22 - 28 March 2001
Issue No.526
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 22 - 28 March 2001 Issue No.526 |
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Arab reconciliation
After the eruption of the Intifada, I believe the next Arab summit must ultimately focus on Arab reconciliation. This, indeed, would be its greatest achievement, since reconciliation has come to provide the only framework in which Arab interests might be pursued effectively. This is also the most appropriate way of dealing with 10 years of tension between Iraq and Kuwait: perhaps in a context of closer Arab unity, the wounds will begin to heal. And it must never be forgotten that we are on the threshold of a new political phase in which such unity will be not only desirable but necessary for achieving Arab aims.
First, we must abandon a claim that nobody really believes. In truth, Iraq poses no threats to its neighbours. International observers have testified that Iraq possesses no weapons of mass destruction. The real issue -- and it will be the job of the next Arab summit to resolve it appropriately -- is the lack of trust between Iraq and its neighbours. Perhaps the Arab League could clear the air: governments must start to think laterally and constructively, pursuing shared interests and abandoning their fear of the pointless notion that Kuwait actually comprises Iraq's 19th governorate. Once Iraq, in its turn, declares its respect for Kuwait's sovereignty, perhaps the Arab states can hazard their first step in the direction of true reconciliation.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
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