Iraq's newly appointed foreign minister is trying to assume his country's seat in the Arab League. Dina Ezzat reports Giving no advance warning, on Tuesday evening diplomats from the Iraqi mission in Egypt arrived at the headquarters of the Arab League. They wanted to take part in a meeting for member states at the level of permanent representatives -- to which Iraq was not invited. These diplomats, who used to represent Saddam Hussein's regime, were hoping to now stand in for the Iraqi Interim Governing Council (IGC) and its newly appointed foreign minister at the meeting. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa stepped out of the hall to personally soothe the Iraqi diplomats, who were irate about their exclusion. The Iraqi diplomats argued that they needed to attend the meeting as part of the preparation for the possible participation of Iraq's newly appointed Foreign Minister Houchiar Mahmoud Zibari in an upcoming Arab foreign ministers meeting. Their request was turned down by the secretariat of the Arab League on the basis that no final decision has yet been made concerning the participation of Zibari or of any other Iraqi diplomats for that matter. During their meeting with Arab League secretary- general, last week, the IGC requested a representation in the meetings of the council of Arab foreign ministers. "There are signs that this request will be granted somehow but this is not final yet," one Arab League source told Al-Ahram Weekly. However, he clarified that while the IGC has insisted on its right to send representatives to fill the Iraqi seat, no decision has yet been taken on whether or not the IGC delegation will be granted that seat. "Not necessarily. Even if the delegation was headed by the new foreign minister, the seat could still remain vacant and the delegation could be seated in the observers chairs," the source suggested. He also indicated that even if an IGC delegation were to be admitted into this particular coming meeting "in one form or another", this would not automatically mean that the IGC would be in a position to send delegations representing Iraq to all Arab League events. Iraq's seat in the Arab League has been empty since the fall of Baghdad to US troops in April. Mohessin Khalil, Iraq's permanent representative to the League during the reign of Saddam Hussein, was invited to a single Arab League meeting that was held immediately after the occupation of Iraq for Arab deliberations, but that was an informal occasion with no seating by nation. A few weeks later, the secretariat of the Arab League was formally notified by the administrative board of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry that Khalil no longer represented the country. For its part, the secretariat of the Arab League has ceased to extend invitations to the Iraqi mission due to Arab reluctance to directly deal with the US occupation power or its national representatives. During the past few days, however, the rapport between the Arab League and the Iraqi mission in Egypt has revived. The two sides resumed close contacts in Cairo as they arranged for a visit paid by a delegation of the IGC to the League late in August. "We kept in touch with them and we exchanged views on the potential nature of Iraq's participation in the Arab foreign ministers meeting as a number of Arab states voiced support to the IGC request to take part in the upcoming meeting," one Arab League source said. On 9 and 10 September, Arab foreign ministers will convene for their regular autumn meeting. The Arab League Council of Foreign Ministers convenes twice a year: once in March and again in September. Saddam Hussein's last foreign minister, Naji Sabri, was present in the March meeting, which happened to be held a few days after the beginning of the US-led hostilities against Iraq. Today, there is a serious debate in most Arab quarters about the nature and consequence of Iraqi representation at the next Arab foreign ministers meeting. Countries supportive of the IGC, especially Kuwait, argue that the IGC includes representatives of all colours of the Iraqi political spectrum and should therefore be recognised as the legitimate Iraqi representative. Some Arab diplomatic sources have even asserted that Kuwait has promised to pay its long-overdue annual contribution to the modest Arab League budget if the organisation allows Zibari to sit next to the Iraqi flag. Following his participation in the Tuesday meeting, Kuwait's Permanent Representative to the Arab League Ahmed Al-Koleib said that his country is "adopting the case of the IGC and its right to participate and represent Iraq". Other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the United Arab Emirates and Oman, expressed enthusiasm for potential IGC participation. Saudi Arabia, the leading power in the GCC, is taking a middle ground between those who want the IGC to take Iraq's seat in the Arab League and those who are still apprehensive about the implications of this move. Also taking a middle ground, so far, is Jordan. Amman, Arab diplomats say, would like to give as much support to the IGC as possible. The Jordanian government, however, has a particular dilemma in the fact that Ahmed Chalabi, the rotating head of the IGC for the month of September, is facing legal charges for financial embezzlement in Jordan. Nonetheless, the Jordanian Permanent Representative to the Arab League Hani Al-Mulaqi suggested that it is only a matter of time before the IGC finds its way into the meeting halls of the Arab League. One country with unmasked apprehension over the IGC's assumption of Iraq's seat in the Arab League is Egypt. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher is going to chair the meetings of Arab foreign ministers on 9 and 10 September. Cairo received a delegation of the IGC last week, but has been lukewarm towards the body. The Egyptian sentiment has been also seconded by Syria, which has consistently refused to accept the IGC's legitimacy, as when it abstained in August on UN Security Council resolution 1500 welcoming the establishment of the Iraqi quasi-government. Ahmed Chalabi said on Monday that he and Amr Moussa had agreed that Zibari will be present in the League meetings of 9 and 10 September. Moussa, however, declined to confirm or deny this statement. "The issue is still under consultation among Arab states," he said. "It would be up to the Arab foreign ministers to decide on this matter on the eve of their meeting or during the meeting itself," Moussa added. Iraqi Minister of Planning Mahdi Al-Hafez said that the IGC has already received enough confirmation about the participation of Zibari and his delegation in the Arab foreign ministers meeting. Al-Hafez went as far as to predict that the Arab League will recognise the IGC as the legal representative of the Iraqi people in its next meeting. Al-Hafez's high expectations may not be easy to fulfil. The opposition to giving recognition to a political entity supervised by an occupation force should not be underestimated. Some Arab capitals have indicated that they would take drastic diplomatic moves to protest should the Arab League offer its recognition of the IGC. Another factor that works against the expectations of Al- Hafez is the fact that the UN Security Council has fallen short of recognising the IGC. Moreover, unmistakable opposition is present to challenge the interim government at home, as many Iraqis question its ability to rule autonomously from the Anglo- American authorities. According to Ali Garoush, the head of the Arab Affairs Department at the Arab League, "There are many complicated factors in play. But at the end of the day, the Arab League cannot leave the Iraqi situation unattended."
