Al-Ahram Weekly Online 24 - 30 January 2002 Issue No.570
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue | Previous issue | Site map

Waiting for a sign

Hopes for Arab reconciliation are surfacing once again. An end to the Libyan-Lebanese dispute over the venue of the next Arab summit and news of a potential dialogue between Iraq, on one hand, and the UN and Gulf states, on the other, to overcome Iraq's 11 years of isolation: these are welcome developments for an Arab public that has all but gave up on its dream of unity.

Closer ties, however, require far more than diplomatic moves. Without real political determination, the Arab world will remain fragmented, and consequently weak, no matter how powerful the statements Arab leaders, and for that matter the Arab League, make about the path to unity.

It is, therefore, with much anticipation that the Arabs await the results of a visit Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa made yesterday to Kuwait with a message from Baghdad, where he held talks with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Mere wishful thinking? Many Arabs, at any rate, are hoping that Moussa's mediation will bear fruit. The next Arab summit, scheduled to open on 27 March in Beirut, may bring an end, or at least the beginning of the end, to years of Arab disagreement.

Israel's increasingly brutal aggression against the Palestinians in the occupied territories, and Washington's support and tolerance for Tel Aviv's continued violations of international law, have made the Arabs especially desperate to forge a united front, which, they hope, will bring both Israel and the US to reconsider their policies.

Without a firm commitment to change, it is clear that Moussa's visits to Baghdad and Kuwait will lead nowhere. Moreover, in the absence of real political will, the Arab summit will be just another meeting for officials and can only produce a declaration that falls far short of the people's aspirations.

There are few signs that such political resoluteness is about to surface. Still, in the coming eight weeks, who knows what can happen?

Recommend this page

© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

Send a letter to the Editor

Egypt | Economy | Region | International | Opinion | Letters | Culture Special | Living | Travel | Sports | Profile | Time Out | Chronicles | Cartoons

ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise!

WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg

Al-Ahram Organisation