Closing ranks
The general post-war mood in the region is grim, causing several Arab leaders to close ranks and consult on the next stage of developments. Nevine Khalil reports on President Mubarak's first foreign post-war trip
After the conclusion of a regional meeting in Riyadh on the future of Iraq, President Hosni Mubarak embarked on a tour of key regional countries with the aim of securing an Arab role in a post- war, post-Saddam region. The leaders of Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates all agreed on the need for intense inter- Arab cooperation in post-war Iraq, the general feeling being that Arabs need to cooperate more effectively to overcome present and future challenges.
By making Syria the first stop of his trip abroad -- the first in months -- Mubarak was sending a clear message about Cairo's stance on an issue which, for a while, appeared to be an expansive United States campaign to topple a number of regimes in the region. Washington had already stigmatised the regime in Damascus under the leadership of Bashar Al-Assad by linking it to Saddam's Iraq and Iran, states which, together with North Korea, President George W Bush has designated as an "axis of evil". Before Washington had toned down its rhetoric against Syria over the past few days, Al-Assad's government had been accused of harbouring leading figures of Saddam Hussein's deposed regime, as well as possessing weapons of mass destruction. On the day of Mubarak's meeting with Al-Assad, Gamal Mustafa Sultan, son-in-law of Saddam Hussein, returned from Syria to give himself up. Damascus now awaits the arrival of United States Secretary of State Colin Powell in a few weeks.
Statements made by Arab officials make it clear they will not allow Syria to become another victim of the Bush administration. "President Mubarak was keen on making Damascus his first stop abroad as soon as the [war] in Iraq was over to speak with President Al-Assad," said Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif at the beginning of the tour. "It comes at a critical time for the Arab nation."
Cairo, like many Arab capitals, strongly condemned the campaign targetting the Damascus regime, raising as it did fears that yet another country in the region could be targeted by the US for regime change. "We categorically reject American threats targetting Syria," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher on Sunday. After the meeting between Mubarak and Al-Assad, Syrian Information Minister Adnan Omran told reporters that both presidents "renounced the US threats against Syria". Censuring statements by top Bush officials, Omran added that "threats and media campaigns are not the ideal manner in which to conduct relations between countries."
Although the discussions were dominated by talks of the new leadership in Iraq and the future shape of the region, the Palestinian situation also came up for discussion during the tour. All leaders with whom Mubarak met want Washington to announce the roadmap to peace between the Palestinians and Israelis soon, and work out a mechanism to implement the plan for creating a Palestinian state by 2005. After returning from his tour, President Mubarak telephoned Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to brief him on efforts to jump start the peace process. During the tour Mubarak also discussed the results of a six-way meeting which took place in Riyadh on Friday between the foreign ministers of Iraq's neighbours -- Syria, Turkey, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia -- as well as Egypt. Mubarak and Al-Assad urged the "end of occupation" of Iraqi territories, and the need for the establishment of "a national legitimate Iraqi regime" as soon as possible.
Mubarak met with Saudi Arabia's King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah on Monday to discuss a "futuristic, strategic Arab vision for the region in the face of the many challenges and crises it is facing," according to El-Sherif. More of the same transpired in Mubarak's meeting with the United Arab Emirate's President Sheikh Zayed Al- Nahyan on the same day, both emphasising the need for joint Arab efforts to maintain the stability and prosperity of the region.
In Bahrain on Sunday, Mubarak and King Hamad bin Eissa Al-Khalifa asserted that they want to see the Iraqis rule themselves in the shortest time possible, and they wish Iraq to remain a sovereign and stable state "based on a democratic process". They also called on the international community and the United Nations to speed-up the reconstruction of Iraq, as well as provide the necessary emergency aid to assist the people of the country.
The foreign ministers at the Riyadh conference emphasised the need for the foreign forces to withdraw from Iraq and the setting up of a constitutional government which is responsive to the needs of the Iraqi people. Maher said that Egypt "will not recognise a military regime in Iraq," noting that Iraq is currently "under occupation". In television statements on Sunday, Maher said that "the Iraqi people need to hear their brethren and neighbours assure them that they support them as they suffer under foreign occupation." He added that the Arabs were "ready to stand by the side of the Iraqis during these difficult times". At the conference, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal noted that the "US-led forces which invaded Iraq have no legitimate right to exploit Iraq's oil wealth." Al-Faisal added that sanctions against Iraq should only be lifted after a legitimate government has assumed power in Baghdad.
The most important positions which emerged from the weekend meeting of regional countries was that Iraq's future should be shaped by its people according to their wishes; that Iraq must remain united and stable; and that the UN must play a central political role in the rebuilding of Iraq. "The Iraqis must unite and work hard to overcome current difficulties," said Maher.
On Tuesday, Maher met with former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi, who is also a leading opposition figure, to discuss the current situation in Iraq and future prospects. Pachachi, who was foreign minister between 1965-67, hopes that a broad-based conference will be held in Baghdad soon to elect an interim government, thereby putting Iraq on the road to free elections. The minister, who went into exile in 1970, wants the conference to be staged with UN assistance and is also hopeful that the formation of an interim government will remove the need for a US-run civil administration.
Pachachi opposed the US-led war against Saddam's regime on principal and turned down an offer in February to be part of a six-member leadership council which was set up during a meeting of major opposition groups in Kurdish-held northern Iraq. Seeking to rally liberal Iraqi "independents", he announced the birth of Independent Iraqis for Democracy at a conference attended by some 300 Iraqi exiles in London last month.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 24 - 30 April 2003 (Issue No. 635)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/635/eg2.htm