Mubarak calls for deploying int'l observers in Palestinian territories
Egypt-Palestine, Politics, 7/5/2001

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the right way to come out of the Middle East vicious circle is to deploy neutral observers in friction areas and tangent lines in the Palestinian territories.

In an exclusive interview 'Al-Musawar' magazine Chief Editor Makram Mohammad Ahmed to be published tomorrow, President Mubarak said the mission of the observers would be to figure out the wrongful party that started using violence.

"There is an agreement between everybody that political talk should begin after the climate cools off," the President said.

Regardless of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's demands, the President said the Israeli people need some calm and reassurance. "I don't think what is required is to reduce tension one hundred percent, because this will never happen and I made this clear to the US Secretary of State Colin Powell," President Mubarak noted, adding that Powell himself admits the difficulty of reaching such a target.

"He confirmed to me that this was the opinion of President George W. Bush. What is required is to reduce the level of violence so as to allow the Palestinian and Israeli sides to sit together for talks," he said.

Answering a query on Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat's readiness to abide by the ceasefire, Mubarak said "The problem is that Sharon gives settlers the freedom to attack Palestinians every day. The Israelis strike at us and Sharon says it is Arafat who instigates violence.The two sides exchange accusations and I think the only correct way out is to send neutral international observers to the region."

President Mubarak said "he told Powell that the presence of observers would help both sides because observers would give joint security committees neutral and correct information."

President Mubarak made it clear that Powell did not object to having such observers and voiced his belief that the Americans were seriously studying these ideas.

On whether Powell brought up the issue of imprisoned sociology professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim who held also the American nationality, or the issue of Copts, President Mubarak said Powell has never talked to him on such matters. The President also denied that he had met Saad Eddin Ibrahim at any meeting.

Powell branded as baseless New York Time's report that President Mubarak was angered when Powell voiced his dissatisfaction that President Mubarak came one hour late for a meeting, attended by Ibrahim.

"Most strange was the paper's claim that I was angered by an article by Ibrahim talking about devolution of power to presidents' sons," the President said, adding that Egypt was not Syria or Iraq.

He added that he had not read the article. "Moreover, many similar articles were published in Arab and foreign papers," Mubarak added. He made it clear that the idea of devolution of power to presidents' sons has never occurred to him nor to his sons. "It has never been a preoccupation for us," the president stressed.

President Mubarak reaffirmed that Egypt could not exert pressure on the Palestinians, because it was they that would be responsible for any decision they made in front of their people.

"We call on them to show flexibility, to focus on core issues," he said, indicating that the Palestinian positions were very flexible and pro-peace throughout the former US administration under Bill Clinton.

"Egypt did not try to practise any pressures nor did it try to push the Palestinians towards accepting what they did not want to. This is our firm position," he added.

"Arafat is not responsible for the failure of the peace process. This is not right at all, because the agenda presented by the Israelis to Arafat in Taba was not straightforward," President Mubarak noted.

"The agenda dropped the issue of Jerusalem, considering it as a delayed issue and disregarded the issue of the refugees, also considering it as a deferred issue because former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak was not ready to accept any re-formulated solutions because of the Israeli elections," President Mubarak said.

Asked whether Arafat called for the return of three million Palestinian refugees to beyond the green line, and whether Israelis regarded the Palestinian Leader's insistence on the demand as an intention on his part to destroy Israel, Mubarak said Arafat has not asked for the return of all refugees because some of them had already settled abroad.

"The Palestinians discussed the refugees' issue with an open mind. The Palestinians offered to allow for the entry of 500 refugees each year, and Arafat accepted the offer to a great extent," Mubarak said.

"However, the Israelis later rejected the formula completely because they were bracing for the elections," he added.

The President made it clear that he warned Sharon against insisting to impose Israeli sovereignty on Al Quds (Jerusalem) because this would hurt the feelings of Moslems and Christians and would blow up negotiations even before they started.

Queried about reports that there were tunnels along the borders with Egypt, Mubarak said if Egypt discovered one tunnel it would immediately close it and that it was not involved in smuggling weapons to the occupied lands.

"When the Americans told us we were making medium-range missiles together with North Korea, I said why do not you cooperate with us in making such missiles as you do with Israel," the President added.

The president stressed that Egypt was not interested in constructing long-range missiles because it had no hostile intentions against any country, including Israel. He stressed, however, that the Egyptian armed forces were very efficient and able to defend the country.

"Egypt is keen on preserving Sudan's territorial unity and integrity," he said, noting that John Garang (leader of Sudan People's Liberation Movement) had agreed from the very beginning that the country's south region could not be separated from its north.

On Syrian-Egyptian ties, Mubarak rejected reports claiming they were strained, commending President Bashar Al-Assad for his understanding of the overall conditions in the region.

Commenting on the closure of 'Al Nabaa' newspaper, Mubarak asserted that the paper committed a grave mistake and hurt the feelings of Egyptian Christians, which necessitated that its officials be tried. Praising Egypt's judiciary as fair, the President said there was no reason for issuing a military ruling.

Asked about rumours that he asked his son Gamal to halt his activities in the ruling National Democratic Party and that's why he was not seen in public for several weeks, Mubarak said his son was abroad on a private 27-day business trip, stressing he was an ordinary person and he could not order him to stop doing any activity.

The President underlined the importance of fighting corruption and corrupt people, adding that it was up to the judiciary to arbitrate in such cases.

"I could not possibly know that an official is corrupt and leave him in his position," Mubarak added.

President Mubarak denied as baseless claims by some Copts that it was the security authorities that leaked the scandalous videocassette of the defrocked monk.

"I told the interior minister that any legal action in this connection should be taken only after informing Pope Shenouda," the President said.

"I sent Dr. Zakaria Azmi and Dr. Mustafa Al-Fiqi to explain the situation to the Pope who was apparently unaware of the magnitude of the problem. The Pope, then, agreed that legal action should be taken against the defrocked monk," the President said.

As regards the court ruling already passed against some members of the People's Assembly, President Mubarak asserted that the rulings by the Court of Cassation should be enforced, if they would affect dozens of MPs.

As regards the current economic recession, the President noted that this was part of the global recession, which has affected even the US economy and earlier the Asian economies, an Egyptian statement said.

Previous Stories:
  Mubarak, Arafat discuss Israeli violations, full implementation of Mitchell recommendations   (7/4/2001)
  Egypt Does not pressure Arafat to stop Intifada   (6/26/2001)
  Egypt demands immediate halt to Israeli attacks on Palestinians   (6/26/2001)

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