Fares& Clinton during the 2002 Tufts Lecture Serie in Boston



Former President Bill Clinton and Deputy Premier Issam Fares inaugurated the first Center for Lebanese and Eastern Mediterranean Studies in the United States.

Under the auspices of Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares, the Fares Center for Lebanese and Eastern Mediterranean Studies, the first of its kind in the United States, was inaugurated at Tufts University in Boston.
As a result of the lectures and research it is planning to conduct, the newly inaugurated Fares Center aims at ensuring a wider and deeper understanding of the region cultures and its current situation. The Center will also contribute by graduating a new generation of talented professionals in a variety of areas; especially in governmental and decision-making positions, international organizations and media…




Fares& Clinton inaugurate the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies



The Deputy Premier Fares expressed his hope that his initiative will contribute to broadening the scope of research, study and lectures at Tufts University in particular and the United States in general when it comes to the Middle East, its history, civilization and culture. This in the light of the important role the Middle East region plays in the world’s peace and stability.

Tufts University has been chosen to host the Center due to its distinguished academic position amongst the American universities and its supremacy in the field of international relations.


ADDRESS BY ISSAM M. FARES



Fares in his allocution: 'The time has come to rise the great challenge facing the region'


It is indeed a great pleasure for me to welcome President Bill Clinton to the Issam M. Fares Lecture Series at Tufts University.

As you address “our shared future”, Mr. President, we must think of it in our region in terms of peace. In the context of the Globalization in the 21st century a conflict in the Middle East will have direct impact on the rest of the Globe. Accordingly, I will focus on the need to resolve the Middle East conflict, a conflict to which President Clinton gave utmost attention. Close to the end of his Administration, and over a period of three weeks, he came pretty close to a breakthrough. Our distinguished Speaker has the gift of focusing on an issue and of pursuing it with vigor until he resolves it. I know that first hand, as I had the privilege of meeting with him in the White House early on in his second term of office. I was impressed by the intensity in which he handles issues and by his serious interest in my country Lebanon, and in our Middle Eastern region.

Mr. President, my country together with all Arab states, have taken a strategic decision to seek peace in the region. For too long our region has been allowed to drift into violence that has tented to develop into wars threatening the fabric of world peace. While the Middle East may be regarded in the West as a strategic theater and as the rich deposit of oil; to us, it is the source of classical civilizations, the home of the three universal religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and a major contributor to the making of Western Civilization.

The time has come to rise the great challenge facing the region. We must definitely stop the violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Only this way will we reverse the tide of fundamentalism and the excesses of extremist ideologies.


Violence breeds violence, and hatred begets hatred. In conflicts such as the one now raging in the Middle East, there is no alternative to dialogue, dialogue in the context of law and international legitimacy. For five decades, the United Nations Organization has been passing resolutions on all aspects of the Middle East Conflict. The Peace we seek must be based on these resolutions. UN Resolutions, Mr. President, are meant to be implemented, not to be negotiated indefinitely, and ultimately robbed of their content.

There is now talk about “total withdrawal in return for total normalization”. This is fine, but it simplifies the picture. Withdrawal is only one issue, and the position of the parties on it is quite different. The refugee issue is also pressing. There are some 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon alone, not to mention those dispersed in other countries, other regions. The solution to their problem should be in accordance with UN Resolution 194. This is not only a humane matter, but also a political matter of great impact on the future stability in the region.

Peace in the Middle East, as I see it, implies the following:

1- Israeli compliance with United Nations Resolutions on all issues of the Middle East conflict. The compliance includes implementation of Resolutions 242, 338 and 425, which call for Israeli withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967.
2- The rise of an independent and viable Palestinian state.
3- Agreement on the elimination of the weapons of mass destruction in all nations of the region.
4- Agreement by all states in the Middle East on an economic order that will favor development, progress, and the rise of democratic institutions.
5- Agreement on a new vision for the region in which each state feels secure into the long-term future.

In recent months, Mr. President, the bigger issues of peace, have been set aside. Instead, the diplomatic effort has been totally directed towards stopping the violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Violence, however, is the symptom of disagreement on the big issues, such as the points I mentioned above. It will stop only when a just settlement is reached.

Let’s again refocus attention on the big issue of peace. Peace in the Middle East will be a historic achievement. An achievement of such dimension deserves the maximum effort that the world community can bring to bear on it. The US must take the lead in this effort. Europe and Russia should be brought in, as they have extensive experience in the Middle East and leverage in settling its affairs. At the end of this month, Beirut will host the Arab summit. The main item on the agenda is the search for a just, stable, and comprehensive peace in our region. The Summit reached its decisions by consensus, and I hope that these decisions will be taken into serious consideration by all those concerned.

President Clinton, we are honored to have you as our Speaker this evening, and we look forward to hearing your views on our shared future, which we hope we will all share in peace and prosperity.

ADDRESS BY FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON




Clinton: Hope the Center would contribute to a greater awareness
and understanding of the civilization, history and global circumstances
of the Middle East and Lebanon


President Clinton started by conveying his deepest appreciation to the Deputy Premier Issam Fares for his initiative to establish, as a first in the United States, a Center of this kind, importance and level for Lebanese and Middle Eastern research and study. He hoped that this Center, located at Tufts University, would contribute to a greater awareness and understanding of the civilization, history and global circumstances of the Middle East and Lebanon.

President Clinton then turned his attention to the war on terrorism launched by the current American President and the US allies following the terrorist attacks of September 11th on his country. This war aims at the dismantling of the Al Qaeda organization in Afghanistan, the pursuit of terrorists and the control on the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction through firm international monitoring.

Clinton said that the perpetrators of these horrible attacks do not represent Muslims nor Arabs but are rather individuals. He pointed out that the ties between America and the Islamic World and Arab nations, their mutual interests and adherence to the great values are too strong to be affected by such acts. Clinton also expressed his hope that the American administration will explain its position to friendly nations and peoples in a broader and clearer manner. Clinton recalled what the United States had contributed to the peoples of Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo and Pakistan by liberating their countries from injustice, destruction and violent acts irrespective of whether they were perpetrated by the former Yugoslav President, Milosevic, or the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein. He stated that facts should be clarified and known. The President however warned against taking any unilateral action against the Iraqi president and confirmed that any action taken against the regime of Saddam Hussein should fall within the framework of the international alliance and organizations.

President Clinton then turned his attention to the situation in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the current military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between Israelis and Palestinians as well as the fate of the refugees in Lebanon.

Concerning the situation in the occupied territories, Clinton stated that violence, military operations, bombings in public places and the killing of civilians would not solve the Middle East conflict nor bring about peace in the region. It is only through negotiations and mutual concessions that the parties to the conflict can reach a viable solution and install peace and security in the region. He added that the United States and other countries could finance the economic recovery and help in the development and the prosperity in the region if both parties can reach peace through negotiations.

For the first time in History, Clinton said, there is mention at the international level, of a Palestinian state neighboring Israel. The US is ready to guarantee peace and to participate in peacekeeping forces in the region to help implement the peace agreement. Violence cannot change the reality or the facts on the ground and the conflict cannot be settled through military means. Only negotiations can lead both sides to a permanent peace through mutual concessions. Israelis must put an end to their military attacks and Palestinians for their part must stop attacking and bombing restaurants and public places frequented by Israelis because this will further complicate the situation rather than bringing about a solution.

President Clinton said that President Yasser Arafat is still the party representing the Palestinian people in peace negotiations and pointed out that the alternative is Hamas, Islamic Jihad or the Tanzim. He stressed that the existence of two states, Israel and Palestine, is essential for ensuring peace and guaranteeing security and prosperity in the region.

As for the right of return of Palestinian refugees, Clinton requested that it not be stressed that a solution cannot be reached unless the right of return of all the Palestinians is implemented. However, he pointed out that the Palestinian refugees from the north of Israel, who had fled to Lebanon could be granted right of return but it would be not be possible to grant that right for all the refugees living abroad.

Clinton said that the Palestinians and Israelis had agreed on most of the clauses of a peaceful solution at the Taba negotiations, but the negotiators lacked the necessary courage to announce it and launch the peace process.

Clinton praised Prince Abdullah for his peace initiative and the subsequent dialogue that took place between the Syrian President Bashar Assad and the Saudi Crown Prince. He considered it an important development with regards to the Middle East crisis.
President Clinton criticized the American envoy, General Zinni, for the way he dealt with the crisis. Rather than leading the negotiations to stop the violence, General Zinni was observed to be leaving the region when there was an escalation of violence.

Finally the President expressed to the Deputy Premier his desire to visit Lebanon and Syria.