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Thursday, January 28, 1999
In an-all-out interview with Melhem Karam, Editor in Chief of Lebanese Weekly "al-Hawadeth", President Hosni Mubarak warned that the failure of an Arab summit would be a blow to the Arab nation and the Arab League. "Egypt refuses the convening of a "failed"summit in Cairo," he said. "Egypt does not oppose convening an Arab Summit in Cairo but this Summit should be well prepared for so as to succeed and yield logical resolutions keeping abreast of the aspirations of the Arab peoples," Mubarak emphasized. The Egyptian leader dealt with a number of vital issues. Foremost among which are the situation in Iraq, the ME peace process, inter-Arab relations, Lockerbie case, Egyptian-American relations, terrorism, Egyptian-Sudanese relations, Afro-Egyptian ties and development efforts in Egypt. Mubarak reiterated that Egypt supports maintaining Iraq's integrity and regional sovereignty and does not want to see it partitioned into small states as this will constitute great danger to the whole region. He said Egypt is against the use of force against the Iraqi people in particular. He also rejects the principle of toppling President Saddam Hussein, asserting that it is "the Iraqi people who decide any change." President Mubarak unveiled that former US President George Bush briefed him during the Gulf War that the US forces could "hold"Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, but he categorically rejected, noting that if such an operation took place it would have been a stain in the history of the United States. "Egypt dispatched to Iraq following December US-British strikes a plane loaded with 40 tons of medicine but Iraqi officials said they have medicine and are in need of political support," President Mubarak said, describing this stand on the part of Iraq as "haughtiness". He asserted that the international community will not permit the armament of Iraq. On Israeli elections and the suspense of the peace process, President Mubarak said the Palestinian Command is capable of assessing the matters and will adopt the adequate decision at the proper time. "The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has firmly set its feet on the ground as it struggles to restore rights. If the Palestinians had implemented the second part of the Camp David Agreement, they would have been now in a better position. If the Palestinians had listened to late Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat, the state of Palestine could have been established since a long time," he expounded. However, President Mubarak said sooner or later the Palestinian state will be established. He added that even in Israel some voices uphold the setting up of a Palestinian state for serving Israel's security. On the Syrian and Lebanese peace tracks with Israel, Mubarak said no genuine peace will be established in the region except after Israeli withdrawal from the Golan heights and south Lebanon. "Negotiations on these tracks should take place sooner or later," he emphasized. "Israel wants to sign a peace treaty with Lebanon so as to corner Syria," he said. If the Israelis are really serious about peace, they should unconditionally withdraw from south Lebanon in implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. President Mubarak described the situation in south Lebanon as grave, but asserted that the Lebanese could maintain security in the so-called border belt. In this respect president Mubarak welcomed the choice of Emile Lahoud as President of Lebanon, underlining Egypt’s respect of the man. President Mubarak underlined that Egyptian-Syrian coordination is constant for serving the interests of the Arab nation. "This coordination is not directed against any party and aims at rallying Arab ranks and restoring Arab solidarity," he said. On Egyptian-Iranian relations, Mubarak said Egypt does not want to have bad relations with any country including Iran on condition of mutual respect and non-intervention in internal affairs. "I do not interfere in others’ affairs and I do not allow Iran or any other country to interfere in Egypt’s affairs," he emphasized. One of the reasons the relationship between Egypt and Iran was not being furthered is that the main street in Tehran was named after the man who assassinated late leader Anwar Sadat. On Lockerbie crisis, President Mubarak said Egypt exerts great efforts to help Libya solve this crisis but does not propagandize for these endeavors. On Egyptian-US relations, president Mubarak said they are strong "but this does not mean there are no differences between the two sides." "Egypt does not agree with all what the US does because Washington has its independent decision and way of thinking," President Mubarak said. He also underlined that Egyptian-US dialogue serves the whole region. On his efforts to settle the Syrian-Turkish crisis and the available opportunities after Adna Agreement for boosting ties between Ankara and Damascus, President Mubarak said these relations are proceeding on the right track. "I was in Damascus recently and the Syrians are keen on maintaining these relations and they seek setting up cooperation on the basis of joint investments in the different domains," the Egyptian leader added. On terrorism, Mubarak said Egypt has adopted everything possible to ensure the safety of the Egyptian citizen and the tourists. Eradicating terrorism is the responsibility of all states particularly those harboring terrorist leaders. "Some sort of international cooperation should be sought to restrict the activities of terrorists who are granted asylum," President Mubarak said. Regarding Egyptian-Sudanese relations, Mubarak said Egypt is keen on maintaining these relations. "Five million Sudanese live in Egypt and are treated on equal footing with the Egyptians," he expounded. Egypt seeks a formula for achieving conciliation in the Sudan and maintaining integrity of its land, he said. "The problem lies with the policies of the ruling regime in the Sudan and the Addis Ababa attack with which they deny any relation," President Mubarak pointed out. "Whenever the Israelis find themselves in a dilemma, they move to the Jewish lobby in the united state," President Mubarak said. "Israel's possession of nuclear weapons will urge other countries to follow suit," he warned, noting that every state wants to be in a state of self-defense. "We are not keen on possessing nuclear weapons as we do not need them," he said but warned "we do not accept any threat from any state in the region possessing nuclear weapons". On domestic conditions in Egypt, Mubarak said mega projects are set up designating the country's urban and economic map. The budget deficit has dropped to less than one per cent of the GDP. The economic growth is nearing six per cent. The inflation rate stands at less than four per cent after reaching 38 per cent a few years ago. President Mubarak expressed astonishment over Iraq's reaction to his call for an immediate halt of the strikes against Iraq. "Our brothers in Iraq had their own and strange interpretation,"he said. According to Iraq, Egypt called for an immediate cessation to the strikes because President Mubarak feared the popular support for Iraq and the resentment of the strikes, he said. The demonstrations that took place at the two universities in Cairo were not "for the eyes"of the Iraqi regime but for the sake of the Iraqi people. Denying Iraqi claims that Egypt had been informed beforehand of Operation "Desert Fox", President Mubarak said he only knew of it when it started. He said French President Jacques Chirac called to tell him that he was not either informed beforehand of the strikes. When US President Bill Clinton called him, President Mubarak told him that it was the people of Iraq who were paying the price and that the operation would leave many civilian casualties behind. Despite this Iraqi claim, Mubarak sought an end to this operation, and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, phoned Amr Moussa to inform him that the US would end the strike in two hours. Regarding his vision of a terminal settlement of the issue of Iraq, President Mubarak said that all what mattered to Egypt was the people of Iraq and Iraq's territorial integrity. Saddam, he added, had never informed him of his possession of nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Asked to comment on the establishment of an Iraqi federation, he said this was an Iraqi domestic matter but he added he was against the division of Iraq into small states. Such a development, he warned, would have extremely grave consequences on the region as a whole. Asked if Cairo was ready to reconciliate with the Baghdad regime, and attend the same summit. President Mubarak said the conduct of the Iraqi regime over the past nine years had undermined Egypt's confidence in it. "The summit however would be an Arab decision," he said. "Iraq needs to correct its relationship with its neighbors so that they can support it," he expounded. "Iraq has not left us with one chance to support it, how can we support it if it instigates the Arab peoples against their leaders?"he asked in response to a question on how Iraq could normalize its relationships with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Asked whether the US was serious over the overthrow of the regime in Baghdad, he said’’ I do not know but I cannot confirm it." Asked if the timing was appropriate for an Arab summit and whether if held, it would succeed in restoring Arab solidarity, President Mubarak said "After President Saddam Hussein's speech it has become difficult to talk of Arab solidarity. Hope might have been there before his speech, but now matters have become complicated." Asked why Egypt had canceled the Consultative Arab League meeting on the Iraqi crisis, Mubarak denied that this was the case. All what happened, he said, was that some Gulf nations asked to postpone the December meeting to be able to examine some issues to evade possibilities of emerging from the meeting more divided. "The issue at stake cannot be settled easily," he added. "We, in Egypt, cannot reject their will, we always welcome our brethren and respect their ideas. The meeting was not canceled but we decided on holding it on January 24. The decision was made to allow for good preparation and examination of all issues and viewpoints." On Egypt's economic front, President Mubarak said the economy was proceeding at a successful rate along with the establishment of mega projects that are redesigning the country 's urban and economic map. "The budget deficit, he added, has dropped to less than one per cent of the GDP. The economic growth is nearing six per cent and is rising," he said. "The inflation rate stands at less than four per cent after reaching 38 per cent a few years ago," he added. No one expected it to be controlled and reduced to such level. Egypt's foreign currency reserve has gone beyond Dlr. 20 bil1ion. All these indications show that Egypt is on the right track, he noted. The major ventures in Toshka, east Port Said and north of the Gulf of Suez are all well-studied projects, he said. "In the past years, Egypt spent dlr. 244 billion on its infrastructure, work in these projects is proceeding at high rates and Egyptian and foreign investors are eager to participate in them," Mubarak added. On Egypt's production of natural gas which is expected to reach 2 billion cubic feet per day by 1999, and whether it would provide an important source of national income, President Mubarak said that there has been new finds of natural gas and petroleum that have not been announced yet. "Egypt's production of natural gas is constantly on the rise. Egypt has started to use natural gas in the operation of several power stations and is also planning to export it to Turkey and other countries," he concluded. |
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