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Time for action
(cairolive.com, August 16, 2001)
Arab League headquarters in Tahrir Square was buzzing with political activity on Wednesday. But do the separate meetings between Arab information and foreign ministers bring signs of a stronger Arab stance in the face of continuing Israeli aggression in Palestine?
Al-Jazeera satellite channel doesn't think so, as its coverage of the two meetings made clear. The controversial Qatari satellite channel was sharply critical of the results of the Arab information ministers emergency meeting held at the League on Wednesday morning, in an attempt to formulate a media plan to help counter Israeli-slanted coverage of the Initfada.
Al-Jazeera argued that the efforts and recommendations meted out at the meeting were a classic case of too little, too late. Arguing that Jewish influence on the Western media is too deeply entrenched, the channel wonders whether even the money promised by the ministers will actually materialize. One million dollars have been pledged to begin a campaign of paid advertisements in major Western newspapers, ads that will attempt to explain the facts of the current crisis, and urge the US to do something.
Is the plan properly targeted, and are its goals and targets well known? These are certainly valid questions, but not the ones asked by Al-Jazeera's commentary, which seemed to reflect more of a children's playground mentality of provocative name-calling. The channel's main beef with the meetings -- as voiced by a deputy editor of a Cairo newspaper interviewed on the subject -- was that the information ministers represent government-controlled media entities that are merely going through the motions. The Jordanian information minister's argument was that, ""We cannot expect a change in the world public opinion towards the Palestinian cause overnight. We should not keep talking about big strategies and implement nothing."
Amongst the other plans discussed at the meeting were producing English language documentaries and footage of the Intifada for broadcast on Arabic satellite channels, or abroad if possible. The League also hopes to fund its new Media Commissioner Hanan Ashrawi's planned trip to Western capitals to meet and explain to officials, the media and the public, that swift, non-biased action is desperately needed to calm things down.
Later on Wednesday afternoon, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, along with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, also met to discuss possible Arab political movements. A decision was taken to hold an emergency meeting of the Arab summit follow-up committee, with diplomatic sources indicating that the meeting may take place as soon as late next week.
On a parallel track, an Egyptian political delegation is in Washington right now meeting with top officials in President George W Bush's cabinet, also in an attempt to make clear to the US administration the need for action so as to avoid an already bad situation becoming even worse.
Meanwhile, all Bush -- still on vacation in Texas -- had to say was, "The cycle of violence has got to end."
Photo by Tarek Atia
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