His Royal Highness,
Her Majesty the Queen,
My fellow recipients of this distinguished prize,


We have almost exhausted all the words in the lexicon of peace. When the festivals draw to their end, after all the prizes have been awarded and the trumpets remain silent, we must return to the harsh reality of everyday life.

We, Chairman Arafat and myself, are trying to change this reality in the Middle East. We have to work sometimes against human nature which seeks vengeance. We try to turn foe to friend. We try to move the hands of time forward and above all not to look back.

For behind us, we have left a hundred years soaked in blood. We have left graveyards. We have left bereaved families. We have left the disabled in body and soul. We have left a conflict which no-one believed, and still many do not believe, can be brought to an end. I believe that we can live another way.

I am convinced that Chairman Arafat is of the same mind -that man can live in another way. Enough of hostility which knows no end. If we did not believe this, we would not stand here together this evening and be awarded this distinguished prize -a prize which we receive gratefully on behalf of both of our peoples and for their sake.

Tomorrow is Friday. In the mosques, moslems will pray at noon. In the synagogues, Jews will welcome the sabbath. We are here on the stage before you in Spain and we pray for those worshippers of both religions. We pray for their peace and welfare, we pray that the peace process that we embarked upon over a year ago, will succeed. It is in its early stages -vulnerable, fragile, and we have to protect it, for the alternative is too harsh to even contemplate.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

From here, from Spain, from Madrid, from the Madrid Conference, we have set out on this journey, from which there can be no return, and which we shall continue, despite the many enemies of peace. We knew that a hundred years of bloodshed would not be wiped out by a single handshake. We knew that bitter memories do not vanish with a smile before a camera. But we did not believe just how bitter would be those enemies of peace.

We shall fight and prevent them from continuing to carry out bloodshed, death, hatred, suffering and agony -and we simply want it to be otherwise. We shall continue to seek a life of harmony, a life of equality, a life of peace.

We hope that all peoples of the civilized world, including the Spanish people, will come to our assistance. Poverty and famine are also the strident enemies of our common dream. All assistance to the peoples seeking peace -the Israeli and the Palestinian people- is a blessing for us all. An investment in peace is an investment in life.

We have much yet to achieve. There are tough moments -moments that border on despair. It is not easy to continue when you see peoples bodies blown apart by a terrorist bomb. We are determined to continue in our quest for peace, as we look at the smiles on faces of children, both in Jerusalem and in Jericho; we are determined when we hear the applause of our peoples encouraging us onwards to continue both in our homes and here in Spain.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we shall continue.

This strip of land in Spain has known wars, battles and bloodshed and has lived now for generations in peace. The people see a blessing in their lives. Here from Asturias, we return tomorrow to our different homes, to our different prayers, to our mosque and to our synagogues but also to our common dream.

The Spanish Author Cervantes once wrote of soldiers that have fallen in war:

"...The greatest display of valour and daring to be found in all the hazards of war. Blessed were the times which lacked the dreadful fury of these diabolical engines and the artillery..."

May we blessed by such times and may we have the bravery of these before us who fell for their country, to embrace the peace at hand.

This prize recognizes their immense sacrifice and for that I thank those that decided to reward this prize to me on behalf of my country.