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Setting
the Beirut agenda
The pre-summit
negotiations in Cairo yield some answers as to what Arab leaders will be
doing in Beirut -- but questions remain
By Tarek Atia
(cairolive.com, March
19, 2002)
At next week's Arab
summit in Beirut, Arab leaders will be discussing the viability of a
Saudi proposal, which calls for a full peace with Israel in exchange for
a return to the pre-1967 borders. In the lead up to the summit there has
been much discussion of the proposal, amidst a heightening of both
military and diplomatic activity on the ground.
As American
officials rushed in to both broker a ceasefire and garner support for
their war on terror, the Arab world wondered why, with Israel becoming
ever more brutal in its treatment of the Palestinians, are the Arabs
proposing peace?
The US's role, as
well, is being questioned. What would the ramifications of the recent
US-led pro-Palestinian UN resolution be? More empty talk? And what of threats
to the region as a whole from US military movements and the possibility
of a strike on Iraq?
These are some of
the questions being asked by and of Arab leaders, and the press is
filled with commentary on these issues and more.
Speaking to
reporters on Monday at the League's headquarters in Cairo, Arab League Secretary
General Amr Moussa presented the Saudi proposal as an attempt by the
Arab world to explain the real meaning of peace to both Israel and the
US. Moussa did not see any backtracking or forfeit in this position,
mainly because it was very different from accepting an Israeli peace,
imposed by the United States.
Moussa says the
proposal is especially important now as a perfect message showing that
Arabs want peace -- a frank response to the widespread belief that Arabs
are the violent side in a foregone clash of civilizations. Moussa said
the proposal throws the ball in their court at the highest level.
Also on Monday,
Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said that, "With or
without Arafat's attendance, Saudi Arabia will present its initiative
and the Arab states will be ready to approve it and act according to the
plan's basis."
Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abul-Ragheb,
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, and Syrian President Bashar Assad,
have all been in
town, conducting preparatory meetings in search of a stronger summit.
One of the issues
that has come up relates to how closely the proposal will resemble the
one that first surfaced in an article by Thomas Friedman, by the time it
becomes a formal proposal to be submitted to the summit. There have been
many suggestions that that the proposal was a just PR move by the
Saudis, and would be watered down in actuality.
This was mirrored in
the Arab world's feeling, as well, that Israel's cautious acceptance of
the proposal would certainly lead to Israeli attempts to try to play
around with its specifics.
After reports had
surfaced that Syria wanted the document to read "full peace"
rather than "normalization", an issue had arisen as to whether
there was a difference between the two terms.
In response to a
question about whether full peace was the same as normalization, the
Arab League Secretary General said the Saudi proposal was the complete
solution. "This isn't a movie, it's not a continuous show. It's an
attempt to end this. And once you've solved the Arab-Israeli crisis, he
said, normalization occurs.
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