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“I
say to my fellow Arabs in (power): If you do not change, you will
be changed,” said Maktoum.
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DUBAI,
December 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The US-pressed
reform agendas in the Arab world and the moribund Middle East peace
process overshadowed the first day of a conference on the future of
the Arab world that opened in the United Arab Emirates capital Monday,
December 13.
Some
Arab participants had harsh words for both their leaders and the
United States at the three-day Arab Strategy Forum on “The Arab
World in 2020” attended by Arab and world figures, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Crown
Prince of the Gulf emirate of Dubai Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum
dropped a bombshell, telling Arab rulers that they risked losing power
if they did not introduce wide-ranging reforms in their countries.
“I
say to my fellow Arabs in (power): If you do not change, you will be
changed,” Al Maktoum told the forum, which is being also held to the
backdrop of deteriorating security situation in Iraq.
“If
you do not initiate radical changes to restore respect to public
duties, uphold the principles of transparency, justice and
responsibility, your peoples will resent you, and the verdict of
history on you will be severe,” he said.
But
Sheikh Mohammad took an implicit swipe at the United States, which is
seen in the Arab world as bent on imposing Western-style reforms.
“Reform
cannot be realized by foreign projects and ready-made plans. It cannot
be realized by tanks and cannons,” he said in an apparent reference
to Iraq, which the United States invaded in March 2003 to occupy it
and oust president Saddam Hussein.
Saudi
Arabia's ambassador in London, Prince Turki al-Faisal, told the forum
that those who oppose reform in the kingdom will ultimately be
defeated.
“The
internal forces ... that resist change and development and will oppose
any form of economic and resultant social change ... will finally
submit to the overwhelming calls for development by the majority of
the people,” he said.
Saudis
are demonstrating great
enthusiasm for the kingdom’s first municipal
election in 40 years, which is to kick off on February 10.
Arab
countries that participated in the US-sponsored Forum for the Future
in Morocco on Saturday, December 11, linked
any future reforms to the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict.
The
United States, however, argued
that the Middle East peace process should in no
way be linked to the march of democracy in the Arab world.
Mideast
Peace
Shifting
the talk to the US bias towards Israel, UN special envoy Lakhdar
Brahimi used his address to accuse Washington of disregarding the
human rights of the Palestinians while urging the rest of the world to
respect individuals’ freedoms.
“The
United States, which uses human rights as the focal point of its
foreign policy, totally forgets about human rights when it comes to
the Palestinians,” the veteran Algerian diplomat said.
Brahimi
called on Arab leaders to stand up to Washington over the Palestinian
issue, which he said was key to regional security.
“They
who support Israel so much must talk to Israel about these rights.
There is a lot of Arab blame directed at the United States because of
this.”
“50-50
Chance”
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“We
should do our duty to be an honest broker,” said Clinton.
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Former
US president Bill Clinton, for his part, gave his successor George W.
Bush a “50-50” chance of success to resolve the Middle East
deadlock, asserting that Washington should be an “honest” peace
broker.
Clinton,
who almost pulled off a peace agreement at the presidential retreat of
Camp David in July 2000, said he believed his failure largely
explained Bush's reluctance to get involved during his first term in
office.
But
Clinton said he believed Bush would now pursue a peace settlement
during his
second term in the White House.
“I
really believe that they will try. I don't want to criticize them
before they get a chance,” Clinton said. “We should do our duty to
be an honest broker.”
Noting
that Bush had “problems” with the late Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat , Clinton said the Palestinian leader's death
last month removed any pretext for Washington not to get involved in
the peace process.
“They
had problems with chairman Arafat. That's no longer an excuse not to
be engaged,” the former president said.
Mahmmoud
Abbas, who succeeded Arafat as PLO chairman, is the
front-runner to succeed Arafat as Palestinian
president in elections scheduled for January 9 especially after
popular and Israel's prisoner Marwan Barghouti had decided to withdraw
his candidacy.
The
new Palestinian leaders are “beginning a long journey and they need
our support,” Clinton said.
