Issue No. 609
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24 - 30 October 2002 Issue No. 609 Region |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Francophones defy US
French speaking nations made their voice heard on Arab soil. Sabine Darrous, in Beirut, reports on the ninth Francophone summit
French-speaking nations ended their three- day Francophone Summit in Beirut on Sunday with a declaration of support for Iraq and the Arab League peace initiative. The ninth International Francophone Organisation (IFO) summit issued a strong-worded resolution that touched on Iraq, the Arab-Israeli conflict, terrorism, the conflict in the Ivory Coast and many other issues.
French President Jacques Chirac, who was a guest of honour, said the summit was "highly political" and has "responded to modern needs". Lebanese President Emile Lahoud spearheaded this recent summit, which was the first to be held in an Arab country. Both Chirac and Lahoud stressed the importance of the summit, and its potential for improving cross cultural communication.
This grouping of over 50 Francophone nations was established in 1986. For the first time in its history, the Paris based organisation issued an explicitly political declaration. Many believe the strength behind this declaration emanates from President Lahoud's insistence that the heads of state hold a private meeting in order to reaffirm the group's doctrines.
The "Beirut Declaration" was amended shortly before the end of the summit to include an article on Iraq. Further last-minute bargaining produced a resolution that calls on Washington to respect UN Security Council resolutions. The text regarding Iraq came as a surprise to many who expected the summit to avoid the issue altogether.
However, many consider the inclusion of text regarding Iraq a success for France, which has been staunch in its opposition to military action in Iraq. The declaration states that "we defend the supremacy of international law and the prevailing role of the United Nations and call upon collective responsibility to resolve the Iraqi crisis, and on Iraq to respect fully its obligations."
Although the resolution clearly rejects any unilateral military action against Iraq, it holds the Iraqi regime responsible for avoiding military conflict. The last minute bargaining also succeeded in gathering broad-based support for the declaration and its language regarding Iraq. France, the Arab nations, and Canada, among others supported the final version of the text.
Human rights, terrorism, and the Arab- Israeli conflict were all addressed in the final version of the declaration. Regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, the declaration calls for "an immediate relaunch of the peace process in accordance with Madrid conference and UN resolutions, namely resolutions 242 and 338 of the UN security Council." The text condemns terrorism and calls for a UN convention to combat terrorism while also reaffirming that any anti-terrorism measures should respect international guidelines on Human Rights. The summit explicitly denounces "violations of the sovereignty of some nations... military attacks and occupation", as well as "illegal abuse of natural resources and violations of human rights".
The International Francophone Summit also addressed the recent troubles in the Ivory Coast and called on international Francophone Organisation's secretary-general to continue mediation efforts. Other resolutions stressed the need for the most industrialised nations, namely the Group of Eight, to expand assistance to African nations. Other resolutions touched on the promotion of peace, human rights, democracy, the French language and education among member nations.
Lahoud said the summit marked a turning point in the history of La Francophonie, not only because it was the first summit to be held in an Arab state but also because it attracted so many heads of states. "Following 11 September, people spoke of clash of civilisations, but here in Lebanon, we just practiced the opposite: a dialogue of cultures." Lahoud was also proud to say that "everyone expects a war or something of the sort from the Middle East, but we have just witnessed the contrary."
Chirac paid special tribute to the participation of Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika, whose country has boycotted the French-led-grouping since its creation in 1986. Algeria and France have maintained a frigid relationship since Algeria gained independence. Algeria's boycott was seen as symbolic of the tensions between the nations. Chirac said that the summit was "exceptional" in its focus on the requirements for peace in the region.
He asserted that France was pressing for maximum restraint in the Iraqi crisis. He added that France's proposal, which advocates two phases of Security Council action ,was "inevitable". The French proposal calls on the Security Council to firstly determine Baghdad's willingness to eradicate its weapons of mass destruction and secondly to weigh a possible military strike against Iraq.
Chirac emphasised the return of UN inspectors and the "full cooperation of the Iraqi authorities, because of the serious doubts about Iraq's willingness to get rid of weapons of mass destruction."
On the economic level, Chirac said the summit was decisive in that it reformed the IFO's operating procedures, making them more effective and more accessible to each of the member countries. On the cultural level, Chirac praised the summit's emphasis on "multilingualism and the international convention on cultural diversity". Chirac said that France has decided to increase its contribution to the budget of the International Francophone Organisation.
At the end of the summit, former Senegalese President Abu-Diouf was elected to the post of secretary-general succeeding former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali. The group will reconvene in two years in Burkina Faso.
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