Jordan Times
Sunday, May 24, 2004
Leaders talk conflicts, reform
By
Alia
“The attention of the whole Arab nation turns towards this meeting, expecting results that meet its aspirations for cooperation, solidarity, progress and invulnerability,” the Tunisian leader said.
He
said he hoped the two-day summit would consecrate Arab consensus, confirm the
will for reform, adopt optimum ways for the promotion of joint Arab action and
the “reinforcement of its [league] credibility in all fields.”
The 16th ordinary summit opened almost 90 minutes late. Thirteen of the 22 leaders of the Arab League states attended.
Among
them were His Majesty King Abdullah, King Mohammad VI of
The
leaders of
Leaders
began arriving Friday for the rescheduled summit, which was abruptly called off
eight weeks ago by
Before
the end of the opening session, Qadhafi walked out. “Unfortunately,
Informed sources said the Libyan leader was angered by criticism from Arab League chief Amr Musa. In his address to the meeting, Musa said there were “voices” that call for annulling the Arab League or breaking it up as if it were the cause of all the ills of the Arab nation. “Which is false,” he added.
The
opening session included speeches by the prime minister of outgoing summit chair
The delegates also held a moment of silence in memory of Palestinian victims of Israeli attacks.
The
summit will close with a brief session during which final resolutions and reform
documents will be announced. The rest of the sessions, where leaders are
expected to delve into a hefty 30-item agenda, are taking place behind closed
doors.
According
to observers, the aim of the closed sessions is to reach consensus over
wide-ranging crucial issues and to avoid public displays of discontent, as was
the case at last year's Sharm El Sheikh summit, when Qadhafi and Saudi Crown
Prince Abdullah exchanged fiery remarks.
Closed-door
sessions
The
closed-door sessions began following the opening. The leaders discussed the
deteriorating situation in
According to observers, the meeting in the Tunisian capital is seen as another effort to close ranks on crucial regional issues and advance Arab action in the face of growing public frustration and pessimism.
The
summit is held amid increased Arab anger over US military actions in
Israel
's escalation of violence and its demolition of Palestinian homes in Rafah this
past week caused the death of 42 Palestinian civilians and left thousands of
others homeless.
In his address to the summit, Arafat appealed for international protection for the Palestinians against Israeli military incursions and urged Arab leaders to pressure the global community for a peace settlement.
He
said only negotiations based on the internationally drafted roadmap for
Palestinian-Israeli peace would achieve security for both
Foreign
ministers met late Friday to consider last-minute draft resolutions, including
According
to Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher, the summit is expected to conclude Sunday
with a resolution recommitting its members to the Arab Middle East Peace
Initiative that was endorsed in
Muasher
also said the leaders are expected for the first time to condemn attacks on
civilians in the
A
preparatory meeting of Arab foreign ministers in
He also noted that the final resolution, which reiterates peace as a strategic option for Arabs, would support a mutual and simultaneous ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reject any modification of the internationally recognized reference points of the peace process, including UN resolutions 242 and 338.
The
resolution also takes into account assurances made by US President George W.
Bush to King Abdullah and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, in separate
letters, stating that
Reform
The foreign minister said the leaders are also expected to endorse two reform documents: A blueprint on democratic and political reform and another on joint Arab action and restructuring the Arab League.
The Arab League or “Al Ahad” document improves the mechanism of joint Arab action and decision making process by changing the voting system from requiring a unanimous vote to a majority vote.
Enhanced economic cooperation, setting up a unified Arab market, a security council or Arab parliament and an Arab court of justice are also mentioned.
Muasher
told reporters that endorsing a political and democratic reform document was an
achievement and a quantum leap, especially when three months ago the issue was
not even on the summit agenda. He noted that the political reform document was
in harmony with the recently leaked and controversial
Arab
countries have opted to set up their own blueprint for reform, under bids to
override the
US
Secretary of State Colin Powell had indicated last week in
The five-page Arab reform document entitled “Development and Modernization” stresses on the importance of good governance and transparency, a widening of participation in the decision making process and political freedom, Muasher said.
The
document was based on proposals put forward by
The fight against terrorism was included in the document, which also stressed on the core issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the need to regulate it to allow for the development of political reform. The document included five other sections on civil liberties and human rights, women's rights and their role in society, judicial independence, economic modernization and educational development, Muasher said.
It, however, does not incorporate a set time frame for reforms but rather respects each country's right to move at its own pace.
As
for
Muasher
said a draft resolution calling on the Arab League to make the necessary
contacts to facilitate the handover of power (in