I find the speech of President Khatami very enlightening and educative,
so I would like to share it with all of you.
I attended as an invited guest by the Iranain UN mission extended to the
American Muslim community leaders in the Washington Metro Area
Here is the full text for those interested , and for those that are not
please accept my regrets and delete.
Thanks
Habib Diab Ghhanim, Sr
Full text of President Khatami's speech at the United
Nations General
Assembly
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the
Merciful
The light of human existence has been kindled with man's
longing for salvation. The essence of the
message of Divine Prophets and the content of the teachings
of prominent sages have been
primarily aimed at human salvation. Painful in the observable
arena of human history is the
deprivation and abject misery of human beings; the
deprivation of women, men and children
enslaved by the whims of the ruling powers; and ill-fate
rulers themselves deprived of compassion
and sympathy with their own nations Hence, virtuous rule and
good governance has but been
evanescent in human history Ironically, much too often free
will and freedom of thought have been
frustrated and liberty suffocated in the name of salvation,
and much too often salvation has been
portrayed as disposing of any and all restraints on the
insatiable human desires. Reason and love
have thus been sacrificed at the altar of the whim. At times,
liberty has been trampled upon in the
name of justice, and yet at other times justice has been
obliterated in the name of freedom. The
result has been the age old deprivation of humanity of both
justice in liberty and liberty in justice. It
is only a few centuries since genuine knowledge was construed
as the source of power, rather than
an agent of its control. Ever since, knowledge has, instead
of serving human salvation and instead
of exalting human character, been used as an instrument in
the hands of those whose only object
was to advance their narrow utilitarian self-interest.
Despite its magnificent progress, humanity has
suffered massively over these centuries form discrimination
and anguish. Survivors are still among
us who testify to the incalculable destruction caused by the
two World Wars ... and despite the
birth of the United Nations - a positive achievement for
mankind true peace based of justice
remains elusive. Particularly desperate is the situation of
the countries in the underdeveloped world,
where so many still suffer form famine, illiteracy and
disease and some remain at the mercy of rulers
who do not even take the trouble of pretending respect for
democratic standards or enjoying
popular support. So often do they attempt to fill the absence
of popular support by dependence on
powers, whose sole purpose is the pursuit of domination and
self interest. Oppressive and
dependent governments deny their people the opportunity to
experience democracy. By
perpetuation of intimidation and terror in society, they
promote a culture of violence which
inadvertently leads their opponents to resort to the same.
Powers that breed and nurture such
regimes could therefore not escape blame. Primarily
responsible here, are those powers whose
intelligence services take pride in their dark record of
overthrowing popular governments and
supporting unpopular ones. This image of our world is indeed
gri and repulsive. Until the day that
the wise and the learned wrest the reins of power for the
unwise and the capricious, this image can
not, all at once, be transformed. Nonetheless, in my opinion,
beyond the darkness and gloom,
genuine beauty can still be discerned in the deeper layers of
history. And, I can assert with certitude
that, on the whole, human life has blossomed spiritually and
materially. Anti-colonial struggles and
independence movements of many nations in this century
exemplify this blossoming and progress.
The collapse of the bipolar world order in the final decade
of this century, and the swift march of
the world towards diversity coupled with renewed assertion of
identity in the international arena by
nations demanding equality are other significant achievements
in this direction. The fantasy of a
unipolar world ruled by a single super-power is but an
illusion, indicating the failure of its holders to
keep pace wit history. And, I am confident, that powerful
nations such as the American people, will
not accept that their good name, potentials and national
prestige be exploited for the advancement
of the dream of a unipolar world by the politicians,
motivated by the short-sighted material and
factional interests of a few. The evolution of public opinion
in the West in the direction of support of
peaceful relations on the basis of mutual respect testifies
to this assertion.
And now, Mr. President and distinguished participants,
Allow me to speak here as a man form the East, the origin of
brilliant civilizations and the birth
place of Divine Prophets... Abraham, Moses, Jesus and
Mohammad (peace be upon them all). I
come from the noble land of Iran, representing a great and
renowned nation, famous for its age old
civilization as well as its distinguished contribution to the
founding and expansion of the Islamic
civilization; a nation that has survived the strong winds of
despotism, reactionism and submission,
relying on its cultural and human wealth; a nation which
pioneered in the East the establishment of
civil society and constitutional governments in the course
of its contemporary history, even though
as a result of foreign interference and its own deficiencies,
at times it may have faltered in its course;
a nation which has been at the forefront of the struggle for
independence and against colonialism,
though its national movement was subverted by a foreign
orchestrated coup. And a nation which
carries the torch of its popular revolution, not won by force
of arms or a coup, but by dethroning of
the regime of coup d'etat through the power of the "word" and
"enlightenment". In the course of its
new experience, our nation has endured eight years of an
imposed war, pressure, sanctions and
various allegations. It has also fallen victim to terrorism,
this ominous and sinister phenomenon of
the twentieth century.
And today, the Iranian nation draws on its past to
contemplate a better tomorrow while defying
reactionary tendencies and, backed by principles and ideals
rooted in its religious, national,
historical and revolutionary heritage, and benefiting from
positive achievements of contemporary
civilization, marches, through trial and error, towards
promising future. The Islamic Revolution of
the Iranian people was a revolt of reason against coercion
and suppression. Certainly, a revolution
which resorted to logic in the phase of destruction is much
better disposed to resort to dialogue and
reason in the phase of construction. Hence, it calls for a
dialogue among civilizations and cultures
instead of a clash between them. From this rostrum and the
pulpit of the United Nations,I announce
that humanity, despite all calamities and hardships, is
heading towards emancipation and liberty.
This is the unalterable Divine providence and the course of
history.
Mr. President,
The word "history" predates "philosophy" and man is the
pillar of history. History itself is the
reflection of the light of Being upon various facets and
dimensions of human existence. Thus, it is a
unique and universal entity, albeit diverse in nature.
Whenever this unique entity takes on a new
guise, a new era is ushered in. Our assessment of history
indeed emanates from our perception of
humanity-its pivot and pillar. Human beings, who in Saadi's
eloquent description borrowed form a
saying of the holy Prophet of Islam, are various organs of
the same body, are outside the reach of
biology or psychology. Understanding human beings requires a
philosophical and reflective view of
man and its history. Since "God created man with His own
hand," and in "His own image," and
since He breathed into him of "His own spirit," humanity is
but a single entity, and so is human
history. The "Hand of God" granted humankind history, will
and freedom of choice; the "image of
God" provided him with culture, spirituality and liberty; and
the spirit of God bestowed upon him
life and vitality. And, thus, humans beings have come to
posses history, culture and liberty. Not
only do all human beings originate from the one and the same
origin and share a continuous and
integrated history, but also one may further postulate a
single end or telos: the telos of history is
none other than a spiritual culture and its requisite of
genuine human liberty. Whether or not one
subscribes to the view that man is doomed to whirl in
iterative historical cycles, or to grapple with
historical moments or epochs, and whether or not one holds
history to be self-driven, or driven by
human urges, or by modes of production, or by superhuman
heroes, all can agree that it is only the
ever-inspiring foundation of faith that breaks every old and
new shackle from humanity and arrests
the iterative eternal cycle, and eventually emancipates
humankind from the bounds of historical
determination; just as it is only the vivifying breeze of
liberty that can offer faith and spirituality to
humanity. It is thus that he can serenade that "the universe
I shall not abide if not abiding me." or
that "...whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea;
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe those
things which he says shall come to pass."
Throug such an understanding of freedom, the tenets of human
dignity can be upheld in the face of
political domination and virtue and hope against baneful
blasts of despair and nihilis Here, one can
discern the trajectory of history towards liberty.
The history of humankind is the history of liberty.Only that
interpretation whic describes history as
the arena for manifestation of liberty can provide an opening
of the past for the benefit of mankind.
Regardless of all philosophical systems that have attempted
to attribute meanings, directions and
laws of evolution to history, we can realize that because
human history is intertwined with the
history of liberty, when human beings are liberated from
imposed constraints of exploitation and
social enslavement as well as from unrefined animal instincts
such as violence and savagery, they
will then side with truth and justice in line with their
human nature. Thence, human history shall
become the glorious history of Truth and realization of
justice. And this could be another
expression of the famous religious doctrine of Messianism.
Whether we embark on an empirical
and inductive study of history or an intuitive one, most
thinkers would agree that the essence of
humanity has flourished and that more veils of ignorance have
been removed from the minds of
human beings. I have deliberately used the word "flourish"
instead of the more common terms, such
as "historical progress", in order to emphasize that
regardless of the school of philosophy of history
we may follow, we can still share an understanding of this
general and universal conception of
history. The establishment and continued functioning of the
United Nations is a testimony to the
progressive path of the world and of human society. The fact
that today it does not require much
argument to establish that instead of war and bloodshed, one
could, and indeed ought to, resort to
discourse and dialogue, has not been achieved easily. As if
the blood-stained history of humanity
forms an antecedent to this seemingly simple proposition.
Yet, so long as imprudent potentates can
obliterate flowers and trees, laughter and hope from the face
of the earth with a quick stroke of
their folly and cruelty, it is premature to celebrate the
ultimate triumph of the Logos over the sword
The twentieth century did not only witness the manifestation
of violence and human sufferings at the
hands of old colonialists and the unprecedented injustice of
their modern inheritors, but it was also
the century of the rise and fall of totalitarian regimes. Let
us hope that in the coming century resort
to force and violence shall not be glorified, and the essence
of political power be compassion and
justice, externally manifested in dialogue between
civilizations.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The question is how the United Nations may undertake the
necessary measures to respond to this
evolving global climate, and what impact it will have on the
changing course of the life of mankind
longing for salvation. I would like to propose, in the name
of the Islamic Republic of Iran, that the
United Nations, as a first step, designate the year 2001 as
the "Year of Dialogue Among
Civilizations," with the earnest hope that through such a
dialogue, the realization of universal justice
and liberty be initiated Among the worthiest achievements of
this century is the acceptance of the
necessity and significance of dialogue and rejection of
force, promotion of understanding in cultural,
economic and political fields, and strengthening of the
foundations of liberty, justice and human
rights. Establishment and enhancement of civility, whether at
national or international level, is
contingent upon dialogue among societies and civilizations
representing various views, inclinations
and approaches. If humanity, at the threshold of the new
century and millennium, devotes all efforts
to institutionalize dialogue, replacing hostility and
confrontation with discourse and understanding, it
would leave an invaluable legacy for the benefit of the
future generations. Similarly, it is necessary
that, as members of the United Nations, we revisit the
history of the formation of this Organization
with a vie to reforming and improving the institution through
a rational exchange of views. The
United Nations took shape in a dark era of human history,
when many of its current members were
still experiencing the bitter and abominable conditions of
colonial rule. As a result, the new
Organization reflected the domination of the powerful few.
Things have changed now, and the
opportunity has presented itself to restructure this
Organization, particularly its Security Council.
Here, I would like to refer to the wise words of the Leader
of the Islamic Republic of Iran in his
inaugural address to the Eight Session of the Islamic Summit
Conference in Tehran that the Islamic
countries, representing one billion and several hundred
million people, should acquire a permanent
seat in the United Nations Security Council with the same
privileges that are enjoyed by current
Permanent Members. The time has come to reject, through
understanding, the discriminatory veto
privilege, and in so doing take another step towards the
recognition of fair and equal rights of all
member states.
Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates,
Let all of us join hands in solidarity against genocide,
aggression and the humiliation of mankind in
various corners of the world. Let us prevent the continuation
of shameful tragedies which have
tarnished the face of this century in Palestine, Afghanistan,
Kosovo and in many other parts of
Africa, Asia and Latin America. Peace and security in the
Middle East, imperative as they are, will
be established only though the recognition of the right of
all Palestinians to exercise sovereignty
over their ancestral homeland. The presently occupied Al-Quds
Al-Sharif ought to be the house of
dialogue and understanding Resonating from the depth of
history, its voice speaks intrinsically
against racism and Zionism. Great monotheistic religions can
live peacefully together in Al-Quds
Al-Sharif, but it is the very Israeli rule there that has
made such a coexistence impossible Palestine
is the home of all Palestinians - Muslims, Christians and
Jews - and not the laboratory for the
violent whims of Zionists. In Afghanistan, there is no
military solution to that country's predicament.
Universal outrage at massacre and genocide perpetrated there,
particularly the tragic killing of
Iranian diplomats and a journalist as well as at the
continued captivity of the Iranian aid workers in
the hands of the Taliban call for sober analysis and
expeditious action to bring the perpetrators of
these crimes to justice. Afghanistan, the land of people of
dignity and culture, has now been turned
into a haven of violence, terrorism and production and
trafficking in narcotics The Afghan people,
as other peoples in the world, have the inalienable right to
determine their own destiny, and have
the right to enjoy a broad-based government representing all
ethnic groups, communities and
tendencies in that country. This is the only way to restore
tranquility in Afghanistan. This requires
resolute international cooperation in order to inhibit the
lucrative and deadly business of production
and smuggling of narcotics, illicit trafficking in weapons
and cultivating of terrorism. The United
Nations, in cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic
Conference and concerned states,
should bring all the parties of the conflict to the
negotiating table, paving the way for the tyrannized
and destitute Afghan people to freely determine their own
destiny, and backed by solemn global
support, bring the rogue elements into compliance with the
will of the international community.
It should simultaneously engage in planning for the
mobilization of requisite international assistance
for reconstruction of Afghanistan once the necessary
political conditions are in place. In Kosovo,
the legitimate rights of the embattled people in this
province should be recognized and the Yugoslav
Government should be made to respect these rights.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Honest and sincere efforts to combat terrorism in all its
forms and manifestations, including state
terrorism, constitute another important priority for the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Terrorism is a product of desperation and nihilism. In a
world swirling in the orbit of violence and
oppression, serious combat against terrorism will not advance
beyond the realm of words and
slogans. Eradication of terrorism must be concurrent with a
global search for justice. This assertion
should in no way be interpreted as a justification for any
form of terrorism. We unequivocally
oppose, as required by our religious, moral and cultural
values and norms, all forms and
manifestations of terrorism and we shall combat it vigorously
and earnestly. In our view, in order to
eradicate this menace, we should engage in serious and
transparent international cooperation to
combat terrorism, and at the same time redouble our efforts
to attain the objective of global justice.
At the threshold of the third millennium, the world also
needs to be liberated from the nightmare of
nuclear war and weapons of mass destruction. Recent nuclear
tests in our region, which have led to
further complications, make such a necessity all the more
imperative. We should all realize that the
idea of attaining security through the acquisition of such
armaments is nothing but an illusion The
manifestation of resolute global determination to eliminate
all existing arsenals of weapons of mass
destruction, within an agreed time frame, would render
clarity of objective, lend credence and add
dynamism to the international efforts against the production
and proliferation of these deadly
weapons. The establishment of zones free fro weapons of mass
destruction, particularly in the
Middle East, constitutes an appropriate first step in
alleviating tension and mistrust emanating from
these weapons. We, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the
victims of the use of weapons of mass
destruction, are cognizant, more than anybody else, of their
horrifying impact. We shall thus stay in
the forefront of international efforts to establish and
strengthen universal arrangements for their
destruction. Security, development and prosperity in the
Third World require the promotion of
cooperation and the utilization of proven arrangements and
mechanisms for confidence-building. In
this regard, it is encouraging that the Eighth Islamic Summit
Conference in Tehran, cognizant of this
necessity, established an appropriate mechanism to foster
confidence through dialogue among
Islamic countries. As a first step in this direction, I
invite our neighbors in the Persian Gulf region -
who have witnessed two destructive wars in the span of one
decade - to establish a security and
cooperation system in the area. In short, confidence and
peace cannot be attained without a sober
revision of the mentality of the Cold War. The advancement
and promotion of culture of peace is
contingent upon the recognition of the constructive role of
nations coupled wit avoidance of
domination, unilateralism, confrontation and exclusion. The
Islamic Republic of Iran, in keeping with
its fundamental beliefs and deep-rooted civilizational
heritage, seeks a world blessed with peace
and tranquility based on human dignity. It has accorded
removal of tension the highest priority in its
foreign policy. In line with the principles of the Islamic
Revolution, Iran is determined to follow its
balanced policy of expansion of relations with its neighbors
and other countries on the basis of
respect for independence and equality of rights.
Comprehensive peace, over and above peace
among human beings, also calls for peace between mankind and
nature, which in turn requires that
mankind bring to a halt the systematic devouring of nature
and instead emphasize harmony
between man and nature. The preservation of the environment,
as the common natural heritage of
mankind, constitutes the most important priority of the
coming century.
Thank you for your attention.
End
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