UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Sunday the Palestinian dream of an independent state could be achieved only through the Middle East peace process rather than violence.
"Such a settlement, I believe, can only be secure when the entire Middle East peace process has reached a successful conclusion," Annan told the opening session of a three-day Islamic summit in the Qatari capital.
"The past eight weeks have made abundantly clear to all sides that the cause of peace can only be damaged by excessive use of force, indiscriminate violence or terror," Annan said, referring to the deadly Israeli-Palestinian clashes.
"Do we achieve peace by encouraging violence, promoting hatred, and perpetuating mistrust, or by fostering cooperation and dialogue?" he asked, in an apparent call for moderation from the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Turning to Iraq, Annan who was expected to meet the Iraqi delegation on the sidelines of the OIC summit called for Baghdad "to review its position with a view to cooperating with the international community."
"The Iraqi leadership will achieve more through cooperation with the international community, including its neighbors, than through confrontation," said Annan, who was among high-profile observers invited to address the summit.
Baghdad has rejected a UN Security Council resolution that offers a suspension of sanctions in force since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait in return for its cooperation with a new disarmament regime.
"I deeply regret the continuing suffering of the Iraqi people and share the hopes of everyone present here that the sanctions imposed on Iraq can be lifted sooner rather than later," said Annan.
On the Afghan conflict, the secretary general appealed to the country's powerful neighbors Iran and Pakistan -- OIC members which back rival factions -- "to work even more closely together towards the noble aim of achieving peace."
"The United Nations will continue to make every effort in the search for a negotiated and peaceful solution between the warring parties in Afghanistan," he said.
Envoys of both ousted president Burhanuddin Rabbani and the Taliban militia which seized power in Kabul in 1996 were present at the conference, but not as delegates, as the Afghan seat has remained vacant for the past four years -- DOHA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
