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Mubarak, left,
convinces Abdullah to go back into the summit hall after the
Kadhafi row
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SHARM
EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, March 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Arab
leaders "completely rejected" any U.S.-led strike against
Iraq, or taking part in one, at the heated summit Saturday, but also
swept aside a surprise proposal for Saddam Hussein to step down to
avoid a war.
Arab
League Secretary General Amr Mussa read a final resolution following
the one-day summit which rebuffed plans for a war on Iraq. It also
stated the Arab leaders' "refusal to participate in military
action" and called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis under
the aegis of the United Nations, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
resolution adopted at this Red Sea resort further blasted
"attempts to impose changes in the region," referring to
U.S. demands the Iraqi strongman be removed from power, possibly as a
precursor to democratic reforms in the region.
"The
affairs of the Arab region countries and means to develop the system
of ruling within them is a matter only decided by Arab
countries," read the final communiqué.
That
clause was also seen as a dismissal of a surprise plan presented by
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) suggesting that "the Iraqi
leadership quit power and leave Iraq, within a two-week time limit
after it accepts this initiative."
The
UAE plan submitted to the summit attended by leaders and officials
from the 22 Arab League members was the first open call by an Arab
state for Saddam to quit, although the idea had been debated secretly,
according to delegates.
Mussa,
at a joint news conference with the Bahraini Foreign Minister, said
that the United Arab Emirates' paper calling for Saddam Hussein to
step down and to put Iraq under the tutelage of the Arab League and
the United Nations was not discussed at the get-together.
"The
paper was by no means expected to be a draft resolution, but just a
message distributed on the participants," Moussa said, standing
beside Mohamed bin Mubarak al-Khalifa, whose country holds the current
presidency of the Arab League.
The
plan (reportedly) suggested Iraq come under temporary UN and Arab
League tutelage, provided that "judicial guarantees, binding on
both international and national levels, to be given to the Iraqi
leadership to make sure that it won't be prosecuted."
The
summit also pleaded for UN weapons inspectors be given more time to
disarm Iraq peacefully.
It
decided to set up a committee to explain the Arab position to
"international parties" before going to Baghdad for talks
with the Iraqi leadership.
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Kadhafi
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The
summit's resolution is seen as a compromise to satisfy both Iraq,
backed by Syria, and the Gulf Arab states such as Kuwait, Qatar and
Bahrain which are hosting U.S. troops massing for the threatened
conflict.
Those
states, which are bound by defense pacts with Washington, can now
argue that, in the event of a war, they are not participating directly
and that U.S. forces operating from their soil are doing so under a UN
mandate.
The
issue of U.S. troops in the region also triggered a heated exchange
between Libyan
leader Moamer Kadhafi and Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown
Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, broadcast live on television from the
conference hall.
Before
the row, Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad called on Arab states not to provide
military facilities to the United States.
"We
are not asking the closure of the bases, that is a matter of
sovereignty. But the important thing is that the forces (deployed
there) do not go beyond the border of the country where they are
based," he said.
Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak warned that a war would have "dangerous
consequences" and could "spread to neighboring
countries" of Iraq, and urged Arab states to close ranks.
However,
Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah
Al-Ahmad accused Iraq of continuing to threaten Kuwait and of
encouraging terror attacks against U.S. troops on its soil.
Saddam
has not traveled abroad since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and was
represented by Iraq's number two Ezzat Ibrahim who said Baghdad was
doing everything it could to avoid war, while staying ready to
"fight the invaders."
Greek
Foreign Minister George Papandreou, whose nation is currently chairing
the European Union, addressed the summit, warning Iraq that the United
States was intent on waging war and only a quick disarmament could
avoid it.
Whether
the row between Saudi Arabian and Libyan leaders alive at the summit
was settled, the Arab League chief declined to comment, only saying,
"the matter should not be exaggerated."
"The
difference of opinions or analysis (Between Saudi Arabia and Libya)
does not mean a rift within the summit participants," he said.
Both
Mussa and the Bahraini top diplomat refused that the one-day summit
collapsed because of "apparent difference of points of
analysis" among the attending countries.
"Differences
appear everywhere" Bahraini Foreign Minister undermined the
disagreements within the summit.
The
Iraqi delegation in the summit hailed the final communiqué as
satisfying and another slap in the face the looming aggression against
their country.
Dirty
Proposal
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Bashar’s
statement was seen, by observers, as wise and logical
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"The
Summit put an emphasis on the Arab consensus rejecting any military
intervention in Iraq" Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said in a
press conference after the summit.
Sabri
slammed the reported UAE “proposal” as "foolish and
ridiculous", saying there was no room in the summit for such
"dirty ideas" that are only conjured up in "sick
minds"
Sabri
declined to answer whether the Iraqi delegation objected to the
formation of the three-way delegation, hoping that Arab countries
would defend their own territories which he said would be threatened
by any attack against Iraq.
He
hailed the Arab countries' pledge in the summit not to support a
U.S.-led war against Iraq or give any assistance in it.
He
said the war is only meant to redraw the political map of the region.
The
final communiqué also called to give the U.N weapons inspectors in
Iraq to do their work properly, urging a degree of objectivity in this
respect.
It
also assured that the onus is on the UN Security Council to keep the
territorial integrity of Iraq and maintain its stability.
"It
is time to lift all sanctions slapped on Iraq in accordance with the
UN Security Council resolutions" some twelve years ago, read the
final communiqué.
