27 OC-~ 3
J~ j AUS RL I( A
PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA SUNDAY, 25 OCTOBER 1981
ELECTORATE TALK
A peacekeeping force in the Sinai is an essential part of the
Egypt/ Israel peace treaty. This treaty, which requires Israel.
to move out of the Sinai Peninsula completely by next April was
chieved after 30 years of unremitting bitterness and fighting
between the two countries. In view of the distrust-which 30 years
of enmity has inevitably bred, it is not surprising that the
two countries, at the time when they made the peace treaty,
admitted that a peacekeeping force would be necessary to make
the treaty work. And let me emphasise that it is a peacekeeping
force not a fighting force but a group of military personnel
who will be there to observe and monitor the implementation of
the peace accords by the parties who have themselves made the peace.
SThe difficulty of making the treaty work has been made greater by
the assassination of President Sadat but his successor is determined
by pursue the same peace policy. In their search for a more
permanent peace, Egypt and Israel both want a peacekeeping force
to be established and they both want Australia to be part of iLt,
A United Nations sponsored peacekeeping force would obviously be
the best option and I do not believe that anyone would have opposed
Australia playing a part if a U. N. force had been possible. B3ut
the fact is that a U. N. sponsored force is simply not an option.
The Soviet Union would have vetoed it as they vetoed the continuation
of an earlier peacekeeping force in 1979. We cannot allow the
Soviet Union to veto genuine peacekeeping efforts around the
world. The possibility that the United Nations might be prevented from
lending its weight to the establishment of a peacekeeping force
was foreseen at the time of the peace treaty and that is why -there
was provision in the peace treaty accords for the United States,
whose President had played a key role in the achievement of the
treaty, to take steps to establish a peacekeeping force if the
United Nations did not do so.
The Middle East is a region of vast strategic significance for
Australia as it is for the whole world. It is a volatile region
and no other peace proposals apart from those which came out of
Camp David have ever got off the ground. The Camp David accords
are not a solution to all the problems of the Middle East but it
is surely absurd to imagine that one single package solution could
ever be found to all those problems.
There is no concrete plan for peace, other than the Camp David
accords anywhfere on the horizon. And the fact that there is
every reason to suppose that the Egyptian/ Israeli peace treaty
will break down without the establishment of the currently
proposed peacekeeping force, surely means that this peacekeeping
force should be established to undertake its monitoring role.
The question of whether Australia should participate was under
active consideration by the Government for months because ther-e
were weighty considerations on both sides of the balance, but.
I have no doubt that the decision that Australia is willing toparticipate
on the terms which I announced in the Parliament laSt
Thursday is right for Australia, and for the cause of peace.
This decision means that we will participate if Canada and
Britain participate,-although the Government is hopeful that
other European countries, some of which are apparently reconsidering
Ktheir po ' sitions, might equally take part. The decision also means
that the extent and duration of Australia's commitment will be
defined., n advance and this gets rid of the fear which some people
have expressed about an open-ended commitment. The decision also
means that the Australian commander would retain the ultimate
right-to consult with Australian authorities before complying wit~ h
orders which he believed were inconsistent with the agreed
purposes of the force. No part of the peacekeeping force would
have any association with the U. S. rapid deployment force and our
participation would obviously be conditional on continued support
for the peace treaty from Egypt and Israel.
The decision we have made therefore protects Australia's interests.
It provides the greatest possible security for Australian personnel
and its terms are such that every significant barrier that was
seen in tho way of Australian involvement in the peacekeeping
force is avoided.
It is not good enough for those who seek peace to sit back and
leave it to others to achieve. The history of our own century
shows all too plainly that when that passive course is adopted
peace goes by default and the world can fall into war.
So when people ask the question " Why Australia?", the very
simple answer is because we are concerned for peace. It is my
hope that it will not be long before the peacekeeping force is
established so that it can start its work and thus help advance
the cause of peace in the Middle East.
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