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Tuesday, June 29, 1999
Judy Woodruff ,C.N.N Anchor : President Hosni Mubarak is in Washington on his first visit to the United States in two years .He’s scheduled to meet with President Clinton on Thursday . I spoke with Mr. Mubarak earlier Monday . He said he expected Israeli Prime Minster- elect Ehud Barak to visit Egypt soon . And he was upbeat about reviving the Middle East peace process . Hosni Mubarak : I think he is a good man , a very cautious and promising man ,promising. And we hope that we could improve the situation and improve the atmosphere between Israeli and the whole Arab world , and he’s contacted me several times . I have great hopes that he’s going to make progress in the peace process ,which is vital and important for the stability of the whole area , for the cooperation in our area between the Arab world and even the Israelis .Knowing this man ,knowing how he’s thinking , I think there will be good progress in the field of peace . And he’s very convinced of peace . I know it is difficult. There are complications . But yet, I asked on our people after he said several statements -- no "for certains" no for Jerusalem , I told our people give him some time .This may be for local consumption . ? Woodruff : And yet his predecessor , Mr. Netanyahu , in the beginning , many people thought he might be – might have the right answers for peace . How do you know you are putting your trust in the right person this time ? Mubarak : Benjamin Netanyahu – I didn’t know him before . I’ve never met him . And he was very tough in the elections, giving very aggressive statements which created a very bad atmosphere in the Arab world . Woodruff : Mr. President , you say that Mr. Barak may come to Egypt . Might you go to Israel? Mubarak : The problem of going to Israel ,it needs a good atmosphere. I’m not representing myself . I’m representing the people of Egypt , maybe the people of Arab world. If I go just like this without preparing the atmosphere and without having a good atmosphere in Israel , and without a move in peace process, I would be heavily criticized . This would not be in the favor of peace process. Woodruff : You advocate a unified Arab approach to peace in the Middle East. Syria has said that’s not necessary. Which is it? Judy Woodruff ,C.N.N Anchor : President Hosni Mubarak is in Washington on his first visit to the United States in two years .He’s scheduled to meet with President Clinton on Thursday . I spoke with Mr. Mubarak earlier Monday . He said he expected Israeli Prime Minster- elect Ehud Barak to visit Egypt soon . And he was upbeat about reviving the Middle East peace process . Hosni Mubarak : I think he is a good man , a very cautious and promising man ,promising. And we hope that we could improve the situation and improve the atmosphere between Israeli and the whole Arab world , and he’s contacted me several times . I have great hopes that he’s going to make progress in the peace process ,which is vital and important for the stability of the whole area , for the cooperation in our area between the Arab world and even the Israelis .Knowing this man ,knowing how he’s thinking , I think there will be good progress in the field of peace . And he’s very convinced of peace . I know it is difficult. There are complications . But yet, I asked on our people after he said several statements -- no "for certains" no for Jerusalem , I told our people give him some time .This may be for local consumption . ? Woodruff : And yet his predecessor , Mr. Netanyahu , in the beginning , many people thought he might be – might have the right answers for peace . How do you know you are putting your trust in the right person this time ? Mubarak : Benjamin Netanyahu – I didn’t know him before . I’ve never met him . And he was very tough in the elections, giving very aggressive statements which created a very bad atmosphere in the Arab world . Woodruff : Mr. President , you say that Mr. Barak may come to Egypt . Might you go to Israel? Mubarak : The problem of going to Israel ,it needs a good atmosphere. I’m not representing myself . I’m representing the people of Egypt , maybe the people of Arab world. If I go just like this without preparing the atmosphere and without having a good atmosphere in Israel , and without a move in peace process, I would be heavily criticized . This would not be in the favor of peace process. Woodruff : You advocate a unified Arab approach to peace in the Middle East. Syria has said that’s not necessary. Which is it? Can You have peace if there’s not a unified Arab approach ? Mubarak :The Arabs in 1996 in the Arab summit , which was held in Cairo, for the first time , all of the Arab leaders , without exception agreed that peace with Israel is a strategy for them . Never happened before . And they are ready to cooperate if the peace process moves and mainly the Palestinian issue. Woodruff : But where dose that leave Syria ? Syria is saying , we don’t need a unified Arab approach to peace . Mubarak :Look , I think it would be very difficult even for Syria to go alone in the peace process, neglecting the Palestinian problem . I think not a single Arab country accept that .But I think Syria also knows that the Palestinian issue is the core of the whole problem .All the negotiations, all the discussions , all the meetings with the Syrian since this problem started was mainly focused on the Palestinian problem . Woodruff :Now more of our exclusive interview with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak .The U.S gives Egypt $2 billion a year in aid . Some critics say elements of Egypt’s government are repressive .I asked Mr. Mubarak why he maintained such tight control. Mubarak : I’m not controlling the political parties in our country. Each party has its own path . They are oppositions. They oppose even the budget in the parliament . They are free , to say what they want . They have the newspapers criticizing the government every day .Plus the so- called "governmental" newspaper criticizing the government . Woodruff : Will your country ever be ready , in your opinion ,for democratic reforms ? Mubarak : The democratic reform is an ongoing process . We started economic reform ,political reform ,social reform at the same time . When you go back to 1981 until now ,18 years ,so many reforms took place ,economically , socially and politically. I’m not saying that political reform will come to an end now. No ,it’s an ongoing process . woodruff : You were quoted last week as saying your predecessors, including President Nasser and President Sadat , have left your country in a "mess." What did you mean by that ? Mubarak : I didn’t say a "mess. Woodruff : What did you say ? Mubarak : I didn’t say a "mess." I said Nasser has his own way , in his time he was making the revolution . You know that Sadat made the October War and started the peace process ,the initiative in 1977 ,the Camp David accord , the peace agreement. After Sadat and after about four wars , the country was in a mess .The whole expenditure was directed towards war gear degrading the country .When I came ,there was peace with Israel, we have problems with Arab World .I have to start working ,and it’s much more difficult and complicated than preparing for war . So it’s not a mess. ? |
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