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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Focus Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Moussa lauds PA decision
By Gamal Essam El-Din
Foreign Minister Amr Moussa strongly praised the Palestinian leadership's decision to delay the declaration of a state beyond 4 May, the end of the five-year interim period under the Oslo Accords. "This decision is very intelligent. It won worldwide acclaim and stripped the hardline Israelis of any opportunity to implement their threats of retaliation and destroying the peace process altogether," said Moussa.
Addressing a joint meeting of parliament's Arab, foreign affairs and national defence committees on Monday, Moussa explained that the Palestinian Central Council will remain in session until after the Israeli elections, scheduled for 17 May. "So, the proclamation will not come in months, but will be made in a short time because they (Palestinians) have already obtained the worldwide support required for it," Moussa said.
Moussa argued that the Palestinian leadership had managed, over the last few months, to build up international support for a Palestinian state sometime in the future. "This success was very clear when the 15-nation European Union (EU) angered Israel in March by affirming in clear-cut terms that the Palestinians have the right to declare an independent state. It was a blow to Israeli foreign policy which has lately exceeded all reasonable limits in dealing with the Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese," Moussa said.
He said that the US reaction to the EU statement was very positive. "They refrained from objecting to it and even went as far as to describe the Israeli policy of establishing settlements (in the Occupied Territories) as destructive. In the past, they had described this policy as illegal and later as obstructive to the peace process. Very recently, they described it as destructive. As you see, US policy is constantly progressing in favour of the Palestinians," Moussa told the assembled MPs.
"The Palestinians have managed, in the last three years, to expose the aggressive Israeli policies to the entire world and have won a consensus that a real peace in the Middle East can never be achieved without establishing a Palestinian state. The incumbent Israeli leaders thought at a certain time that Egypt's role in the Arab-Israeli conflict was to deliver Yasser Arafat to them on a silver platter. This Israeli dream never came true and, as a result, we came under an avalanche of insults," said Moussa.
He added that whatever the outcome of the Israeli elections, Egypt would be ready to deal with the Israeli government. "If the new government maintains the current anti-peace policies, we will join forces with the Palestinians in exposing their negative consequences to the entire world. If the new government proves to be positive, we will be very active in coordinating with it to work out a final peace settlement in the Middle East," Moussa said.
He asserted that the present conditions in the Arab world are generally "disappointing and unhealthy." "However, there is always a keenness to escape from this situation. The Arab League Council met for the first time in March to debate the dangerous situation in Iraq," Moussa said. He recommended that efforts for building up strong and sound inter-Arab relations should focus on creating "common interests, especially at the economic and business levels." "The Arab peoples should be able soon to strongly feel that they have become engaged in strong, direct and common economic relations," Moussa argued. "President Mubarak's call for establishing a common Arab market is part of these efforts and represents the key for true Arab solidarity."
Turning to the current conflict in the Balkans, Moussa argued that NATO's intervention in Kosovo has largely led to marginalising the role of the United Nations in international conflicts and has set a dangerous precedent. "Is this the beginning of the end of history and the start of the clash of civilisations? If yes, what will be the future of the developing nations in both the short and long-term?" Moussa asked.
In the same breath, he sharply criticised NATO for tardiness and for allowing the Kosovo crisis to escalate. "The entire world has for months followed the severe and harsh Serbian policies of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and clearly noted the negative reaction of the major Western powers," said Moussa. He indicated that the foreign ministers of France and Canada assured him during talks in Cairo this week that NATO's intervention in Kosovo should not be taken as a precedent.
In the light of these dramatic international developments, Moussa said that Egyptian diplomacy is heavily involved in forging closer and more balanced relations between the Arab countries of the Mediterranean and Europe. "The foreign ministry began focusing on this dimension early in the 1990s. These new Arab-European relations mostly focus on economic and business relations at the moment, but soon they will be expanded to include political and security aspects," Moussa said.
NATO's intervention in Kosovo came under severe parliamentary fire during the meeting. Several deputies argued that NATO's intervention came too late and pushed the Serbs to commit shameful massacres against Kosovo's Muslims. "All of us see America now as a cowboy holding a whip and ready to lash at all those who think of defying its power," said Ismailia's MP Sawsan El-Kilani. She asked Moussa if he thought that "Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is about to be lashed by this American whip in case he declares an independent Palestinian state on 4 May." Moussa responded by arguing again that NATO's intervention in Kosovo should not be taken as a precedent. He emphasised that the US position on the Palestinians is increasingly moving in their favour.
MP Hassan Abaza made the surprising suggestion that Egypt join NATO and become the first Arab member of this giant military alliance. "This alliance acts now as an acknowledged alternative to the United Nations. Why shouldn't we hurry and join it?" asked Abaza. Moussa responded that this would be impossible. "Egypt, however, has good relations with the leading members of this alliance and is always keen on conducting a political dialogue with them," he said.
Moussa concluded by answering several questions related to Egypt's relations with Iran and Sudan. "Iran is a very important country and can never be ignored by Egypt. It has the same sentiments towards Egypt. We are currently in the process of developing strong joint economic relations. We agree that all obstacles should be surmounted and that political relations should be back to normal again," Moussa said. On Sudan, Moussa said that it would remain Egypt's most important neighbour. "We always ask our brothers in Sudan to solve their problems peacefully and protect Sudan against the dangers of division," he added.
