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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 - 31 March 1999 Issue No. 422 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 - 31 March 1999 Issue No. 422
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Win a little, lose a little
By Dina Ezzat
A confrontational approach does not appear to be the way forward in resolving the Iraq crisis or settling the issue of Yasser Arafat's intention to declare a Palestinian state in the near future.
Egyptian and Arab diplomats argue that what is needed is a face-saving approach, whereby both Baghdad and the Palestinian Authority can make compromises without exposing themselves to public humiliation.
In a series of meetings that took place this month, Egyptian diplomacy managed to secure two packages, which could allow both Iraq and the PA to be more flexible without sacrificing too much.
The bottom line for the packages is that Iraq and the PA should stop insisting that their demands be met fully -- irrespective of whether their position is legitimate or not -- in return for making some political gains.
"This is the only way to deal with the two situations now," said an informed source. "We don't need to be confrontational, rather the opposite. We need to cool things down as much as possible. Otherwise, Iraq will continue to be isolated in the Arab world and the PA will make a declaration of independence that will cost it whatever political support it has from the major powers."
Iraq, which has been subjected to almost daily strikes for more than two months, needs to stop antagonising Arab governments, particularly its Gulf neighbours, so that they have no reason to support the strikes against the no-fly zones in the north and south of Iraq.
What could be a change of attitude was reflected towards the end of a conference of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League headquarters last week. "The beginning was rather terrifying," one participant said. The reason was the harsh words exchanged between the Saudi and Iraqi foreign ministers on a two-point agenda demanded by Baghdad. Iraq demanded a clear condemnation of the US strikes and, to dodge the issue of Kuwaiti prisoners of war, suggested that the question of Arabs -- Iraqis, Kuwaitis and Saudis -- allegedly missing in action in the 1990-1991 Gulf War be discussed. The Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, opposed Iraq's demands. Given the Iraqi insistence and the Saudi-Kuwaiti refusal, "the conference could have exploded in everybody's face," a source said.
The way out was a meeting arranged and hosted by Egypt at the Foreign Ministry's headquarters. It grouped Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdel-Meguid and the foreign ministers and representatives of several Arab countries, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The outcome was a face-saving compromise that removed the two items from the text of the conference's resolutions and put them -- after they were blurred in the larger context of the Iraq crisis -- in the report submitted by the League's secretary-general.
So, although the Arab foreign ministers failed to agree on what should be done about Iraq in the future, the Iraqi delegation decided to accept the face-saving compromise. In return, Iraq received promises from several Arab countries that they would put pressure on the Gulf states to be more tolerant towards Baghdad. Promises were also made that some Arab parties would work towards opening channels of dialogue between Iraq and its Gulf neighbours.
In the same way, Arafat, who has repeatedly declared his intention to proclaim a state by 4 May, is coming around to the idea of delaying the proclamation for fear of antagonising the major powers.
In Amman last Saturday, Foreign Minister Moussa, his Jordanian opposite number, Abdel-Ilah Al-Khatib, and the chief Palestinian negotiator Mahmoud Abbas worked out the details of the announcement delaying the declaration of statehood. They agreed on a document in which the Palestinians affirm their intention to "respond to the wishes, explicitly and repeatedly made by several regional and international powers, including the US and the EU," to postpone the proclamation of their state. In return, the EU and Arab countries will announce that they support Arafat's legitimate right to declare an independent state.
Arafat is expected to announce the delay after a vote in the Palestinian National Council, about one week before 4 May.
Egyptian diplomats say they are satisfied with the quality of political support Arafat would receive. The delay will secure support for the Palestinian's right to an independent state from more European capitals than originally expected.
Asked if Egypt was heavily involved in providing Palestinians with a "political cover" for their decision to delay the proclamation, Moussa said the Palestinians "don't need a political cover if they decide to delay the proclamation. What we are talking about is not the principle of statehood but the timing of the declaration of this state."
Officials affirm that Egypt is not interfering in anybody's internal affairs, but is simply living up to its responsibilities as a regional power intent on promoting regional stability.
