|
Dakar, Senegal: Senegal's President, the new chairman of the world's largest Muslim group, said yesterday he would make solving the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian crisis a priority for the organisation.
A separate attempt to broker peace between two feuding African neighbours gained fresh urgency as Chad accused Sudan of aiding a new rebel advance.
"The just and legitimate cause of Palestine remains at the heart of our concerns," Abdoulaye Wade told the leaders of dozens of Islamic countries in Senegal's seaside capital as a two-day Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit began.
Wade called Israel "an occupying power" and urged its government to "immediately stop its disproportionate use of force". He added: "I should like to tell our brothers and sisters of Palestine that your unity is the first priority of success .... Please unite."
The Middle East has long been a core issue for the 57-member OIC, which was founded in 1969 in response to an arson attack on Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The group aims to promote Islamic unity and serve as a voice for the Muslim world.
Wade has tried to cast himself as a continental peacemaker and had hoped to bring the presidents of Chad and Sudan together to sign a peace deal on the eve of the summit. But Wednesday's talks were cancelled after Sudanese leader Omar Al Bashir, who was in Dakar, failed to show. Al Bashir said he had a headache and was too tired after a long journey.
According to a Chad government statement yesterday, Sudan launched "several heavily armed columns" against Chad on Wednesday. The Chadian government called the fighters "mercenaries", its term for Chadian rebels it accuses Sudan of backing, and said they had crossed from Sudan and reached a border town, Moudeina.
The leaders of Chad and Sudan have long traded acrimonious accusations of supporting each other's rebel groups.
Chad President Idriss Deby has accused Sudanese authorities of arming rebels who launched a failed assault last month on the Chadian capital, N'Djamena. The rebels reached the gate of the presidential palace, but fled toward Sudan after Chad's army repelled them in fighting that left hundreds dead. Sudan has repeatedly accused Chad of supporting Darfur rebels.
Talks were expected to go forward yesterday on the sidelines of the summit.
The Palestinian delegation declared the summit a success even before it began, saying earlier yesterday it had garnered key support from fellow Muslims.
A declaration drafted by foreign ministers to be adopted by the summit "reinforces support and backs Palestine, and condemns Israel for what it is doing in Gaza", Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said.
Summits are traditionally held every three years, and the agenda this year included studying ways to improve Islam's image in the West and spurring economic development in some of the world's poorest countries — the summit brings together Arab countries that set the price of oil with small African nations who struggle to provide their citizens with paved roads.
Tackling rough rhetoric
The crises likely to be addressed on the sidelines of the summit are some of the world's most intractable.
Organisers say protracted war in Iraq will be on the agenda along with the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel.
The OIC summit was returning to Africa for the first time in 14 years. The organisation brought together several heads of state, including Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Algerian President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika. The Palestinian delegation was led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and Iraq's by Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also was attending. For the first time, the United States sent a representative.
OIC delegations will consider a report compiled for the summit that is an attempt to comprehensively record anti-Islamic speech and action around the world.
|
