04/05/2007
Saudi King Abdullah...The Arab League
Last week, March 28-29, the Arab League met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I offer the following without comment, though a few of the statements received quite a bit of publicity for various reasons.
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King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, 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 of 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.
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[At the conclusion of the Summit, the leaders of Arab states issued a joint declaration.]
We resolve to:
Act diligently to protect the Arab identity, support its components and bases, and strengthen belonging to it in the hearts and minds of children, adolescents and young men and women, since Arabism is not a racist or ethnic concept, rather it is a unified cultural identity, with the Arabic language as its means of expression and of preserving its heritage, and it is a common cultural framework based on spiritual, moral and humanistic values, enriched by diversity and plurality, by openness to other human cultures, and by keeping up with scientific and technological advances, without dissolution, crumble or loss of character.
We therefore decide:
To give utmost priority to the development of education and its curricula in the Arab world, so as to deepen the common Arab identity, respond to the needs of modernization and comprehensive development, deepen the values of dialogue and creativity, and strengthen human rights principles and women effective and positive participation;
To develop the joint Arab action in the educational, cultural and scientific fields, through activation of existent institutions and offering them the required significance and the needed human and financial resources, particularly concerning the advancement of scientific research; the joint publishing of books, programs and materials for children and teenagers. The launching of a broad translation movement from and to the Arabic language; and the promotion of Arabic language presence in all fields including communications, mass media, internet, and science and technology;
To spread the culture of moderation, tolerance, dialogue, and openness; to reject all forms of terrorism and extremism, as well as all exclusionary racist trends, hatred campaigns and endeavors. To question our humanistic values or defame our religious beliefs and holy places; and to warn against employing sectarian plurality for political purposes that aim at dividing our nation and its countries and peoples, and at igniting destructive seditions and civil strife;
Consolidate effective Arab solidarity which contains crises and settles disputes between member states peacefully, within the framework of activating the Arab security and peace council approved by previous Arab summits; development of dialogue with regional neighboring countries in accordance with unified and specified Arab positions; revival of collective Arab security protection institutions and confirming its terms of reference stipulated in Arab covenants; and attempting to meet Arab defense and security needs;
Affirm the option of just and comprehensive peace as a strategic option for the Arab nation; in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative that draws the right path for reaching a peaceful settlement for the Arab Israeli conflict based on the principles and resolutions of international legitimacy, and the land for peace initiative;
Stress the importance of freeing the region of all weapons of mass destruction, without double standards and eclecticism; warning against starting a dangerous and destructive race of nuclear armament in the region; and emphasizing the right of all countries to possess peaceful nuclear energy according to international terms of reference, and their emanating inspection and control regime.
The dangerous conditions witnessed in our region, where Arab land is unlawfully violated; Arab resources are wasted; and Arab identity and culture is threatened, necessitate that we honestly and deeply reexamine our state of affairs. We are all, leaders, officials and citizens; parents and children; partners in drawing our own destiny and preserving our identity, culture, values and interests. Dangerous challenges can only increase the resolve and faith of great nations. The Arab nation is capable, with God’s help, to achieve the security, dignity, and prosperity the Nation deserves when it unifies its ranks and strengthens its joint actions.
[Source: saudiembassy.net]
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I am traveling overseas the week of 4/9. Hott Spotts will return on 4/19.
Brian Trumbore
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