Arabs urged to influence Western decision-makers

Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohammed Ben Aissa told Gulf News that Arab countries should work out an effective mechanism to fully utilise the important decisions and achievements of the 14th Arab Summit held in Beirut on March 28 and 29.

The minister was talking to Gulf News in an exclusive interview at the residence of the Moroccan delegation at the Phoenicia Hotel, the venue of the summit, as the delegation stayed for few days after the summit was over. Here is the full text of the interview:

GN: How does Morocco read the results of the summit?

Ben Aissa: The summit was a tremendous success as there has been a good atmosphere, understanding and flexibility in the discussions between Arab leaders and delegates. We can safely say that there has been full intimacy in discussions.

But we all know how story the first day was?

It was part of the activation of the delivery of the Beirut Declaration. There has been a very successful delivery, as there has been no abortion although many parties outside the summit hall worked hard to destroy it.

Who were they?

No comment.

A successful delivery means tangible achievements, doesn't it?

The summit has come up with three important historic resolutions: a unified pan-Arab peace initiative that set things on the right track, a breakthrough in Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations, and a Moroccan economic initiative.

The Arab peace initiative preserves and secures peace, security, and stability for all the peoples of the region. It does not only demand the return of usurped rights, but it has offered Israel peace, security, and normal relations.

More importantly, the initiative has not been designed to address Arabs and Israelis only; as it has been addressed to the whole international community. Hence, since the plan was declared, the international community became automatically responsible for settling peace and security in the region, that ceased to be an Arab responsibility only.

Do you mean that the initiative has pulled out the file from the U.S. hands and the issue has been globalised?

On the contrary, we should keep the file in the hands of the Americans because they are the only party that can influence Israel politically and strategically. We should not fall in the trap of exagerations and unrealistic slogans. The U.S. has a great influence on the decision-making in Israel.

What can we do if the U.S. does not buy the initiative, or say if it buys it with very cheap price?

Arab countries should rally all their political, financial and other sources of power to influence decision-making circles not only in the U.S. but all over the world in order to convince them to force Israel to stop its aggression against the Palestinians and respond positively to the joint pan-Arab peace initiative.

All forces, including banks, economic organisations and other capabilities, should be utilised by Arab countries to convince the U.S. and other powerful states and organisations to force Israel to respond well to this initiative and stop its aggressions against Arab citizens.

I do not mean that we should boycott the West and cut oil supply as a means of pressure. What I want to say is that we Arabs should make our voices, including the financial ones, be clearly heard all over the world in order to secure more support to our main goal of peace. We should make our stand very powerful in advocating our just, real, and permanent peace project for the whole region.

What does it really mean to add another initiative to many previous ones launched by the Arab countries?

Arabs have sent the ball into the court of Israel, the U.S. and the international community by launching their unified peace initiative, first presented by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia on February 17.

How do you view the response to the initiative so far?

The response has been very positive worldwide, except in Israel. There has been already a positive response to the initiative from many parties in the world even before it was officially approved by the Arab summit and declared as a joint Arab initiative in Beirut.

The initiative has been welcomed by the European Union, the U.S., the UN and other countries and organisations. It is the first step to convince these forces to influence Israel and force it to implement the initiative.

But will Israel buy it?

I believe so. Israel will implement the initiative once it is seriously asked by the U.S. and the world community to do so. Israel does not live on the Mercury; it lives on earth like other countries. We all know that when Israel is pressurised to implement the initiative, it will respond positively. The tools of pressure are well-known, and the U.S. has plenty of them.

The most important thing, however, is to how to convince the U.S. of the seriousness of Arab countries in opting for peace. We should reach the decision-making circles in the U.S. We should realise that we do not have the same effective mechanism of influencing such circles like the Israeli lobby.

But Sharon's reply was sending his 150 military tanks and thousands of troops to reoccupy the Palestinian-controlled territories? What do you think of the Arab reaction to Sharon's response?

Israel's response was expected, and it would have been really a big surprise had Sharon accepted the Arab peace initiative. We have never known Sharon but through what we are witnessing of escalation, bloodshed, murder, destruction, and occupation.

Such aggressive acts are increasing day by day. Sharon will also do his best to destroy the Arab peace initiative, and even every effort that makes Sharon lose its dream of "great Israel" that considers the West Bank as an essential part of his utopian state.

Sharon believes that Israel should not give up any lands that it has occupied. Hence, what they mention about peace is but manoeuvres. However, we still have to wait and see that response of influential forces in the world. There is no country in the world now that takes its decisions without taking into consideration the response of other nations and forces. There are also non-governmental organisations and world public opinion that we should rely upon.

The peace initiative should be introduced and explained to these forces, including the U.S., the UN Security Council members, the European Union.

Back to the second important resolution of the Summit?

It was pulling the curtain on the blackest and most catastrophic scene in the modern history of the Arab nation, which is the Kuwaiti-Iraqi dispute that started in 1990.

But the dispute has not been fully solved yet?

I am talking about the issue as a wholer, as a new phase has already started between Iraq and Kuwait, thanks to the efforts made by arab leaders during the Summit. The new phase between the two countries started actually with Iraqi pledging not to repeat what had happened in 1990 against Kuwait.

It was not a declaration to media this time. It was a resolution adopted by the 22 Arab countries in their summit. All member states have expressed their commitment t