A question of implementation By Amira Ibrahim After five years of studies and debates, Arab interior and justice ministers gave their stamp of approval last week to the first Arab Treaty for Combating Terrorism. The treaty was signed on 22 April at the Arab League headquarters in the presence of the League's Secretary-General Esmat Abdel-Meguid. Abdel-Meguid expressed hope that the treaty would be followed by a similar international treaty. "The treaty is a good step forward to persuade Western countries to cooperate with us in order to reach a similar international agreement," Abdel-Meguid said. A statement issued by the league affirmed an intention to intensify Arab action to confront all negative phenomena, including terrorism and extremism. Israeli state-sponsored terrorism was condemned. "We should also remember that state terrorism is as serious as terrorism unleashed by individuals and groups and should be similarly confronted," said Lebanese Justice Minister Bahij Tobara, who was speaking on the anniversary of the Qana massacre in which more than 100 Lebanese civilians were killed by Israeli shelling of a UN camp in southern Lebanon. The League's Council of Interior Ministers issued a statement lambasting Israel as one of the main sources of terrorism in the region. "Israel pretends that it embraces democracy and combats terrorism only to achieve its colonisation schemes, on the one hand, and distort the image of Arabs and Muslims on the other," the statement said. The proceedings were due to last for two days, during which the ministers were scheduled to exchange views on the treaty. But only two sessions, one public and the other in camera, were held. Ahmed bin Mohamed Al-Salem, the council's secretary-general, read out the concluding statement. The delegation from the United Arab Emirates suggested an Arab boycott of any country that violates the provisions of the treaty. "The suggestion will be considered during a discussion of the mechanisms proposed for implementing the treaty," Al-Salem told a news conference following the signing ceremony. Behind the scenes, some differences reportedly emerged over the interpretation of some of the treaty's 42 articles. Some participants were reportedly dissatisfied with one article in the treaty stipulating that people accused of negligence in military duty are to be exempt from extradition. Moreover, the article dealing with extradition of terrorists did not appear to be binding on all Arab countries. The treaty states that implementation is done via mechanisms of bilateral agreements but many Arab countries do not have bilateral extradition agreements. While Arab human rights groups were studying the legal consequences of the accord, a statement by an Egyptian militant group condemned the treaty as hostile to the Islamist movement. The statement, signed by Abdallah Al-Mansour, secretary of the Islamic Jihad -- Vanguards of Conquest group, said the treaty aimed at "encircling" youths of the Muslim nation. "Arab governments should reconsider their positions and refrain from implementing the treaty," said the statement, which was faxed to the London-based, Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat. Since 1992, Egyptian authorities have signed several bilateral security accords with Arab and non-Arab countries, focusing on fighting terrorism and the extradition of terrorists. Meanwhile, authorities pushed for an all-Arab anti-terrorism treaty. Speaking ahead of the conference, Egyptian Interior Minister Habib El-Adli highlighted the importance of thwarting any attempt at destabilisation. "We are determined to defend our heritage, our present and our future," he vowed. Also ahead of the conference, Sudan offered to conclude a security accord with Egypt. But following the difficult negotiations in Khartoum on restoring confiscated Egyptian property, the accord is up in the air. The interior ministers of Algeria and Morocco met on the sidelines of the conference, their first encounter since a meeting in Morocco a year earlier. The two countries had traded accusations of hosting militants and closed their joint border in 1994. The treaty, which lays down guidelines for cooperation in the war against terrorism, was approved in principle by the Council of Arab Interior Ministers in Tunis last January. Since then, nine articles have been amended. They deal with the judicial procedures of extradition, cooperation in investigations and the trial of a national of an Arab country by another country.
