Arab leaders wake up

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak displayed his quintessential welcome last Sunday as he hosted France's President Nicolas Sarkozy.

His comments were couched in seasoned diplomatic prose but, in a rare display of frustration and determination, Mubarak asserted himself both on the Arab and International scenes.

Standing next to Sarkozy, the Egyptian leader declared that regional leaders could no longer hide behind Arab solidarity, insisting that the time was right for outsiders to stop meddling in internal Arab affairs.

What is one to make of this renewed emphasis on accountability? Is Mubarak window dressing or are Arab leaders finally ready to assume responsibility?

Understandably, news reports focused on Sarkozy's irritation with Syria, as Paris vowed to cut off contact with Damascus until the latter ends its orchestrated manoeuvres to delay the election of a new president in Lebanon.

"We will have no more contact with Syria," affirmed the French leader, "until we have proof of Syrian willingness to let Lebanon appoint a consensus president".

Sarkozy assured one and all that the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is the real stumbling block for Damascus, would try suspects in the slaying of former Lebanon's prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Even if Sarkozy's declarations were anticipated, especially after he set several deadlines that were carelessly ignored, Mubarak's uncharacteristically frank proclamations - describing the political deadlock in Lebanon as "dangerous" - were fresh.

While the Egyptian has a lacklustre record on key domestic issues, he cautioned Syria to abandon its intransigence, rejoin the Arab fold, and "use its influence in Lebanon" to work towards reconciliation.

Mubarak claimed that it was "impossible for any country, and especially an Arab country, to be without a president or government [that is] paralysed for a long period of time."

Equally noteworthy, he lambasted Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, with choice comments: "Every time a session of Parliament is called, it is postponed for a week and we do not know for how many weeks this will go on."

When was the last time an Arab ruler of Mubarak's stature uttered such eloquent words about fellow Arab leaders?

It must be emphasised that the Mubarak pronouncement was not a singular event and limited to Lebanon. Mubarak sensitised Sarkozy to maintain a semblance of honesty with respect to Israel and come clean on this critical question as well.

This latest reaction came a few days after Mubarak chastised the Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, who is often audacious even if premature.

One recalls her precipitous request on Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign last year, which proved embarrassing, only to fall back into the fold in a very docile way after wealthy American backers told her to wait her turn.

More recently, Livni accused Egypt of doing little to stop arms smuggling into Gaza through the Sinai Peninsula, warning that there would be severe consequences.

Mubarak was livid with this accusation, declaring that the Israeli fabricated evidence to implicate Egyptian security forces, and asserted that Livni crossed "red lines".

Egypt further accused Israel of encouraging pro-Israeli groups in the United States to lobby members of the US Congress to damage the critical Egyptian-American relationships.

Withholding aid

According to The Washington Post, the US Congress proposed to withhold $100 million in aid to Egypt, until such time when the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could certify that Cairo stopped arms smuggling into Gaza.

Given how sensitive the aid issue is for Cairo, Mubarak's reaction was probably understandable, but what was new was his courage to publicly voice an opinion.

To focus his displeasure with Washington, the Egyptian leader reminded the pro-American Sarkozy that the latter should be more honest, in effect hitting two birds with a single stone.

This partly explains the French President's invitation on Israel to halt the construction of Jewish colonies in the Occupied Palestinian territories as a goodwill gesture to accelerate peace negotiations.

"I have said on several occasions," opined Sarkozy, "that it is the moment for the Israelis to make some gestures that would show that peace is possible - including a freeze on the implantation of colonies". Uttering these words meant that no such gestures were forthcoming - otherwise why call for any?

Mubarak is not the only Arab leader with renewed determination. King Abdullah II of Jordan confronted the US President George W. Bush in several private meetings, which were less than friendly, with the Jordanian insisting that he should not be taken for a gullible fool.

King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia likewise addressed both domestic and regional concerns with far more candour than one is habituated to hear.

Because Syria is a culturally rich society - with a more than 3,000-year-old legacy - that has made significant contributions to sciences and literature, its current doldrums are heartbreaking.

In fact, it is amply clear that Arab leadership will not come from Damascus anytime soon, but must refocus on the critical Cairo-Riyadh axis. With awakened leaders who are learning to respect their citizens and subjects, and who can remind one and all that they are able to lead, without interferences.

Dr. Joseph A. Kechichian is a commentator and author of several books on Gulf affairs.