有馬政府代表によるイスラエル外交評議会でのスピーチ「中東和平にとっての正念場－日本の見方

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有馬政府代表演説

有馬政府代表によるイスラエル外交評議会でのスピーチ
「中東和平にとっての正念場－日本の見方－」

平成16年12月5日

The Moment of Truth for a Peace
in the Middle East: A Japanese View

December 5, 2004
Tatsuo Arima
Special Envoy of
the Government of Japan

H.E.Ambassador Yegar,
Excellencies,
My Friends,

　I thank the Israeli Council on Foreign Relations for giving me this privilege of sharing my thoughts on the Middle East peace and also on our bilateral relationship whose great potentialities could be fully realized only upon the coming of peace in this region.

Japan's Commitment to the Middle East Peace

　First, let me talk about Japan, my country, in terms that might explain the reason of our interest in, nay, even our commitment to, helping the process of peace here to succeed. Japan is the second largest industrialized democracy in the world, a huge economy, without any natural or energy resource to speak of. In size, Japan is 4% of the United States. Our population is one hundred and thirty million, about a half of that of the United States. And only 20% of our land is arable, that is, fit for agriculture, making Japan the only country among the so-called G-8 not self-sufficient in food supply; 50% of our caloric intake comes from abroad. So you see, our wellbeing, I should say, even our survival depends on, or deeply woven into, every corner of the earth. We cannot afford to remain indifferent to any serious turmoil anywhere as it invariably ill affects us. Such vulnerability, such precariousness of Japan has made us so totally committed to the maintenance of global peace and stability. For long Japan was by far the largest donor in the field of official-development-assistance whose recipients have included the Palestinians. Now, we are second to the United States. Our assistance to the developing world has been motivated by our sense of realism and of sharing rather than that of charity. For us Japanese, to help other peoples achieve healthy economic growth, possible only in the condition of peace and stability, is very much in our own interest as well.

Sharing the Blessings of Liberal Democracy and Peace

　A few more words on what I mean by sharing. Next summer, we commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the second world war in the Pacific. In August 1945 having lost two and a half million lives, suffered two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and with virtually all major cities burnt down flat by the incendiary bombing, to avoid utter annihilation, Japan surrendered after fifteen years of continuous fight. I do not exaggerate if I say His Majesty Emperor Showa himself risked his own life to sign and broadcast on radio his Imperial Rescript ordering the imperial army and the navy to lay arms and surrender. The opposition particularly from the military to this decision to surrender was desperate. For the mind set of the young Japanese at the time, the state of war was normal and that of peace unimaginable. Fanatic nationalism was part of all of us. So, the decision to surrender required an extraordinary courage on the part of the leaders.
　Sixty years later, Japan testifies to the universality of liberal democracy and above all to the blessings of peace, vindicating the war-time leaders' decision to end the war. All these historical experiences we would like to share with others: The blessings of liberal democracy and peace. We almost by instinct endorse Immanuel Kant's dictum in his Eternal Peace that liberal democracies do not wage war unto each other. Hence to promote the liberal democracies leads to the creation of the condition conducive to world peace.

Israel-Japan Relationship

　Here let me say a few words on our relationship before proceeding to the issue of the Middle East peace.
　Last August, as I stepped out of your Foreign Ministry where I had heard the Israeli government's strong dissatisfaction with our votes in the United Nations on the issue of the International Court of Justice taking up "the security-fence" question, Ambassador Yokota pointed out to me a building across the street, saying "That's the Supreme Court." Of course, I had already known of the judgment it gave on "security fence" not dissimilar to the views of the I.C.J. The sight of the Court building made me recognize anew the healthy democratic fabric of Israel. In parallel, I was recalling a very large number of people demonstrating in Tel Aviv, I now realize it was in the fall of 1982, to demand the establishment of an inquiry commission to define the scope of Israelis responsibility for the Sabres and Shatila incidents. Just as many Israelis gathered to mourn for the killing of Prime Minister Rabin. These are defining moments for Israel in the eyes of the Japanese and of international community. Yet on the other hand, while we fully understand the sense of vulnerability and insecurity the Israelis must feel towards the non-predictability of terrorists' attacks necessitating the building of "the security fences", at the same time we feel the manner in which they were being built unjust, penetrating deep into the green line disrupting the lives of the ordinary Palestinians and complicating the final boarders to be negotiated.
　We condemn all the terrorist acts committed against innocent civilians by Palestinian extremists. We recognize the right of the Israeli government to act in self defense in order to protect the lives of its citizens. At the same time, we condemn what appears to be excessive use of force by the Israeli Defense Forces to counter these terrorist attacks. Living so far away from this land, perhaps I am not qualified to make such statements as I just have. But the pains inflicted upon so many innocent people on both sides through the exchange of violence are hard to dismiss. Some pictures we see of the scenes of the Second Intifada are not in harmony with the image we have of the highest qualities of the Jewish tradition.
　I would also like to mention that the expansion of settlements over the years has caused a great mistrust on the part of the Palestinians towards the intention of Israel and created a heavy psychological pressure on them.
　In the nineties, our relationship flourished across the board against the background of the Madrid and Oslo processes in which Japan was deeply involved financially and politically. And yet, the Second Intifada virtually froze all that. Recently, however, there have been signs of thaw. The government of Japan on November 17 lowered the Travel Advisory level for the Japanese visitors to this region. Twenty-five representatives of high-tech firms and Keidanren, the Japanese Business Federation, visited "The Israel-Telecom 2004," a national project Prime Minister Sharon himself attended. A visit by some members of the Israel-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group is scheduled for January which a very senior official from the Japanese Business Federation may accompany.
　This year Mr. Elchanan Harel was honoured by the Emperor with a high decorations for his contributions towards the betterment of our relationships. I attended a reception given in his honor by Ambassador Cohen in Tokyo the other day. What I heard from his Japanese friends was all encouraging because they seem to believe there is a better chance for peace in the Middle East than ever before. If they turn out to be right, many of those Japanese business people who have been withdrawn from Israel by their headquarters will come back. What we need is a more intensified and constant interchange of peoples, goods, services and ideas to fulfill the potentialities inherent in our relationship. But as I said at the outset, it will be only with the realization of a lasting peace just for all those concerned that will make such fulfillment possible.

The Moment of Truth for the Middle East Peace

　We are at a very critical juncture in the history of the Middle East peace process. Although the Madrid and Oslo processes were derailed by the Second Intifada, we do now share "a vision of two-state solution" thanks to the Roadmap adopted by Prime Minister Sharon and the then Prime Minister Abu Mazen. The Roadmap has had a difficult time to make a take-off in the main because of the inability of the Palestinian Authority so far to control the extremists. In the meantime last December, Prime Minister Sharon announced his unilateral disengagement plan from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. The Japanese support the Plan as a courageous decision provided that it will lead to the resurrection and revitalization of the Roadmap. We are following with care the heated debate taking place within the Knesset and elsewhere in Israel over the Plan in general and now on the legislation and budgetary arrangement for the implementation of the Plan. I feel your deliberation, at times even acrimonious, is indicative of the monumental magnitude of Prime Minister Sharon's decision for the Israelis. I believe that at the end of the day you will choose the right path towards achieving peace.
　It is a critical moment also because the Palestinians are going through the difficult process of forming a new leadership after the passing of Chairman Arafat. We are encouraged by the steady manner in which the process is taking place. The government of Japan will extend whatever contribution it can to make the process successful. More concretely and in the near term, Japan, together with other like-minded countries in international community, will help the Palestinians to carry out the Raees election on January 9 which will give democratic legitimacy to the new leadership. We are very encouraged in this regard by the forthcoming attitude of the Israeli government towards the Palestinians. The historical significance of how the Palestinians will manage this post-Arafat transition phase cannot be exaggerated. The new leadership will have to deal with the disparate political groups to restore a working democratic political order. And above all, it will have to re-establish its security apparatus. In the face of this transition, I believe we should all be patient, sympathetic and helpful. We should not repeat the kind of mistake we committed which made Prime Minister Abu Mazen isolated without any meaningful outside support last fall when he was so desperately struggling to create an internal security order for the Palestinians.
　Today there is a renewed interest in the Middle East peace in the world with a sense of true hope perhaps for the first time. If Israelis and Palestinians finally after 56 years of continuous animosity and fighting succeed in concluding a peace, unlike any other previous war, both sides will be the winners. On the other hand, if the leaders on both sides miss this almost providential moment for creating peace and let the human sufferings, human miseries continue, I would consider the failure a sin even of historical proportion. Of course, we are very much aware of the indescribable difficulties involved in negotiating such issues as the boundaries, the refugees, the settlements, Jerusalem, security and now the fences each with its emotionally charged history and theological arguments.
　Very recently, I read in The Missing Peace by Dennis Ross about the Haram/Temple Mount negotiations at Camp David in 2000. I don't think I understood fully the religious and legal implications of the argument. Still I was pained by the fact that the two of the greatest religions allow the terrible violent deaths and human miseries to continue. I could not help asking myself the question: What is religious faith? The international community is praying that the leaders on both sides with our support will muster all their courage and wisdom to transcend the incubus, the burden of the past to bring the blessings of peace to their peoples.

Japan's Contributions towards the Peace Process

　The Japanese have participated in, and actively contributed towards the peace process since the Madrid and Oslo processes started. During the time of the Multilateral Track Talks, Japan, for example, chaired the Environmental Working Group. We were welcome because of our religious neutrality and no imperialist past in this region. Here I will talk about two areas of our primary efforts to help the peace process: assistance to the Palestinians and the confidence building.

For the Palestinians:

　It seems in retrospect that, even during the time when the final status issue remained undefined, the Japanese somehow assumed that there would eventually be created a Palestinian state existing side by side with the State of Israel in peace and that would be the core of the Middle East peace. This underlying assumption has characterized our cooperation with the Palestinians.
　Since the time of the Oslo Accords, Japan has contributed about 690 million dollars to the Palestinians, the amount for a state second only to that of the United States, for humanitarian assistance, for human resources development and for socio-economic and political infrastructure building needed for enhancing their governance capacities. Unfortunately, some of these infrastructures were destroyed or damaged during the recent years. This should not be repeated.
　Even after the peace-process was stalled by the eruption of violence, Japan has not stopped its assistance efforts, although the level declined. When Foreign Minister Kawaguchi visited Ramallah in 2003, she announced Japan's continuous assistance package in the fields of humanitarian issues, human resources development, enhancement of governance capabilities and confidence building. The humanitarian assistance projects have provided, with the cooperation of the relevant international organizations, vaccines, other medications, drinking water and other daily necessities to the poor and the refugees. Human resources projects include a program to train 100 Palestinian experts in accounting, judiciary proceedings and other administrative tasks in Japan, Jordan or elsewhere. Competent human resources are pre-requisite for self-sufficient and viable governance. The governance related projects include the construction of Prime Minister's new office building, an office of the Judiciary Agency and a court house both in Khan Yunis, Gaza, the restoration of damaged infrastructures - so called the life-lines for the lives of the ordinary citizens.
　The worsened environmental condition today requires immediate cross-boarder cooperation. And thus in this package we proposed Palestinian-Israeli joint projects to improve waste-disposable capacities of local governments. These projects would help build mutual confidence as well. The package is mindful of the valuable contributions the cross-boarder NGOs and local governments have made in the area of confidence building and humanitarian assistance. We will provide them with assistance through what we call "the Grass-Roots Human Security Grant Program." Almost all the projects explained here create job opportunities for the Palestinians. Japan also gave financial assistance of 10 million dollars for the Palestinian Authority through the World Bank's West Bank and Gaza Public Financial Management Reform Trust Fund to save it from bankrupting. And Japan chairs the Reform Support Group for Local Government.
　As you know, this Wednesday in Oslo, there will be the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee meeting which I will attend on behalf of my government. It is our honest hope that there will be expressions of substantive support in various forms for the Palestinians. Of course, the primary purpose of the meeting will be to deal with the economic issues of Gaza in the post-withdrawal period but it should not lose sight of the West Bank within the framework of the Roadmap.

For the Confidence Building:

　In parallel to The Missing Peace I read the revised edition of David K. Shipler's Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land, which I am sure many of you have read or know about. Shipler was New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief from 1979 to 1984. Towards the end of the book he has a chapter named "The Dream", quoting Theodore Herzl's words: If you will it, it is not a dream. This chapter describes both the successes and failure of such projects as Neve Shalom or Interns for Peace trying to establish human and humane contact between the Israelis and the Palestinians, particularly between their youths. I am aware of the Seed for Peace Program Aron Miller runs in New England. I admire the tenacity with which these people pursue their idealistic dreams. In the same vein, both the government and the private sector people in Japan have tried to make similar contributions in this area of confidence building.
　Let me mention just the names of several of the projects we have financed to help their implementation, as they are self-explanatory of their activities: (1) "The Project for Peace Education Seminar" managed by IPCRI: Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, (2) "The Project for Workshops for Dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian Bereaved Families" managed by Parents' Circle, Family forum, (3) "The Project for the Environmental Management Program for Palestinian Senior Officials" managed by the Galillee College, (4) "The Project for the Palestinian-Israeli Students' Encounter" managed by Neve Shalom, The School For Peace, (5) "The Project for Broadcasting the Peace Promoting Program of the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Radio Station" managed by Givat-Gaviva, the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace, (6) "The Project for Join t Origami Courses for Israeli-Palestinian Children" managed by The Israeli Origami Center, (7) "The Project for Israeli-Palestinian Joint Program for Mental Health" managed by The Peres Center for Peace, or (8) "The Project for Training Program for Palestinian Future Entrepreneurs" managed by Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development (NISPED).
　Last July Japanese government hosted a non-official conference entitled "Conference for Confidence-building between the Israelis and the Palestinians" inviting five to six people from each side, with such participation as Mr. Dan Meridor, Former Minister of Finance and General Giora Romm, Director General of the Jewish Agency for Israel　at that time, from the Israeli side and as Dr. Sa'eb Erakat, Minister for Negotiations Affairs, and Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh, Minister of Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR) from the Palestinian side. They were past and present government officials, parliamentarians and businessmen. Several Japanese scholars and officials participated. I attended the whole sessions, as I did just such a meeting we hosted a year earlier which, I was later told, helped pave the way to the Geneve Initiative. This year although some anxieties, fears and reservations were expressed about the Roadmap and its prospect, the views expressed on the whole supported both the final vision and the procedures of the Roadmap. I felt at the Conference that the surrounding Arab countries could and should help reduce the level of mutual distrust or even aversion prevailing in the region. The Japanese government intends to hold this kind of conference annually as we have judged that it was a valuable forum for their needed candid dialogue.

Concluding Remarks

　When a peace finally is realized in this region, so richly endowed with the historical, cultural and religious legacies, and above all with the sophisticated and motivated peoples newly committed to building their own democratic and prosperous futures, I have no doubt, there will be a flood of people, capital and services coming in search of economic opportunities and in search of sharing in the sights and sounds of your great past.
　It is the responsibility of the political leaders and the peoples of not only Israel and Palestine but of the entire region to seize this providential moment to bring the blessing of peace upon themselves. The Japanese will continue to do our utmost to promote the process.

　Thank you.

政府代表・幹部・大使・総領事 / 平成16年 / 目次