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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 July - 4 August 1999 Issue No. 440 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 July - 4 August 1999 Issue No. 440
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Honouring Arab unity
By Zeina KhodrTHERE could be no better person to receive an award for his role in promoting the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser's championing of the cause of pan-Arabism than his longtime friend and adviser Mohamed Hassanein Heikal. So said the jury that awarded Heikal with the prize in a lavish ceremony at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut, writes Zeina Khodr from the Lebanese capital.
The first recipient of the Gamal Abdel-Nasser Award, granted by the Arab Unity Studies Centre, Heikal declined the $50,000 (drawn from a million-dollar fund set up by an anonymous Arab donor) that accompanies the honour, suggesting that the centre could channel it back into its activities. The award will be given to an Arab intellectual or author every two years in memory of the 1956 nationalisation of the Suez Canal.
In typically modest form, he told the audience: "I think it would have been better if the jury had granted it to [former South African President] Nelson Mandela, since he was a comrade of Abdel-Nasser in struggle, even though they never met." Heikal added a further disclaimer: "I dislike ceremonies and awards, but I have a weak point when it comes to Nasser and that is why I cannot reject [the award]. Anyway, the biggest award in my life was my relationship with the late Egyptian leader."
Lebanon's Prime Minister Selim Al-Hoss, the head of the jury, decorated Heikal with a sash and presented him with a plaque in honour of his writings in support of Arab unity and the Arab position in its conflict with Israel. George Habash, head of the Damascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), attended the ceremony. It was his first visit to Lebanon since he was forced to leave during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Beirut.
Heikal's acceptance speech included a brief recollection of pan-Arabist goals. "Nasser had a vision," he explained. "He dreamed of some form of unity among the Arabs as a basis for national security. And his policies were always based on three points -- justice, freedom and prosperity."
Lebanese Prime Minister Selim El-Hoss awarding Heikal the first Gamal Abdel-Nasser Prize in a ceremony in Beirut (photo: Reuters)
Heikal also warned that a new war is in the making. "There are attempts to erase the past and turn it into a nightmare. At the same time, there is a bid to build barriers in the face of revived Arab nationalism. The goal is to prevent the emergence of an Arab nation in which all the Arabs will be united. We should be concerned, because there will be great challenges ahead."
The winner in this struggle, he predicted, will not only seize geographical areas, but will "control history, culture and the people's imagination".
The outlook for the future of the Middle East peace process is also bleak, Heikal asserted. "The formula of exchanging land for peace is not new. It was first mentioned by the Jewish Agency even before Israel was created in 1948. Israel captured Egyptian territory with the aim of using it as a bargaining chip to make it give up the Palestinian cause."
There is a big difference, Heikal explained, between land Israel occupies to use as a card in negotiations and land that it intends to control on a permanent basis.
