The following are news items published on The MEMRI Blog www.thememriblog.org in advance of next week's Arab League summit, which will take place on Sunday March 29-30, 2008 in Damascus, Syria.
Saudi English Daily On Damascus Summit: A Summit In Name Only
In an editorial, the Saudi daily Arab News stated that the Arab summit scheduled to be held in Damascus next week is doomed to failure, and that a clear message is being sent by the many Arab leaders who are skipping the event and sending lower-level representation. The paper pointed out that the Lebanese factions have failed to resolve their differences, and that some Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, see Syria as having done little to pressure its allies in Lebanon, in particular Hizbullah, to move toward reconciliation. It said that Syria's special relationship with Tehran was not endearing it to moderate Arab states nor to the West, and that it is being accused of taking sides in the Palestinian rift for giving refuge to the Hamas political leadership. The editorial added that the Arab world today is no better than it was a year ago, when the last summit was held, but that even "successful" Arab summits have failed to resolve the most immediate challenges or reach popular expectations. It said that this summit may go down in history as the last of the Arab summits, if not in occurrence then in substance. It accused the Arabs of failing to appreciate and copy the examples of other regional groupings which have employed their alliances to confront their differences rather than amplifying them, and that by using the summit event to pressure Damascus over its own policies, the risk of derailing the entire Arab League organization had increased to dangerous levels. The paper concludes by asking what will follow the ritual convening of the Arab summit in Damascus, and says that barring a miraculous breakthrough, the meeting will further cripple Arab collaboration in face of regional and international challenges. The organization has failed to respond to crises, whether in Gaza, Darfur, Somalia, or Iraq.
Source: Arab News, Saudi Arabia, March 26, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-27
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6468.htm
'Al-Sharq Al-Awsat' Editor: Absence Of Heads Of State At Damascus Summit Is Justified
Tareq Alhomayed, editor of the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, has defended Saudi Arabia's decision not to send its head of state to represent it at the upcoming Arab summit in Damascus. In an op-ed in the paper, he stated that there was no justification for the participation of heads of Arab states at the summit, because of Syria's and Iran's actions in Lebanon. Calling the ruling by the Mufti of Syria requiring every Arab ruler to participate in the summit "a joke," Alhomayed wondered what the mufti would rule regarding Syria's and Iran's actions in Lebanon and about the "holocaust" that the Syrian regime was going to bring upon Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine in the name of the "resistance."
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, March 25, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-25
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6414.htm
Saudis To Send Low-Level Representation To Arab League Summit
The Saudi representative in the Arab League, Ahmad Qatan, announced yesterday, March 24, that he would head the Saudi delegation to the Arab League summit in Damascus at the end of this month. A Syrian source said of the low-level Saudi representation that "such a position does not serve joint Arab activity," and that Saudi Arabia was "evading [participating in] responsible dialogue."
Source: Al-Watan, Syria; Al-Jazirah, Saudi Arabia, March 25, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-25
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6406.htm
Mubarak Won't Attend Damascus Summit
Sources in the Egyptian leadership have said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has decided not to attend the upcoming Arab League summit in Damascus, slated for the end of this month, in light of Syria's involvement in Lebanon. The sources added that in the next 24 hours Egypt will be consulting with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE in order to coordinate their level of representation at the summit, and at its conclusion Mubarak will decide whether he will send Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif or Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit as his representative to the summit.
Source: Al-Masryoon, Egypt, March 23, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-24
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6395.htm
Syrian Columnist: Syria Won't Relinquish Its Principles For Arab Summit
In his column in the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra, Salim Aboud wrote that the responsibility for participation in and the success of the Arab League summit lies not with Syria but with all Arabs. He said that whether the summit is held in Damascus or not, and whether Arab leaders attend or not, Syria will continue to adhere to the resistance, and will not relinquish its principles.
Source: Al-Thawra, Syria, March 11, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-11
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6114.htm
Syrian Oppositionist To Arab Countries: Boycott Damascus Summit
In an interview with the website of Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party, former Syrian MP and oppositionist Mamoun Al-Homsi called on Arab countries not to participate in the upcoming Arab League summit in Damascus. He said that holding the summit in Damascus would be a defeat for the Arab monarchs and rulers, and would give Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad a medal of honor that he would try to brandish in order to prove that he was the one who made the decisions in the region. Al-Homsi added that the act of leaders attending the summit would be considered a blow to the Syrian people's right to life and freedom, and a crime against the peoples in the region.
Source: psp.org.lb, March 10, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-11
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6111.htm
Apprehension In Lebanon About Syrian Reaction To Lebanese Summit Boycott
The London daily Al-Hayat reports that according to elements in the Lebanese parliament who are part of the March 14 Forces, Lebanon is preparing for conflict with Syria due to Lebanon's boycott of the Damascus summit. Diplomatic sources said that top Syrian officials hinted to them that Lebanon was likely to face a new wave of violence by the Syrian regime, including bombings and murders.
Source: Al-Hayat, London; Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon, March 28, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-28
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6495.htm
Syria, Lebanon Wrangle Over Damascus Summit
At a March 26 press conference, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem attacked Lebanon's decision to boycott the Arab summit in Damascus, hinting that foreign elements were involved in the decision. He also accused the U.S. of pressuring over the summit, and of attempting to split the Arab world. Al-Muallem stated that Lebanon had missed a golden opportunity to take care of its internal crisis, and of its relations with Syria. He called on the Arab countries who maintained a special relationship with Lebanon, particularly Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to show more cooperation in implementing the Arab League initiative in Lebanon. Lebanese MP from the March 14 Forces Mustafa Alloush responded to Al-Muallem's statement by saying that the Syrian regime's "golden opportunity" to Lebanon had so far manifested itself in three decades of killing, terror, and destruction. He added that Syria was determined to bring in the Iranian regime, like a cancer in the Arab body, instead of returning to the bosom of its Arab brothers. Also, former Lebanese prime minister Salim Al-Hoss warned that Lebanon was on the threshold of collapse, and needed a united Arab resolution that would bring it out of the crisis. He added that no neighboring country would emerge unscathed in the event of an explosion in Lebanon's internal situation.
Sources: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London; Al-Thawra, Syria; Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon, March 27, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-27
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6484.htm
Cartoon In Jordanian Paper On Damascus Summit
Source: Al-Dustour, Jordan, March 27, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-28
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6497.htm
Cartoon In Bahrain Paper On Arab Summit In Damascus
Source: Al-Ayyam, Bahrain, March 27, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-28
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6496.htm
Cartoon In Jordanian Paper On Arab Summit
On inner tube: "Arab summit."
Source: Al-Dustour, Jordan, March 26, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-27
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6482.htm
Cartoon In Syrian Gov't Paper: "The [Damascus Arab] Summit"
Source: Teshreen, Syria, March 26, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-26
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6442.htm
Cartoon In Palestinian Paper: "U.S. Tries To Thwart Arab Summit"
Source: Falastin, Palestinian Authority, March 24, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-25
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6417.htm
Cartoon In Jordanian Paper On Upcoming Arab League Summit
Source: Al-Dustour, Jordan, March 17, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-18
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6267.htm
Cartoon In Lebanese Paper: Lebanon Hangs Between OIC Summit In Dakar And Arab League Summit In Damascus
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon, March 13, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-14
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6204.htm
Cartoon In Bahrain Paper On "[The Blocked Road] To The Damascus Summit"
On felled cedar: "The Lebanon crisis."
Source: Akhbar Al-Khaleej, Bahrain, March 6, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-07
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/6012.htm
Arab League Sec'y-Gen Moussa: No Limited Summit
The London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is vehemently denying that there will be a limited summit prior to the Damascus summit at the end of the month (see http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/5917.htm).
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, March 5, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-05
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/5970.htm
March 14 Forces Reject Syrian Proposal To Resolve Lebanese Presidential Crisis
The Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal reports that Syria has submitted a new three-part proposal for resolving the Lebanese presidential crisis. The proposal, submitted to Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, includes electing a president, establishing a transitional government, and holding early parliamentary elections within six months. Elements from the March 14 Forces rejected the proposal. Lebanese Communications Minister Marwan Hamada said that the initiative was a trap aimed at preventing the presidential election until the Arab summit, scheduled for later this month in Damascus.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Lebanon, March 5, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-05
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/5962.htm
Damascus Summit Controversy Continues
Syrian sources have denied that a limited Arab summit is to be held prior to the Damascus summit scheduled for later this month (see "Report: "Mini" Arab Summit Will Discuss Postponing Damascus Summit"). Samir Geagea of the March 14 Forces called to boycott the Arab summit in Damascus if Syria continued to thwart the Arab initiative for resolving the Lebanon crisis. An official Saudi source said that Saudi Arabia had agreed "in principle" to attend the summit, but did not note the level of its representation. An official Gulf source said that Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries would attend only if Lebanon attended.
Sources: Al-Watan, Saudi Arabia, March 4, 2008; Al-Akhbar, Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon, March 4, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-04
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/5917.htm
Syria Rejects Arab League Sec-Gen's Request To Postpone Damascus Summit
The London daily Al-Hayat reports that Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa has asked the Syrian leadership to postpone the Arab summit in Damascus due to fear that some countries could boycott it. Syria rejected the request, stating that at least nine countries had announced that they would be sending leadership-level representation. The Lebanese daily Al-Nahar reported that Syria had also rejected an Egyptian-Saudi request presented by Moussa to pressure Lebanon's allies to hold the presidential election as soon as possible.
Sources: Al-Hayat, London; Al-Nahar, Lebanon, March 3, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-03
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/5897.htm
Report: "Mini" Arab Summit Will Discuss Postponing Damascus Summit
Diplomatic sources in Jordan have confirmed that a limited Arab summit, with the participation of eight Arab countries, could be held in Cairo or Sharm Al-Sheikh prior to the summit scheduled for later this month in Damascus. According to the report, the eight countries will be Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Egypt, and Jordan; possible dates are March 9 or March 16. The sources stated that this conference would discuss the proposal to postpone the Damascus summit in order to permit the Lebanese to reach an agreement over the election of Michel Sleiman as president.
Source: Al-Hayat, London, March 3, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-03
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/5888.htm
Syrian MP: Moving Arab Summit Venue From Damascus – Suicide
At a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Mu'alem said that the Arab League summit would convene on the appointed date. Syrian MP Muhammad Habash told the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that moving the summit's venue from Damascus would mean suicide and catastrophe for Arab solidarity. He added that there was a possibility that Iran would be invited to the summit.
Sources: Teshreen, Syria, March 2, 2008; Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, March 1, 2008
Posted at: 2008-03-03
