct
presidential elections. Two days later, Mubarak supporters attacked the
opposition in the streets. Was it premature to back Mubarak? What's your
message to Mubarak now?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I also embraced President Mubarak's first steps and said
that those first steps must include people's ability to have access to TV,
and candidates ought to be allowed to run freely in an election and that
there ought to be international monitors. That's -- and the idea of people
expressing themselves in opposition in government, then getting a beating,
is not our view of how a democracy ought to work. It's not the way that you
have free elections. People ought to be allowed to express themselves, and
I'm hopeful that the President will have open elections that everybody can
have trust in.

Final question here. Oh, sorry. That's what happens when you don't get
called on.

Q To President Bush, Mr. President, Israel insists on controlling the Gaza
airspace, as well as the port, after its unilateral withdrawal. What
practical steps are you prepared to take, sir, to deter Israel from doing
so and ensuring that the Gaza disengagement remains an integral part of the
road map?

And to President Abbas, in the article that was published in the Wall
Street Journal today, you emphasized the link between democracy and
freedom. Do you feel concerned that the new Palestinian democracy could go
back under the occupation and under the lack of freedom? Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Actually, my answer kind of ties into the question you
asked the President. You know, one of the things when you are in the
position I'm in, I'm able to observe attitudes and opinions, and clearly
there's a lot of mistrust, and you can understand why. There's been war,
violence, bloodshed. The only way to achieve all the objectives is for
there to be a democracy living side-by-side with a democracy. And the best
way to see -- to solve problems that seem insoluble now is for there to be
a society which evolves based upon democratic principles.

And so there's going to be a lot of issues that come up as this process
evolves that are going to be difficult issues. But as -- as more people
trust each other, then those issues become easier to solve. And so one of
my cautions to both sides in this very important problem is to make sure
that we stay focused on getting things right initially, and what needs to
happen is that Palestinians, with the world's help, fill the void created
by the withdraw from Gaza with a society which is hopeful. And that means
people can find work, and people can send their kids to school, the health
care system functions well.

I told the -- I told the President, there's a lot of international help
that will be available, particularly as his government earns the trust of
the donors. And the best way to earn the trust of the donors is to work to
develop this -- to take advantage of this opportunity and develop a state.
Israel has obligations to help. You noticed in my statement, I said, help
improve the humanitarian situation on the ground. And America wants to
help.

Now as a democracy evolves and people see that this is a government fully
capable of sustaining democratic institutions and adhering to rule of law
and transparency and puts strong anti-corruption devices in place, answers
to the will of the people, that it becomes easier to deal with issues such
as airspace. The West Bank will become an easier issue for everybody to
meet obligations. We've got a fantastic opportunity now.

When I -- I told the President, there's no doubt in my mind we can succeed.
President Abbas is a man of courage. Part of the success is going to
require courageous decision by the President. And I take great faith in not
only his personal character, but the fact that he campaigned on a platform
of peace -- he said, vote for me, I am for peace. And the Palestinians
voted overwhelmingly to support him.

And so there will be a series of issues that come up -- you know, how do we
deal with this issue, or, how do you deal with that issue, all of which
will become easier to deal with as the government succeeds in Gaza. And the
United States stands with the government to help them succeed.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: Thank you. Regarding the democracy and freedom, I am
saying that when we have chosen democracy as a way of life. This was not an
adventure; this was a determination and a strategy that democracy is the
only way to move forward and for life among different nations. But
democracy is like a coin; it has two sides. On one side is democracy; on
the other side of the coin is freedom.

It's true, now we lack freedom and we are in dire need to have freedom. We
do not live in freedom in our homeland. This will weaken the hope to
continue this democracy, and will weaken the democratic march. But we will
not go back. Our strategy is clear and we are determined to achieve our
freedom in order to complete and achieve both sides of the coin, and we can
live a normal life.

END 11:57 A.M. EDT

===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050526.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)