The 19th summit of the League
of Arab States opened yesterday in Riyadh. King Abdullah
addressed the regional issues facing the assembled Arab leaders
in a widely reported speech. This SUSRIS IOI provides a
transcript of his complete remarks, preceded by a
government-provided overview of the address. These are followed
by a compilation of reports on the address and other news about
the Arab summit.
King Abdullah calls for greater
cooperation to solve Arab issues
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz today called for greater cooperation to solve
the issues facing the Arab world. In his speech to the
Arab leaders at the Arab Summit in Riyadh, King Abdullah
said it has been over sixty years since the Arab League
was established to become �a nucleus for a genuine Arab
unity, united Arab armies, integrated economies, united
political objectives, and before all, the unity of
hearts and minds,� however, the current state of the
Arab world is an indication that the objectives set over
six decades ago have not materialized. The �current
reality, which stands to prove that we are far away from
the unity compared to the day in which the Arab League
was created,� King Abdullah said.
King
Abdullah called for an end to the international
sanctions imposed on the Palestinian people in light of
the positive development following the Makkah Agreement.
�it became a necessity to put an end to the unjust siege
imposed on the Palestinian people as soon as possible so
as to enable the peace process to proceed in an
atmosphere free from compulsion and repression� and
which will lead to the establishment of the independent
Palestinian state.
King Abdullah called for an end to bloodshed and turmoil
in Arab lands. �In the beloved Iraq, blood is spilled
between brothers under an illegitimate foreign
occupation and despicable sectarianism that threatens
civil war. Lebanon, which was a good example for
co-existence and prosperity, is now crippled and unable
to move ahead. Its streets had turned into hotels and
sedition is about to show its teeth.�
In Sudan, King Abdullah said, �Arab laxity led to
foreign intervention in its affairs� while Somalia is
moving from one civil war to another while the Arab
world is �unable to extend help to our brothers.�
King Abdullah said he does not blame the Arab League for
the state of the Arab world. He said blame �should fall
on us. we the leaders of the Arab nations. Our permanent
differences, our refusal to take the path of unity � all
of that led the nations to lose their confidence in our
credibility and to lose hope in our present and future.
King
Abdullah said it is time to liberate our minds from
fears and to exchange bonds of love and goodness.�.
Although there are causes for despair, King Abdullah
said he is hopeful. �Despite the causes of despair, I do
feel hopeful; and in spite the causes of pessimism, I do
feel optimistic; and regardless of the difficulty, I
look forward for ease.�
�The first step on the path of salvation is the
restoration of confidence in ourselves and in each
other. Once confidence is restored, it will be
accompanied by credibility. And if credibility is
restored, then the winds of hope will blow. And when
that happens, we will never allow any forces from
outside the region to design the future of the region.
Then no banner other than that of Arabism will hover
over Arab land.�
King Abdullah called for unity. �I call upon you,
starting with myself, to have a new beginning aimed at
uniting our hearts and closing our ranks. I call upon
all of you to embark on a continuous march until our
nations� goals of unity, dignity, and prosperity are
achieved. Such goals are not difficult to attain by the
will of God Almighty and the determination of faithful
men.�
Source:
www.Saudiembassy.net
King Abdullah's address to the 19th Summit
of the League of Arab States
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate, Prayers
and Salutations on Prophet Mohammad
Your Majesties, Excellencies, Highnesses, The leaders of the
Arab nations: Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you.
It
gives me pleasure, in my name and the name of the Saudi people,
to welcome you and wish you success in your deliberations. I
thank H.E. President Omer Al-Bashir, the president of the
brotherly Republic of Sudan for the effort he exerted while
presiding over last year�s Summit.
The Arab League was established over sixty years ago to become a
nucleus for a genuine Arab unity, united Arab armies, integrated
economies, united political objectives, and before all, the
unity of hearts and minds.
Undoubtedly, the question that raises itself is: what was
achieved out of all these objectives? The answer to this is in
our current reality, which stands to prove that we are far away
from the unity compared to the day in which the Arab League was
created.
Dear Brothers:
In injured Palestine, the people are still resolute while
suffering occupation and repression, and are deprived of their
rights to independence and a sovereign state.
As you all know, our Palestinian brethren met in Makkah in the
vicinity of the Holy Mosque. By the grace of God Almighty, they
succeeded in ending their differences and agreed to form a
national unity government as declared. In light of this positive
development, it became a necessity to put an end to the unjust
siege imposed on the Palestinian people as soon as possible so
as to enable the peace process to proceed in an atmosphere free
from compulsion and repression and in a manner that enables
success in realizing the desired goal of an independent
Palestinian state.
In the beloved Iraq, blood is spilled between brothers under an
illegitimate foreign occupation and despicable sectarianism that
threatens civil war.
Lebanon, which was a good example for co-existence and
prosperity, is now crippled and unable to move ahead. Its
streets had turned into hotels and sedition is about to show its
teeth.
In Sudan, Arab laxity led to foreign intervention in its
affairs. In Somalia, a civil war ends to pave the way for
another. All that is taking place while we are unable to extend
help to our brothers.
The question is: what have we done throughout these years to
resolve all that? I do not want to blame the Arab League because
it is an entity that reflects our conditions in details, so the
real blame should fall on us: we the leaders of the Arab
nations. Our permanent differences, our refusal to take the path
of unity � all of that led the nations to lose their confidence
in our credibility and to lose hope in our present and future.
Honorable brothers:
Disunity is not our fate, nor are we condemned to backwardness
as an inescapable fate. The Almighty God has bestowed dignity
upon us and given us brains to differentiate between truth and
falsehood and a conscience that differentiates between good and
evil.
All that we need is to liberate our minds from fears and to
exchange bonds of love and goodness.
Despite the causes of despair, I do feel hopeful; and in spite
the causes of pessimism, I do feel optimistic; and regardless of
the difficulty, I look forward for ease.
The first step on the path of salvation is the restoration of
confidence in ourselves and in each other. Once confidence is
restored, it will be accompanied by credibility. And if
credibility is restored, then the winds of hope will blow. And
when that happens, we will never allow any forces from outside
the region to design the future of the region. Then no banner
other than that of Arabism will hover over Arab land.
God Almighty says in the Holy Qur�an:
�Never will Allah change the condition of a people until they
change it themselves�
I call upon you, starting with myself, to have a new beginning
aimed at uniting our hearts and closing our ranks. I call upon
all of you to embark on a continuous march until our nations�
goals of unity, dignity, and prosperity are achieved. Such goals
are not difficult to attain by the will of God Almighty and the
determination of faithful men.
Source:
www.SaudiEmbassy.net
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