Sheikh Zayed urges Arab reconcilation
Regional, Politics, 11/6/1997

The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) leader appealed for Arab states to heal rifts caused by the 1990 Iraqi invasion of neighboring Kuwait. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan strongly hinted that any Arab rapprochement must include Iraq, a move which is still rebuffed by Kuwait.

"Enough time has passed for us to forget what happened during the ominous Gulf War and raise our voices to demand sincerely that our Arab nation return to its past state of fraternity and strong ties," he said. "It is time to unify our ranks and forgive each other.... We should open doors wide for all Arab peoples and leaders to return to us."

Sheikh Zayed, who has often called for ending post-Gulf War splits, made the call in an address to a conference on the Arab world held in Abu Dhabi. The speech was carried by the official media yesterday.

Kuwait insists it will never deal with Iraq again after Iraqi troops occupied the emirate for seven months before they were ejected by a US-dominated multinational coalition in February 1991.

"No matter how deep our disagreements are, we have reasons to unify our ranks and achieve solidarity," the president said.

"I am very keen to work toward removing the causes of differences, and I am sure that my call will be met with sincere responses from the Arab leaders.... We should work together to achieve a great objective, which is to liberate our Muslim shrines that are reeling under Jewish usurpation."

Previous Stories:
  French president to visit UAE next month   (11/1/1997)
  UAE allows foreign investors to own 40% of Al Tawila station   (10/23/1997)
  Kuwaiti emir sends invitations to heads of state for Gulf summit   (10/8/1997)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search