Al Bashir urges summit to announce 'three new Nos'

Khartoum: The annual Arab summit opened here yesterday (Tuesday) with strong calls to take a leading role in Iraq and to support a Hamas-led government in Palestine. However, the absence of nine heads of states overshadowed the meeting, leading to speculations it will not come up with significant resolutions.

Forty years after the historic Khartoum summit of August 1967, Sudan's president Omar Al Bashir opened Tuesday's conference with a reminder of the famous "three Nos" announced four decades ago. Then, Arabs led by Egyptian nationalist leader Gamal Abdul Nasser announced there would be "no recognition of Israel, no negotiations and no peace treaty [with the Jewish state]."

"We are not here today to reaffirm those Nos? since but to announce new ones," Bashir told other leaders yesterday.

"I suggest we say no to denying the Palestinian people its democratic right, no to punishing them for choosing their government and no to allowing Israel to flout all international resolution and agreements signed by its consecutive governments."

His statement is the strongest words ever of support to Hamas since its election win in January. That was in contrast to US-led calls to boycott a Hamas-led government until it recognized Israel and the west-backed roadmap peace plan.

Instead of exerting "undue pressure" on Hamas, Bashir said, "The international community should double its efforts to force Israel to respond to repeated Arab peace initiatives."

Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa slammed the planned talks over Iraq between rivals US and Iran. "We cannot sit idle whilst others are engaged in wheeling and dealing behind our back in a region in which we constitute the majority," he told the leaders, alluding to the US-Iran talks, which are scheduled to take place soon in Baghdad.

"The affairs of Iraq cannot be decided without the consent of its people or the contribution of the Arabs. We must?confronts these deals."

He said Iraq was "suffering for a high degree of political and religious violence which led to a dangerous state of chaos," urging Arab countries to support the political process Moussa also the Arabs hoped the National Reconciliation Conference, to be held in Iraq in June, would pave the way to establish "real" national unity in the war-torn country.

He however failed to mention Iraqi and American demands that Arab states open diplomatic missions in Bagdad.

However, he asked the Arab leaders to help finance the African Union's peacekeeping mission in Sudan's troubled region of Darfur, a request made earlier by President Al Bashir. But an Arab diplomat said he didn't expect that to happen. 

Other expectations from the summit nosedived even before it was opened as key leaders, including the veteran leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have opted to stay away.

Arab League officials said there are a number of "significant" resolutions will be announced at the end of the meeting. They include a new arbitration body to resolve disputes between their countries.

The five-member Arab Council for Peace and Security would look into disputes between Arab countries. Moussa told reporters on Sunday that the council members may also recommend the dispatching of an Arab peacekeeping force if necessary to end armed conflicts between member states.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who arrived here yesterday, leads the UAE delegation to the summit. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior and Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister.

Education and Science

Moussa presented Arab leaders yesterday with two proposals to reform education and encourage scientific research.

"I suggest you approve the creation of a high-level commission, with a certain timeframe to look into the state of education in the Arab world. The commission, which will have a one-year term, would develop and modernize the education process," he told the leaders.

He said Arabs had to come to terms with "the awkward" state of education. "Our graduates are out of touch with the reality of today's world," he said. Another proposal, he said, was put forward by Sudan. It is an initiative to increase spending on scientific research. It would be handled by the Arab Economic and Social Council.