Έκκληση του κ.Θαλή Μυλωνά προς τη Διεθνή Κοινότητα
55η Συνδιάσκεψη του ΟΗΕ
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour and privilege for me to adddress to the partcipants of the 55th Annual Conference of the N.G.O in the headquarters of U.N., about the Olympic Games and the Olympic Truce.
The beginning of the Olympic Games can be placed in the period of Mythology and the dawn of the history,according which,the demigod Hercules was their creator and the King Iphitos of IIeans established them in the year 776 B.C.
The Olympic Games were so significant in the ancient period,that, from the year of 400 B.C. the historical events were mentioned in relation to the Olympic Games.
The Olympic Truce means, the cease fire of all the hostilities among the belligerents, the prohibition of the mobilization of thearmed forces,the prohibition to any one to carry arms and the execution of any mortal punishment.
The Olympic Truce was starting from the day when the proclamation of the Olympic Games,were made public, and was lasting during the first Olympiads for one month,later on it was prolonged to two months and finally to three months.
The purpose of the Olympic Truce was to facilitate the safe arrival and participation in the games of the athletes, the poets, the artists and all the visitors,as well as their departure and the return to their homes safely and without any danger, after the ending of the games.
The day of the proclamation of the Olympic Games,the special heralds,crowned with wreaths from branches of olive trees, used to go around the city-states, the villages and the country sides announcing the proclamation for the Olympic Games and the time for the starting of the Olympic Truce.
During the Olympic Truce the athletes, the poets, the artists, the musicians and all the visitors without any discrimination, were passing free and safely through the enemy city-states, the villages and their territories.
As it well known in ancient Greece, the Olympic Games included also intellectual competition and other cultural events.
On this point, of my speech, I would like to inform you that the Olympic Games of Athens 2004, will also include cultural and intellectual events.
At the Olympic Games of ancient Greece, the participants were coming ,from Greece,from Italy,from the other Mediterranean Countries,from the Countries of north Africa, Egypt, from the countries of Asia Minor, the Middle East,e.t.c. in other words, from all over the known world of that time. These states were obliged to accept and to apply the Olympic Truce.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Olympic Games constitute the foremost cultural event for humanity, since thousand years ago, because it contributed to :
1. The formation of the "ideal man" which implies the harmony of the sound body and the sound mind( kalos & agathos).
2. The development of the "fair play" among the competitors instead of antagonism.
3. The access to participation to any athlete from all over the world, regardless of any discrimination( race,sex,colour, socioeconomic status, religion, e.t.c.).
4. The education of youth with moral ethics.
Finally, the acceptance of the Olympic Truce contributes to the realization of the principles and goals of the U.N. Charter, among which, the international peace and security and the solution of international disputes throygh diplomacy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the light of the tragic period in which we are living and especially after the terroristic attack of September 11th, the International Community is unable to "save the succeding generations from the Scourge of war", therefore the establishment of new peaceful institutions, as it is the Olympic Truce, with the purpose to stop the hostilities, before, during and after the Olympic Games, it would be a very significant step forwards to a peaceful coexistance of the international Community.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to mention, as all of you know, that the General Assembly of the U.N. with the cooperation of UNESCO and the International Committee of the Olympic Games, based on the ancient Greek tradition of ekecheria( which means Truce) unanimously adopted a resolution entitled "building a peaceful and better world through sports and the Olympic ideal", at its 54th Session in N.Y. on November 24, 1999, cosponsored by a record number of 180 member states out of 188, an absolute record in the history of the U.N. Also the General Assembly by its resolutions of 48/11/25 October 1993 and 52/21 of November 25 of 1997 revived the ancient Greek tradition of ekecheria of Olympic Truce calling for all hostilities to cease during the Olympi Games, thereby mobilizing the youth of the world in the cause of peace and urges the member states to take the initiative to abide by the Olympic Truce, individually and collectively and to pursue in conformity with Charter of U.N. the peaceful settlement of the international conflicts through diplomatics solutions etc.
Following the above, as you know, with the cooperation of the international Olympic Committee, the INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF OLYMPIC TRUCE was established in Lausanne of Switzerland, with the purpose to improve its ideals and to apply the Olympic Truce, during the Olympic Games.
Therefore the Greek Committee of the Institute of Inter-Balkan Ralations,in order to support the Olympic Truce and to promote its ideal, took the initiative to call all of you, to sign the Book of Truce, pursuing the international peace and secutiry starting from the Olympic Games of Athens 2004.
The Book of Truce will be available to any one who wishes to sign on the table of the conference Room No 4.
The President of the Institute of Inter-Balkan Relations
Thalis Mylonas