Excerpts from the Fares’ address:

Baroness Thatcher consistently stands for what is just and what is right; she never compromises where principles are involved and always defends her convictions.
In an era of socialism, Prime Minister Thatcher held high the standard of free economy, open markets and privatization. In an era of fear and compromise, she acted with courage. She spoke for the entire free world, and no Western leader could venture into a major international commitment without consulting her. Such was her position, such was her influence.
When Lebanon sought for help in 1983, her response was positive – she said that Lebanon, as a democratic country, could play an important role in promoting democracy in the Arab world. With her eye focused on the future of freedom and democracy in the Middle East, she wisely supported Lebanon.

After extensive efforts, the Lebanese reached an effective peace accord in 1989. This accord, known as the “Taif Agreement”, ended the war. Lebanon has now regained its stability and is one of the safest countries in the world. Recognizing this fact, the United States has lifted the travel ban to Lebanon which it had imposed years before during the darkest days of war.

Lebanon’s long-term stability depends on the stability of the region, and particularly on a just and comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. If the peace process is important to all countries in the region, it is of utmost importance to Lebanon. Until a real peace is attained, existing uncertainties will persist.

Peace in our region cannot be realized piecemeal. Separate treaties between Israel on the one hand and Egypt, Jordan and the PLO on the other, will not achieve the desired results. Indeed, they have not.
The region needs a peace based on substance, not form, which is why Lebanon and Syria are working together towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. The negotiating process requires the serious commitment of both the United States and the United Kingdom. In the 1940s, the United States and United Kingdom joined together and won a war. They now have the chance to join together again and win the peace.
This is the challenge we face and must accept. So let us – in the Thatcher style – decide, plan, act and not turn back.
This is the peace that Lebanon needs.
This is the peace the region needs.
And this is the peace the world deserves.




Summary of the Thatcher address:

Speaking extemporaneously, Baroness Thatcher centered her remarks on opportunities and dangers facing the future of democracy in the Middle East.
Baroness Thatcher began with a salute to Lebanon and to Mr. Fares for giving her the opportunity to talk about the vital issue of achieving peace in the Middle East. She remarked that “the peace process needs courageous leaders like Mr. Tufts, the founder of the University, of Mr. Issam Fares, who took the initiative of holding this annual series of academic lectures in the presence of such an important audience… History is not made by events alone, but also by those who lead those events and translate them into concrete facts”.

She then spoke of the importance of America in the world today – as a nation built on the basis of freedom, human rights, democracy and humanitarian ideals – and reminded the audience of how the dictatorial and authoritarian regimes in some countries, as in eastern Europe and Russia, had finally succumbed to the power of the free, democratic systems prevailing in the United States, Great Britain and Western Europe.
With regard to Great Britain’s’ membership in the EEC, Mrs. Thatcher said she is against the European Union and its monetary union, but is supportive of cooperation and coordination among European countries.
Describing the situation in the Middle East as a sensitive issue of great concern to the world today, she said: “Palestine is the cradle of the three monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – but it is a land that has witnessed much bloodshed since the early days of history … Palestine requires great effort from us today to ensure peace, tranquility and stability on its soil”. “Furthermore”, she added, “the Middle East region is rich in oil – a vital element in the evolution of living standards and in ameliorating the adverse conditions of humanity, not only in the East but in the West as well”.

Commenting on the Gulf crisis, when the dictatorial regime of Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened the stability of other oil-producing countries in the Gulf, Mrs. Thatcher recalled her meeting with President George Bush in Aspen, where they carefully studied the situation and its related dangers and agreed on an immediate military response. White the UN Security Council was still debating its decision against the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait; British and American troops moved into take their positions in the region. “Confronting such a serious political and strategic event requires leaders to rely on a democratic judgment and approach. The European Union tried to solve this dangerous situation by taking an offensive position equal to the threat, but realized that it lacked the super-power halo of the United States and its military force, as well as the unity and efficiency required to make the decision”.

Thatcher expressed her regret for the absence of a quantum leap in the search for a peaceful solution of the Middle East crisis. She questioned how peace can be achieved when every party involved remains intransigent on the smallest details and persists in taking positions on the ground. Making peace, she said, requires courage and flexibility.
“We cannot rely on a peace process that may last forever. The initiative is in urgent need of a qualitative move by the United States, which alone is capable of efficiently forging and implementing the required peace. The European Union cannot play the efficient role of America. Though it has the capacity to influence, its efficiency is limited”.

Thatcher harshly criticized extremism on both the Arab and Israeli sides as a major hindrance in the achievement of peace. Hope in the region depends on the creation of democracies that do not conflict, that are harmoniously based on the respect of human rights. She called on the great democracies of the United States and Western Europe to preserve a military, political and economic supremacy and commented that, had such supremacy existed in the past, World War One and Two could not have taken place.

In Thatcher’s opinion, there is no such thing as a New World Order, but that there are 76 democracies led by the United States and Britain which are able to ensure international peace. She expressed the hope that reasonable leaderships based on democratic systems in the Middle East will lead their peoples through dialogue to the long-pursued peace.
Thatcher voiced her belief that the time of peace has come, that our age can no longer afford war. Achieving peace, she said, is incumbent upon the leaderships and peoples of the region, aided with efficient American support. Finally, she hoped for continued cooperation between the EEC and the U.S in working for the peace and security of all the peoples in the Middle East region.