Arab relations on the move

At the upcoming Arab summit deliberations on the Palestine issue are expected to go more smoothly than those on the plight of the Iraqi people, writes Dina Ezzat
It has been a busy week in Arab politics. Cairo had the lion's share of activities, hosting meetings to set the agenda for this month's Arab summit. Top Egyptian officials, including President Hosni Mubarak, are making plenty of telephone calls to their counterparts as well as visiting other Arab capitals to ensure that there will be a sufficient consensus on key issues to allow the Arab summit to succeed.
Egypt is the current chair of the Arab summit, the event having last been held in Cairo during October 2000. On 27 March the chair of the summit will be turned over to Jordan.
The Amman summit will be the first following the agreement by Arab countries to hold this meeting each March. By holding summits annually, Arab leaders hope to enhance political ties and economic cooperation. "Both Cairo and Jordan are working closely to secure the success of the summit," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.
Explaining the work to be tackled later this month, Jordan's Foreign Minister Abdel-Ilah El-Khatib said, "The next Arab summit will conduct its work along three lines: the political -- particularly in relation to the Arab-Israeli peace process -- the economic and the modernisation of the mechanism through which Arab relations are conducted, namely, the Arab League."
But such a plan of action is not as simple as it may sound. During three days of intensive negotiations and meetings, Arab foreign ministers, who were in Cairo earlier this week for their twice yearly ministerial council meeting, had a difficult time agreeing on the agenda for the summit. As the ministers could only come to an agreement on a provisional agenda, this document will be subject to further consultations at a higher level.
The stumbling block for ministers was Iraq. This matter was removed from the agenda of October's summit at Baghdad's request. Its argument then was that the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the need to support the Palestinian cause should take precedence over any other issues.
Today the Intifada is entering its sixth month, while the embargo imposed on Iraq is in its 11th year. So for many Arab countries the matter of Iraq cannot be postponed any longer.
The very inclusion of Iraq on the agenda of the Amman summit was not at issue. The dispute, which consumed hours of the Arab foreign ministers' discussion, however, was the way this item should be described on the agenda. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia insisted that it be referred to as "the situation between Iraq and Kuwait."
Commenting on the matter, a Kuwaiti diplomat said, "This is the best that we could do. This phrasing, which was proposed only a few months ago, should be seen by the Iraqis as an improvement from 'the repercussions from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait' that was used before."
This new description was only partially acceptable to the Iraqi delegation. Iraqi Foreign Minister Sa'id El-Sahhaf told his Arab counterparts that Baghdad also asked to include items on 'the need to end the sanctions on Iraq' and 'the need to end the no-fly zones.'
According to one Iraqi official, it is "incomprehensible" that Arab officials continue to express sympathy for the suffering of the Iraqi people while those very officials refuse to "even talk" about lifting the sanctions. "This is not to mention the fact that the no-fly zones imposed on areas in the north and south of Iraq are enforced by the US and the UK and not UN Security Council resolutions," he added.
The Kuwaitis see things differently. "It would be mad for us to call for an end to the sanctions imposed on the Iraqi regime while it continues to threaten military action against us and is failing to respond to our legitimate demands in relation to POWs and financial compensation for the invasion and the looting," said the Kuwaiti diplomat. "If Baghdad wants this to happen, it should come clean and apologise for the invasion, return the POWs and pay compensation," he added. The Saudis strongly support Kuwait's stance.
Both Kuwaitis and Saudis refused to compromise on this front. Eventually Iraqi backed down agreeing that the item could refer to "the situation" with its neighbour provided that it include sub-items referring to the no-fly zones and the embargo, including the need for the UN to start working towards dismantling the sanctions regime.
The wrangling over the agenda appears set to continue with the review of the provisional agenda during the Arab foreign ministers meeting scheduled to be held in Amman on 24 and 25 March. If no agreement is reached, Baghdad, say Iraqi and other Arab sources, will ask the Iraqi issue be removed from the summit agenda altogether.
"I think that the time is right to open the Iraqi file," commented Abdel-Qader Bajamal, the foreign minister of Yemen. And, according to Foreign Minister Moussa, even if resolving this problem takes a long time, what counts is that the Iraqi issue will begin to be dealt with at the summit level.
But dealing with the matter effectively at the summit, say Arab diplomats, will be very difficult. "Even if there is a general trend among Arab countries that Iraq should be given 'something,' agreeing on this something will not be easy at all," commented a diplomatic source.
A continuing barrier is the reluctance of both Iraq and Kuwait to admit any wrongdoing in relation to the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990.
Iraq is adamant that it owes nothing to its Gulf neighbours. "The onus should not be on Iraq to come up with any initiatives to solve the problems of its relations with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait," El-Sahhaf told reporters on Tuesday. According to Iraq's foreign minister, the answer to the problem of the relations between Iraq and its immediate Gulf neighbours lies in "establishing an atmosphere that encourages improved Arab relations. In this regard both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia should stop providing facilities for the American air force planes that bomb Iraqi targets," El-Sahhaf added.
But the wider problem is the international dimension of this file. "Iraq is not just an Arab affair, it is an international affair that is now dealt with in the UN Security Council," Moussa said.
"Even if we wanted to lift the embargo and asked the American army to leave the region, who is to say that they would do this. They have their strategic interests to worry about," commented the Kuwaiti diplomat.
In other words, commented one Egyptian diplomat, "No major breakthrough should be expected on the Iraqi file."
As a matter of fact, no major breakthroughs should be expected on any front. Even the peace process file is unlikely to witness much progress. While this matter is less controversial among Arab countries, since all Arab capitals express support for the rights of Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese to the lands occupied by Israel, few Arab countries are willing to respond positively to Syria's long-standing call to reimpose a total Arab boycott of Israel.
Commenting on this issue an Arab diplomatic source said, "The subject will be discussed, but the matter will not be taken any further because neither Egypt nor Jordan will accept abandoning their agreements with Israel. Other Arab countries who view relations with Israel as a way to curry favour with the White House will also disagree with the boycott approach."
The only possible improvement in relation to this file would be the summit's adoption of a resolution to increase Arab aid to the Palestinian Authority. Arab financial aid for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) may also be pledged by the Arab summit in Amman.
The summit might also reiterate the call made by Arab foreign ministers yesterday in Cairo for the Security Council to convene to discuss the situation in the occupied territories with a view to sending international peace keeping forces to protect Palestinian civilians.
Meanwhile discussions on the files for Arab economic cooperation and Arab organisations are likely to lead to significant decisions.
Egypt is planning to suggest to the summit specific ideas on Arab economic cooperation in the areas of gas, electricity, transport and IT. Egypt will also suggest the convocation of an Arab economic conference to be hosted in Cairo next November with official and private sector contributions.
Moreover, Egypt, whose foreign minister will be sworn in as the new secretary-general of the Arab League in the coming few weeks, is studying ideas to improve the performance of the organisation and its affiliated bodies. Proposals concerning the functioning of the league are also being contemplated by Jordan and Qatar the chair of current session of the council of Arab foreign ministers.
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