 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
 |
 |
|
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
|
|
Egypt Region International Focus Economy Opinion Culture Features Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Walking away from the future
By Rasha SaadAs the Iraqi delegation stormed out of Sunday's Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo, Arab League officials warned that the sharp divisions between Arab nations stemming from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 are now as deep as ever.
"There had been some progress -- though only a little -- over the past few years towards Arab reconciliation," one senior League official told Al-Ahram Weekly. "However, Iraq's withdrawal has only deepened our divisions and exacerbated the complexity of the situation. It brings us back to right where we were just after the invasion."
In a press conference held immediately after the walk-out, Iraqi Foreign Minister Said Al-Sahhaf told reporters that he had left because he "could not join in this plot against Iraq". He explained, "The statement is intended to cover new US and British attacks on Iraq." Al-Sahhaf also added that the Maghreb countries had tried to object to the final statement, "but, together with Egypt and Syria, in the end they bowed to Gulf pressure and approved a communiqué which, instead of condemning the aggression against Iraq, made us responsible for it."
Though some changes were made to the draft, Iraq refused to be mollified. The final statement voiced deep concern over the use of military force against Iraq. The foreign ministers also called on Iraq to take the necessary steps to prove its good intentions towards Kuwait and other neighbours, both in word and deed. The communiqué announced the establishment of a follow-up committee bringing together representatives from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain -- which represents the Arabs in the UN Security Council -- and one of the Maghreb Union countries, together with the League's secretary-general. The committee will work with the Security Council to lift the sanctions on Iraq. Demands that Iraq "recognise that its occupation of Kuwait was a mistake" were dropped.
The Iraqi stance was criticised by both Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and Esmat Abdel-Meguid, secretary-general of the Arab League. Abdel-Meguid said the final statement aimed to help Iraq and to rebuild Arab ties, but that despite its many positive points, Iraq had chosen to concentrate on a small number of details which failed to meet with its approval.
Iraq announced that it will scale down its diplomatic representation at any future Arab meeting and that henceforth it will be concentrating on relations with Asia, rather than the Arab world.
One Arab diplomat told the Weekly, the behaviour of the Iraqi delegation was entirely predictable. "The Iraqi provocation which preceded the meeting made their withdrawal a logical next step. It simply embodied the regime's attitude towards the Arabs."
The "provocation" in question was the war of words that erupted recently between Iraq and certain Arab countries, especially Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Baghdad accusing them of collaborating with the US against Iraq. Baghdad also announced that it would no longer acknowledge the UN-demarcated borders with Kuwait.
The morning session of Monday's meeting was described by sources as smooth, consisting of "a sort of objective dialogue between Iraq and the Gulf countries." It was also short, lasting only two hours.
However, it was the afternoon session, also held behind closed doors, which brought the latent conflicts out into the open. This session lasted seven hours. Iraq's walkout was provoked by the debate on a clause demanding that Iraq abide by the resolution adopted at the 1996 Arab summit and stop provoking its neighbours. Al-Sahhaf shouted that the 1996 resolution was a "fake", before storming out of the room with his delegation. The Gulf delegations then demanded that this part of the discussion be struck from the minutes.
Three texts were presented to the meeting, one by the Iraqis, one by the Hurghada group and one by the Maghreb countries. According to sources, the Hurghada and Maghreb texts were very similar.
The Iraqi text centered on two main demands: the condemnation of the US-British aggression and the end of sanctions. According to Arab League sources, these demands were taken into consideration when the final statement was drawn up, but it proved difficult to express them in exactly the terms the Iraqis wanted.
Despite accusations that the meeting failed to respond to the feelings of the Arab masses, one political analyst described the outcome as "the best possible, in the circumstances".
Arab League officials concurred with Abdel-Meguid's opinion that the meeting was a success, for it was the first time the League had met collectively to discuss Iraq. According to one official, this is also the first time a bridge will have been created between the Arabs and the UN on this issue. "For the first time," he said, "the Arabs are collectively engaged in deliberations to decide the future of Iraq."
