The second conference on Arab reform fails to impress Sherine Bahaa It has been a year since the much-debated Alexandria Document emerged at the end of the first conference on Arab reform. This week, at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a similar, albeit smaller, gathering convened to take stock of the last 12 month's efforts and contemplate future steps on the long and bumpy road to reform. Convening under the auspices of President Hosni Mubarak, the second Arab Reform Conference took "success stories" as its theme, though sadly they proved few and far between. In his speech inaugurating the conference Mubarak noted that "the Arab world still has a long way to go on the issue of democratic reform." He voiced appreciation for the "serious efforts being exerted to attain political, economic, social, educational and cultural modernisation, development and reforms -- whether on a national or Arab regional level". While admitting that "the road is still long," the president stressed that "we must continue in the firm belief that reform is a continuous process... that we owe to our people and nations." It was the commitment to pursue reform in accordance with the people's aspirations, Mubarak said, that had prompted his recent decision to amend the constitution and allow for direct multi-candidate presidential elections. While calling for further reform across the Arab world, Mubarak promised that Egypt would soon witness "new horizons for civil society [and] more constitutional changes". Despite only a brief appearance and a concise speech Mubarak's attendance was seen as a vote of confidence for the efforts of mostly non-governmental groups to promote reform across the Arab world. But the upbeat note did not last beyond the president's speech as within hours the event degenerated into a talking shop, with many views offered but little in the way of realisable plans. Though there were days of discussions among loosely-organised panels on political reform, the culture of peace, human rights and the empowerment of women, the assessment report on the implementation of the Alexandria Document suggested a lack of commitment to speeding up reform. The report -- discussed at the opening session -- did not go beyond suggesting a website be established for the forum alongside an Internet "info mall" that would assist in linking Arab civil society movements. Exchanging Arab experiences is useful, Ismail Serageldin, director of the Bibliotheca, told the conference, though an impressive show of harnessing IT to encourage inter-Arab civil society communication was hardly the objective of the conference. "How many of our middle classes have the capability to surf the Net?" asked Lebanese commentator Jihad Al- Khazen. "They have to feel it rather than read about it." But at least the harnessing of IT provided a small success story. As the conference progressed it began to look increasingly lonely. During sessions on political participation -- an especially thorny issue for Arab governments -- attendees were vocal about the unwillingness of their governments to opt for real change. Cosmetic attempts to polish rather than reform archaic political systems were, participants complained, the order of the day. "This has always been the case when talking of Arab reform," said Al-Khazen. "Change in our world always comes late and incomplete and this will not lead to democracy. I do not think there is an Arab ruler who is willing to undertake change of his own will." An Egyptian professor of political science offered a gloomy account of harassment at the hands of security officers, who still pursue political activists. "People have to have confidence in the government and the security apparatus has to stay away from the political process," he said. Other participants argued that governments needed to show more willingness to respond to the demands of their people. If governments want to enhance their credibility through participation in elections they need to abandon their 99.9 per cent claims and do more than just talk about their commitment to democratise. "Most elections in the Arab world are rigged," said analyst Mohamed El- Sayed Idris, of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. "More people will go to the polls only when they feel they can bring down the government, or can bring a government to office." Idris, an active member of the Egyptian Movement for Change, added that "the 'state' is deliberately keeping people away from political participation" in order to maintain power. "For real political participation to happen the monopoly of power must be dismantled and ended," he said. One issue that provoked much debate, and was later highlighted in the final report of the political committee, was the need for an educated, reform-oriented populace willing to play a role in the political process. The report asked for banned Islamist movements to be included in the political process in an attempt to thaw relations between religion and the state. Essam El-Erian, a prominent figure within Egypt's Islamist movement, underlined the need for wider representation from across the Arab world at the Alexandria meetings. After all, El-Erian argued, if the Arab people are protesting for reform then there is no point in keeping them away from events that claim to call for that very reform. El-Erian had suggested a list of names to be invited in this year's conference, a request that was ignored. While some may fear that gatherings such as this week's at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina are a passing fad a great many participants stressed the importance of pressing ahead with reform efforts on all fronts. Such forums, whatever their shortcomings, serve as a decent platform to promote ideas even if any ensuing action is in slow motion. Ayman El-Amir, deputy director of external relations at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, agreed that what has been achieved is less than expected, but at least now the door is open. A year is too short to measure the effectiveness of such a movement, he said. Any assessment of the Bibliotheca's endeavours would, he argued, have to take into consideration the fact that Arab "civil society is still in its formative phase". "Democratic movements have taken root and the power of the populace is acknowledged even by our rulers," he said. While a great many participants at the conference appeared obsessed with the question of how to make such gatherings more effective it remains to be seen whether the third Arab Reform Conference, scheduled for March 2006 at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, will attract wider public participation and result in more visionary plans. If it fails to do so, participants in this year's meeting cautioned, the Alexandria gatherings will be in danger of losing the allure they gained when the Alexandria Document was launched.
