13 - 19 September 2001
Issue No.551
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 13 - 19 September 2001 Issue No.551 |
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A new Arab order in the making?
Optimism about intra-Arab relations is running high following a meeting of the foreign ministers of Arab League member-states. Dina Ezzat reports
"I am very, very pessimistic about the situation [in the occupied territories] but I am optimistic about the future of Arab relations and economic integration," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said on Tuesday. Moussa was addressing a gathering of Arab businessmen about the ongoing reform of the Arab League.
Moussa's statements came only hours after the conclusion of the work of the regular Arab foreign ministers council that took place at the Arab League on Sunday and Monday. The meeting was the first gathering of the council to be headed by Moussa since he took office four months ago.
And according to one Arab League source, the winds of change are blowing through the organisation. "I have been attending Arab foreign ministers meeting for over 10 years and I can tell you that this meeting is one of the best I have participated in," commented one Arab League source. Why was it different? The source answered: "Well, it was conducted in a very amicable manner. It was not marred by confrontations, as it has been in the past, and it was serious in the sense that a wide variety of issues of concern to the Arab world, not just the Palestinian problem, were given in-depth treatment."
Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Arab economic cooperation, Arab-African and Arab-European relations, information technology, women's rights and even the impact of the US- proposed missile defence arm were on the foreign ministers' agenda.
At the end of the intensive talks, which forced Arab foreign ministers and delegations to skip lunch and catch a late dinner on Monday night, no major new resolutions were adopted or announced, although resolutions were adopted that essentially reaffirmed the league's stances on a number of issues. Foreign ministers also scheduled a number of meetings including one in New York for 25 September on the fringe of the UN General Assembly and others to be held in various Arab capitals towards the end of the year.
Concerning the Palestinians plight, financial, diplomatic and political support were all pledged. "The council strongly condemns Israeli aggression which reflects the Israeli government's continuing policy of ignoring all internationally recognised resolutions related to the status of Jerusalem," read a special communiqué issued by the foreign ministers on the Palestinian situation.
Iraq's proposals for Arab mediation to resolve the issue of Iraqi, Kuwaiti and Saudi nationals missing since the 1991 Gulf War were referred to King Abdullah of Jordan, the current chair of the Arab summit. The Jordanian monarch is charged with reviewing the matter and writing a report on it in preparation for leading discussions about how to resolve this bone of contention at the Arab summit to be held in Beirut in March 2002. King Abdullah's leading role concerning this issue comes within the context of his having being delegated responsibility for following up on Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations during the last Arab summit, which was held in Amman.
Although Iraq had wanted the foreign ministers' council to discuss the issue, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sought a postponement -- a stance that Iraq did not oppose. One source predicted that Iraq's response may mark the beginning of a new phase in the way Iraq and other countries deal with this contentious issue.
Thus the handling of this issue deftly balanced the concerns of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that discussion of the matter be delayed while at the same time avoided raising Iraq's ire about the possibility that its proposals might be shelved indefinitely.
Foreign ministers also proposed a number of initiatives to tackle developmental aspirations and security issues. An organisation directed towards developing IT capacities in the Arab world is in the works and a fund affiliated with the Arab league that provides technical assistance to African countries is slated for a budget increase.
In the security arena, Arab foreign ministers requested that the Arab League conduct a careful study of the US-proposed missile defence shield and its potential impact on the national security of Arab countries. Towards ending the conflict in Somalia, Moussa decided to dispatch an envoy to the war-torn country.
Arab concern about the European Union's (EU) unconstructive stance on the Palestinian issue was highlighted by a collective decision on the part of all Arab countries that are party to partnership agreements with the organisation. These countries decided that they may absent themselves from a partnership meeting scheduled to take place in Brussels in November.
"This is a clear message about Arabs' serious concern over EU policies [on the Middle East] that are witnessing a serious setback -- particularly if we take into consideration the attitude of Europeans at the anti-racism conference in Durban," Moussa told a press conference on Monday. Moussa was critical of an EU threat to follow the US and Israel in their decision to boycott the conference in protest against Arab attempts to label Israel a racist state.
Arab frustration with US policies on the Middle East, however, was only expressed in vague terms. Secretary-General Moussa has recently all but accused Washington of giving a green light to the Israeli government to implement what he terms as "its destructive scheme to wreck all efforts exerted in the peace process during the past decade" and its attempts to "push Palestinians to accept the Israeli version of peace and oppress the Palestinians' spontaneous resistance against foreign occupation." However, in the Monday press conference, Moussa declined to answer a question about the reasons the foreign ministers' council is not sending the US a message as clear as the one it sent to the EU.
As one Arab diplomatic source commented, "You have to realise that while all Arab countries can oppose the Europeans, none can be too critical of the US -- and some would actually be opposed to any such attempt."
All in all there is a palpable sense of satisfaction regarding the outcome of this meeting. Arab foreign ministers speaking to the press during the gathering made positive statements suggesting that all issues are being dealt with in a collective and constructive manner. And the Arab League secretary- general, who says that more could be done to improve the league meetings and decision- making processes, is declaring that he is satisfied. He also says that he can see a change of attitudes in the making.
As the secretary-general explained, "When I undertook the challenge [of reforming the Arab League] I was told I was seeking the moon. I was even told that the Arab world has reached a stage of disintegration and lacks political will to the extent that any talk of reform would be very difficult if not down right impossible. But I have one reply: I accepted this challenge not because it was easy, but because it is a challenge that cannot be left unmet."
According to Moussa, the deteriorating political situation in the region due to Israeli policies makes it all the more imperative that Arab countries close ranks to overcome their political differences and consolidate their economic ties.
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