Democratic Palestine : 27 (ص 42)
غرض
- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 27 (ص 42)
- المحتوى
-
The Arab Summit
Although the emergency Arab summit held in Amman, November
8-11th, did not literally adopt the entire program of the reactionary
regimes, its outcome signals preparations for a new phase of Camp
David. This was most obvious in the decision to let Arab states
resume relations with the Egyptian regime.
For the first time since 1982, all 21
members of the Arab League sent
representatives to an Arab summit. For
the first time whatsoever, the sumiteers
made no pretense that the main concern
was the Arab—Israeli conflict, much
less its core, the Palestinian question.
The latter was only put on the agenda
after concerted protest by the PLO,
backed by Syria, Libye, Algeria, Iraq
and Democratic Yemen.
Instead, one decade after Sadat’s
historical trip to occupied Jerusalem, a
major concession was offered to the
Camp David model of political set-
tlement, which relegated the Palestinian
cause to the sidelines in favor of a US-
sponsored Egyptian-Israeli deal.
Deciding that «diplomatic relations
between any Arab League member state
and the Arab Republic of Egypt is a
sovereign matter to be decided by each
State in accordance with its constitution
and laws,» the summit lifted the
boycott on the Egyptian regime, which
had been imposed by the 1979 Baghdad
Summit. That Egypt was not outright
readmitted to the Arab League was
only due to the adamant objections of
Syria and Libya.
The summit, which the Jordanian
hosts proudly trumpeted as an «ex-
traordinary» one, was held in the name
of Arab solidarity which the final
declaration termed «the prime concern
of the Arab leaders.» There is no doubt
of the need for Arab solidarity. It is a
permanent requirement for resisting
Zionist and imperialist aggression in
the area. In the current situation, it is
imperative for uniting around the
campaign for an international peace
conference on the Middle East,
especially in order to thwart the
US—Israeli attempts to distort the
concept of such a conference But the
question remains as always: What kind
of solidarity and to what aim? In this
case, Arab officialdom united around
Opposition to Iran and support to Iraq
in the Gulf war. The resolutions
42
adopted were the strongest yet Arab
stand against Iran though, due to the
objections of Syria, they did not reach
the point of boycotting the Islamic
Republic, as Saudi Arabia and others
had originally pushed for. Most
seriously, im expressing «support to
Kuwait in all the measures it adopted to
protect its territories and water...» the
summit’s final declaration tacitly
legitimized the US and NATO military
presence in the Gulf.
BOWING TO PRESSURE
True, the resolutions of the Arab
summits of the past decade have been
marked by steady decline, as compared
to earlier ones. Even in this context,
however, the resolutions of this summit
have brought the stands of Arab of-
ficialdom to an all-time low. The kings,
princes and presidents who convened in
Amman, aimed at arriving at a unified
Arab stand on the Iran-Iraq war, and
means for making Iran respect the in-
ternational consensus by accepting UN
Security Council resolution 598. In the
process, they adopted. several
dangerous resolutions, especially the
one on Egypt, which gives tacit ap-
proval of the Camp David trend and
the policies of bilateral deals as ad-
vocated by Washington and Tel Aviv.
The summit prepared the way for a
new era wherein the Egyptian regime
will return to its leading position in the
Arab arena, but still tied by the strings
of Camp David. The record quickness
with which Arab regimes restored
diplomatic relations strengthens the
Egyptian regime’s political role and its
efforts to advance the US-sponsored
settlement process. In less than a week,
nine Arab states restored relations with
Cairo (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Moroc-
co, Iraq, North Yemen, United Arab
Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and
Mauritania). Added to the three that
never broke relations (Oman, Somalia
and Sudan), and the two that have
restored relations in the interim (Jordan
in 1984 and Djibouti in 1986), this gives
a clear majority of Arab League
members. The trend is obviously for
restoring Egypt to the Arab League at
the upcoming ordinary summit, to be
held in Riyadh at an unspecified date.
It is no wonder that both the US and
Israeli governments voiced praise for
the results of the Arab summit in Am-
man. The resolutions appeared as a
direct response to US-Israeli pressure
and the coordination that preceded the
summit, especially Schultz’s October
trip where he met the Israeli leadership
and then King Hussein in London.
Though Jordan officially rejected the
US proposal for joint US-Soviet spon-
sorship of direct talks between ‘Israel’
and a Jordanian-Palestinian delega-
tion, the summit indicates that Arab
reaction’s differences with the US—-
Zionist settlement model are dwindling.
The summit did adopt support to
«the convocation of an international
peace conference, under the sponsor-
ship of the United Nations and with the
participation of all parties concerned,
including the PLO, on equal footing, as
well as the permanent members of the
Security Council, regarding it as the
only suitable means for a peaceful, just
and comprehensive settlement of the
Arab-Israeli conflict» (final statement).
The summit resolutions moreover re-
jected any Arab country’s involvement
in a bilateral) solution. However, in
view of the upgrading of Egypt’s status
and the downgrading of the Palestinian
question, this support to an interna-
tional conference seems more a for-
mality than a question of substance.
The Jordanian delegation worked
hard to have removed the phrase on the
PLO’s being represented on an
equal footing at the international con-
ference. While this effort was not suc-
cessful, the Jordanians united with
other delegations to have the phrase
«an independent Palestinian state»
removed from the ritual reiteration of
support to the Palestinian people’s in-
alienable rights. In general, the
Palestinian issue was dealt with
separately from the Arab-Israeli con-
flict, despite their common roots, in an
obvious prelude to separate deals.
Having hosted such a ‘successful’
summit and in view of the summit’s
laxity on all questions of principle,
King Hussein will be able to pursue
with renewed vigor the policy of nor-
malizing relations with the Zionist
state, prior to signing an agreement. - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 27
- تاريخ
- ديسمبر ١٩٨٧
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
Contribute
Not viewed