If Arab leaders do not meet at this critical moment, when are they going to meet? Such a meeting must be different to all previous summits.
Please meet away from television cameras, avoid impressive speeches and promises and drafting committees that waste hours debating a sentence to avoid upsetting one party or another. It is these and other factors that render Arab summits ineffective.
The coming summit must convene in a businesslike atmosphere, away from the kissing, hugging and shoulder tapping and receptions and farewell protocols.
Do you want to wait for another attack on the region in order to come together? Your next meeting should be an opportunity for soul-searching, for everyone to honor their obligations now that Iraq has been destroyed, without its brothers rushing to help.
It is not necessary for such a meeting to be attended by everyone. We know you would not achieve consensus so let the majority decide.
We heard enough of the “critical juncture in the nation’s history,” the “difficult stage,” the “grave challenges never before faced by our nation” and similar expressions. What is taking place at this very moment is more dangerous than any previous situation. Yet all we hear is a deafening silence, broken only by whispers that reflect a state of despair.
That principle of non-intervention in others’ internal affairs on which Arab policy has been based is now dead.
The new world order led by the United States is based on seeking any pretext to intervene in the internal affairs of others. Under this order, many of the old principles and values that governed the world have been destroyed, and destroyed forever.
It is no secret that our region remains the weakest and most vulnerable link in this order. Iraq was the beginning because it was the weakest of the weak after Arab leaders left its people to their fate at the hands of a tyrant out of respect for this principle of non-intervention.
Please meet to honor your responsibilities. Make your agenda short. Adopt the initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah for reforming the Arab world and putting the Arab house in order. Expedite building genuine civil institutions.
Don’t give any excuse to the proponents of the new world order to pursue their ambitions. Apply all available means of pressure to have Washington and London commit to the establishment of a Palestinian state and make the year 2005 the deadline. Remember that attack is the best form of defense. Start by exposing Israel’s weapons of mass destruction.
Don’t leave Iraq the victim of looters and souvenir hunters. Play an active role in the new Iraq and work to protect the interests of its people. Atone for your silence through active engagement and remember that people have long memories.
Arab News From the Local Press 26 April 2003
