In Tunis Dina Ezzat tries to learn what led the Tunisians to call off the Arab summit Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is expected in Tunis on Friday for talks with Tunisian officials over the fate of the postponed Arab summit. Tunisian officials have yet to announce whether or not Tunisian President Zein Al- Abidine Bin Ali will receive Moussa. So far Moussa is scheduled to meet Tunisian Foreign Minister Al-Habib Bin Yehya. The focus of the talks Moussa intends to hold in Tunis, and in several other Arab capitals, is the future date and venue of the Arab summit. While in Tunis, Moussa is bound to raise another matter with his interlocutors: what really prompted Tunisian President Bin Ali to call off the Arab summit which he was slated to host and chair on Monday this week? Tunisian officials have publicly argued that they had to declare the delay of the summit on the eve of the expected arrival of the heads of states due to insurmountable differences among foreign ministers in preparatory meetings running up to the summit. Moussa has refrained from openly questioning this argument but on the other hand he never seemed to be quite convinced. "I cannot at all say that the discussions in the meetings of foreign ministers were particularly harsh... And it is not unusual for foreign ministers to refer a few matters of disagreement to the heads of states... But I am sure Tunis must have a reason for the decision," he said hours after the summit was called off. Most Arab foreign ministers participating in the meeting rejected the Tunisian argument -- first in subtle language and then in a more direct approach. Speaking to reporters on his way out of Tunis on Sunday morning, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Korabi said: "I'm very disappointed. I don't understand why our brothers in Tunis decided to do this." He added that this is a very bad moment for any weakness in Arab political resolve. "We have so many challenges and this was not the way for us Arabs to live up to these challenges," Al-Korabi said. For his part, Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher said that Arab countries were still awaiting a clear explanation from Tunis. "We do not know what happened, but whatever the reason is it had nothing to do with the foreign ministers' meetings. There were no such major differences," Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa said on Tuesday in Sharm El-Sheikh following talks with President Hosni Mubarak on Egypt's proposal to host the summit within the next few weeks. Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Bin Issa also argued that there were "different views in relation to certain language [used] here and there, but there were no major differences" during Saturday's evening foreign ministers' meeting. It was that very gathering that was interrupted by the declaration made by Bin Yehya to convey the message of Bin Ali: "The summit is postponed. It will not happen on Monday. Tunis is postponing the summit." Bin Yehya offered no alternative date for the summit and no reason for the decision. Until now the reasons behind this decision remain unclear, both to Arab officials and public opinion. There is, however, growing speculation in many official, diplomatic and intellectual Arab quarters. Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, many officials and commentators argued, "some foreign influence must have been behind this decision." In the words of one Arab foreign minister, "If it was a matter of inter-Arab differences then the normal thing to do would have been to call Arab leaders. But to take such a decision without any consultation with Arab leaders, or the Arab League, is a clear indication that the reason is far from related to the meetings." Some suggested that reason came via the US. Others looked further afield. Many, however, laid the blame solely on Tunisia. One infuriated top Arab diplomat railed, "I do not want to say it, but I believe that the Tunisians never really intended to host this summit. They did not want [to host] a summit in Tunis that would come out with a strong condemnation of Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories or the US occupation of Iraq." When Egypt declined a Tunisian request to hold the summit at the Cairo headquarters of the Arab League, he added, the Tunisians had to "claim that they were going to have it and project this scenario that nobody could buy". Concerns of a low turnout by Arab heads of state in Tunis for the summit is also being signalled as reason behind the Tunisian decision. An abrupt "Yes" was the reply Bin Yehya offered to reporters' questions on whether the participation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in the summit was guaranteed. Speaking to reporters about six hours before the summit was called off, Bin Yehya looked extremely uncomfortable when asked questions related to the level of participation. Questions about which leaders were set to show up for the summit featured daily in every press conference and briefing given by Tunisian or Arab officials during the four days of preparatory meetings before the summit was called off. This was far from being the topic of discussion preferred by Tunisian officials, given the reluctance of many heads of state to lead their countries' delegations to the summit personally. "The fact of the matter is that summit participation at a level of heads of state indicates political resolve on the part of Arab countries to work towards serious resolutions and to show some commitment in honouring agreements reached," commented one Tunisian official. Prior to the cancellation, at least two key leaders had officially notified Tunis that they were not going to take part in the summit and would appoint representatives. King Hamad Bin Issa of Bahrain -- who remains chair of the Arab summit until it is turned over -- was not planning to show up to hand over the presidency of the summit to Bin Ali at the summit's opening session. He appointed his prime minister to do the job. "Obviously this is not what we have expected, but we also know that there are serious riots in Bahrain now and that the king prefers to be home to administer the situation himself," the Tunisian official said. Also intending to miss the summit was Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who has been representing his country in all major events for the past two years due to the deteriorating health of King Fahd. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al- Faissal was planning to head his country's delegation. This, the Saudis said, was as far as they could go. They were worried about Abdullah's security since their intelligence indicated a potential attempt on his life by Tunisian-based sympathisers of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in response to a harsh confrontation between the two top Arab officials last year during the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, commented one informed Arab source who asked to remain anonymous. According to this source all assurances offered by "the highly security-oriented Tunisian president failed to convince the Saudi crown prince to change his mind". Further, "it was due to Egyptian mediation that the Saudi foreign minister decided to take part", in the ministerial meetings and summit "under very tight security measures". The participation of Gaddafi himself was not as certain as some might have expected it to be. According to the Tunisian official, "normally we would have expected Colonel Gaddafi to participate without hesitation." He emphasised "the role Tunis played in facilitating [Gaddafi's] deal with the US and Britain that allowed for the resumption of direct contact between Tripoli and the two countries in return for a Libyan decision to give up plans to develop weapons of mass destruction". Hours before the indefinite postponement of the Arab summit, Tunisian sources said that the Libyan security and press corps that usually arrive at any country before Gaddafi was ordered back to Tripoli after it had almost reached the Tunisian border. Even up until Saturday afternoon not many leaders had officially notified the host state of their intention to take part in the event. Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir said he intended to be in Tunis, his Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters on Friday. Algerian President Abdul-Aziz Boutafliqa, according to his Foreign Minister Belkhadem, was also planning to take part "should the summit convene". Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sabeh Mohamed Al-Sabeh, who usually heads his country's delegation to key events due to the very poor health of both the prince and crown prince, had officially confirmed participation. King Abdullah of Jordan seemed inclined to come to Tunis too. The same was said of King Mohamed of Morocco. According to one Tunisian official the most important thing for his country was to ensure that not all three leaders of the key states of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria were absent. Even after the decision to postpone the summit had been announced, Tunisian officials were still reluctant to provide information related to the expected level of participation by heads of states. Having called off the summit Tunis does not seem to be very amused with Egypt's offer to provide an alternative venue and date for the summit. Tunisian officials and the state-controlled press have made no attempt at hiding their discomfort with Egyptian diplomatic moves in the hours and days following the shocking announcement of the postponement of the summit. "Tunisian President Zein Al-Abidine Bin Ali is currently conducting consultations to decide on a new date for the summit that Tunis still insists to chair and hold," Bin Yehya said on Monday following a meeting with his president. His statement came hours after his ministry issued a written statement, attributed to an official source, to indirectly criticise Egypt's offer to host the Arab summit. The statement said that Tunis finds the "attempt to ignore the real inter-Arab differences" that led to the cancellation of the Arab summit, and the suggestion that it is simply a question of finding a venue, "surprising". The Tunisian decision, the statement said, is not at all related to the venue of the summit "and consequently, all attempts to change the venue are in fact attempts to confuse and ignore the real reasons leading to the decision to postpone the summit". This same line is being fed to -- and reflected in -- the Tunisian media and press. State-controlled Tunisian TV is constantly airing interviews with Tunisian officials and state-affiliated commentators to underline the official Tunisian argument that the delay was due to "major inter-Arab differences" related to reform in the Arab world. In a two-hour programme that has been aired on Tunis satellite and national channels at least twice, Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Hatem Bin Salem insisted that Tunis "with its given commitment to modernisation" could not have agreed to host and chair a summit that fails to show clear Arab commitment to matters of democratisation, human rights and women's empowerment. "These are issues of the future and we cannot keep our heads in the sand," Bin Salem said. He added: "Tunis could not have afforded to undermine its credibility by agreeing to just any resolutions or any communiqués... [that would fail] to deliver real changes." On Tuesday, the Tunisian press that has for two days been busy trying to justify the unexpected cancellation moved towards launching an indirect propaganda campaign against Egypt's offer to host the summit. The papers stressed that it is "misleading" to confuse Arab public opinion with the provision of an alternative venue and date for the summit when Arab countries cannot agree on the content of the summit. According to Tunisian professors of international law interviewed by the press on Tuesday, "It is illegal to contemplate another venue for the summit in view of the fact that Tunis declared the postponement and not cancellation of the summit." Moreover, some commentators argued that it is better for the Arabs that the summit does not convene at all rather than to have a summit that misleads Arab public opinion. This propaganda has certainly left a strong impact on Tunisian public opinion. Tunisian men and women speaking to the Weekly were far from subtle in criticising the Egyptian offer to host the summit. "Why is Egypt doing this? Why does the Egyptian president offer to host the summit? Tunis did not say that it was not going to host it. We simply asked for time for better preparations," said one Tunisian man. Many others bluntly accused Egypt of deliberately working to obstruct an agreement in Tunis, subsequently hijacking the summit. "This is what Egypt wants, to make every other country look bad. Egyptians always want to be the ones who worry about Arab interests. Well, if they want Arabs they can have them. We are not interested in the Arabs anyway," another Tunisian told the Weekly. For their part, Egyptian officials in Tunis and in Cairo are being very emphatic in denying any intention on their side to hijack the summit. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher called his Tunisian counterpart to stress Egypt's good intentions. "The cancellation, or postponement, of the summit -- whatever it might be for Tunis -- in this way was a very serious matter," argued a senior Egyptian official. For this and many other Arab officials, the Tunisian decision violated the text of an annex of the Arab League Charter that stipulates the annual convocation of the Arab summit. It was also seen across the Arab world as indicative of a lack of resolve by Arab states to live up to the expectations of regional public opinion; especially in facing and opposing Israeli aggression in Palestine, the US-led occupation of Iraq and clear Western attempts to impose a new way of life on Arabs under the pretext of reform. Today, there are not many Arab officials who are willing to go back to Tunis for a summit. "Everybody was offended by the unilateral and insensitive way in which the summit was cancelled," said one Arab diplomatic source. Very few Arab officials have welcomed the Tunis-declared determination to host the summit at a later date. On the other hand, many Arab officials have openly supported Egypt's call to host the summit as soon as possible. For its part, Egypt says that it is only offering an alternative venue and that it is willing to host the summit while offering the chairmanship to Tunisia -- if, that is, it participates.
