| Arab
League Adopts Revamped Arab Peace Initiative
By
Greg LaMotte
Cairo
23 March 2005
The
Arab League concluded its two-day summit in Algiers
Wednesday agreeing, again, to a 2002 Arab peace
initiative put forth by Saudi Arabia. And, just like
in 2002, Israel has rejected the proposal.
Arab
League Secretary General Amr Moussa concluded the
two-day summit in Algeria saying the Arab world was
ready for peace with Israel, but with familiar
demands.
Mr.
Moussa said there cannot be a comprehensive peace
agreement unless there is a complete Israeli
withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories. He
said there must be the establishment of a
Palestinian state and there must be a solution to
the issue of Palestinian refugees.
In
return, Arab states agreed to normalize relations
with Israel. It is the same initiative put forth by
Saudi Arabia during the 2002 summit in Beirut, which
Israel rejected. Tel Aviv has also rejected the
latest Arab peace initiative.
Many
Arab League members said they did not have high
expectations for the summit in Algiers. Eight of the
22 eligible heads of state failed to attend the
meeting, opting to instead send representatives.
The
summit avoided some of the most pressing issues
facing the Arab world including Iraq, Lebanon and
the peace process. However, in its final statement,
the League said it supports the sovereignty of Iraq.
It also said there was Arab solidarity with Syria in
the face of U.S. sanctions against Damascus.
However, there was no mention of the demands for
Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon.
United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the summit
that a more comprehensive investigation is needed to
determine who killed former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafiq Hariri last month in Beirut. His assassination
triggered massive demonstrations in the Lebanese
capital that called for the complete withdrawal of
all Syrian troops from Lebanon.
The
secretary-general said he has been given guarantees
by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that all Syrian
troops will be out of Lebanon before elections are
held in April and May.
During
the summit, Arab leaders agreed to the formation of
an Arab parliament that will act in an advisory role
to the Arab League. And, there was discussion about
further reforms in the Arab world, but no such
proposals were adopted.
Source:
voanews.com
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