The focus of the Arab world, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf, has shifted to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, which hosts the 18th Arab summit starting today.
Much is expected of the summit as the world is witnessing tempestuous events leading to radical changes that could affect the Arabs as well. Therefore, the Arab leaders should take this opportunity to make bold and practical decisions to keep abreast of the global developments, rather than issuing the usual condemnations and out-of-date, irrelevant recommendations.
The summit comes close on the heels of the heinous crime of the Israeli raid on the Jericho jail in collusion with the US and Britain.
It also coincides with the beginning of the fourth year of the US-led invasion of Iraq, marked as it is by the daily crop of violence and mayhem in all parts of the land of ancient civilization and glorious history. What will be the stance of the Arab leaders with respect to such issues and events in the region?
The Arab nation’s dreams are indeed great and the Arab people have the right to dream big. But the Arab summits which are expected to work for the realization of such dreams and hopes have always concluded with platitudes and ambiguous recommendations which are exact copies from the previous summits, save some changes in the venue and date.
No wonder, these summits have become too dull to attract the attention of the people.
What do the Arabs expect from the Khartoum summit, which comes amid unusual international situations? The Arab nation wants courageous decisions and a single Arab voice in regard to issues such as Palestine and Iraq. This is a golden opportunity for the Arabs to take historic decisions.
The people want the summit to take bold steps for the realization of their hopes on cherished topics like the Arab Common Market, single currency, intra-Arab commercial cooperation and exchange of expertise.
A prime example of this kind of unity is the EU, which has achieved significant results despite its lack of several essential ingredients for unification among its member states unlike the Arab nations, which enjoy a common language, history and religion.
It is hoped that the summit leaders would be able to overcome problems that hinder their unity.
In other words, the summit needs to settle all vexing issues as the world focus has now turned to Khartoum.
It is a good opportunity for the summit leaders to deal with the woes of the Arab world and take all efforts toward the achievement of the goals and aspirations of the Arab people.
The Arabs want the summit to delete from its glossary terms such as condemnation and denunciation. The 280 million Arabs form a potential economic powerhouse, which could change the balance of power in the world.
The summit should also discuss and resolve the essential, day-to-day worries that concern the Arabs.
Right decisions on the aforementioned issues would certainly boost the confidence of the people in the ability of the Arab League despite the prevailing feeling that these summits are events that shelve bold decisions but wheel out condemnations and denunciations.
The crucial question is whether the Khartoum summit will take historic decisions to help realize the aspirations of the Arab masses or will it end up issuing copycat resolutions of the previous summits. This will be revealed today and tomorrow as we enthusiastically follow the sessions in Khartoum.
— Essa bin Mohammed Zedjali is editor in chief of The Times of Oman.
