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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434
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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 Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Egypt's choice
By Amira Howeidy
Although sought by seven candidates of different nationalities, the post of director-general of UNESCO has never captured the attention of the Egyptian press as it has these days. The simple reason is that one of the seven is an Egyptian. But more importantly, another one is a Saudi Arabian. As the Egyptian press represents it, the competition is confined between the two Arabs alone. And in many ways it is.
Dr. Ismail Serageldin
Ismail Serageldin is, among other things, vice-president of the World Bank for special programmes and has the unprecedented support of world intellectuals. So far, 31 Nobel laureates, as well as 200 other prominent figures, have declared solidarity with the man. Egypt's intellectuals, civil society and the press are also backing him up. But the government's position is different, supporting instead the Saudi candidate, Ghazi Al-Qoseibi, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Britain.
For the past few months, the Egyptian press launched a muted campaign in Serageldin's support, listing his merits. Various seminars and cultural salons devoted their discussions to his candidature. But more recently, a tone of impatience with the competition between the two Arab candidates emerged. On Monday, Al-Ahram columnist Ahmed Bahgat published a letter from a reader on the competition, suggesting that since Serageldin already holds an international post, he should withdraw and give Al-Qoseibi a chance. "Is it in our interest that two distinguished Arab Muslims compete over a prestigious international post, with the likelihood of loss in favour of a foreign figure who doesn't believe in our Arab or Islamic culture? This is the obvious result of this conflict," the reader wrote.
The letter was the first to appear in the press, reflecting the odd situation facing the two Arabs and their governments.
Although Egypt had initially decided to put forward his name as a candidate last year, the situation changed when Al-Qoseibi was endorsed by a meeting of Arab education ministers, held in Tripoli last December. Diplomatically, observers say, Egypt cannot reverse its official support for Al-Qoseibi, despite the international and local support for the Egyptian candidate.
The Saudi press, on the other hand, avoided the "conflict" and focused on Al-Qoseibi's promotion. But last week, the London-based Saudi Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published an article by an Egyptian writer, Ahmed Abass Saleh, accusing Serageldin's proponents of "tribalism", subjectivity and of overlooking the importance of maintaining a united Arab position. Al-Ahram's Afkar El-Kharadli responded by quoting Saudi Prince Talal Ibn Abdel-Aziz, head of the Arab Council for Childhood and Development, as supporting the Egyptian candidate. "We will not respond to these accusations because they're not worth it, but we will inform the Egyptian writer of the news conference held by His Excellency the Prince in Cairo," wrote El-Kharadli.
Taking a position different from his government's, the prince argued that since the Arabs want to secure the UNESCO post, they should support the candidate who has the better chance of winning. "Thus, I support and give my blessings to Dr Ismail Serageldin, the Egyptian candidate, because he is the best person for this post," Prince Abdel-Aziz told his audience earlier this month.
The recent visit of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdel-Aziz to Cairo was another reason for Serageldin's supporters to be optimistic. According to Saadeddin Ibrahim, director of the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Development Studies that has launched the pro-Serageldin campaign, Crown Prince Abdel-Aziz "did not push for support for Al-Qoseibi". This is significant because the crown prince's stance divided the Saudi position; there is also growing support among Saudi intellectuals for Serageldin. "Several Arab human rights and women's groups endorsed Serageldin as well. This runs in his favour because people, of course, would want the coming UNESCO secretary-general to represent a country that had signed the international human rights agreements," Ibrahim told Al-Ahram Weekly. The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) endorsed Serageldin a year ago.
The final choice will be made on 15 November. This will be preceded by a vote, in late October, by the executive board of UNESCO: representatives of 58 member states will decide whom the organisation wants to nominate. UNESCO's 186 member states will make the final choice in November.
