JEDDAH, 19 January 2003 — Both Arab leaders and the Arab people support the Iraqi people in their suffering and are working to spare Iraq the miseries and destruction of war, Interior Minister Prince Naif said yesterday.
He called for solidarity among Arab countries in the face of these challenges, adding that the world only respects the strong.
Iraq’s commitment to Security Council resolution 1441 represents a basis for achieving the desired objectives without a war and the destruction it causes, the prince said in an interview with a Tunisian newspaper.
"As leadership and people we are with the Iraqi people in their suffering and, God willing, we will work to spare Iraq the miseries of war. We believe Iraq’s commitment to resolution 1441 represents a basis for arriving at solutions to achieve the desired ends without the need for war," the interior minister said in the interview with Al-Hurriya newspaper.
Prince Naif, who serves as honorary chairman of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, was in Tunisia attending the council’s annual meetings and a joint meeting of Arab ministers of interior and information.
"The Arab world should ensure that continued solidarity and cooperation prevail in order to serve their joint interests," he stated. "This is especially necessary in the current circumstances and international developments, where the weak are not taken into account. Power and interests have become the basis for continued relations among nations. To this is added the fact that today’s world is witnessing the establishment of international blocs in economic, political, social and other areas."
He described as "extremely important" proposals put to the joint meeting of Arab ministers by Tunisian President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali calling for the establishment of a solidarity fund and the convening of an international conference on terrorism.
The interior minister emphasized the role of the Arab media and said that it should play a vital role in consolidating joint Arab action.
"We are living in an age in which the media can serve as a destructive or constructive power," he said. "The Arab nation is in need of a media that will help to protect its present and help build its future. We want sincere people with strong beliefs and convictions. Along with the ministries of interior, such a media can contribute to serve the interests of the nation." (SPA)
