Malta’s Fearless Statesman: Guido De Marco’s 1990 Comments On Gaza Are Still Painfully Relevant Today
As President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1990 Guido de Marco had given a painfully relevant speech about the Gaza conflict.
33 years later, it is this same speech which remains suited to the situation faced today in Palestine.
A stalwart of his time, his ideology came with controversy and caused uproar within the Nationalist Party back then. He stuck his ground and insisted on fighting for peace, amongst the world’s biggest leaders.
Undoubtedly, there aren’t many statesmen today at par with Prof de Marco, unfortunately when the world needs them most.
Over three decades later and with the situation in Gaza devolving on an hourly basis and reaching new lows in an escalating humanitarian crisis, Lovin Malta delved into De Marco’s 1990 speech, shining a light on some of the most poignant phrases…
“Once again, the international community is assembled to reaffirm its solidarity with the Palestinian people. This is an emotive and meaningful occasion, serving to underline our commitment to persevering in the collective effort aimed at ensuring that the Palestinian people achieves its basic and inalienable right to its own homeland where it can pursue its destiny in dignity, freedom and peace.
At a time when the world is moving so dramatically from confrontation to cooperation, when the international community has for the first time in many years so impressively united to thwart an act of aggression by one neighbour against another, the Palestinian people is asking how that new spirit of cooperation is going to apply to its case. How are the new high moral standards in international affairs going to be translated into effective action to redress the injustices to which the Palestinians have been subjected for so long?
The tragedy that we are all called to examine is that of a people which, in the turbulence of historical events, has been left totally dispossessed of the homeland to which all aspire; and yet a people which, in the midst of tragedy and injustice, has retained its sense of dignity and nationhood and the collective determination to pursue its legitimate objective until it is finally achieved.
Suffering and anguish have become the common heritage of all the peoples that inhabit the region. For too many years has the logic of war been permitted to sow strife and uncertainty. The appeal of the international community on such a day is for all parties to seek the determination necessary to make new bold efforts that would bring about a just and long-lasting solution.
Our formal commemoration of solidarity with the Palestinian people is therefore not only a necessary political gesture but also a personal expression of our own individual commitment against all forms of injustice. In this perspective there is particular relevance and urgency to the question of how the new sense of international morality is going to be applied to the Palestinian question. Just as peace is indivisible, so also must the commitment to principle be indivisible.
The recent consensus within the Security Council could offer new signs of hope. The sad reality remains, however, that most of the resolutions adopted in the past have yet to be implemented, especially in so far as their substantive aspects are concerned.
It is a great humiliation in life to be denied your homeland.
That humiliation is perhaps even more aggravated by the fact that you receive verbal and written support but are denied the tools which make of that support an instrument to realize rights universally declared to be inalienable.
We are not here to indict particular nations, still less particular organs of the international community. Nevertheless, we have the responsibility, acting under the authority of the General Assembly, to insist on the convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, which has been repeatedly voted for by the General Assembly and yet equally repeatedly denied in its realisation.”
Photo credit: Mario De Marco's Facebook and Suha Arafat, Reuters/Darrin Zammit Lupi
De Marco was known for his stellar work in bridging the Euro-Mediterranean diplomacy gap.
“This great moment is a powerful occasion to commemorate, recollect, and most importantly recognise Professor Guido de Marco’s legacy in Malta’s political life, in the world of diplomacy and politics… and in regional Euro-Mediterranean dialogue and cooperation. He believed that such cooperation is a basic element in creating structures to consolidate regional security and cooperation,” Ambassador of Egypt, Dr. Magdy A. Hefny said in 2011.
Undeniably, de Marco and former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had a strong and amicable political relationship.
In her tribute, Mrs. Suha Arafat, the widow of Yasser Arafat, described Guido de Marco as a courageous man and a great leader.
“When my husband was under siege in Ramallah and everybody was afraid to talk to him, Guido de Marco had the courage to call him every day. He was a loyal man when there was no loyalty at all,” Mrs. Arafat said.
“There are people who make history and Guido de Marco was one of them. And Malta should be proud of great men like Prof. de Marco,” she continued.
And as we watch the horror on our feeds day-in-day out, we cannot help but think, could all of this been avoided? It surely could have, in moments like 33 years ago, when it was already a topic discussed on the highest of panels.
So what happened then? What happens now? And what would de Marco have said today?
Cover photo credits: The Demarcus and Wikipedia