Arab Follow-Up Committee reviewed ME issue, terrorism
Regional, Politics, 11/5/2001

The Arab Follow-Up Committee convened at the ministerial level in Damascus on Sunday under Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa to follow-up the recommendations of the last Arab summit in Amman.

It examined all regional and international developments in light of the escalation of violence in the occupied territories and attempts to tarnish the Arab image by blaming Arabs and Muslims for the acts of terrorism.

Jordan's Foreign Minster Abdel Elah al Khatib, current Chairman of the Follow up Committee, addressed the opening session saying unprecedented international developments had shed their negative effects on the region and worsened an already dangerous situation.

The committee is made up of Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, the Palestinian Authority and the League's Secretary General.

"The international community continues to hold the Arab world responsible for the terror attacks on the US especially the west, that raised such issues as the dangers of dealing with the Arab world," the Jordanian Foreign Minister said.

"This is all despite the fact that the Arab world showed understanding and denounced the terror attacks on the US," he added.

All Arab kings and presidents did denounce the September 11 terror attack, he said, referring to the contacts King Abdullah of Jordan had in this respect with various leaders.

"The absence of justice in the Palestinian cause has caused the Palestinians great disappointment," he added.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said on Sunday that the US decision to freeze the assets of the Palestinian organisations and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement needed accurate follow up to know exactly what was meant by such a move.

At a joint press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ellah Khatib after the end of the Arab follow up committee meetings Sunday, Moussa said "we do not want to mix papers to avoid any confusion in the political work, and so this issue is still under study to know how the decision will affect the organisations.

"But I think in a little while there will be an Arab stance towards the American decision," Moussa opined.

He expressed Arab countries' rejecting of any attempt targeting any Arab country, adding that all possibilities were left open.

"Arab countries cannot join any international alliance targeting an Arab country," he added.

Concerning the campaign against Islam and Arabs, Moussa said he called for holding a meeting on November 26 to discuss the dimensions of Western attempts to cast a slur on the Arab civilization, adding that the coming meeting would be attended by Arab intellectuals and thinkers.

On the financial assistance given to the Palestinians, Moussa said the committee recommended providing the necessary aid to the Palestinians as of early 2002 and until the convocation of the coming Arab summit.

"Khatib, on his part, said there is an international consensus on setting up a Palestinian state. The entire world is waiting for international efforts to find a solution to the Palestinian cause," he added.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Sunday there is a pressing need for an international conference against terrorism to differentiate between terrorism and resistance.

Speaking at the end of the Arab follow up committee meetings, Maher said there are ongoing contacts between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and US President George W. Bush to adopt an active and even-handed stance towards the Palestinian cause.

He said British Prime Minister Tony Blair's recent tour of region has affirmed the U.S. acceptance of Europe playing a role in the peace process.

"Europe has now become a power and the U.S. needs it but we should not look at the European role as complementary to the American role," Maher said.

"I think Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has felt there is a tendency to translate into reality the statements on the Palestinian state," he added.

Asked on the recent meeting between Mubarak, Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Spain, Maher said it was a scheduled meeting between Mubarak and Arafat on one hand and between Mubarak and Peres on the other. But it was Peres who asked to meeting Arafat.

Nothing new was achieved in the meeting, he said, adding that while Peres opts for peace, there are certain restrictions on him. |In any way no one expected that meeting to come up with practical results," he added.

About not issuing a final communique at the end of the Arab follow up committee meeting, Maher said a plethora of statements had been issued in the past and that he believed not issuing one today was a positive indicator of seriousness on the part of participants.

"There is an international conviction that peace cannot be achieved unless a Palestinian state is set up and the Israeli army withdraws from the Golan Heights and Lebanese lands," Maher said.

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