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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 Jan. - 2 Feb. 2000 Issue No. 466 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 Jan. - 2 Feb. 2000 Issue No. 466
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Pressing on for an Arab summit
By Nevine KhalilPresident Hosni Mubarak embarked earlier this week on visits to Syria and Jordan for talks on the deteriorating state of the Middle East peace process and to stir up support for an Arab summit. The visits are part of the ongoing consultations among Arab leaders to throw their weight behind Arab negotiators, but also served to refute reports about tension in Cairo-Damascus relations.
The president held four rounds of talks on Saturday and Sunday morning with Syria's Hafez Al-Assad in Damascus and then flew to Amman for discussions with King Abdullah of Jordan before heading back to Cairo. In the Egyptian capital, Mubarak was briefed on Tuesday by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who returned to the region after talks in Washington and Brussels.
Arafat reported "in detail" on his discussions with the US administration and European Union officials as well as on the state of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. Palestinian Ambassador to Cairo Zohdi Al-Qedra said the Mubarak-Arafat meeting came at a "sensitive time, when problems on the Palestinian track have become very complicated".
Mubarak's chief political adviser, Osama El-Baz, said that the Palestinians believe "non-stop marathon talks" are the best way to meet the 13 February deadline for a framework agreement. He added that the Palestinians wanted to resume talks "in good faith" and expressed hope that the Israelis would "reciprocate".
On his flight back home on Sunday, Mubarak told the accompanying press delegation that Egypt stands firmly behind the Palestinian and Syrian negotiators, upholding the land-for-peace formula and affirming that the Palestinian issue is at the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict. "Egypt is in constant contact with all concerned parties and can play a role in establishing peace, even though the United States is the sponsor of the negotiations," he said.
Mubarak and Abdullah agreed that Israel must implement signed agreements and respect previously approved timetables. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries that have signed peace treaties with Israel, respectively in 1979 and 1994. Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel-Raouf Al-Rawabdeh said that the two leaders "emphasised the necessity for all Arabs to stand by the Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian negotiators".
Mubarak with Assad in Damascus
Mubarak and Abdullah in Amman
Mubarak's visit to Damascus served to refute reports about the lack of warmth in Egyptian-Syrian relations. "There is nothing to mar the atmosphere," El-Baz said. "Damascus has not obstructed an Arab meeting, but was always in favour of closing Arab ranks." Cairo and Damascus agreed that the next round of Syrian-Israeli talks should be "decisive in judging Tel-Aviv's intentions". Talks on the Syrian track ground to a halt last week after Syria said negotiations were pointless as long as Israel failed to pledge a total withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
El-Baz rejected Israel's claim that it cannot compromise on more than one negotiating front as a "fallacy", arguing that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak "can push through a Syrian-Lebanese-Palestinian peace deal as one package". Mubarak's adviser believes that Israel's stalling is "an attempt to make the remaining tracks compete to clinch peace deals before they miss the boat". He said that it was not true that Cairo supported the interests of the Palestinian negotiations at the expense of the Syrians, "since there is no competition between the two tracks ... and progress on the Syrian track is a vital part of [progress] for all the Arabs."
Palestinian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nabil Shaath affirmed that Egypt is "the main partner and number one ally of the Palestinian leadership in all our moves in the peace process".
During their extensive talks, Al-Assad assured Mubarak that Syria was very interested in progress on all tracks and briefed Mubarak on the situation in Syrian-Israeli negotiations, saying he expected the two sides to head back to Washington "soon". Foreign Minister Amr Moussa denied that Egypt would play a vital role in relaunching the talks, saying that there were "direct contacts between the Syrians and Americans". El-Baz said that Syria is "willing to agree to fair measures [to ensure Israel's security] as long as they do not violate its sovereignty over its territories".
The other issue on Mubarak's agenda is the organising of an Arab summit in the near future. In his capacity as chairman of the 1996 Arab summit, Mubarak toured Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates earlier this month to rally support for another full-fledged Arab meeting. During recent talks, Mubarak, Al-Assad and Abdullah emphasised the necessity of reviving Arab solidarity in order to better deal with the challenges facing the peace process, as well as post-peace economic challenges.
Mubarak affirmed that it was necessary to hold an Arab summit soon because "the Arab world needs it now". El-Baz said that Syria and Egypt "have a vital role to play in crystallising a unified Arab position in the peace process". Moussa asserted that the state of affairs in the region "requires coordination among all [Arabs]" and described the Mubarak-Assad meeting as "a step towards holding a full-fledged Arab summit". He added, however, that such a gathering will require more consultations "because this does not only concern Egypt and Syria, but many other countries too".
Mubarak told reporters that Egypt will take part in the multilateral talks, which are expected to begin in the next few days in Russia, "as soon as they are launched". Moussa explained that "once Israel begins to make [positive] moves," Arab countries should feel free to normalise relations with Tel Aviv. El-Baz emphasised that a regional order must be based on "balance" and not "the superiority of one party over the others".
UNESCO PLANS: The recently elected director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Koichiro Matsuura, kept a busy schedule during a visit to Cairo on Monday. He met with President Hosni Mubarak, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the ministers of higher education, culture and foreign affairs and attended an education conference.
Matsuura said he chose Egypt as one of his first destinations after taking office because it is "an important country in the region and for UNESCO". During his meeting with Mubarak, Matsuura invited the president to address the International Education Conference which will be held on 26 April in Dakar, capital of Senegal.
He discussed with Mubarak the prospects of cooperation between his organisation and Egypt in a number of projects, including the Alexandria Library and the Reading for All campaign. Matsuura told reporters that UNESCO was interested in evolving Mrs Mubarak's domestic initiative into a world campaign for literacy.
In talks with Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, the UN official approved a number of new projects, including plans to construct a new Egyptian museum at the beginning of the Cairo-Fayyoum highway. The new museum, covering an area of 117 feddans, will showcase some 100,000 Pharaonic pieces. Two international committees will be in charge. The first will include honorary international figures such as presidents, the directors of the World Bank and UNESCO and other members chosen by Mubarak. The second committee will consist of Egyptologists and architects to oversee construction. Training courses and scholarships will be offered to the museum's staff.
Matsuura also approved plans to transfer the regional head office of UNESCO publications from Lebanon to Egypt.
By Nevine El-Aref
POLICE PAID HOMAGE: President Hosni Mubarak celebrated Police Day with the top brass on Tuesday, decorating 85 police officers, including 17 who have died in the line of duty. In an address marking the 48th anniversary of the occasion, Mubarak said security forces "shoulder the responsibility of ridding the country of the dangers of fanaticism and terrorism". He urged them to continue in their role, in cooperation with educational, media and non-governmental bodies, in order to ensure that "youths are not pushed towards subversive or criminal acts".
"Any criminal striving to cause social strife will fail because Egyptian society will stamp out any such attempt," Mubarak added.
Interior Minister Habib El-Adli agreed that the "solidarity of Egyptian society is intact. Any attempt to interfere with it will be mercilessly crushed by the people and the police".
Mubarak noted that "justice is the basis of rule in Egypt, and all citizens are treated alike since everybody is equal before the law".
Prior to the ceremony, the president chaired a meeting of the Supreme Police Council, briefing members on recent foreign policy moves, including his visits to Syria and Jordan earlier this week.
