Arab leaders focus on Syria and Palestine

Arab leaders, gathered in Iraq's capital city Baghdad for the opening day of the Arab League summit, focussed their speeches on the Syrian crisis. The 23rd Arab League Summit  opened with high hopes that the initiative of Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League's joint envoy to Syria, would lead to a resolution. There was consensus from all leaders to call for  both the Syrian regime in Damascus and the opposition, to put a halt to the  violence and implement the initiative. Leaders also highlighted the Palestinian cause and Israel's violations through its continued building of settlements and attempted judaisation of Jerusalem. They also stressed the need to reform institutions and the working mechanism of the Arab League. The Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, held a  reception for his Arab guests welcoming the Arab leaders and representatives to the Governmental Palace, known previously as the "Republic Palace" which was used in the last few years as theadquartersfor the leadership of the US forces in Iraq. Zebari explained to  guests that the palace was where Saddam was living when he planned to invade Kuwait. Following a moment's pause. he added "but God's will can do anything". He then announced  the attendance of the Kuwaiti Emir, Subah al-Ahmed al-Subah to the summit, describing his visit to Baghdad as "historic. Al-Subah was keen to lead his country's huge political and media delegation to the summit, breaking what seemed to be a boycott from all other Gulf leaders towards this event, to declare the beginning of a new era in Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations. 22 years earlier, Baghdad hosted an Arab League summit, that witnessed Saddam talking to his guests with a noticeable arrogance. Two months later, he invaded Kuwait. Now,  the Arab Leaders are holding their summit in the capital of the former enemy to some of them.including what is called now the Governmental Palace,   The absence of most of the Gulf leaders from the summit is believed to be a message that those leaders are dissatisfied with the elimination of the Sunnit representatives from the political power positions, so the sights are directed to the summit waiting for what it can achieve on the Iraqi-Gulf relations. Also the Iraqi government is interested in making benefit from the recent changes in the Arab World, so it is willing to find new dimensions for its role in the Arab World by concentrating on its relations with the new regimes in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, as it believes it has better chances to build strong ties with these countries than the chances it has with the conservative Gulf regimes. Observing the summit's schedule, it was noticeable that the internal problems of each country were not included on the discussion list in Baghdad, as almost all the Arab countries are going through interior conflicts. The only exception was the suspended member, Syria.  Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, explained that the Syrian crises had broken out from being internal conflict to becoming an "international cause", so that gives the Arab countries the right to try to help to  find solutions. The opening session began  with a speech from Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the Chairman of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC), who chaired the previous summit. Jalil thanked everyone who supported the Libyan people in their revolution. Speaking of Baghdad as the location for this current summit, he said it  was evidence that security had  returned to Iraq. Jalil spoke of the victory of the Arab Spring revolutions in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, and saluted the other Arab countries which are following the same path. He called for judicial cooperation between Libya and other Arab countries who are giving refuge to some of the former regimes' symbols,  and requesting that  those Arab governments to the requests of the Libyan people to extradite those individuals. He also demanded a freeze on assets belonging to the Libyan people which is in accounts held by members of the former regime. Jalil also  urged Libya's neighbours to help control the borders. Turning  to the Syrian revolution, which  he said was experiencing a critical stage, Jalil expressed his regreat at the scenes of genocide, torture and displacement suffered by the Syrian populaton,  calling for a solution to this crisis through  the implementation of  the Arab initiative and support  for Kofi Annan’s mission in order to facilitate the transition of power in Syria and achieve the aspiations of the Syrian people. In another context, Jalil said that Libya “will never exit the Arab  fold again,” in an implicit reference to the former regime of  Muammar Gaddafi and his  African ambitions and abandonment of the Arab League. He assured the assembled leaders that his country is following  all developments taking place and is convinced there should be  no external interference in the internal affairs of any Arab country. Speaking of the Palestinian cause, he  urged reconciliation between the Palestinians and saluted countries who are facilitating  this reconciliation.  He saluted UNESCO for voting to give Palestine membership of the Council  which constitutes full recognition of the country  as a state. Jalil then went on to talk about activating the Arab League mechanisms before handing over to Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq, who announced the opening of the 23rd session which he will chair for one year. In his  opening speech, Talabani welcomed  Arab leaders to the “new Iraq”,  and expressed his belief that Arab people had hopes for this summit. He called for dialogue  to implement mechanisms to outlaw foreign interference.  Talabani urged to speed up the adoption of the joint Arab action system to enable Arab states to face the challenges in this current phase, and to fulfill the ambitions of their people. He also demanded the reinforcement of democracy and human rights, and the role of the civil society. Talabani stressed support  for the establishment of  a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its  capital. He strongly condemned Israeli violations of Palestinian lands including the buiklding of settlements by the Jewish state. Talabani urged Palestinian reconciliation and  praised the efforts of countries seeking to achieve it. Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi in his speech to the delegates said he hoped the summit would meet the challenges facing the Arab world, and that it would promote reconciliation between all Arabs. Arabi,  referring to last year's Arab revolutions, then turned to the  Palestinian situation, and the on-going  Israeli occupation in Palestine, and the settlement issue as well as the plight of Palestinian prisoners, singling out Hana Shelby,  a young woman who has been on a hunger strike for 40 days. He called  for the continued support of the Palestinian Authority budget, particularly in light of Israel's threats to cut off resources. He also highlighted the need for reconciliation by the Palestinian parties as a cornerstone to resolve the Palestinian cause. Arabi moved on to the Syrian crisis and the efforts by the Arab League to stop the violence in Syria and breach of human rights. While praising the efforts made to date, he expressed regret that these efforts have not achieved the desired goals. He considered the support of the Security Council to Annan as "something to rely on",  and urged  for the continuation of communication with  both the Syrian authority and the opposition to reach a resolution. He also commended Damascus for  agreeing to Annan’s plan; however he stressed the urgent  need for the plan to be implemented.  He added that the resolution is in the hands of all parties to the conflict, the Syrian people, the government and  the opposition. Arabi spoke of the situations in Sudan and Somalia, and urged cooperation with the emerging powers in China and India, and called for reinforcing the economic and energy cooperation between the Arab countries, as well  as food security.  He endorsed  the participation of women, youth and  the private sector in developing the society, singling out the Yemeni female activist Tawakul Karman who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Arabi highlighted the subject of weapons of mass destruction in the region, one of the main topics on the summit's agenda, and warned of the repercussions in the event that Iran was in possession of a nuclear weapon. He also talked about the reform and modernisation of  the Arab League, saying that it was a matter of urgency, to live up to the ambitions of the Arab people. He announced his intention to reconsider the employment structure in the Arab League to prevent duplication. When the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon addressed the gathering, he confirmed that the UN would help those states going through a transitional period in the Arab world. He also endorsed the empowerment of women to perform their role, and to create job opportunities for young people. Ki-moon pointed out that cooperation between the UN and the Arab League has developed. Turning to the Syrian crisis, he described the situation as dangerous and  accused the Syrian government of failuring to protect its people. Moreover, he accused the regime of waging military operations on cities, in addition to the excessive use of force. He added that he had discussed this with heds of state and with Nabil al-Arabi, informing him that the Syrian regime had agreed to Annan’s initiative. He emphasised that Assad should implement the agreement through immediate action without wasting more time. He also appealed to the Syrian opposition to cooperate with Annan and his suggestions. He also praised the good management of the Arab League. The UN Secretary General spoke of what he described as “the dangers that Israelis and Palestinians are experiencing”, which he said was “a source of concern to us”,  adding  that the two-state solution should have been performed a long time ago, and that Palestinians have the right to an independent state and Israelis have the right to live safely. He urged the Arab leaders to continue to support the Palestinian Authority, and provide them  with resources and aid, which he considered “indispensable” adding  that providision of services to the Palestinian refugees was also indispensible. The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, spoke about the current challenges in the region and demanded a review of  the mechanisms of the joint Arab action. Al-Sabah referred to the Syrian crisis and the Arab action plan that has been adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which he considered was  a way out of the crisi to prevent a civil war in Syria. He called on the permanent members of the UN Security Council to shoulder their responsibility to end the crisis in Syria, and the Syrian government to cooperate with the efforts of Annan. He also talked about the Israeli violations against Palestinians "while the world stands watching",  and asked for the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop these violations and to implement "all international decisions and to remove the apartheid wall and to protect thecity of Jerusalem." The Emir urged Iran to respond postivekly  to the international efforts to reach a peaceful settlement regarding its nuclear programme, confirming ran’s rights, together with the rights of other countries, to use the nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. When it came to his turn, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas considered the convening of the summit in Baghdad as evidence  of Iraq's recovery.  He asked for all  Arab leaders to learn lessons from the events of last year in the Arab world, an emphasised the need to listen carefully to people. He appealed for unity among the Arab countries to make the Arab voice heard and be decisive in this current that which he described as facing many challenges and turns.Abbas called to reinforce the role of the youth who represent two thirds of the Arab world's population. He also urged for support of the joint Arab action, and praised the role of the Arab League during this past year. On the subject of Palestine, Abbas announced that 132 countries have formally recognised the Palestinian state but he warned that the activities of Israel in terms of violations and the continued settlement programme "make the Palestinian Authority lose its raison d'être” Abbas said He also confirmed the continuation of  diligent efforts to preserve the holy sites and restore the land. Abbas also emphasised his commitment towards performing legislative and presidential elections, as well as elections for the Palestinian National Council and highlighted the importance of the Arab peace initiative, which was announced in Beirut summit 2002. President Abbas warned of the efforts being made by Israel to judaise Jerusalem, "through procedures against the citizens of the occupied city to displace them."  He described what is happening there as “ethnic cleansing”. . Abbas pointed out that the $500 million US  that was allocated  to support  Jerusalem, by Arabs at the Arab summit last year,  has not been delivered yet. He urged for Arabs to visit Jeruslem explaining that  there was no religious legislation or fatwa that prohibits  visiting Jerusalem just because it is under occupation. He added that he had directed this invitation to all Muslims in Europe and US for the sake of Jerusalem, as their passports allow them to do so, in support of the resilience of its people. It was then the turn of the Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, in which he spoke about the democratic system in Lebanon and the importance of the rrole of  Christians  in the region. Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki renewed his country's refusal to accept any foreign interference in Syria for fear of civil war. He also  disagreed with  the option to arm the opposition, warning that this might militarise the conflict in Syria, which could also lead to a civil war. Marzouki appealed to the  gathering to intensify the pressure on the Syrian regime and demanded the adoption of the Yemeni solution model through the assignment of the vice president to lead a transitional period that paves the way for free  and fair elections. He also talked about the Palestinian cause, and the situations in Sudan and Somalia, calling for aid to be sent to the affected population in Somalia and Darfur as well as to  Jerusalem. The Tunisian President called for electing a unified Arab parliament and establishing unified Arab institutions. He declared an agreement between the five Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) to hold a summit in Tunisia in October. The Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said that his country looks forward to more of Arab investments and lifting the international sanctions against it.