		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 25 June - 1 July 1998 Issue No.383
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Peacekeepers' Farewell

President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday said that the deadlock in the Middle East peace process cannot be broken until Israel restores Arab rights. "Peace will not prevail in the region unless the Palestinians are given their rights," Mubarak said. "Barring this, problems will continue and only God knows when they will end."

In his capacity as supreme military commander, the president inspected an Egyptian unit attached to an international peacekeeping force before it left for the Central African Republic, where it will join troops from 10 other African and European countries. Mubarak told the troops that Egypt "champions peace, not war or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

He praised the performance of Egyptian peacekeeping forces, citing their successes in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Somalia, as well as in other African states. "Our peacekeeping troops excel anywhere they go," he said, adding that Egypt always strives to take part in peacekeeping efforts "because we are convinced that it is impossible to ensure a prosperous life for people except through peace."

Attending the farewell ceremony were the country's top brass, including Minister of Defence Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Magdi Hatata.