SANAA, 13 July — The Kingdom has been admitted to the Arab Parliamentary Union in an extraordinary session of the union here on Wednesday.
Representatives of 19 Arab countries, the Arab League, Islamic Parliamentary Union and the Organization of the Islamic Conference participated in the 39th session of the APU which opened in Sanaa. This session is devoted to the support of the Palestinian intifada.
Addressing the session, Chairman of the Shoura Council Muhammad ibn Jubair, who headed the Kingdom’s delegation to the emergency meeting said the Kingdom sought the membership mainly because of the uniformity of the goals of both the APU and the Shoura Council to strengthen Arab unity so that Arabs can have a strong presentation of their cause at international forums.
“The Kingdom’s accession to APU today is nothing but formalization of a fact and we are an indivisible part of any Arab and Islamic gathering which helps solve the issues of our Ummah,” Ibn Jubair said.
“The Saudi Shoura Council has always considered itself a member amid you as it has been passing through a similar experience to you, sharing your pains and your joy,” he added.
Speaking in the opening session, Yemen’s Vice President Abdu Rabbo Hadi, urged the participants to adopt practical decisions to support the intifada.
He cautioned that the intifada would be suicidal if ignored by the rest of the Arab and Muslim World.
He justified the activities of the Palestinian youths because it was a legitimate struggle to retrieve their deprived rights.
In his address to the meeting Yemeni Parliament Speaker Abdullah Al-Ahmar reiterated the need for the all-out support for the Palestinian cause.
“The miseries of the Palestinians under the brutally attacking forces of Israel and the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Zionists are the most dangerous issues currently facing the Muslim and Arab communities,” Al-Ahmar said.
The Speaker of the Palestinian National Council Saleem Al-Zanoun read out President Arafat’s message to the meeting in which he described the latest developments in the land and the need for posting international observers there.
APU Chairman Abdul Qadir ibn Saleh strongly criticized the Western tendency to label the legitimate struggle of the Palestinians as terrorist acts.
“The United States and some European countries adopt double standards in their treatment of the Palestinian intifada which is a just struggle for independence.” He compared the intifada with the American struggle against British colonialism in the 18th century.
He asked if they would describe George Washington as a terrorist because he fought for America’s independence and its citizens’ rights?
The meeting that concluded yesterday considered the mounting Zionist aggression against the Palestinians as a direct attack on both the Arab and Muslim communities.
The parliamentary union in a statement at the conclusion of the meeting demanded the liberation of the occupied lands, the return of the refugees and the founding of an independent Palestine as per the relevant UN resolutions.
It also underscored the Arab and Islamic identity of Jerusalem. APU demanded the trial of war criminals such as Sharon by the World Court.
The meeting also condemned the blatant Israeli attacks on Syria and Lebanon. The union disapproved of the unfair American support to the Israelis against the Palestinians.
