President and foreign minister express support for Palestinian statehood
30 Nov 2014, 12:57 PM
Daniel Bosley
President Abdulla Yameen has reiterated the Maldives’ support for the establishment of a Palestinian State on yesterday’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
“Acknowledgment and recognition alone are powerful gestures which can facilitate an international norm,” said Yameen.
“The Maldives welcomes all efforts towards this goal, during the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. We hope to see a future where Palestine emerges as a State with full recognition from the United Nations.”
First observed in 1977, Palestinian solidarity day falls on November 29 as, on that day in 1947, the General Assembly adopted of the ‘Partition Resolution’, which provided for the establishment in Palestine of a ‘Jewish State’ and an ‘Arab State’.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon also released a statement yesterday, condemning Israel’s “horrific violence” and describing the world’s inability to prevent it as the “greatest failure of modern times”.
“Seventy years ago, the world built institutional mechanisms to mitigate conflicts and to address the atrocities of our times. They constructed pillars that represented the very ideals of humanity and hope for a world free from violence and carnage,” said Dunya.
“They reflect a united effort of the international community to find a prosperous world for our future generations. Yet, the Palestinians continue to be victims of an unjust occupation that violates their very right to a life free from fear and violence.”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also marked the occasion with a call “to step back from the brink. The mindless cycle of destruction must end. The virtuous circle of peace must begin.”
“The scale of the destruction by the Israeli military has left deep questions about respect for the principles of distinction and proportionality, and generated wide calls for accountability,” he continued.
“The Israeli and Palestinian people face a shared fate on shared land. There is no erasing the other. Yet I fear deeply that with each passing day the people of the region are losing any sense of connection – any sense of empathy – any sense of mutual understanding of our common humanity and common future.”
Maldivian solidarity with the Palestinian people was aptly demonstrated during the Israeli aggression in Gaza this year, in which over 2000 people were killed in 7 weeks – the vast majority of them Palestinians.
An unprecedented 33-hour telethon was one of a number of fund-raising events in August which saw US$1.4 million donated to victims of the war in Gaza.
President Yameen noted yesterday that Palestinian rights remained a key part of the Maldives’ foreign policy.
“As a responsible member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Maldives will continue to vociferously advocate the cause of Palestine, and our people stand united as one in support of the brotherly people of Palestine”.
Re-elected to the Human Rights Council last year, the Maldives has pushed to retain agenda item seven – ‘the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories’ – on the council’s agenda.
“The Maldives is appalled by Israeli’s systemic aggression: horrific violence that continue to occur with no heed for international law, and actions that blatantly violate the fundamental principles of international humanitarian and human rights law,” said Dunya.
“We believe that the people of Palestine have experienced far too many losses. History has repeated far too many times. A peaceful solution to the case of Palestine is an immediate necessity.”
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