CAIRO: The 15th regular summit of Arab leaders held at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday to unite Arab countries on crucial issues facing the region ended up dividing them further.
The summit, which was especially convened to discuss the situation in the Palestinian territories and the growing threat of war on Iraq, was chaired by Bahraini King Hamid bin Issa.
There appeared to be little or no disagreement on the Palestinian issue, the Arab world’s number one priority, but sharp differences emerged during discussions on the Iraqi crisis.
One camp, led by Egypt, wanted the summit to send a strong message to Iraqi leaders, urging them to cooperate fully with United Nations resolutions in order to spare their people and the region the tragic consequences of war.
Another camp, led by Syria, wanted the summit to send a stronger message to the United States, warning it against launching a military campaign against Iraq, which the US accuses of possessing weapons of mass destruction.
The Syrians also wanted the summit to call on all Arab countries to refrain from offering any sort of assistance to the US that could facilitate a possible military assault of Iraq.
The final product was a compromise between the two positions.
In its communique, issued following heated debates among the various delegates, the summit “reaffirmed absolute rejection of an attack against Iraq or threat against the security and safety of any Arab country.”
It also stressed the importance of “resolving the Iraqi crisis through peaceful means” and within the bounds of “international legitimacy.”
The communique welcomed Baghdad’s cooperation with international weapons inspectors and called for the inspectors to be given “enough time to complete their mission in Iraq.”
It further called on the UN Security Council “to protect Iraq’s independence, safety and territorial integrity.”
More importantly, the communique urged Arabs “not to participate in any military action targeting Iraq’s security, safety and territorial integrity and that of any Arab country.”
Much to the chagrin of countries such as Syria, this clause fell short of calling on Arab countries to refrain from providing any facilities to the US in the event of a war with Iraq.
Several Gulf Arab countries that host between them thousands of US troops were said to have lobbied hard against the idea, which had triggered strong differences between Kuwait and Lebanon during last February’s emergency foreign ministers meeting in Cairo.
The conflict strained relations between Kuwait and Lebanon, then president of the Arab League and threatened to torpedo the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, which was chaired by Bahrain. The Lebanese maintained a relatively low profile in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Other problems emerged, however. First, the United Arab Emirates dropped a bombshell at the summit by proposing that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his top aides resign and go into exile in exchange for immunity and a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi crisis.
The proposal, the first such public call by an Arab country, was not received well by the Arab League and other member states, who have repeatedly stated that this was an “internal Iraqi affair.”
They even refused to discuss the idea, which the Iraq’s dismissed as being “ridiculous.” UAE officials later said the move meant Arab countries had rejected another opportunity to resolve the crisis peacefully.—dpa
