First of all, let me say how happy I am to be here today.
I am in San Sebastián on the invitation of various individuals and non-governmental groups who have organized this International Conference to promote the resolution of conflict in the Basque Country.
I wish to thank them all for their courage and for making this event possible. My thanks go to Lokarri, Conciliation Resources, the Berghof Foundation, NOREF, the Desmond Tutu Foundation and the Contact Group.
I am here in a personal capacity. I am here in the name of peace and friendship. I am
here to encourage the end of Europe's last armed conflict.
I know there has been so much shared history and so much shared pain over the conflict in the Basque country. But you now have the shared hope of a new beginning.
I hope that you will embrace it, firm in the belief that enmity between people does not, and cannot, last forever.
Some of us here have had a life-time's experience trying to resolve conflict. Over the years, I have been involved in various peace-making efforts, not all of which have been successful, but many have stood the test of time. And I wish to stress that each conflict is different. Each conflict has its own particularity, born of its own local history, culture, and quite often religion and ethnicity. But while there may be no "one size fits all" solution to armed conflict, I have learnt some enduring lessons which I wish to share with you today. The first is that resolving armed conflict is a difficult task and a long process. There are no easy answers, and very few uncontested ones.
I have also learnt that, by its very nature, making and building peace must be deeply rooted in local communities and local identities. Finding a peaceful settlement must be your process. Those who live with conflict understand the dynamics better than any international player.
Those who live with it must be involved in the effort to end it. They must also see the benefits that justify the compromises and sacrifices involved. Outsiders can of course encourage and support your efforts - as we are doing here today. But making peace ultimately requires the firm commitment and extraordinary courage, on the part of all sides, to ensure a permanent end to violence. It also requires the determination and imagination of all parties to seek solutions, and build trust between communities who have been at loggerheads for decades.
Without such leadership and commitment, peace will neither take root nor endure. I have often seen how the difficulties encountered at the last stages of conflict are usually the most difficult to overcome. The stakes are high but so are the rewards.
That final step could be challenging, even frightening, but eminently rewarding. Yes, it is difficult - psychologically and in practice. No one should ignore the injustices of the past, or the lessons of history. But too often I have seen that one person's history has been another person's myth. And yet, time and again, I have been privileged to witness acts of courage as leaders have refused to be prisoners of history.
Ladies and gentlemen, to make peace, violence must be replaced by dialogue and politics as the means through which communities relate to each other and settle their differences. It isn't easy but I remain a stubborn optimist that when parties to conflict have travelled a long way down a peace process, they are capable of securing a final settlement. In doing so, they herald an end to the tragedy of lives lost and families devastated throughout the years of violence. So it is in honour of those lost, and our responsibility towards future generations of children yet to be born, that you must strive to build a lasting peace.
I have also seen - most recently in Kenya - that building a durable peace requires tackling the underlying causes of conflict.
The people in those fractured societies must be helped to work together to reconcile, heal, and build strong institutions rooted in democratic governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law.
And in this task, all actors of society must play their part: government, local authorities, religious leaders, business, non-governmental organizations, trade unions, women and youth groups, academia and the media.
Finally, because the road to peace proves long and hard, I have also learnt it is essential to manage public expectations.
The various elements of peace-building -- transforming suspicion into trust, turning promises into deeds, re-crafting State institutions, promoting national reconciliation and healing, reforming economies and building cohesion -- can take years or decades to accomplish. During that time people's hope, and their faith in the process, need to be sustained. Ladies and gentlemen, a sustainable peace is of course more than the absence of war. As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I had the profound privilege of leading the organization from the 20th century into the 21st. In doing so, I became deeply aware that humanity knows no divisions. Each of us yearns for dignity, security, opportunity and a voice in how we are governed. Peace belongs not only to states or peoples, but to each and every member of those communities.
Peace must be made real and tangible in the daily existence of every individual in need. Peace must be sought, above all, because it is the condition for every member of the human family to live a life of dignity and security. Thank you.
Jonathan Powell-en interbentzioa itxiera ekitaldian (2011/10/17)
I am very grateful to Lokarri and the other organisers of this conference for inviting us to San Sebastian on this beautiful and optimistic day.
Tony Blair has asked me to say he is very sorry not to be able to be here himself today to participate in the conference but unfortunately he is fully engaged with the Middle East. He has asked me to come in his place and to represent him. He is committed to doing anything he can to help end this, the last armed confrontation in Europe, and will be putting out a statement later today.
We have not come to San Sebastian to lecture anyone on what they should do. All we want to do is share with you our own experiences in bringing an end to ancient and bloody conflicts elsewhere in the world. Whether what we learned from our successes and from our failures is relevant or helpful to you is a matter for you to decide.
My experience is derived from Northern Ireland where I spent ten years working for Tony Blair and with my colleagues and friends here today, Bertie Ahern and Gerry Adams.
Our conflict in Northern Ireland was sui generis and the solution we found was sui generis. It was a solution adapted to the situation in Northern Ireland and not easily transferable elsewhere. Nonetheless our experience in making peace may be useful to others just as we learned ourselves from what had happened before in South Africa.
Let me list just four of those lessons.
First peace is a process not an event. You don't create trust over night. Conflicts carry a huge burden of history and ending the hatred and escaping the pain they engendered takes time. Peace has to mature, to put down roots and to be allowed to flourish. Both sides need to take small steps to convince other that they really are going to do what they promised and gradually build confidence. It took us nearly nine years after the Good Friday Agreement had been concluded to build that trust and implement the agreement in full.
The process of building trust can however only begin once you have put violence behind you for good and accepted that the only way to achieve your aims is by political and exclusively peaceful means. So the first and crucial step is to end the armed conflict irreversibly.
Second conflicts create consequences that need to be dealt with. In Northern Ireland dealing with the decommissioning of weapons took us more than a decade and the issues of prisoners and exiles were difficult and delicate which required political courage to tackle. The security situation needed to be normalised, prisoners rehabilitated and the needs of victims addressed. A conflict can only be ended and the consequences resolved if political leaders are prepared to take risks. If both sides are timid and stay in their comfort zone there will be no agreement and no lasting peace. Of course the end of the conflict also brings a peace dividend and in Northern Ireland we were able to redirect the billions we had spent on security to more productive uses for society.
Third, extremists will try to disrupt the peace but you cannot let peace become a hostage to the most extreme, as it has been for example in the Middle East where every suicide bombing disrupts the process. After we had concluded the Good Friday Agreement we faced the worst atrocity of the whole period of the Troubles when dissident republicans blew up the centre of Omagh, killing over thirty people, some of them visiting Spanish tourists. That horrific attack could easily have pushed the peace process off track for good, but thanks to the political leadership shown by both Republicans and Unionists it did not and in fact perversely had the effect of reinforcing the search for a lasting peace.
And finally the one thing I learned above all else from Northern Ireland is that no matter how ancient, no matter how bloody, no matter how difficult it is, any conflict in the world can be resolved if political leaders on all sides show courage, determination and patience and never give up. Generations of British Prime Ministers concluded the issue of Ireland was insoluble, but they were wrong. It was eventually solved by political leadership, the political leadership shown by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern and by Ian Paisley, David Trimble, John Hume and Gerry Adams.
The Good Friday Agreement was described by Seamus Mallon as ‘Sunningdale for slow learners'. And he was right that much of what was contained in the Good Friday Agreement, especially on power-sharing, had been included in the failed agreement at Sunningdale some twenty five years earlier. But the point he was missing was that sometimes the conditions are right for such a settlement and sometimes they are not. I firmly believe that the conditions are now in place here to end your conflict just as they were for us in Ireland in 1997.
A window of opportunity has opened and it should be seized by political leaders to make peace irreversible. I hope that it is.
Silvia Casale-ren interbentzioa Konferentzian parte-hartuko zuen nazioarteko buruzagien aurkezpenean (2011/10/5)
Kaixo guzioi eta eskerrik asko prentsaurreko honetara etortzeagatik,
Lehenik eta behin, eskerrak eman nahi dizkiegu gure gonbitari erantzunez beren partaidetza baieztatu duten alderdi politiko eta sindikatu guztiei. Ohorea da guretzat hain ongietorri abegitsua jaso izana.
Halaber, eskerrak eman nahi ditugu Konferentziaren helburuari heltzeko jaso ditugun ekarpen guztientatik. Erabateko normalizazio, gardentasun eta inklusio politikoan oinarrituriko egoera lortzea da Konferentziaren helburua, soilik baliabide demokratikoak baliatuz eta inongo indarkeriarik edo indarkeriaren mehatxuaren erabilerarik gabe.
Euskal Herrian gatazkaren konponketa sustatzeko Nazioarteko Konferentziaren erakunde eta talde bultzatzaileek honako berrespena egin nahi dugu: bake-prozesu barneratzaile bat sostengatzen duen nazioarteko komunitatea ordezkatuz gaude hemen, era xume eta errespetuzkoan, modu parketatuan hain desiratua den normalizazio politikoa lor dezazuen adoretu eta laguntzeko.
Nazioarteko Konferentzian naziarteko hainbat buru nabarmenek parte-hartuko zutela iragarri genuen. Ondorengoen partaidetza baieztatu digute:
-Kofi Annan. Nazio Batuetako Idazkari Nagusi ohia.
-Gro Harlem Bruntland. Norvegiako Lehendabiziko Ministro ohia eta The Elders-eko (Nelson Mandelak sortutako nazioarteko pertsonalitateen taldea) kidea.
-Bertie Ahern. Irlandako Lehen Ministro ohia.
-Pierre Joxe. Frantziar Errepublikako Barne eta Defentsa ministro-ohia eta Asanblada Nazionala alderdi sozialistaren presidente-ohia.
-Gerry Adams. Sinn Fein-eko burua.
-Jonathan Powell. Tony Blair-en ordez etorriko da Powell, haren izenean, ezin izango baita bertaratu bere lan konpromisoak direla eta Ekialde Hurbilean.
Bake-prozesutan eta gatazken eraldaketan eskarmentua, ezagutza eta zuzenko inplikazioa iztean dute komunean guztiek. Normalizazio politikoa lortzeko gobernuak, erakundeak, alderdi politikoak eta gizarte taldeak gauzatzen ari diren ahaleginak aberas dezakete horiek guztiek.
Gure desioa berretsiz bukatu nahi dugu: Euskal gizarteak itxaropena berreskuratu duen une honetan Euskal Herrian gatazkaren konponketa sustatzeko Nazioarteko Konferentzia aurrerapauso adierazgarriagoa izan dadila, nazioarteko komunitatearen ekarpen berri bat izan dadila.
Pierre Hazan-en interbentzioa Konferentziaren aurkezpenean (2011/10/11)
2010ko martxoan Bruselako Adierazpena eman zen ezagutzera, zeinetan ETAri "su-eten iraunkor eta erabat egiaztagarria" iragartzeko eskaera egin zitzaion, aintzat hartuz "halako adierazpenak, espainiar Gobernuak era egokian erantzunez gero, ahalbidetuko zuela ahalegin politiko eta demokratiko berriek aurrera egitea, desadostasunak konpontzea eta bake iraunkorra lortzea". Adierazpena nazioarteko 21 buruzagik izenpetu zuten, hainbat nobel saridun zirela horien artean.
Bruselako Adierazpenak eragin zuen inpaktua zela eta, lana egiteko modu eraginkorragoa izango zuen nazioarteko adituen talde txikiago bat eratzea hitzartu zen.
Horrela, Harremanetarako Nazioarteko Taldea eratu zen Euskal Herriko eta Espainiako hainbat eragile politiko eta sozialekin egindako galdeketa prozesu baten ondorioz. ETAren su-etena jazo eta berehala, 2011ko otsailaren 15ean Harremanetarako Nazioarteko Taldearen kideen izenak eman ziren ezagutzera, nirea barne.
Harrezkero, askotan etorri gara Euskal Herrira alderdi politikoen eta gizarte eta sindikatuetako eragileen ordezkaritza zabal batekin bilerak egitera. Euskal Herrian nomalizazio politikoari buruzko eztabaida erraztea izan da gure mandatua eta helburua.
Aurreko beste aldi batzuetan bezala, nabarmendu nahi dugu zuek guztiak, euskal herritarrak, zaretela konponbide bat bilatu behar duzuenak. Zuena da ardura eta zuena aukera. Bake-prozesu barneratzaile bat sostengatzen duen nazioarteko komunikatea ordezkatzen gaude gu hemen, era xumean eta begirunezkoan, hainbeste desiraturiko nomalizazio politkoa modu partekatuan lortzeko adorea eragitea eta laguntzea xede.
Bruselako Adierazpena lehendabiziko mugarri garrantzitsua izan zen Euskal Herrian gatazkaren konponketa bultzatzeko nazioartearen inplikazioan eta lankidetzan. Euskal Herrian gatazkaren konponketa sustatzeko Nazioarteko Konferentzia are aurrerapauso adierazgarriagoa izatea espero eta nahi dugu, euskal gizarteak itxaropena berreskuratu duen une honetan nazioarteko komunitatearen ekarpen berria izatea espero eta nahi dugu.
Paul Rios-en interbentzioa Konferentzian parte-hartuko zuen nazioarteko buruzagien aurkezpenean (2011/10/5)
Hasi aurretik, aurkezpen ekitaldi honetan lagun izango ditugun pertsonak aurkeztu nahi nituzke: Hemen dira Katrin Tantla, Berghof Foundation-ekoa, eta Kristian Herbozheilmer, Conciliation Resources erakundekoa. Gainera, Sostengu Taldeko lehendabiziko kideak daude gurekin: Txaro Arteaga, Miguel Lazpiur eta Vicente Zaragueta. Aldiz, Kotte Ezenarrok ezin izan du gurekin egon gaurkoan.
Parte-hartzeei dagokienez, behin nire txanda bukatuta, Harremanetarako Nazioarteko Taldeko Pierre Hazan-ek hartuko du hitza. Eta ondoren, Jonathan Powell-ek hitz egingo du.
Normalizazioa, gardentasuna eta erabateko inklusio politikoa ezaugarri dituen egoera lortzeko beharrezkoak diren osagaiak partekatzea da Nazioarteko Konferentziaren helburua. Egoera hori soilik baliabide demokratikoetan oinarrituko litzateke eta inongo indarkeriarik edo indarkeriaren mehatxuaren erabilerarik gabe. Helburua hau izanik sortu dugu gaur hasi eta hil honen 17an bukatuko den Nazioarteko Konferentzia, zeina eragile sozial eta politikoen arteko ekarpen eta hausnarketa prozesu kolaboratibo bezala aurreikusten dugun.
Gaurtik, alderdi politiko eta sindikatu guztiak gonbidatuko ditugu. Haien guztien partaidetza zabala izatea espero dugu bizi dugun aukera eta itxaropen une honetan Nazioarteko Konferentzia ekarpen garrantzitsua izan daitekela sinistuta.
Azkenik, gure eskerrak berretsi nahi dizkiegu erakunde sustatzaile guztiei. Haien partaidetza, inplikazoia eta lankidetza benetako pribilegioa dira. Gure herrialdearen etorkizuna dago jokoan eta hain garrantzi handiko erakunde eta pertsonalitateen laguntza daukagula jakiteak gogoz betetzen gaitu.
Bihotz-bihotzez, eskerrik asko