TV Programme Discusses Saudi King’s Summit Speech, Arab Initiative
Al-Jazeera Satellite Television at 1830 gmt on 28 March carries a new episode of its “Behind the News” programme moderated by Khadijah Bin Qinah.
Bin Qinah introduces the programme as follows: “This episode will focus on Saudi King Abdallah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz’s speech at the opening session of the Arab summit in Riyadh, in which he called for restoring confidence among Arab leaderships as a necessary step to halt foreign interference in the region. We will pose two questions during today’s programme: How capable are the Arabs of implementing the Saudi king’s call for re-building confidence among Arab regimes; and, what impact will hot Arab files have on the future of joint Arab action?”
This is followed by a video clip of part of the Saudi king’s speech at the opening session of the summit, in which he calls on the Arabs to unite and work on restoring confidence among them.
Bin Qinah then introduces her two guests as follows: ‘Id bin Mas’ud al-Jahni, Saudi writer and head of the Arab Gulf Centre for Energy and Strategic Studies, via satellite from Cairo; and Dr Azzam al-Tamimi, director of the Islamic Political Thought Institute, via satellite from London.
A 2-minute video report is aired showing archival clips of US- Arab meetings and a statement by the Libyan president in which he discourages Arab leaders from holding the summit because decisions are made outside the Arab land. It also carries part of the Saudi king’s speech in which he holds the Arab leaders responsible for their people’s lack of confidence in them.
Asked whether the Arab summit reflects obedience to Washington or a move towards independent Arab decision-making, Al-Jahni says that the Saudi king’s speech has touched on Arab ailments at a time “the Arab nation is witnessing a state of unprecedented defeat and fragmentation.” He adds: “King Abdallah has not reached this conviction in 24 hours, but rather through long years of distinguished experience. He has been reading Arab history since the fifties. The Arabs were more coherent and stronger in the fifties, and they did not depend on rhetorical speeches and media spotlights. King Abdallah’s speech is concise and briefly diagnoses the reality of the Arab nation’s situation.” He goes on to say that the Arab nation has a rich history, and with God’s help it will continue to have such a history, if the Arabs adhere to a unified will. He adds: “The Saudi initiative was unanimously approved during the 2002 Arab summit, when all the Arabs, for the first time, agreed on it without any abstention. The Arabs have again voted in support of this initiative, proving that this initiative is dynamic, active, and strong.”
Asked whether adherence to the Arab initiative is an achievement of this summit, Al-Tamimi says: “I do not consider recognizing the legitimacy of the Zionist entity’s presence in any part of Palestine an accomplishment, but rather a further setback. I believe that adhering to the Arab initiative, which is actually Thomas Friedman’s initiative, is an alternative to the failure of the Quartet, the road map, and all previous initiatives. When these initiatives were active, the Americans and Israelis showed no interest in the Arab initiative, and I believe that whoever drafted King Abdallah’s speech is very smart, because he attempted, although unsuccessfully, to cast away the Arab individuals’ doubts about the timing of the summit that coincided with or was programmed to coincide with Condoleezza Rice’s meeting with some Arab ministers and officials. This is because these officials came to the summit right after their meeting with her, like schoolboys emerging from a meeting with their headmistress to decide what to do for the next step.”
The anchorwoman explains that reactivating the Arab initiative and not abiding by what Rice wanted from the Arabs in favour of Israel contradicts what he has said. Al-Tamimi says that “the Arab initiative is in reali ty an openness towards Israel,” explaining that the initiative lacks the support of the Arab masses, who do not recognize Israel’s right to exist, at a time the official Arab position “wants to grant Israel this recognition on a golden platter.” He says: “It would have been better for the Arabs to offer the Israelis an armistice, not a recognition of the legitimacy of their existence. This stabs the core issue in the back, which is the issue of the Islamic and Arab dimension of the Palestine question.”
Asked whether reactivating the Arab initiative can be considered an accomplishment, Al-Jahni says: “The initiative did not call for normalizing relations with Israel, or for doing this or that. It is clear and frank, and it was not drafted by an American or any Middle East person, but rather it was drafted by King Abdallah. Accordingly, we should be objective, rational, and far away from striking slogans.” Answering the question posed by the moderator, he says that in order for the Arabs to reactivate the initiative, they should unify their ranks, reiterating that this is the only way to obtain positive results from Israel. He emphasizes that “we want to convince the world that there is a nation that can defend its cause” and that “others will not respect a weak and defeated nation, when its sons do not treat each other truthfully, sincerely and loyally.”
Asked what would happen if Israel rejects the initiative, Al- Jahni says: “As a nation, we should adhere to this initiative. If the Arabs agree to it, it will continue to be a strategic peace plan, un-amended, with or without Israel’s approval.” He adds: “UN Resolution 194 is an essential part of this initiative; and therefore, we should activate it and take action as a nation so that others will respect us.”
Asked whether there is a consensus among the Arab leaders on the issues put for discussion in the summit, and whether they are heading for real joint action, Al-Tamimi says: “Had the Arabs been in agreement, the Lebanese would have not attended the meeting with two delegations. If the Saudi king’s speech embodies good intentions, let us see whether Saudi Arabia can play a role in solving the Lebanese crisis. Why does the current polarization continue with Saudi Arabia standing on one side against the other? I doubt that the Iraqi factions are happy about the convening of the summit or about what it will produce for them. I believe that the main topic of the summit is the Israeli one; that is, the Arab- Israeli conflict. I do not expect the conferees to reach tangible solutions to other issues.”
Asked whether something positive will be accomplished in the Iraqi file during the summit, Al-Tamimi says: “Nothing will be achieved during this summit, because those who are attending the meetings are burdened with big differences and lack confidence in each other. They are also jealous and envious of each other and bear grudge against one another. They have numerous and deep-rooted problems. Also, many of those attending the summit have many problems with their own peoples.” He names a couple of countries as an example and says “it is difficult for them to solve major issues at a time they cannot solve their own internal problems.”
The moderator refers to the part of the king’s speech in which he described the US presence in Iraq as occupation, and asks Al-Jahni to explain whether this statement reflects a more serious Saudi or Arab move towards resolving the Iraqi problem. Al-Jahni says that the king referred to the US presence in Iraq as “foreign” occupation, reiterating that “the side that is actually occupying Iraq is Iran, while the United States is occupying it in theory only.” Asked about Iran’s nuclear threat against the Arabs, he says: “We are against nuclear armament in Israel and Iran. The GCC and the Arab League should be aware of this danger. The United States is occupying an Arab country and ve ry blatantly is supporting a Hebrew state that has been coercing the Palestinian brothers for more than 60 years. The United States has its own interests, and we should seek our own interests.”
(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.