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Monday, December 15, 1997
President Hosni Mubarak has said hope should not be lost that the Middle East peace process would emerge from the "dark tunnel it has entered". Israel's government is not the only partner nor does it monopolise the decision," the Egyptian leader said in an interview to the religious weekly "Aqidati", on its sixth year of publication. Answering questions by Samir Ragab , the Board Chairman of El-Tahrir Printing and Publishing House, and El-Sayed Abdul Raouf, the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, President Mubarak cited other partners to the peace process, namely Arabs, the US, Russia and Europe. "Efforts must continue because peace is a strategic objective not only for the Arabs but also, if not more vital, for Israel. I mean just and enduring peace," he said. The Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiating has been deadlocked since last March over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to start construction of a Jewish settlement in Arab East Jerusalem, and a spate of suicide bombings in the holy city. Meanwhile, President Mubarak ruled out any dialogue with terrorist groups. "The State won't enter into dialogue with the groups of killers who have violated religion and the law. There is no question about that," he vowed. "All other claims in circulation to the contrary are completely baseless," he stressed. The Egyptian leader reaffirmed that perpetrators of brutal acts, such as last month's attack in Luxor, were not Muslims. "Regrettably, the exaggeration by some foreign media in linking terrorism to Islam constitutes an affront to Islam and to the whole Muslims. At the same time, there are many sensible and objective voices which we should encourage.... Terrorism has neither a home nor a religion," Mubarak said. Around 62 people, including 58 foreign visitors, were gunned down in the south Egyptian town of Luxor at the hands of terrorists. The Egyptian leader added that confronting terrorism was the task of the whole society. Renewing trust in the security agencies, he said: "To have some (security) personnel neglecting their duty does not encompass whole apparatus. The security agencies have dealt shatter-ing blows to the terrorist organization." In the aftermath of the Luxor slayings, President Mubarak reprimanded senior security officials for gaping holes. The attack prompted the replacement of the country's security chief, and brought about sweeping security changes. Mubarak said that police were vigilant against any act of terror. "The changes introduced into the security apparatus will make it more efficient in confronting and besieging the criminal elements." The whole society, he elaborated, should shoulder the responsibility of nipping in the bud extremist thought before taking shape and developing into outlawed groups. Moreover, he exhorted the Arab world to make more efforts to curb militant thought and "to halt the funding operations and money laundering pursued to the benefit of terrorist groups. He urged the Arabs to exchange information and expertise and to fully coordinate in the tight against terrorism. "It has been proved that no one could be immune against terrorism " he added. The Egyptian leader said that Luxor act came to show afresh that the countries harbouring fugitive terrorists would not remain unscathed by acts of terror. "Those elements, guided by masterminds abroad, perpetrated a criminal operation against citizens from a number of these countries... So, all must feel we are in the same boat, and that efforts must be pooled together to face up to danger, Therefore, there must be an international action, and the resolutions adopted by more than one international conference, have to be translated into practical steps," he added. A number of Britons, he elaborated, were killed in the Luxor incident. "This, means that the British people are paying the price of terrorist crimes. Even so, a number of leading terrorism leaders are living in Britain, moving freely, acting in public, announcing their activities and publishing their addresses in the British newspapers and organising conferences and symposia under the protection of the British authorities... This implies an encouragement for them to go ahead with their criminal plans," he said. Egypt has said it was making contacts with other countries on the extradition of wanted terrorists. Stressing that any bid to dose a wedge between Muslims and Copts in Egypt was doomed, the Egyptian leader added that Egypt knew those behind claims that Christians were oppressed. "We don't accept, any interference or direct or indirect pressure. And we know the quarters standing behind these claims, and see through their ulterior motives, but I reaffirm that Muslims and Copts are Egyptians." In the meantime, the Egyptian leader urged the Muslim nation to forge economic and political cooperation among its members so that they would be reckoned with in global affairs. With reference to a recent Islamic summit in Tehran, Mubarak added that resolutions had to be turned into tangible realities so that the Muslim people would feel their viability. "There is another persistent challenge lying in the necessity of improving the image of Islam which some are trying to tarnish before the world," he concluded. |
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