Arab League session inaugurated today amid differences between Syria and Qatar over MENA
Regional, Politics, 9/20/1997

The 108th session of the Arab Foreign Ministers began today at the Arab League in Cairo headed by the Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal. In his opening speech, Al Faisal stated that an atmosphere of optimism and determination dominated the feelings of the Arab world due to the unity showed by the Arab leaders in dealing with the issues that concern Arabs, a unity based on values firm enough to confront the challenges facing the Arab nation.

Al Faisal added that all Arabs realize that the Arab nation posses the potentialities that could make it occupy a major place in the international community. He asserted that the peace process is passing through difficult times but the Arab leaders, during their previous meeting in Cairo, showed that they are adamant on establishing just and comprehensive peace as an indispensable strategic goal and choice within the international legitimacy.

Al Faisal said that the unity showed by the Arab leaders in choosing peace necessitates the same commitment from the Israeli side through which it can show its decisive and unequivocal readiness and faithful desire to achieve peace according to the principles agreed upon in Madrid, the UN Security Council's resolutions No.242, 338, 425 and the land for peace principle.

The Arab stance, Faisal added, is a real unchangeable stance toward the concepts and principles of peace, while Israel ignores the legitimate Arab rights and all that has been agreed upon. Unity among Arab leaders is the way to show the Israeli government that its schemes will not succeed, Faisal said. The Israeli government's continuation of its coercive policies against the Palestinian people which include the closures imposed on the people with its spiritual and economic consequences will lead to dangerous consequences. Such policies will destroy the peace process altogether and Israel will be held responsible for that.

He also added that the Arab countries condemn terrorism in all its forms and they showed their readiness to support the international efforts to combat it. Combating terrorism necessitates applying the signed agreements and dealing with the peace process in a resolute and clear way. He requested all Arab nations to abide by the resolutions of the previous Arab Summit held in 1996 in order to overcome all obstacles.

The Secretary General of the Arab League Dr. Esmat Abdel Meguid stated that the peace process reached a dangerous impasse due to the Israeli government's policies, which destroyed all that had been achieved through the past five years. He added that this dangerous situation was created by the Israeli government and that a firm Arab stance and strong resolutions are needed in order to save the peace process.

He called on the international community and the strong powers in the world to support the Arab stance which is based on the international legitimacy. He lauded the stances of France, Greece, Japan, China, and the countries of European Community which warned Israel against continuing the aggressive policies.

He mentioned that the sufferings of the Iraqi people of shortage in food and humanitarian relief supplies represent an Arab as well as an Iraqi anxiety. He highlighted the international support to the UAE in its possession of the three islands Greater Tanb, Minor Tanb and Abu Mous. The international community refuses all the procedures of the Iranian occupation of the Arab lands, he added.

It is high time to put an end to the unfair blockade imposed on the Libyan people and to comfort this people from the sufferings especially as Libya showed flexibility and cooperation in finding an acceptable settlement to this problem and after Libya¹s proposals found extensive support on the international and regional levels.

He stated that the phenomenon of terrorism lately reached its worst form in Algeria, asserting his support for the Algerian people and leadership in confronting this malicious phenomenon which endangers the stability and security of many peoples in the Arab world and other parts of the world.

Abdel Meguid also requested Arab coordination in order to win a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

In his speech, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat appealed to the Arab countries to act quickly in the UN, to create a unified Arab stance, and to submit draft resolutions to the UN to protect the rights of the Palestinian people and to apply the Security Council resolutions No.242, 338, and 425.

Arafat requested the US administration continue its sponsorship of the peace process according to the Madrid Agreement, the principle of land for peace, and to implement the Oslo Agreement. He also requested the US administration to study the results of Albright¹s visit to the region in order to overcome the obstacle of the peace process. He called on USA to formulate a clear view toward the Palestinian cause and to take into consideration the Palestinian right to establish a Palestinian sovereign state. He also hoped that the Palestinian and Arab patience will be met with an international and American moves to save the peace process from collapse on all tracks, the collapse that would lead to a catastrophe in the region.

Arafat stressed the importance of sticking to the resolutions of the last Arab Summit held in 1996 which linked normalization with Israel to the extent of progress achieved in the peace process on all tracks, in a way that the Arab countries' relations with Israel would depend on the progress achieved in the peace process.

The Palestinian leader condemned the Israeli practices against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank under the pretext of protecting its security. He added that the Israeli slogan peace for security is a fake one created by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the deployment and to ignore the Oslo Agreement. Arafat stated that security comes as a result of peace, security can not be achieved without achieving progress in peace. He declared that Israel did not shoulder the responsibilities of peace and it ignores all the Security Council resolutions. He concluded by saying that the Israeli stance is the biggest danger to the stability and peace in the region, and that the Palestinian people needs more Arab support in order to confront the Israeli intransigence.

Differences between Syria and Qatar regarding the Middle East-North Africa Summit dominated the session which forced the Ministerial Council of Foreign Ministers to form a committee consisting of the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. But the committee did not reach a solution that could be accepted by the two countries and as a result the Qatari Foreign Minister withdrew from the session.

Previous Stories:
  Foreign Affairs Minister in Cairo   (9/19/1997)
  Foreign ministers meeting to tackle Palestinian issue, many topics   (9/18/1997)

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