September 14, 2007

ARAB FOREIGN MINISTERS PREPARE THE AGENDA OF THE ARAB SUMMIT IN RIYADH. ARAB FOREIGN MINISTERS CONDEMN THE CONTINUOUS ISRAELI AGGRESSION, CALL ON LEBANESE TO UNITE THEIR RANKS AND FOR FORMING A MECHANISM TO PUT INTO EFFECT A "MIDEAST RESOLUTION" BY THE NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY (NPT) REVIEW MEETINGS IN 1995 WHICH CALLED FOR A MIDEAST FREE FROM WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL: THE ARAB PEACE INITIATIVE IS COMPLETELY AN ARAB DECISION AND IF THE ARAB COUNTRIES WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SOME ALTERATIONS OR DEVELOPMENTS ON IT, IT IS COMPLETELY AN ARAB BUSINESS. Arab Foreign Ministers concluded their 127th session held in Cairo. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led his country's delegation to the meeting. The Arab Ministerial Council has drafted the agenda of the forthcoming Arab summit meeting scheduled for Riyadh on 28 - 29 March. The Council urged those Arab countries who have not endorsed the draft statute of the Arab security and peace Council to expedite measures of accrediting the document. On Palestine, the Council condemned the continuation of escalation of brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, noting that the Palestinian unity is the only way to protect the Palestinian national project. The Council called for Arab commitment to fair and comprehensive peace as a strategic option and that the peace initiative is a comprehensive one that could not be fragmented and could not be reached unless Israel completely withdraw from the occupied Arab territories since 1967, the independent Palestinian state be formed with Al-Quds as its capital and the Palestinian refugees problem be resolved according to the 194 resolution which rejected all forms of settlement. The Council voiced support for Makkah agreement calling for a national unity government and calling on the quartet to resume a serious work for achieving peace in the region according to the road map plan, Arab peace initiative and the international legitimacy resolutions. The statement called on the world community to lift all forms of siege against the Palestinian people and to secure the delivery of assistance to them. The Council strongly denounced the Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa mosque and called for the halt of excavation works underneath the mosque which aim at altering the Islamic identity of the city. The Council decided to upgrade the ceiling of Al-Aqsa fund and Al-Quds uprising by $300 million , noting that some Arab countries have since Khartoum summit, contributed to the budget of Palestinian authority by $378 million out of the targeted $660 million. Saudi Arabia has paid $66.2 million, Kuwait $75 million, Qatar $50 million, UAE, $50 million, Syria $5.5 million, Oman $5 million, Libya $ 50 million, Egypt $3 million, Yemen %1.6 million, the statement said, adding that Qatar paid additional $50 million to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. The Ministers asked the international community and the UN to force Israel to stop constructing the separation wall, in accordance with an international Court of Justice advisory opinion. The resolution calls for setting up a Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital. Israeli excavations near Al-Aqsa Mosque were condemned by a resolution which called on Israel, as an occupying force, to stop such steps that endangered the holy site of Islam. The Arab Foreign Ministers condemned the Israeli violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories. The ministers entrusted the Arab League's general secretariat with following up and documenting Israeli aggressions and violations of Arab human rights. The Arab Ministers asked the European Commission to implement the second article of the Israeli-EU partnership agreement that ties the continuation of the agreement to Israeli commitment to respecting human rights. The Council underscored the importance of the Arab existence in Africa. On the Syrian file, the Council supported Syria's firm claim to restore the occupied Golan Heights. The Arab Ministers pledged support to Damascus against any aggression. Any attack on Syria is deemed an aggression on the Arab nation as a whole, according to the Arab Ministerial Council resolutions. The Arab countries stood by the Syrians' just demand of retrieving their occupied territories. On Lebanon, the Council urged for full solidarity with Lebanon and provision of political and economic support for the Lebanese government to help it preserve its country's independence, security, stability and sovereignty on all its territories. The statement called on all Lebanese factions to reject violence and resort to reason and reach reconciliation and unity. The Ministers pressed for reaching a peaceful solution to the Lebanese crisis, calling on all Lebanese parties to prove genuine commitment to the Lebanese constitution and Taif Accord. The resolutions highlighted the importance of efforts exerted by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa aiming to settle the Lebanese crisis. The resolutions also called on all Lebanese to remain united and stave off further complications as well as seek a peaceful end to the crisis there. The Arab Foreign Ministers voiced support to the Lebanese people towards a peaceful settlement of the current crisis. On the three UAE islands occupied by Iran, the Council condemned the military maneuvers recently conducted by Iran on the occupied islands and in the territorial waters of the islands in their capacity as integral parts of the united Arab emirates, calling on Iran to reconsider its position rejecting a peaceful solution for the case. The Arab ministers called on Iran to translate into deeds its repeated call for improving ties with Arabs. They called on Iran to agree to a peaceful settlement to the dispute over the three occupied UAE Isles of Greater and Lesser Tunb and Abu Moussa. The Arab Foreign Ministers urged Iran to positively respond to calls by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Sultan Al-Nahyan The Council confirmed Libya's right in receiving compensations for the material and human damages it was incurring as a result of the sanctions imposed on it, calling for the release of Abdul Baset Al Megrahi, a Libyan detained by the international justice court. On Sudan, the Arab ministers called on Abuja peace accord holdouts to join the peace drive. They also urged the international community to exert efforts to stave off further complications to the implementation of the peace agreement. The Ministerial Council resolutions called on Arabs to beef up their participation in the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. It called on the African Union to cooperate with the UN and the Arab League towards a comprehensive peace deal in the war-hacked region. On Darfur, the Council called on the Sudan government and the African Union to continue their efforts to bring about peace and stability in Darfur. The statement called on Darfur rebels, who still did not sign Abuja accord, to join their colleagues by signing the agreement and start peace. The Council called on Arab nations to live up to their financial commitments to support the African peacekeeping force, noting that only $15 million was paid out of the targeted $150 million. On Somalia, the Council welcomed the African Union's resolution to send African peacekeepers to enhance stability in Somalia. The resolutions called on the general secretariat to continue cooperation with the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The Arab Foreign Ministers welcomed an Ethiopian government's decision to withdraw its forces from Somalia. Arab League members are urged to provide all possible support to Somalia to rebuild the state institutions, according to one resolution. Raising funds for rebuilding Somalia was urged a priority. The Council expressed concern over the dangers of the Israeli nuclear weapons on the Arab national security, noting that Israel's adamant rejection to join the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty would push the region's countries to seek acquiring nuclear armory. In this regard, the Council decided to suspend the work of the Arab technical committee on a draft treaty to make the Middle East a mass destruction weapons free region. Instead, the Arab foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting to study and evaluate the Arab efforts for making the region a mass destruction weapons free and forge an Arab position in case Israel officially announces itself a nuclear power. As for rendering the Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction, the Ministers called for forming a mechanism to put into effect a "Mideast resolution" by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review meetings in 1995 which called for a Mideast free from weapons of mass destruction. Arab Foreign Ministers had started their meeting under the chairmanship of Tunisian Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdul-Ahab. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the kingdom's Foreign Minister, said the Arab Peace Initiative approved by Beirut Arab Summit in 2002 is now completely an Arab decision and not a Saudi, so that if the Arab countries would like to make some alterations or developments on it, it is completely an Arab business. In remarks to reporters before departure on Libya's decision to boycott Riyadh summit protesting on not convening the summit in Sharm Al Sheikh, Prince Saud said it is the right of the host country to hold the meeting in the Arab League headquarters or in its own territory. This is our right and it is not mortgaged to a decision of any other party, he added. He said the kingdom has also invited Syria to attend the forthcoming summit in Riyadh. He denied accusations that the kingdom considers Iran an enemy, citing a recent meeting between Iran's President and the Saudi Monarch in Riyadh. He said Iran is an important country in the region and could play a positive role that we wish to see, hoping that Iran could avert confrontation which would harm the whole region. On the international tribunal investigating the assassination of Rafiq Al Hariri, Lebanon's Ex-Prime Minister, he said the court was not formed or decided by an Arab decision but a Lebanese one supported by the united nations and not the Arab League. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Cairo after having participated in the Arab League ministerial council meeting as head of his country's delegation. He was seen off by the Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Hisham Mohyeddin Nazir and a number of officials. Saudi Arabia said that it would support any Arab decision to change or develop the Arab peace plan, which was passed by the Arab League summit that was held in Beirut in 2002. "The peace plan is the property of Arabs, not Saudi Arabia. If they want to change or develop it, it's totally an Arab decision," Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told reporters. Referring to Libya's decision not to attend the Arab summit in Riyadh following a change in the conference venue, Saud said, "It is the discretion of the host country to decide whether the summit be held in Arab League headquarters or in its country." He said Saudi Arabia had never considered Iran as an enemy. "If the Kingdom had considered Iran its enemy, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah would not have received President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in Riyadh." However, he advised Tehran to avoid confrontation with the US to reinforce the stability of the region. Tunisia chaired the 127th ordinary session of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level, held at premises of the League's secretariat general. An important Tunisian delegation, led by foreign minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah, took part in this session works. The opening session was attended by Turkish deputy prime minister and foreign minister Abdullah Gul and UN high commissioner for refugees Antonio Guterres. The session, which was attended by most of the Arab foreign ministers and the Arab League secretary-general, comprised nearly twenty items related to political, economic, legal, administrative and financial issues. In an address on this occasion, Mr. Abdelwaheb Abdallah underscored the importance of this session, given the swift changes taking place on the Arab scene and the latest developments related to major issues which require co- ordination of positions, to prefect joint action and vitalise Arab solidarity. The foreign minister reiterated Tunisia's sustained support to the Arab just causes, including in the first place the Palestinian cause, priding himself upon the Mecca agreement reached by the Palestinian brothers under the aegis of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdallah Ibn Abdelaziz. He expressed hope that it will contribute to the preservation of the unity of the Palestinian ranks. Mr. Abdelwaheb Abdallah reasserted the Palestinian people's right to preserve their sacred symbols, including in the first place El Aqsa Mosque, to resist all Israeli plans aimed at perpetuating colonialism and judaisation of the sacred monuments which represent a spiritual heritage for Arab and Muslims and which are included in the Universal World Heritage. Reviewing the situation in Iraq, the foreign minister expressed Tunisia's concern about the serious deterioration of the country's security and humanitarian situation, stressed the need to join efforts to contain this state of affairs and attain national reconciliation so that Iraq recovers its security and stability. He reiterated Tunisia's solidarity with the brotherly Lebanese people, urging all Lebanese parties to make the logic of dialogue and concord prevail so as to preserve Lebanon's sovereignty and stability and help the country devote itself to development and reconstruction. Mr. Abdelwaheb Abdallah voiced the hope to see the efforts exerted by the Sudanese government lead, with the support of the various Arab, African and international sides, to the establishment of the attributes of security and stability and consolidate national unity and concord. At the closing of its works, the Arab League Council adopted several decisions related to the items on its agenda, including in particular the developments at the level of the Palestinian cause, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the situation in Iraq, Sudan and Somalia and the Arab position in the face of the changes taking place in the Middle East region and on the international scene in matters of arms limitations and disarmament. It also adopted a draft agenda for the upcoming Arab summit in Riyadh. On the issue of international terrorism and means to combat it, the meeting commended president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's initiative calling for an international conference on the fight against terrorism and the adoption of a code of ethics related to fighting this phenomenon, which would commit all parties. Two other Tunisian proposals were also adopted. The first provides for the consolidation of the dialogue of civilisations and the adoption of the culture of dialogue between civilisations and religions, to consecrate of world peace and security. The second proposal calls for including the setting up of an Arab plan for teaching of the principles of human rights in the agenda of the Riyadh Summit. As part of Tunisia's chairmanship of the 127th session of the Arab League Council, Mr. Abdelwaheb Abdallah took part in the special ministerial committee on Iraq. He also attended the co-ordination meeting of the Maghreb foreign ministers' meeting. At the end of the Council's works, the foreign minister held a joint news conference with the Arab League secretary general. He reviewed the session's major results and decisions and answered the journalists' questions related to the major Arab causes and the challenges faced by the Arab nation and the future events. Turkish FM and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said he believed a regional regulation involving relations in all areas would be useful. Delivering a speech at the opening session of the FMs meeting of the Arab League, Gul expressed the happiness he felt over having been invited to the meeting and in this respect thanked the Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa and his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit. Stressing the importance of the relations between Turkey and the Arab League, Gul said he believed the Turkish-Arab forum would soon convene and be institutionalized. Underlining that the Middle East was going through to most troubled period in its history, Gul indicated that it was not possible to solve the problems in the region separately. Gul said the Palestinian issue which lay at the center of the problems, was creating pessimism and expectancy of fundamentalism in the region. Gul expressed his happiness over the consensus that was reached in Mecca and thanked King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt for their contribution. Gul said he believed a national unity government to be founded in Palestine would be an important step in the solution of the problem. Stating that the new government should attach priority to the interests of the Palestinian people, Gul underlined the need for the international community to support this government. Commenting on the latest situation in Iraq, Gul underscored the importance of maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq and said, "a separated Iraq would bring forth unpredictable consequences for the whole region." Gul said a strong central government was important in building peace and stability. Indicating that Kirkuk, which is a "home to Arabs, Turks and Kurds", was a small microcosm of Iraq, Gul underlined the necessity of national consensus over the issue. Regarding the nuclear issue with Iran, Gul said, diplomatic methods should be used in seeking a solution to the issue. Gul also commented on the situation in Lebanon and said, "we are ready to do everything in our capability to help build stability in Lebanon." Stating that sectarian disputes in the region were causing unrest, Gul said these kind of disputes would have negative consequences. Gul said they would work towards establishing cooperation between Turkey and the Arab League that would set an example. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa called on Arab, regional and international organizations, especially the World Health Organization (WHO), the Arab Red Crescent societies and the Red Cross to offer all health and humanitarian aid possible to help Somalia fight cholera. Moussa made the call on the sidelines of the Arab League Council's ordinary session. The meetings tackled a number of Arab issues including the Somali issue In statements to the press, Foreign Ministry press spokesman Alaa el Hadidi said the meeting, preceding one of top officials of Iraq neighbouring states plus Egypt, to be held in Baghdad on March 10, discussed the agenda of this upcoming meeting and expected results. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said that an Arab peace initiative stipulating that Arabs normalize ties with Israel in exchange for a full withdrawal from the occupied land was not negotiable. "The Arab initiative is not open for review, " Moussa told the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. "Any twisting of the Arab initiative will cause great harm to the Palestinian issue and can affect any movement towards a just peace," he was quoted by the AFP as saying Addressing the 127th meeting of Arab foreign ministers, chaired by Tunisia, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa stressed the importance of revamping the educational system in the Arab world, treating perilous educational negativities, establishing an Arab investment court as a pan-Arab mechanism for reassuring Arab investors, and adopting a legal framework for safeguarding inter-Arab investments. Moussa also called for international efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East region as soon as possible. In this context, he stressed the importance of holding an international conference on peace in the Middle East region, urging the UN Security Council to be up to its responsibility by safeguarding peace and security in the region. Moussa commended the Makkah Agreement between Hamas and Fatah leaders as a specific shift in common Arab action to resolve inter-disputes and create Palestinian reconciliation, having raised his eyebrows at Israeli broadside against the inter-Palestinian deal. "Israel wants to see inter-Palestinian disputes continuing as this will be in its interest, thus establishing the fait accompli by continuing the construction of the separation wall, judaizing Jerusalem and going ahead with its excavations at Al-Aqsa Mosque," Moussa added. The Arab League chief lauded the Arab peace initiative as an Arab term of reference for any political settlement, laying it bare that Israel and those who support it want to revise the initiative by scraping Israeli pullout of occupied Palestinian territories and denying Palestinian refuges the right of return. However, he vented his spleen on recent calls by the Quartet on a new Palestinian national unity government to recognize Israel while failing to urge Israel, the occupier, to meet international legitimacy resolutions. Concerning Iraq, Moussa expressed surprise at reported blame on the Arab world for its absence from the Iraqi scene, wondering "Should the Arabs join international forces in Iraq?" He added that the Arab world recognized the new regime in Iraq, noting that without this Arab recognition, the international community would not recognize them. Moussa called for safeguarding Iraq's unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty, and backing national reconciliation. Meantime Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit expressed Egypt's serious concern over the escalation in the Palestinian territories and resentment over the continued Israeli practices in the West Bank town of Nablus against Palestinians. In statements to the press, he condemned the continued Israeli incursions into Nablus and clashes with Palestinians, which resulted in the injury of two of them. Egypt rejects the activities of Israeli occupation troops that will only lead to more tension in the Palestinian lands and poison the climate needed to achieve peace, especially now as Palestinians are trying to form a national unity government, he said. He repeated Egypt's full support for the Palestinian cause, especially at this difficult time as Palestinians were seeking unity. He called on Palestinians to maintain their efforts towards national reconciliation and return to the negotiating table to achieve peace. On the other hand, said Ahmed Abul-Gheit that his ministry was now contacted a number of Islamic and Arab countries with the aim of lobbying for a UN resolution criminalising contempt of religions. Within this context, Abul-Gheit said, Egypt will propose an initiative during the coming ministerial meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, to be held in Islamabad in May. The new move aims at dealing with the issue of disdain of religions from a perspective differentiating between the freedom of opinion and the freedom of expression, Abul-Gheit said. He clarified that freedom of expression should not in any way involve disrespect for the creeds of others. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul-Gheit said on Saturday the Baghdad meeting aims at showing Iraq's internal unity along with the commitment by Iraqi people and government to wide-scale reforms. Aboul-Gheit's statements came after a meeting he had with Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zibari which focused on current developments in Iraq and the upcoming meeting of Iraq's neighbors, due in Baghdad on March 10. In response to calls of interference by Iraq's neighboring countries into Iraq's internal affairs, Aboul-Gheit said the issue will be discussed during the meeting. The Egyptian Foreign Minister added his talks with Zibari dealt with the Arab foreign ministers council, and the upcoming Arab summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 27. For his part, Zebari expressed satisfaction regarding the continuous dialogue between Egypt and Iraq, in addition to Egypt's participation with a high level delegation to Baghdad meeting.