1st session of ordinary Arab summit in Qatar starts

Arab leaders stress importance of enhancing Arab reconciliation launched by virtue of King Abdullah's initiative in Kuwait

Collective Arab stance over Israel's intransigence, peace march, Palestinian people's rights, Sudan

Leaders and heads of delegations of Arab countries started on Monday the proceedings of the 21st ordinary Arab summit, where the Saudi delegation was led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Addressing the inaugural session, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad shed light on the events witnessed by the region and the world, notably the global financial crisis.

"The world does not serve except the one who serves himself and it does not restore rights except to the one who works for the restoration of his right and fights for them', said President Al-Assad.

He pointed to the Arab reconciliation announced by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz at the Arab economic summit held in Kuwait, and reiterated the importance of the Arab reconciliation at this stage, because it is the way for serving the joint Arab work.

He hoped that a Palestinian national unity government would be established for serving the Palestinian people.

Al-Assad rejected the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, and called for taking a firm Arab stand in this respect.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani, the Qatari Emir, expressed appreciation for the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz for Arab reconciliation.

He expressed happiness for the participation King Abdullah in the economic summit due to be held in London on Thursday.

"We do feel that King Abdullah will represent all of us at the summit and we hope he will succeed in his mission, and I am certain that King Abdullah will represent the interests of the Arab world and even the developing countries and their aspirations as regards relations which are more balanced with the advanced industrial countries," he added.

Then, Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa delivered a speech in which he saluted the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz for Arab reconciliation.

The opening session featured speeches by a number of leaders in which they talked about the current situation in the region and the world financial crisis.

The Saudi official delegation included Prince Saud Alfaisal, the Foreign Minister, and a number of other princes and ministers.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani said Sunday the Arab Foreign Ministers approved at a preparatory meeting on Saturday, the agenda of the Arab Summit Conference, due to open in Doha on Monday.

Addressing a joint press conference with Arab League's Secretary General Amr Moussa, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said major issues were also discussed including the Palestinian problem and the Mideast peace process, the situation in Sudan, the current Arab situation and means of clearing the Arab atmospheres.

The Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said the proposal of convening an emergency summit in Khartoum in solidarity with Sudan needs discussion at the ministerial meeting and that an agreement was reached with the Sudanese minister of state for foreign affairs on the phrase regarding this issue.

On the number of the Arab leaders who will attend the Summit, the absence of the Egyptian President and the presence of Sudanese president Omar al Bashir, Sheikh Hamad said he had no idea, but most of the leaders will take part in the summit.

He added that he personally went to Sudan and repeated the invitation to President Al Bashir to attend the summit, reaffirming that Qatar welcomes the Sudanese President and all the Arab leaders.

Regarding the absence of the Egyptian president, Sheikh Hamad said: We wished that the Egyptian president would take part in the summit in order to contribute with his bright ideas to resolving the Arab complex and chronic issues, but the decision is his and we respect his decision.

On the repercussions of the International Criminal Courts (ICC) arrest warrant for the Sudanese President, he said security and peace necessitate that International Criminal Court (ICC) and UN Security Council should reconsider this decision which further aggravates the situation in Darfur and would not lead to resolving this problem, calling on the international community to settle this issue.

On his part, the Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa commended the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for Arab reconciliation at Kuwait summit.

He said that the Saudi Monarch's initiative came following the Arab deteriorating situation after Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, which led to strained inter-Arab relations and a political unrest in the region, describing the initiative as a pleasant surprise for all.

He added that in light of this initiative and the meetings held on the basis of this initiative, the Arab situation has moved from the atmosphere of unrest and despair to an atmosphere of hope and optimism.

The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, cautioned against the fierce Judaization campaign targeting Al-Quds by seeking to obliterate its Arab and Islamic character and by demolishing houses. He warned that the situation in Al-Quds calls for a strong and sober stand.

The Secretary General's admonishing was part of a speech he delivered at the opening session of the 21st Arab Summit held in Doha, the State of Qatar, which kicked off on 30th March, 2009.

At the opening of his speech, Ihsanoglu extended his thanks and appreciation to the State of Qatar for providing the proper environment to make the conference a success. He also lauded the initiative launched by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, meant to achieve Arab reconciliation.

He mentioned that the Muslim world supports the Arab world and champions its causes. The Muslim world, he emphasized, represents the Arab world's strategic depth, as it stretches across four continents and carries a real demographic weight, as it hosts a fifth of the world's population.

The Secretary General pointed out that he conducted several weeks ago a visit to the Gaza Strip. While there, he took stock of the degree of the devastation and destruction wrought by the Israeli aggression and its unbearable consequences. The aggression on Gaza, he affirmed, was marked by undeniable war crimes, crimes against humanity as well as the use of internationally prohibited weapons.

He went on by stressing that, "It is our duty today to join our efforts to refer the perpetrators of these crimes to specialized international courts and speed up the reconstruction of Gaza in order to alleviate the tribulations facing our brothers there."

He commended the fence-mending efforts among Palestinians and spoke highly of the efforts slated to close the ranks of the various Palestinian factions, as the current phase can hardly bear any fragmentation or polarized positions among Palestinians.

Talking about the situation in Iraq, Ihsanoglu emphasized the OIC's continued preoccupation about the developments unfolding in the country. He pinpointed the role of the OIC-sponsored Makkah Reconciliation Document in putting an end to sectarian strife. He mentioned that the OIC has opened an office in Baghdad.

He also alluded to the visit he undertook to Iraq along with representatives from all OIC organs in a bid to study the possible contribution the OIC and its Member States could make to the Iraqi reconstruction and institution-rehabilitation process.

Ihsanoglu expressed the OIC's full solidarity with Sudan, highlighting in this respect the OIC's on full support of Sudan.

He called on the Sudanese judiciary to make sure that any suspects of perpetrating criminal acts in Darfur answer for their crimes. By so doing, he continued, international public opinion would sense the serious approach adopted by the Sudanese government in handling the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur.

Additionally, he referred to the meeting of the OIC Executive Committee held in New York on 27th March, 2009, that issued a communiqué rejecting the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and denouncing the double standards of the court. The communiqué laid emphasis on Sudan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and called on the Security Council to indefinitely freeze the ICC move.

Broaching the political process underway in Somalia, the Secretary General extolled the efforts deployed by the Republic of Djibouti while he congratulated again the new President of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. He also appealed to the other Somali parties to embrace the ongoing peace process.

Ihsanoglu wrapped up his speech by recalling the suffering of Muslims as a consequence of the spawning, albeit ill-founded, defamation campaigns unraveling in the West, which seem to be taking a slippery slope.

He pointed to the efforts deployed by the OIC to ward off the vicious intent of these campaigns, stressing the need for concerted efforts by both Arab and Muslim countries to effectively and efficiently come to terms with these campaigns.

Meanwhile, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Sudan's president Omar Albashir, Lebanese President Michael Sulaiman, Moroccan King Mohammad VI, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Chairman of the Transitional Arab Parliament Mohammad Jassim Alsaqr and Tunisian President Zain Ala'abideen bin Ali praised and highlighted the initiative for Arab reconciliation launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz during the Arab Summit held in Kuwait.

The leaders' remarks praising the initiative by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques came in the leaders' speeches delivered at the opening of the Arab Summit in Qatar.

Sheikh Sabah Alahmad Alsabah, the Emir of Kuwait, reiterated praise for the initiative launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz during the Arab Summit held in Kuwait and his persistent follow-up of it at the mini-summit hosted by the city of Riyadh.

In the speech he delivered at the opening of the Arab Summit in Qatar, the Emir of Kuwait described the speech by the king at the Arab Summit in Kuwait as historic and valued its contents which stressed that Arab disagreements led to the division of the Arab states and helped the Israeli enemy and all those who want to divide the Arabs and also his assertion that all Arab leaders are responsible for this weakness which befell the stand of the Arab countries and his call for overcoming disagreements so that desperation does not take hold.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has reformed the scene of Arab reconciliation in an initiative he had announced at Arab Economic Summit in Kuwait for termination of Arab differences, promotion of an approach in resolving inter-Arab differences and projection of the King's keenness on unification of Arab ranks and solidarity to confront the dangers facing the Arab nation.

The King's initiative has been historical and in commensurate with the size of the critical challenges facing the nation.

It has also been a political surprise turning over the table of inter-Arab differences and has established a new edifice of reconciliation and cooperation between the leaders of Arab nations who have been distanced from each other due to interventions of foreign parties in Arab affairs.

Moreover, the King's efforts have not stopped at the Arab economic summit in Kuwait, but these have been continuing through his phone calls which led to the convening of a mini-Arab summit in Riyadh.

Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister said that the Summit has thawed ice in inter-Arab relations. Political observers and analysts said that the mini-Arab summit would have positive ramifications to reform the Arab scene and to enhance the efforts of inter-Arab reconciliation adopted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at Arab