-Caveat Lector- From http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/547/in2.htm }}>Begin Al-Ahram Weekly Online 16 - 22 August 2001 Issue No.547 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Current issue | Previous issue | Site map Will there be a deal in Durban? Is there any chance of the Palestinians receiving a fair hearing in Durban? Dina Ezzat looks for an answer A political condemnation of Israeli racist practices against Palestinians under occupation does not seem to be something that Arab countries will be able to extract out of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), which opens in Durban, South Africa on 31 August. However, the Durban Declaration and its Programme of Action are likely to offer some form of recognition for the racist practices to which Palestinians, and other Arabs living under Israeli occupation, are being subjected -- even if the name of Israel is kept out of the books to please the United States and other allies and friends of Tel Aviv. A ten-day preparatory meetings which ended last Friday in Geneva failed to produce an agreement between those countries which want to see Israeli practices highlighted and condemned, and those which do not. While it is true that each side has shown flexibility regarding its original stance, agreement on the Durban approach to the Middle East remains elusive. For their part, Arab and Muslim countries have given up their initial attempt to include in the Durban Declaration wording which entails a direct or indirect equation between Zionism and racism. Meanwhile, Israel, and its supporters -- the US, Canada, Australia and even many European countries -- have moved from their stance of "no language at all on the Middle East" to a milder position which allows "some language" providing it does not entail a specific country condemnation. A position paper prepared by Arab and Muslim countries offering a compromise on the bracketed Middle East paragraphs in the Durban Declaration and the Programme of Action was, however, deemed unacceptable by the Israel-US camp. A special meeting over this paper was supposed to take place in Geneva in the presence of representatives of some Arab and Muslim countries and their counterparts from Israel, the US and Belgium, the current chair of the European Union. However, a last-minute change of mind by Israeli and US diplomats stymied this reconciliatory effort. The Geneva-based office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, which is acting as a secretariat for WCAR, is conducting contacts with diplomats of the concerned capitals to try and reach a compromise acceptable to all before the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance opens at the end of this month. Both Israel and the US have vowed to boycott the international event if an overwhelming majority of the participants insist on including in the Durban Declaration and programme of action any condemnation of Israel. Today, the draft declaration and programme of action includes bracketed language which annexes each reference to the "Jewish holocaust in Europe" with a reference to the "massacres perpetrated against Arabs in historic Palestine since 1948." The drafts also includes a reference to Jerusalem as "occupied territory," of which the demographic and institutional characteristics should not be changed by Israel. A critical reference to settlement-construction in the occupied territories is also included in the documents. Anti-semitism is not presented as an exclusively anti-Israeli racist practice, since both the draft declaration and programme of action refer to "anti- semitism in its Jewish and Arab forms." Racist practices exercised against Palestinians in the wording are currently bracketed without being attributed to Israel. This bracketed language, however, refers to the fact that these practices are taking place not only in Palestinian territory but also in the Golan Heights "under foreign occupation." Geneva-based diplomatic sources told Al- Ahram Weekly that compromises were still being worked out. "While the US keeps threatening a boycott, it may not be that easy for Washington to stop its delegation from going to Durban at the end of this month, since the American administration is coming under big pressure from American rights groups to participate," commented one source, who asked for his name to be withheld. According to this source, if the Americans are to go then they will have to show more flexibility. "Especially that the current Israeli government is not making it very difficult for anyone to see its racist practices," the source said. The compromise currently being negotiated in Geneva involves persuading Arab countries to further tone down the language by the time the Durban conference closes on 7 September. In return, they will be granted their long- standing wish for a conference for the high-contracting parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention concerning the protection of civilians in time of war. The request for such a gathering was forwarded to the Swiss government, the depository state of the Geneva Conventions, last October, a month after the outbreak of the second Intifada. The object was to persuade the contracting parties to this agreement -- including Israel -- to reassert a previous stance taken in 1999 on the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Palestinian occupied territories, including East Jerusalem. This political stance could prompt the deployment of some sort of international monitoring forces in the occupied territories, since the convention stipulates that all member states respect and ensure the respect of its articles. Since then, consultations have been conducted but no date fixed owing to opposition by Israel and the US and a lack of political support from Europe. Switzerland and Belgium are currently trying to persuade Israel and the US to agree to convening of this meeting in mid-October, in return for a more flexible Arab position on the wording of the Durban Declaration and its programme of action. It is not clear if this bargain is in the offing, but informed diplomats told the Weekly such a compromise was probable. Arab diplomatic sources speaking to the Weekly said that, even if they accepted the deal, they would still insist on a clear message from WCAR regarding the racist practices to which Palestinians are subjected. Recommend this page Related stories: Reading between the brackets 9 - 15 August 2001 First stop Durban 26 July - 1 August 2001 © Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved End<{{ From http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/547/eg2.htm }}>Begin Al-Ahram Weekly Online 16 - 22 August 2001 Issue No.547 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Current issue | Previous issue | Site map 'In America's national interest' Ahead of his arrival in Cairo, United States Ambassador-Designate David Welch affirmed America's commitment to the restoration of stability in the Middle East. Welch spoke to Egyptian correspondents in Washington, including Thomas Gorguissian David Welch The United States will soon have a new ambassador to Egypt: David Welch, a career diplomat with lengthy experience in senior foreign policy positions. Last week, before taking a vacation with his family prior to coming to Egypt, Ambassador Welch met Egyptian reporters in Washington's Foreign Press Centre. It was a meeting of introduction, not a press conference with "breaking news." "My goals as ambassador to Egypt are very straightforward," Ambassador Welch told the assembled reporters. "I realise the centrality and the importance of this relationship to the US. My charge from the president and from the Secretary of State is to maintain, to support and to improve that relationship. I think we enjoy a good friendship with Egypt, we have great confidence in its leadership. For some time now it has been the centrepiece of our foreign policy in the Arab world." He continued, "I am grateful to be given the opportunity to make a contribution to that. I intend to do that with energy and diligence when I get to Cairo. I have to say that this is a very big opportunity for me, personally and professionally." As expected, Ambassador Welch avoided going into details about Washington's position, usually undecided, and mostly biased, in recent months regarding Israeli brutality and excessive use of force against the Palestinians. His diplomatic reply when this was raised was, "I must introduce myself to the government of Egypt formally before I start talking about matters that are on the table." Speaking generally, he stressed, "We believe peace in the Middle East is in the national interest of the American people, not only the people of that region. And we continue to work at it." And when he was asked about reported divisions in the administration on policies related to the Middle East, Ambassador Welch admonished the reporters. "Don't believe everything you read in the newspapers," he said. "We have one policy under the leadership of our president. The Secretary of State is in charge of discharging that. And I don't think you will find people any more committed to the pursuit of peace and restoration of stability in this area." "It is a fundamental objective in the American foreign policy. We are not going to waver from it," he added, Ambassador Welch is not new to the region. From March 1995 to October 1998, he served as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, under ambassadors Robert Pelletreau and Martin Indyk. Before that, Ambassador Welch was chargé d'affaires and then deputy chief of mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was a member of the National Security Council staff at the White House from 1989 to 1991, under then President George Bush. During the 1980s, Ambassador Welch worked as Political Counsellor at the US Embassy in Amman and as chief of the political section in Damascus. "I am particularly excited to go to Egypt, since it is in many respects the centre of everything in the Arab world. It is a global player diplomatically. It has -- in my estimation -- one of the most capable diplomatic services with which I have worked in my career," Ambassador Welch told the reporters. He also said, "It is an interesting, vibrant society and it has a very strong serious leadership under his excellency President Mubarak. Egypt is also a very close friend to the United States." And when he was asked about the future of the strategic dialogue between the two countries, launched three years ago, Ambassador Welch said, "I have always thought we had a strategic dialogue with Egypt and its leadership. Our work as diplomats is to package those dialogues in some manner and find an institutional framework for their conduct." He also mentioned that "a pretty friendly, energetic and vigorous discussion" was taking place between the leaders of the two countries, adding, "I think more can be done in this area, though. And you will see in the coming weeks and months very strong evidence of a dialogue at a strategic level between our nations." Ambassador Welch also tried to explain, or justify, why sometimes -- if not often -- Congress members have taken biased pro-Israel positions, harshly criticising Egypt, and asking to cut off financial assistance for it. "Congress constantly renews its interest in subjects" and, accordingly, takes positions, he said; and the administration does have a role to play and should discharge that. "We must communicate," Welch explained, adding, "I think the seriousness, the moderation and the wisdom of the president of Egypt communicates itself very well to official Americans and to regular Americans. The government of Egypt has stood for moderation, stability and peaceful negotiations for years now. This is a basic, very simple and very effective message. But like every other political message, it must always be brought home and sometimes it is needed most in the times of great stress." The subject of enhancing economic progress in Egypt was also brought up. "I'm particularly keen to see more American investment in Egypt; I think that's good for American business and it's also good for jobs in Egypt," Ambassador Welch said. "The Egyptian market is of great interest to us -- and I think that there is a lot to be done there. Free trade agreements are a tough process here internally in our government, and I'm sure you've been monitoring the progress of some. There's also the issue out there of the president's focus on getting fast track authority for negotiating trade agreements. That's an enabling factor in addressing trade agreements with all countries, and thus has to be a priority for the administration." Ambassador Welch was born in Munich, Germany, in 1953. His father was an American diplomat. He grew up abroad. and did not live in the US until he was 17. He is married to Gretchen Gerwe Welch, who is also a foreign service officer. They met on what was the first tour for both, in Pakistan in 1980, and have three daughters -- Emma, born in 1988 in Jordan; Molly, born in 1991 in Washington; and Hannah, born in 1993 in Saudi Arabia. They, too are excited to be moving to Cairo, "near the Pyramids," as one of the girls said. Recommend this page Related stories: Breaking a vicious cycle Dealing with 'gangsters' 9 - 15 August 2001 Intifada in focus © Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved End<{{ <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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