Egypt's permanent representative to the UN tells Dina Ezzat of Cairo's determination to free the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction Israeli diplomats have become increasingly vocal in their criticisms of Egypt's UN delegation as it seeks to include Israel's nuclear arsenal on the agenda of the three-week review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that opened in New York on 2 May. The five-yearly NPT review conference brings together 180 member states and other concerned organisations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to review the status of the non-proliferation regime. Israel -- with the support of Washington and some other states -- had hoped to exclude the Middle East from the agenda while Egypt, supported by Arab states and a number of Third World countries, is reiterating its 2000 appeal that Israel should pursue the cause of non- proliferation. "It was impossible for us not to do this. Why should we abandon our commitment to making the Middle East a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons included," Egypt's Permanent Representative to the UN told Al-Ahram Weekly. In a telephone interview with the Weekly Abdel- Fattah said securing the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East is "a top diplomatic priority". Egypt's determination to include Israel's nuclear arsenal in discussions aims, said Abdel- Fattah, at pressuring Israel to cooperate with the non-proliferation regime and end a policy of nuclear ambiguity. "This is not directed against Israel," he said, "but is meant to serve the purposes of non- proliferation in the Middle East." Cairo has long believed that Egyptian interests would be best served by freeing the region of nuclear weapons and for more than a decade has been working to end Israel's exemption from the (NPT). "Egypt's decision to sign the indefinite extension of NPT in 1995 was conditional on getting the review conference then to issue a resolution calling for an end to proliferation in the Middle East. In 2000 Egypt succeeded in getting the NPT review conference to make the first direct reference not to follow up on successes secured in the last two conferences," says Abdel- Fattah. "But this is not a pro-active approach as such," and Egypt's ambitions, he continues, extend beyond a reiteration of the appeal that Israel open its nuclear facilities to inspection by the IAEA. "Egypt has presented a proposal to the conference proposing the establishment of a working group on the Middle East," Abdel-Fattah said. The proposal is supported by Arab countries and non- aligned member states. "We are still working on the proposal and remain hopeful that we will be able to build a consensus behind it before the conference concludes next week." Egypt, Abdel-Fattah stresses, is adopting "a progressive approach" to the issue of non- proliferation in the Middle East. "We have no illusions that this issue will be solved any time soon," he said, "but equally we have no intention of giving up on our cause." In response to the Egyptian stand Tel Aviv has insinuated that Egypt is deliberately targeting Israel and that Cairo would pursue a nuclear programme of its own if it could. Fudged stories that IAEA Director General Mohamed El-Baradei -- an Egyptian national whose renewed term in office has met strong opposition from Washington -- is responsible for the Egyptian position are once again resurfacing. El-Baradei's nomination for a third term at the IAEA should not, insists Abdel-Fattah, be mixed with the issue of non-proliferation in the Middle East. "These are two separate files that should not be confused," he said. El-Baradei's position towards Israel's nuclear ambiguity has been the focus of some harsh Arab criticism, particularly following his visit to Israel last year during which he failed to secure Tel Aviv's agreement to opening the Dimonah nuclear reactor to IAEA inspection. His soft approach to Israel was contrasted in the Arab press with the much tougher approach taken with the former Iraqi regime. While Israel has successfully undermined El- Baradei's suggestion that an international conference on the issue of non-proliferation in the Middle East be held separately from the NPT regular review conference, Abdel-Fattah insists his team is not disheartened by the failure of El- Baradei's efforts. "The world can see what is going on," he says. Arab diplomats point out that UN Security Council Resolution 687, which allowed the IAEA to work towards eliminating Iraq's nuclear programme, includes the stipulation that disarming Iraq should be a beginning of a process aimed at making the Middle East a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction. The world needs to look hard at ways to validate a non-proliferation regime "and this," says Abdel-Fattah, "cannot be done if the situation in the Middle East is left un-addressed".
