Posted on 03/27/2002 5:38:00 AM PST by Thinkin' Gal
By Francesca Sawalha
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah will arrive here today to address the opening session of an Arab summit expected to adopt a Saudi initiative offering Israel peace with the Arab world if it withdraws from all occupied lands and if a Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.
There was universal consensus on the guidelines and principles of the Saudi proposal, delegates to the 14th Summit Conference of the Arab League said after discussions amongst foreign ministers on Monday and Tuesday.
But there were reports of differences on whether the plan should include detailed references to the fate of some four million Palestinian refugees and their right to return and/or compensation, as well as other matters pertaining specifically to the stated policies of certain Arab countries.
While some states, including Jordan, would prefer the Saudi initiative to remain a general framework for peace and not to tackle details that could compromise its strength as an Arab peace offer, others would like the summit to issue a list of specific demands.
“Jordan feels that the initiative should be kept at a general level to provide a general framework and not a detailed peace plan,” Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.
“The strength of the proposal lies in its simplicity,” Muasher said.
The initiative, informally floated by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz in mid-February, will be officially submitted by its architect to the summit only today.
“It is a reasonable, credible, forthcoming initiative that can satisfy all parties,” Muasher stressed
“It is no PR. It is a very serious initiative,” he said, reasserting that there was “consensus from all” Arab countries on the principles and guidelines of the Saudi proposal.
No final draft of the Saudi initiative exists, officials have said. It is up to Prince Abdullah today to present his ideas in the format he will deem the most appropriate.
“The fate of the initiative is now in the hands of Prince Abdullah,” commented a senior Arab diplomat, asking not to be named.
An ad hoc committee is expected to be formed after today's opening session to prepare a draft resolution based on the initiative. A follow-up committee, most likely at the level of foreign ministers, is also expected to be formed after the adoption of the initiative, to ensure the support of international parties and mediators, including US, UN and EU, who can contribute to the plan's implementation.
Divisions remained as to the second most important issue on the summit's agenda: The “situation” between Iraq and Kuwait 11 years after the Gulf War.
Muasher said Iraqi and Kuwaiti delegates had been holding “very uncharged and cordial” talks, and mediation efforts by Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa and top diplomats last night were still continuing.
Contacts will have to bridge the gaps between two position papers presented by Iraq and Kuwait to Sunday's foreign ministers' meeting. While Kuwait has reportedly demanded an unequivocal commitment that the events of August 1990 — when it was invaded by Iraq — will not be repeated, Iraqi delegates have been insisting that they do not want to “look backward,” but want to discuss other issues.
Sources ruled out any possibility that the summit could reconcile the two parties.
It was not clear whether the summit will entrust Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, to whom King Abdullah will hand over the summit's one-year rotating presidency today, to follow up on the issue of relations between Iraq and Kuwait.
King Abdullah was to arrive in Beirut in the morning, at the head of a delegation including Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb, Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Muasher, Senate President Zeid Rifai, the King's adviser Ali Fazzaa and Jordan's Ambassador to Lebanon Anmar Hmoud.
Nine heads of state were expected not to take part in this 14th Arab League Summit conference. Egypt, Sudan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Libya, Iraq and Mauritania will nonetheless be represented by top delegations.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's decision not to come to the summit triggered speculations yesterday on the political significance of the move).
But sources ruled out any connection between Mubarak's absence and the summit's deliberations, stressing that Egypt has always supported and continues to support the Saudi initiative.
President Lahoud spent almost all day at Beirut International Airport on Tuesday, as the airplanes carrying the heads of delegations landed in the rain and against a grey landscape of a choppy sea.
Delegates and journalists last night were still awaiting to see whether Palestinian President Yasser Arafat would participate in the summit.
Arafat decided later in the evening to skip the summit, rejecting Israeli conditions including the right to veto his return to Palestinian territories, aides said (see separate story).
The Palestinian leader, confined by Israel to Ramallah since early December, on Tuesday rejected conditions set by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his participation in the summit. Israel said Arafat must first accept its terms for a cease-fire before being allowed to travel. Sharon also said he would bar the Palestinian president from returning if he “incites violence” while in Beirut or if any attack against Israel is launched during his absence.
The summit, however, would discuss the Saudi initiative even in his absence, Arab leaders and officials have said.
Little progress expected on Arab League restructuring
Not much progress was expected at the summit on Musa's efforts to restructure the 57-year-old Arab League, streamlining its structure by merging and reactivating some of the subsidiary bodies, councils and committees. Sources were sceptical that Musa, who received a mandate to reorganise the general secretariat from the October 2000 Cairo summit, would proceed to officially appoint commissioners for the first time in the organisation's history.
The nominees originally were Palestinian Hanan Ashrawi — who should have become the Arab League spokesperson — Jordan's former Prime Minister Taher Masri — tipped for the post of commissioner for civil society — and Egyptian Ahmad Kamal Abul Majd — nominated for the post of commissioner for culture.
But Ashrawi declined her nomination earlier this week, and diplomatic sources here have insisted that Musa's idea of appointing commissioners — a project inspired by the successful integration model of the European Union — has received only a lukewarm welcome from the member states.
A tepid welcome was also reportedly given to Musa's proposal to upgrade the Arab League's Economic and Social Council from the level of trade ministers to that of prime ministers.
The draft declaration on the Arab League's restructuring only said Arab leaders “show interest in the secretary general's suggestions, which will be referred to the member states to be studied and answered by June,” a source said.
According to an Arab diplomat, delegations were “deeply divided” over not only the choice of candidates made by Musa, but also the job description and mandate for the new commissioners. The source also said objections to the upgrading of the Economic and Social Council included doubts over the regularity of its meetings, once it is formed by premiers, usually burdened by tight and heavy agendas.
More progress was instead made as to the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), to be finalised by 2005 and currently including 14 Arab countries.
According to the same source, an Arab trade ministers' meeting on Saturday laid out a calendar for accelerated and substantive talks on rules of origin among GAFTA members.
Then again, maybe not...
(09:15) Jordan, Egypt bow out of Arab League summit
AMMAN, Jordan - Jordan's King Abdullah II will not attend the Arab summit in the Lebanese capital of Beirut opening today, a senior Jordanian government official said.
Abdullah will be represented by his prime minister, Ali Abu-Ragheb, the official said.
No reason was immediately available for Abdullah's decision, but it is believed to come in response to a move yesterday by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that effectively blocks Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat from attending the two-day summit.
Sources in Jerusalem said the Jordanian and Egyptian leaders decided to forgo traveling to the meeting due to intelligence warnings Hizbullah is planning a large attack during the summit, Israel Radio reported.
Abdullah joins numerous other Arab leaders, in particular Arafat and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who will not be attending the summit, at which a Saudi overture will be discussed offering Israel normal relations with the Arab world in exchange for the return of Arab lands seized during the 1967 Mideast War.
The Jordanian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that Jordan strongly backed the summit and the Saudi initiative, set to be tabled at the summit by its proponent Crown Prince Abdullah.
Arafat said last night he does not want to go to the Arab League summit in Beirut, ending days of speculation whether Israel would let him attend.
For more on Arafat's decision, click here.
(The Associated Press's Jamal Halaby contributed to this report)
http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2002/03/27/LatestNews/LatestNews.45994.html
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