1 - 7 February 2001
Issue No.519
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 1 - 7 February 2001 Issue No.519 |
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Courting sympathies
Bringing to a close a week-long European tour, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is expected back in Cairo today. Moussa flew to Switzerland to take part in the convention of the World Economic Forum, held annually in Davos, but also stopped in Sweden, Norway, France and Spain. Moussa lobbied top European and international officials on the issues of Iraq, Sudan and the Middle East peace process during his talk-intensive tour, stressing regional stability as his main objective.
Egypt has been keen to encourage the ongoing EU-Sudan dialogue, hoping that furthering talks will help to overcome the misunderstandings that have plagued relations between Khartoum and Europe. In Stockholm last Wednesday, Moussa urged Sweden, which recently took over the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), to move towards securing territorial and political stability in both Sudan and Iraq. Moussa underlined the need for the EU to adopt a more progressive stance towards lifting the decade-long economic sanctions on Iraq and extending much-needed aid to the beleaguered Palestinian Authority, which has suffered huge economic losses as a result of massive Israeli repression of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
The Middle East peace process seemed to be the one regional file that Swedes were most willing to cooperate on. "All the Swedish officials the foreign minister spoke with emphasised Stockholm's willingness to use the EU presidency to play a role in the peace process," a diplomatic source commented, noting that the aim is to keep the Palestinians and Israelis talking. Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami are expected to arrive in Stockholm in the coming days.
On the issue of Iraq, however, Sweden was non-committal. "When you talk about Iraq, European officials say that they sympathise with the humanitarian situation, but no one will say what they are prepared to do about it -- either short term or long term," one source commented.
In Oslo, Moussa raised the same issues with top Norwegian officials -- particularly relevant as Norway currently chairs the committee on Sudan in a European forum that coordinates with Sudan's southern neighbours. Traditionally this forum has called for dividing Sudan into a northern Arab country and a southern Christian and animist country in order to end the political and economic problems in the southern region. Egypt strongly opposes separation, in the belief that such a separation will encourage further civil strife in southern Sudan. "Moussa briefed the concerned Norwegian officials about joint Egyptian-Libyan efforts to restore civil stability in Sudan while maintaining the country's territorial integrity," a diplomatic source commented, saying that the Norwegians had stressed the need to address alleged human rights abuses in the south. The foreign minister insisted that a better political rapport with Sudan is the long term answer to Sudan's internal problems.
Norway also currently chairs the United Nations committee for sanctions on Iraq and is presently a member of the UN Security Council. "Seeking the removal of economic sanctions on Iraq, while maintaining that Baghdad will honour its international commitments on disarmament, has become a clear Egyptian foreign policy objective," the source said. This was the message that Moussa put across in Oslo.
This week, Norway opened an interest section in Baghdad, saying the new bureau will allow them to determine the level of suffering in Iraq and what needs to be done about it. This information, they say, will then be presented to the Security Council.
The need to restore stability in the occupied territories and give a boost to Palestinian-Israeli peacemaking also figured high on the agenda of Moussa's talks in Oslo. "Norway has shown a keen interest in the Middle East peace process," Moussa said before departing for Europe. "It is, therefore, important to discuss the latest developments in the peace process with Norwegian officials." He added, "Moreover, the Norwegian foreign minister is a member of a fact-finding committee [established to examine the state of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories over the past few months]. It is essential to hear what he has to say." Like other concerned European countries, Norway will be choosing its next moves carefully in light of the upcoming Israeli election. A victory for Likud leader Ariel Sharon will translate into even harder times for the peace process.
Similar issues were pursued by Moussa in Paris and Madrid, as well as during last week's Davos convention. At a seminar on the Middle East held by the World Economic Forum, Moussa gave a presentation entitled "The Middle East 10 years after the second Gulf War", addressing the need to consider lifting sanctions on Iraq. Moussa's short statement on Iraq in Davos was a clear request for a change of US policy in favour of removing the economic sanctions.
"Regional stability is a key foreign policy concern for Egypt," commented an Egyptian diplomatic source. "Attaining this stability is not only about ending the Arab-Israeli conflict in a way that respects the rights and security interests of all the countries in the region -- a difficult task as it is. It is also about re-integrating Iraq in the Arab world and helping Sudan to play a more constructive regional role by encouraging an end to its domestic disputes."
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