Articles

Why Arabs Ignore the Emirates’ Rational Initiative for Saddam to Resign his Position,
and Read an “Akhwanic” Message to the Arab Summit?

Mahgoub El-Tigani

March 3, 2003

Saturday March 1, 2003, the Arab League Council (Arab Summit) discussed the situation of Iraq, the Iraq-Kuwait conflict, and Palestine.

The Council agrees on the avoidance of war, making peace, and adherence to international legitimacy. Council will form a committee led by King of Bahrain, the Arab League (AL) Chair-Elect, the AL Secretary General, and others to contact the Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council, the European Council, USA, the UK, etc.

In its final communiqué', the Summit assured Arab countries "shall not participate in any military attack against Iraq." Concerning Palestine, the Summit "supports the struggles of the Palestinian People and the Legitimate Authority of President Arafat."

The AL Secretary General in a press conference with the Bahrain minister of foreign affairs ascertained that "Arabs will not support war, whatever... The Arab Member of the Security Council (i.e., Syria) will not vote for war... Changing an Arab regime is not an Arab League agenda." 'Umro Musa further indicated that, although military cooperation existed long before the Gulf War 1990, the Summit ascertained that any participation of any Arab State in war against Iraq "is absolutely rejected."

Also in the press conference, the Secretary General praised a letter received from the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Summit as a continuation of the old friendship of Russia and the Arabs. Cooperation with the European Council is also active.

Of great interest, the Arab Summit received a message from Shaikh Zaid Al-Nihyan, Leader of the United Arab Emirates, presenting an Emirates' Initiative for Saddam Hussain to resign his post as president of Iraq to avoid the increasing danger of war against his country. Sadam shall be fully protected with his assistants on leaving Iraq. The country "would be placed under Arab League and United Nations," the Initiative suggests.

The Initiative without referring to the Iraqi Opposition implied that the opposition would be in charge of Iraq, as the country would be placed under the Arab League and United Nations. The Emirates’ Initiative was not placed in agenda of the Summit. It was not discussed in the meetings that were publicly televised. The Saudi foreign minister described the Emirates’ Initiative as “an idea.”

The Jazeera T.V. showed many Arab intellectuals in opposition of the Emirates’ Initiative. “This would allow foreign intervention to oust legitimate Arab regimes, with no reference to legitimacy or the will of Arab peoples. This is a flat violation of the principle of sovereignty that is guaranteed by UN Charter and all other international norms,” many ascertained.

The Arab intellectuals who supported the Emirates’ Initiative included the Ahram Strategic Center (Cairo) thinkers, for example Dr. Abdel-Mageed, and others. These intellectuals put a lot of blame on Saddam, as the Emirates’ foreign minister did after the Summit, for the crisis that is now plaguing the Arab Region. Saddam must act as “a responsible person, if he ever was, at any point of time,” supporters of the Initiative strongly emphasized. “Even Hitler and the other Saddam-like dictators decided to quit at one point,” many stated.

The Iraqi minister of foreign affairs, however, said in a press conference that, “the idea” was “a ridiculous, trivial, one, that was not even discussed in the Summit.” He was happy with the Summit’s rejection of war against his country.

The other outstanding event that took place in the Summit was a dispute between ‘Abd Allah of Saudi Arabia and Qaddaffi. The latter was analyzing the Gulf War as one in which Saudi Arabia invited foreign forces to take charge of the war against Iraq, according to his conversation with King Fahad the night of the UN-USA-led war to liberate Kuwait from Saddam’s occupation in August 1990.

Qaddaffi affirmed “the Gulf Region is vital for the Americans.” Here, Prince ‘Abd Allah interrupted Qaddaffi to say, after given the chance to speak by Qaddaffi himself, and the Bahrin King chair of the meeting: “You have said many mistaken words. Saudi Arabia is not an agent of colonialism. Saudi Arabia is Muslim. From the very beginning, that is what Saudi was and it still is. Who brought you to power? … You shouldn’t have talked in issues for which you have no right that you do not know about, or in which you haven’t participated… Lies are your guide, and the grave is your fate.”

Later, ‘Umro Musa said in his press conference that, “the dispute that took place between Prince ‘Abd Allah of Saudi Arabia and Qaddaffi, the Leader of Libya, was based on political analysis not on the agenda discussed in the Summit, namely the situation of Iraq and Palestine.”

The whole Summit was in confusion when Prince ‘Abd Allah withdrew from the meeting while President Qaddaffi continued to talk saying that, “the conflict is Arab-Arab, Iraq versus Kuwait. It is not America versus Arabs. Without the Arabs in the Gulf America wouldn’t have existed there!”

This writer wrote a few years ago that the way Arab intellectuals manage their disputes is “a real crisis.” That comment was written with reference to a Jazeera Channel’s discussion, which was easily converted to a harsh dispute on the part of one of the discussants, Dr. al-Munfakh, who was puffing, trying to refute ideas of Dr. Munsif al-Marzouki, a well-celebrated Arab human rights activist that clearly denounced Arab leadership as dictatorial, uncivilized, and non-popular.

Having witnessed the Arab Summit minute by minute through the Egyptian T.V. as well as the other international channels, this writer is content, more than ever before, that serious initiatives, such as the Emirates’ well-thought idea, would “naturally” be ignored and seen as “ridiculous and trivial” by Arab leadership that could only accept - de facto - the continuity of the present-time escalating crisis in the hope that they might avoid severer upcoming crisis!

The short sightedness of some Arab intellectuals is indeed part of the deeper shallow-mindedness of most Arab leaders.

One last comment is in order, namely the poor performance of Sudan delegate led by foreign minister, Dr. Mustafa Ismail, who sat there, silently watching, in the seat allocated for Sudan leader and all he had to say was to read a message addressed to the Arab Summit by his Absent Leader, brigadier Omer Hassan al-Bashir, who made of himself a president of Sudan with the military coup of the al-Akhwan al-Muslimeen in June 1989.

The poor Sudanese minister was reading a message signed by his president. The message went in this manner: “Akhukum (Your brother) Omer sends his Akhwanic (brotherly) greetings to all his Akhwan (brothers), especially al-Akh (brother) Hosni Mubarak and al-Akh (brother) ‘Umro Musa and all the other Akhawan (brothers). Regret I am forced not to attend because of internal security matters. Akhumum (your brother) Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir.”

Well, Akhuhum (their brother) Omer al-Bashir:

You might have forgotten to refer to the other Akhwan, the Muslim Brotherhood, who have been haunting you since you have bowed in humiliation to them making coups, disturbing the internal affairs of your own country, and those of your neighbors Egypt, Eritrea, Uganda, Tunisia, Libya, and the rest of the Arab and African nations, involving Sudan Government in assassination attempts of “your brother Hosni Mubarak,” and developing endless armed violence in your own country, South, Beja, Blue Nile, DarFur, and definitely many others as a result of your tyrant rule.

Was it that you were too “ashamed of your Akhwan (brothers),” burdened with failures, and confused with peace zigzagging negotiations due to your aggression and stupid rejection of the major Sudan’s parties in the peace negotiation process, that you completely failed to properly address yourself to the agenda of the Arab Summit, Iraq, Kuwait, and Palestine, seeing them as Akhwan instead of what they are?!!