Excerpts from 8th Islamic summit's opening session
Spiritual leader of the Iranian revolution Ali Khameni called upon Moslem states to render serious aid to Arab countries in confronting Israel.
In a speech he made at the opening session of the 8th summit of the OIC, Khameni underlined the importance of unity between Islamic states in confronting challenges, especially those posed by Israel.
He lauded the October war of liberation stressing that Syria and Lebanon took the initiative in liberating Arab territories. Referring to the US presence in the Arab Gulf region, Khameni said the fleets in the region would lead to instability. "The existence of a strong Islamic civilization is sufficient to eliminate justifications of America's presence," he added.
He called for enhancing cooperation among OIC states, especially in the field of economic exchanges and for assisting Moslems suffering from poverty and starvation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Algeria, Bosnia and Somalia.
Meanwhile, Morocco's Premier and Foreign Minister Abdul Latif al-Filali said in the opening session that trust and cooperation should be maintained among OIC member states in order to realize solidarity and support peoples' potential for confronting all forms of challenges facing them.
Filali stressed the economic dimension of Islamic solidarity in strengthening trade and economic ties to serve common interests.
OIC Secretary General Dr. Ezzedin al-Iraqi held Israel responsible for the stalemate in the Middle East peace process through its continuous aggressions and practices in the Golan Heights, Palestine and south Lebanon as well as ignoring international legitimacy resolutions.
Al-Iraqi said Israel is responsible for destroying hopes for a just and comprehensive peace in the region through continued setting up of settlements, violating human rights, killing the innocent, demolishing houses, desecrating holy places and judaizing Jerusalem. He demanded that Israel implement international legitimacy resolutions and resume negotiations on the Lebanese and Syrian tracks for achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the region.
For her part, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Husseina Wajed said that the Arabs and the Palestinians in particular are still the victims of Zionist plots. She stated the need for the formation of a united Islamic front to confront hostile plots.
Meanwhile, Vice-President of Colombia -- who is the representative of the Non-Aligned Movement NAM -- asserted the need for solving the Middle East crisis on the basis of UN resolutions 242 and 338 and the land for peace principle.
He pointed out that the NAM has condemned Israel's settlement policy in the occupied Arab lands.
Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ismat Abdul Meguid said Israel has undermined the Mideast peace process through its intransigent attitude, denial of international legitimacy resolutions, refusal to pull out of the occupied Syrian Golan and settlement expansion, especially in the occupied holy city of Jerusalem. The AL chief called on Turkey to give up collaboration with Israel, which is detrimental to interests of Moslem states and grossly violates OIC principles.
Abdul Meguid called for lifting blockades on the Iraqi and Libyan peoples, and appealed to Islamic states to discard internal differences in terms of dialogue. "The AL and OIC should work collectively to enhance coordination and unite stances," Abdul Meguid said.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called upon Israel to honor peace accords. "In order for the peace process to move forward it is essential that the terms of the (1993) Oslo accord be respected," Annan told the inaugural session of an Islamic Summit conference. Annan said the world felt deep dismay at the peacemaking stalemate.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat told the summit that he had to come to Teheran "carrying the sufferings of our Palestinian people... I hope that we can overcome our differences and unite and work faithfully, to effectuate the role of our OIC and to exert every possible effort to save holy Jerusalem."
Arafat launched an attack on Israeli policies, vowed never to abandon a claim on Jerusalem as a capital of a Palestinian state and said the Palestinian economy was suffering due to Israel's repeated closures of crossing points for Palestinians working in Israel. "As you know, the peace process is facing an acute crisis. It reached a dead end on all Arab - Israeli tracks," Arafat said.