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Monday, February 16, 1998
While the situation in the Gulf is warming, President Hosni Mubarak hoped that Iraq's crisis with the UN will be settled peacefully after the UN Secretary-General Koffi Annan’s visit to Baghdad this week. Annan is scheduled to meet with Iraqi officials to discuss compliance with the Security Council resolutions and the necessity of opening all suspected sites to the UNSCOM inspection team. In special statements to Samir Ragab, Board Chairman of "Dar Al-Tahrir" Publishing and Printing House and Editor-in-Chief of the "Mayo" Weekly and "Al-Messa" daily, Mubarak hoped that the Iraqi officials will show considerable flexibility during their talks with the UN Secretary-General in order to avert a possible US military strike. He said every possible avenue should be pursued to prevent this strike which will claim the lives of Iraqi brothers and devastate the remnants of the country's infrastructure. The President emphasised, however, that only the Iraqis can stop this strike if they would abide by the international resolutions, indicating that the US can not be dissuaded from launching a strike against Baghdad after deploying massive troops in the Gulf. If Iraq would only comply with the Security Council resolutions, Washington will have no pretext to justify a military action," he said. The President also stressed that all Arabs, spearheaded by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, prefer peaceful solution to the crisis. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has reiterated Riyadh's preference to work out a peaceful solution on the grounds that a military action will have grave consequences on everybody without exception. "A military action will be detrimental to Iraq, the Gulf countries and the entire Middle East region. It will also affect the interests of the US and Britain, which supports Washington's political and military moves unconditionally," said the President, who pointed out to the unsavoury repercussions which resulted from the 1991 Gulf war. He earnestly warned against any attempt to partition Iraq because this effectively means that parts of Iraq will be annexed by Iran and another country. "Iraq will never accept any partition. This situation will trigger violence which will incalculably spell over the whole region," he said, adding that the partition never be endorsed by any Iraqi ruler, not now, not ever. The President also spoke of the present stalemate in the Middle East peace process and warned from the grave repercussions of continuing this inclusive situation. "Progress must be achieved in the Middle East peace and Israel should honour the agreements it had previously concluded with the Palestinians otherwise a catastrophe will definitely engulf the region," he stressed. He cautioned that foiling peace will produce further violence which is more than likely to transcend the geographical boarders of the Middle East. " All that I am trying to say is that the Iraq-UN standoff and the setbacks in the Middle East peace are two time bombs which threaten to drag the entire region into a vortex of violence. No peace loving person like to see this happening," he said. Regarding the situation in the Sudan and the dearth of the Sudanese Vice President Al-Zubeir Mohammed Saleh in a plane crash, the President expressed deep sorrow for the accident and renewed his profound consolations to the Sudanese people and the family of the deceased on this tragedy. "The late Vice President was a straight-forward man and I respected him immensely," he said. Al-Zubeir was a trouble-shooter during the contacts between Cairo and Khartoum to sort out the strain in the Egyptian-Sudanese relations. The reopening of the maritime navigational line through the River Nile took place at a special request from the late Sudanese Vice President. Commenting on the current status of the Egyptian-Sudanese relations, the President said he wished that the Sudanese officials would reconsider their stances in order to restore relations to normal. "We welcome every initiative in this direction, but there are issues which need to be addressed first," he said. Speaking of domestic issues, the President paid special tribute to the performance of Prime Minister Kamal Al-Ganzouri's government, emphasising that it is proceeding with the planned reforms satisfactorily. "The government is committed to the principle of alleviating burdens on low income people, because the average citizens must benefit from the proceeds of the reforms," he stressed. Mubarak emphasised that differences among ministers in the cabinet is a positive phenomenon because they demonstrate a substantial diversity in viewpoints and also strengthen the basis of democracy. "Any proposal must be supported by some ministers and opposed by others. Discussions always produce an agreement which reflects the will of the majority and not consensus," he added. He also made it very clear that the crisis created by the Luxor tragedy did not affect the country's overall economic performance which is growing sustainably. He said that giant agricultural projects are being implemented and will soon bear dividends. Industry is also espousing modern technology in order to withstand global competition. The President concluded his statements by lauding the remarkable progress in Egypt which is demonstrated by the plummet in inflation rates to less than 4 per cent and the stability of prices. |
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