Issue No.587
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23 -29 May 2002 Issue No.587 Region |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Defining the Arab bottom line
Arab foreign ministers met in Beirut to discuss how to proceed with the Saudi peace initiative. Zeina Abu Rizk reports from Beirut
The Arab Peace Initiative Follow-Up Committee held a meeting in Beirut last weekend to discuss how to promote Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's proposal for a Middle East peace settlement. Arab foreign ministers participating in the meeting said they wanted to develop the Saudi initiative from a purely Arab peace proposal into an internationally recognised peace plan.
Arab foreign ministers from Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen joined Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa in the Lebanese capital for the committee's opening meeting.
According to senior Arab officials who took part in the two-day session, participants agreed on the need to build upon the Arab peace initiative and settle outstanding points of friction. The participants also agreed on the necessity of launching a public relations offensive in order to familiarise the Bush Administration and American public opinion with the proposal. Al-Ahram Weekly sources noted that participants agreed that a team should visit Madrid, Moscow and Washington in a bid to win over wide-ranging endorsement of Crown Prince Abdullah's initiative. Such a move would aim at thwarting potential opposition to this initiative in the UN and would go some way to transforming it from a narrowly Arab-associated plan to an internationally-backed peace bid.
Arab officials also discussed US Secretary of State Colin Powell's recent proposal to convoke a peace conference within the next two months. The general conclusion was a reiteration of the stand proclaimed at the recent Egyptian-Saudi-Syrian summit in Sharm El- Sheikh, where it was agreed that any Middle East peace conference that was not based on the Arab peace initiative should be boycotted.
A senior Arab source who took part in the Beirut meeting described this initiative as a "minimum that Arab countries, whose lands are partly occupied by Israel, can accept." The source said that this initiative constitutes a framework for a comprehensive solution and asserted that Arabs would not agree on any substantial amendments to it. If some amendments were necessary, these would only involve clauses of secondary importance," the source said.
Another senior Arab official dismissed the US call for a peace conference as nothing more than a superficial media-led ploy, criticising the lack of detail provided by the Bush Administration on the conference it plans to convoke.
Discussions in Beirut also focused on what the US role should be in seeking a solution to the deteriorating situation in the occupied territories and along the Israeli-Lebanese border. The Saudi, Moroccan and Jordanian foreign ministers were particularly vocal about asking for a "methodical" and long-term approach towards convincing the US administration to respond to Arab conditions for peacemaking.
These conditions can be summarised as the desire to safeguard Palestinians rights, putting pressure on Israel to withdraw from all occupied Arab territories and insisting that the international community acknowledge that the Palestinian armed resistance is a direct result of the Israeli occupation rather than, as Israel claims, a form of terrorism .
The results of the Beirut discussions were aligned with previous talks held in Washington between US President George W Bush and King Abdullah II of Jordan, Crown Prince Abdullah and King Mohamed VI of Morocco.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al- Faisal said that, judging from recent discussions in Washington, it would be safe to say that US President Bush's position regarding the situation in the region has improved. "But this is not enough, because President Bush is not the only decision-maker in the US. The peace initiative should also be promoted at the administration, Congress and US public opinion level as well as through the American media," Faisal insisted.
He added that Crown Prince Abdullah's initiative has produced "a hole in the (US) wall," but efforts should be consolidated if this achievement is to have lasting impact and "we should focus on having a new political dialogue."
Faisal reiterated his country's rejection of any peace conference that does not include the Arab peace initiative.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Bin Issa said his country told the US administration that the Arab peace initiative should constitute the basis for any comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. "This initiative was unanimously endorsed during the Arab summit in Beirut and as such, could not be neglected," he said, adding that "I believe the Americans understand this point."
Rumours that the Beirut meeting was characterised by arguments -- particularly by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq Al-Sharaa's reservations about some of the points raised -- were refuted by Arab officials who took part.
Sharaa insisted on striking a balance between Syria and other Arab countries offering the US invaluable intelligence services and getting nothing in return. "We understand what you said about the need to promote the peace initiative and stimulate US public opinion, but this should not be at the detriment of Arab constants and without seeking anything in return. We have to remain committed to a comprehensive retrieval [of lands lost in the Six Day War] in return for comprehensive peace," Sharaa said. Responding to comments that the US administration would like to see Arab countries condemn suicide operations, Sharaa insisted on the line that the Intifada should not be stopped without any palpable benefits.
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