Jordan Times
Friday, June 23, 2006
Nobel laureates
conference concludes
By Mahmoud Habboush
PETRA — A gathering of Nobel laureates on
Thursday voiced support for the establishment of a “temporary international
mechanism” to provide for the basic needs of the Palestinian people.
Participants in the second Petra Conference of Nobel Laureates stressed that
implementing the so-called mechanism would ensure that Palestinians are not
punished for the “failure of their government.”
The EU announced on Saturday that a system to deliver direct assistance to
Palestinians was approved by the Quartet.
The plan, however, is “not enough,” according to Nabil Abu Rudeineh, an adviser
to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
“It only covers the healthcare sector which constitutes seven per cent of the
Palestinian Authority’s needs,” said Abu Rudeineh.
“We call for releasing all Palestinian money seized by Israel,” said Abu
Rudeineh, who took part in the conference, which was attended by Abbas and
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
The two-day conference concluded yesterday, with Nobel Peace Laureate Elie
Wiesel reading the closing statement at a ceremony attended by His Majesty King
Abdullah.
The conference included sessions in which Abbas and Olmert took part separately
and engaged in conversations with around 25 laureates.
The gathering, also attended by the Dalai Lama and Deputy Prime Minister of
Thailand Sathirathai Surakiart, declared suicide attacks “a crime against
humanity.”
Both Olmert and Abbas agreed on this when they were asked by Wiesel in the two
dialogue sessions, however, Abbas referred to the suicide attacks more broadly,
mentioning those targeting civilians in Iraq and Jordan.
The conference also called for involving Noble laureates in efforts by Israeli
and Palestinian educators to review and revise academic textbooks.
Abbas said on Wednesday he was ready to reactivate a committee of Palestinians,
Israelis, and Americans formed five years ago to rid Palestinian and Israeli
textbooks of “incitement.”
Olmert, nevertheless, denied yesterday that Israeli textbooks or media contained
such material.
The conference participants also recommended creating a forum involving Noble
laureates that brings together the Israeli and Palestinian civil society via a
“peace partners initiative” to be launched on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea
in November 2006.
In addition, they called for educating for peace by encouraging universities in
the Middle East to establish peace studies institutes.
On education, the conference recommended assessing and replicating the Jordan
Education Initiative (JEI), which increases public financing and links public
and private sector community action to help support teacher education and other
education reforms.