Istanbul, 13/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - At the opening of the Forum on the political dialogue between civilisations, organised in Istanbul on 12 and 13 February on the initiative of Turkey, the European Union and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the High Representative for CFSP Javier Solana reaffirmed that "the 'two-state' solution between Palestinians and Israelis is the only solution which can bring lasting peace to the people concerned." The EU is "determined to work in this direction. Why don't we work together in this endeavour?", Solana asked the participants. According to Mr. Solana, who considers that the other EU priorities, other than peace in the Middle East, are the elimination of terrorism and the creation of "a country at peace" in Afghanistan, they have to avoid "presenting the dialogue between civilisations as a dialogue between North and South or essentially a dialogue between religions", as it is in fact a question of "promoting tolerance on the basis of universally-held values and international law". As for the "search for harmony", other topic of this conference, it should, he said, "lead us to a realistic re-appraisal of our past and to a determination to address the challenges of our times". In that context, the High Representative cited the death penalty, stressing that the EU was not critical "of any one civilisation", and, although it opposes the death penalty in any Organisation of Islamic Conference country, "we also do the same towards the United States, towards Russia, towards China, towards Japan.
The President of the Turkish Republic, Ahmet Sezer, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem all, when raising the 11 September attacks, said that terrorism had no religion. Turkey "is one of the countries to have suffered most from terrorism over the years", and it has always said that "this threat needs combating without dual standards, in co-operation and solidarity at international level", declared President Serez, who, recalling the formula of Ataturk, "peace at home, peace in the world", considered that co-operation between the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the EU would help to "significantly contribute to universal peace and prosperity". Mr. Ecevit, for his part citing Kipling, for whom "the East and West were destined to remain apart", noted that "the end of imperialism began to reduce cultural differences", and that "what we call the shock of civilisations and cultures has largely lost its validity, whereas the path has opened up to a merger between East and West". This Forum, launched by the Turkish Foreign Minister demonstrates the "determination of the European Union and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to encourage international harmony between different cultures and religions", stressed the Turkish Prime Minister. As for Mr. Cem, he referred to a positive effect of 11 September: "the mutual realisation of our inadequate knowledge of each other, of the need to create new relationships, to achieve solidarity through the respect of cultural diversity". Modern and ancient history "teach us that the way in which we settle the problem of "the other" determines the dynamic of stability and peace", Mr. Cem noted, concluding that "the political dimension of the dialogue between cultures and civilisations" needed further promoting, and that the EU and the OIC had the "joint responsibility to contribute in seeking better understanding".
Representatives from some fifty countries (members of the EU, candidates for accession and the OIC) took part in the meeting that, according to an EU diplomat, "aims to strengthen the ties that already exist between the two organisations, which, moreover, have regular exchanges of views at senior official level". Meetings of this type have already been held in Helsinki in 1999, then in Doha in December 2000, and the prospects for the symposium were among the main topics broached last week at a meeting between European Commissioner Chris Patten and a group of Ambassadors from Arab and Muslim countries.