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The road to Annapolis

PALESTINIAN President Mahmoud Abbas was in Cairo on Tuesday for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on the latest preparations for the expected Arab-Israeli peace meeting tentatively scheduled to convene in Annapolis, Maryland, some time this month.

According to statements made by Abbas following his talks with Mubarak, the road to Annapolis is still to be paved. Arabs, Abbas said, will not go to Annapolis to offer Israel free normalisation. Any normal Arab-Israeli relations, Abbas argued, would have to be cushioned with a Palestinian-Israeli understanding on final status issues, including the Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 War and the status of East Jerusalem, proclaimed as the capital of a would-be independent Palestinian state.

Invitations have not yet been issued by the State Department. The meeting, according to senior Egyptian officials, is still surrounded by ambiguities: no specific date, no terms of reference for the talks, no detailed agenda and no clear outcome has been set.

So far, most concerned Arab states, including Egypt, a major supporter of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, and Saudi Arabia whose King Abdullah is the original author of the Arab peace initiative, have openly declared scepticism about the Annapolis meeting. Arabs are particularly concerned that the meeting will fail to conclude any significant breakthrough in the long-stalled -- practically dead -- peace process.

Palestinian diplomats based in Cairo say that during their talks on Tuesday Abbas confided in Mubarak his serious concerns over the chances of the Annapolis gathering to deliver. The same sources say Abbas will not walk out of Annapolis alone. "This has to be a collective Arab decision otherwise Abbas will be blamed internationally for the failure of a peace meeting," one source stated.

A limited Arab foreign ministers meeting is expected to convene at the Arab League within the coming two weeks, following the next visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region. The meeting, the Palestinian source said, is in charge of declaring a collective Arab decision on participation in Annapolis in light of Israel's expressed decision not to address final status issues at the summit.

Lebanese name game

FOLLOWING up the visit by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit to Lebanon last Thursday, this week Lebanese officials, mostly from the political majority camp, contacted Cairo for further discussions on the complexities of electing a new president for Lebanon which has the adequate support of both the majority, known for its opposition to a continued traditional Syrian influence, and the opposition that maintains close political and security cooperation with Damascus.

On Tuesday, Saad Al-Hariri, a majority figure, was received by President Hosni Mubarak. In press statements following the talks at the presidential headquarters in Heliopolis, Al-Hariri stressed Egypt's strong rejection of any interference by any regional or international powers in the Lebanese presidential electoral process.

While in Heliopolis, Al-Hariri received top-level Egyptian confirmation that Cairo was not supporting the choice of current Lebanese Army Chief Michel Suleiman for president as has been rumoured following a meeting between Mubarak and Suleiman earlier in the month. While in Beirut last week, Abul-Gheit was repeatedly questioned by his Lebanese interlocutors over the alleged vote of confidence given by Cairo to Suleiman who is known to be closer to Syria than what the Lebanese majority camp would like.

Official Egyptian sources tell Al-Ahram Weekly that while Lebanese political forces are busy composing a short list of possible successors to the current pro-Syria Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Cairo will avoid getting itself involved in the Lebanese name game.

Earlier this week, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora, a majority leader, contacted Mubarak who reassured the prime minister of Egypt's support for Lebanon's sovereign decision on the choice of president.

According to statements made by Abul-Gheit in Lebanon last week, Egypt fully supports an ongoing inter-Lebanese dialogue to reach a reconciliatory agreement on the names proposed for the top executive post in the country.

"We want no interference [from anybody, the Americans, the Syrians or other regional or international players]. The election of a Lebanese president is essentially a Lebanese affair and it has to be treated as such. The Lebanese can make their own decisions," Al-Hariri said.

Meanwhile, informed sources at the Arab League affirmed that Secretary-General Amr Moussa is planning to envoy his Chief of Cabinet Hesham Youssef and Sudanese presidential adviser Mustafa Othman Ismail, who have both acted as special envoys for Moussa to Lebanon, to Beirut in a few days.

Arab League mediation among Lebanese political forces was launched last year and has managed only to tone down a high- tempered political confrontation. Today, sources say, the mission will try to continue to do the same by persuading rival Lebanese factions to agree on a middle-of-the-road name for president.

The mission of the Arab League delegation in Lebanon will also attempt to help Lebanese political leaders reach a reconciliatory approach on contentious issues, including a future coalition government that would need to be formed in the wake of the presidential elections.

Parallel to the Ismail-Youssef mission to Beirut, Moussa suggested plans to visit Damascus to solicit Syria's support for a smooth Lebanese political reconciliation.

Kosovo round the corner

WITH an end in sight to the negotiations between Albanian Kosovars and Serbians on the political fate of Kosovo, the protagonists are intensifying political lobbying to secure support for a final decision that would either declare Kosovo independent from Serbia or consider it part of Serbian territory with the right to self-rule.

This week in Cairo for talks with top Egyptian officials, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha called upon Egypt to urge the over 50 members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference to recognise the independence of Kosovo if declared in the wake of the current talks between Albanian Kosovars and Serbians in Vienna.

The talks in Vienna have been largely inconclusive. Serbian diplomats argue that the major roadblock is the determination of Kosovars to seek independence.

For their part Kosovar politicians argue their right to independence in the wake of atrocities sustained by their nationals during the mid-1990s war that ended with a NATO campaign in 1999 that drove the Serbian forces out of Kosovo.

Egypt, according to informed diplomatic sources, made no commitment to Berisha. According to the sources, Egypt has not decided whether to recognise an increasingly likely unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo. On the one hand, Egypt, the sources add, is sympathetic to the tragedy of the Muslims of Kosovo but on the other it cannot ignore that there are Serbian nationals in the same region. Nor can Egypt overlook its traditionally good ties with Serbia and Russia which stands firmly against the independence of Kosovo.

Moreover, sources add, Egypt would have to take into consideration the preference of other Arab countries, who do not have a united stand on the matter, as well as international allies, including the US and European Union member states who generally favour the right of Kosovo's independence.

On 10 December, the UN Security Council is scheduled to examine the issue.

Cancer help

THE FIRST national breast cancer awareness campaign was launched on Tuesday under the patronage of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak with the attendance of Minister of Health and Population Hatem El-Gabali and Dorreya Salem, manager of the National Project to Combat Breast Cancer, Reem Leila reports. During the campaign, Mrs Mubarak launched two mobile units for the early diagnosis of breast cancer. She video-conferenced the units as a signal to commence their work. The units, worth $20 million each, will serve eight million women aged between 40 to 60. During the next four years the number of mobile units will increase to 10 and will be plying the streets throughout the country. El-Gabali said the units will go first to Cairo and Alexandria. Among other tasks, they will check for diabetes in the blood and will take the blood pressure of patients.

In Egypt breast cancer is the most common form of illness in women. It is usually diagnosed late, making the chances of survival low. When discovered early, the survival rate hovers at around 95 per cent.

Early detection programmes in the campaign are to be based on primary care, coupled with adequate treatment which eventually could reduce both morbidity and mortality rates. Trained doctors and health workers will help women diagnose themselves. According to Salem, wall posters and flyers will explain to women the dangers of breast cancer and the importance of early detection. "Word of mouth will play a vital role in the success of such a project," Salem said. Soon there might be door-to-door visits to homes to make families more aware of the illness.