Dear Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased, at the outset, to express my overwhelming joy to be here with you who are brave,

as you have incurred the burden to defend peace and freedom values and coexistence between peoples. Adding to the pleasure is the fact that I’m here in Colombia; the country that reinvents itself and reshapes its future away from war and war’s disappointments.

Starting from the eighties of the last century, the Colombians had made great efforts to stop a protracted war, but all those efforts were doomed to failure. Today, the Colombian people has made a new history by giving the world a different picture. 

That Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos won last years’ Nobel Peace Prize is nothing but a global recognition of the Colombian trend towards peace. Just like everyone working for peace in Colombia, President Santos undoubtedly deserves the world’s appreciation, but rather primarily the appreciation of own people who yearns for a new life free of wars and conflicts. 

I would like to tell the Colombian people that achieving a sustainable peace process is the best thing you could ever offer to the world, because if you have done that- and I’m sure you will- you will be a role model for other peoples suffering from the scourge of wars and armed conflicts.

 

Dear friends, 

We have to promise that we would never give up, and that we will keep fighting for human dignity and against injustice, as the world deserves to be in a better position than it is.

As you know, waves of hatred along with trends towards violence and intolerance have recently grown higher, as some people still believe that gaining prestige depends on the force and on terrorizing others. We have been able to realize the similarities between fanatics from all walks of life, and of different religions and colors… they (fanatics) think the same way, and have a mania for enemies, while healthy people think in a positive way and realize how important the world should be free of violence, intolerance and exploitation.

 

Dear friends,

Many in this world embrace the same principles; we are not alone in the battle to build peace and support freedoms and human rights. The growing awareness of many societies towards what we are doing must make us feel confident. 

It is true that this lets us shoulder a big responsibility, which is the need to forge a broad and strong worldwide alliance against violence in all its forms. However, the main task ahead of us now is to prevent recycling killers. It is really sad to rehabilitate individuals who have committed serious violations and grant them certificates of good conduct, under various pretexts.

What should we do about it? We should insist on justice. Experiences have shown that countries, which neglected justice in order to ensure stability, have lost justice and stability alike. In my country Yemen, an immunity was granted to the ousted president and all staff in his thirty-three year reign, in the belief that this would spare the country war and chaos, which has not happen. Instead, a bloody coup took place and an internal war broke out in addition to a collapse of all state institutions.

 

Dear friends, 

There is no real peace without conditions. Those who call for peace regardless of any other considerations end up plunging into a furnace of a new war.

I'm here not to prove that any peace-building process, which is not serious and sustainable, quickly crumbles, this is known to all, but I'm here to say: In order to have a sustainable peace process, several conditions, including justice, should be laid down. Peace cannot stand alone without justice, and if that happens, it will turn into a deal with non-guaranteed results.

 

Dear friends, 

I believed, and I still believe, that despotism and terrorism are two sides of the same coin; despotism creates terrorism, and terrorism protects despotism. They present a threat to peace at both local and global levels. We have to align ourselves with freedoms of peoples, as this is the most effective way to establish peace and eliminate terrorism and intolerance.

I do not know whether we are in agreement on this point or not, but anyway, no one is expected to believe that despotism could be an honest partner in the fight against terrorism. Despotism and terrorism benefit from each other.

I say that in the face of those who are trying to fool us again: we will never accept despotism under pretext of terrorism; we have learned the lesson well. The enemy of freedom is our enemy, and despotism and terrorism have the same attitude towards freedom.

 

Dear friends, 

In conclusion, to mark the 6th anniversary of the Arab Spring revolutions, I would like to salute the masses of people who raised the banner of change in a civilized manner and with all pride, and overthrew despots who remained in office for decades during which they used violence, stole public funds and destroyed the values.

Yes, there are counter-revolutions and wars, but we will eventually get our freedom, and get back our countries they have stolen for long time. I’m confident that peace will prevail in our countries, and justice will take its way without bargaining.

Wish you all the best!