As Washington's fuzzy vision for peace in the region became clearer, Cairo's apprehensions about its implementation mounted, write Nevine Khalil and Soha Abdelaty Click to view caption Soon after US President George W Bush announced his new vision for the Middle East, Cairo cautiously welcomed Washington's "mostly balanced" ideas for re- engaging the Palestinians and Israelis in peacemaking. When Washington failed to provide the clarifications that Cairo had requested on a number of points in Bush's address, Egypt voiced some differences in its perspective. "The situation cannot continue like this," President Hosni Mubarak told reporters on Monday. "I am concerned about further complications which might cause chaos in the region." Mubarak was speaking after a two-hour meeting with his political and national security aides, where he listened to various views and analyses of Bush's Middle East vision announced on 24 June. Mubarak also took stock of Palestinian, Israeli, Arab and international feedback on Washington's vision, and instructed his aides to intensify their contacts with the US administration regarding the need for a mechanism to implement Bush's ideas and to obtain further elaboration on some of the US president's points. He also announced that he will dispatch envoys for talks with the Palestinians and Israelis "soon". In the meantime, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher embarked on his long overdue visit to London on Wednesday. Mubarak also spoke by telephone with French President Jacques Chirac on Monday and received Qatar's Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in Cairo to consult on the latest developments. Disagreement between Egyptian and American officials was first aired when it became clear to Cairo that Bush was making the removal of Yasser Arafat as Palestinian president a prerequisite for the implementation of all other aspects of his vision. Bush had refrained from mentioning Arafat by name in his speech, and the initial reaction from Egyptian and Palestinian officials was to dismiss readings that Bush was in fact demanding the Palestinian president's removal as an integral part of the Palestinian reform process. Nevertheless, when US officials spelled out what Bush actually meant, reaction in Cairo was apprehensive. Maher told reporters on Saturday that no one can "dictate" whom the Palestinians should choose as their leader, and "no one can demand" more than free and fair elections. A few days later, Mubarak vehemently denied reports that Cairo and Washington were in fact coordinating a search for a Palestinian leader to replace Arafat. "This issue was not discussed with me when I was in the US because [Egypt's] opinion is very clear and well known," said Mubarak of his talks in Washington in June. Maher was more precise: "No one would dare ask us to do this. [We] support the will of the Palestinian people who democratically elected President Arafat a few years ago." While Egypt stood firm in its support of Arafat, the Americans have said that they will not deal with Arafat, and if he is re- elected in the elections scheduled for January, there will be dire consequences for the Palestinian people. During a visit to Cairo, US Congressman Robert Wexler acknowledged that there was a divergence of opinion between Egypt and US regarding Palestinian reform. "President Bush just laid out the criteria [of] how the US will support the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own," Wexler told Al-Ahram Weekly on Monday after meeting with Maher. "We're not telling anyone how they should or should not support the policy. What we're saying is: if the Palestinian state is going to come into being with the help of the American people, this is what needs to occur." But Arafat's fate was not the only issue about which Cairo wanted more information. Egyptian officials wanted clarification on the time-line, action-plan and mechanism which Washington has in mind. Although Mubarak reiterated this week that Bush's ideas "undeniably have positive elements", he continued saying, "there are negative aspects as well. This is why I say it is necessary that his statement is clarified and followed up with the creation of a mechanism for implementation." Mubarak had hoped Washington would take the initiative by making the necessary clarifications "to avoid interpretations which misconstrue or contradict its content," adding, "We want to understand the situation in order to help resolve it." However, the fine-tuning of Bush's ideas is expected to wait until US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to the region, the date of which has not been announced. At the same time, Maher said that he had not been informed of plans for any Arab officials to go to Washington to seek clarifications. Mubarak stressed that a mechanism needs to be created to implement Bush's ideas, and that Israel's "attacks, destruction and humiliation" of the Palestinians must end to pave the way for a breakthrough. He noted that the Palestinians and Israelis each have "duties" which need to be carried out, "but it is yet unclear when implementation will occur, how and who will begin first". Maher said that the Palestinians cannot initiate a reform process while they are subjected to continued Israeli occupation and settlement activities. "You cannot ask one side to implement all their obligations [first], while the other decides when to do so." Egyptian officials argue that leaving the sequence of steps unclear, allows Israel to make demands of the Palestinian side while ignoring what is required from it. "Israel is trying to launch a huge campaign, claiming that the other side has obligations while nothing is being asked of it," Maher pointed out. "Matters have to be clarified." Other implications of Bush's declaration which did not sit well with Cairo included Washington's call on Arab states, especially Syria, to fulfil their responsibilities for resolving the crisis. "We are not waiting for anyone to ask us to shoulder our responsibilities," said Maher. "Egypt has been shouldering its responsibilities since the beginning of the Palestinian problem, and has never abandoned them." To a question from the Weekly regarding Syria, Maher said, "The Syrians have expressed their desire to be part of a peace process. They have indicated their desire for peace in all forums. I think that should be enough." Maher is scheduled to arrive in Syria today for further consultations with officials there. While there is some divergence among Arab positions on the current situation, Maher believes that there is a consensus that Bush's vision had certain positive aspects which offer potential, but at the same time, there are other dimensions that require further elaboration. It is expected that Arab positions will be consolidated further at next week's meeting of the Arab League Follow-up and Action Committee.
