June/July 1997, pgs. 38-42

Issues in the News

Compiled by Shawn L. Twing

Arabian Peninsula

Donors Pledge $8 Million for Jerusalem:

Muslims and Christians worldwide joined in a campaign to raise money for Palestinians living in Israeli-occupied Arab East Jerusalem, the Jeddah-based English-language daily Arab News reported April 13. The "Al Quds Appeal," ("Al Quds" is Arabic for Jerusalem) was launched by the London-based Middle East Broadcasting Center in cooperation with the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank and the Mecca-based Muslim World League. More than $8 million was raised during the first 12 hours of the appeal, $1 million of which was given by Saudi Arabia's King Fahd. Bank accounts have been set up throughout the Middle East to receive donations that the organizers hope will reach $20 million. All of the money raised from the appeal will be used to help Palestinians who lost their homes and land to Israeli confiscation.

GCC States Have $350 Billion in Overseas Assets:

Gulf Arab states have an estimated $350 billion in overseas assets, according to a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) official interviewed by the UAE daily Khaleej Times. "Some estimates indicate that the total GCC assets abroad are around $350 billion," said GCC Chambers of Commerce Secretary-General Muhammad Al Mulla. Independent reports cited by the newspaper showed that the money is invested primarily in the West in real estate, stocks and bank accounts. A significant amount of that money is expected to return to the GCC countries that recently have adopted sweeping economic reforms including spending cuts, privatization and improved investment laws.

Bahrain-Qatar Border Dispute Continues:

Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Mubarak Al Khalifa announced April 10 that his country's ongoing border dispute with neighboring Qatar continues to affect relations between the two countries. Sheikh Khalifa told the London-based Arabic newspaper Al Sharq Al Awsat that Bahrain's land is not a "field for give and take." He added, however, that an agreement had been reached between the two countries to exchange ambassadors. "When or who is a subject that will be discussed at a later time," he said.

Qatar claims a cluster of islands administered since the 1930s by Bahrain and insists on mediation by the International Court of Justice. Bahrain, on the other hand, insists on inter-Arab mediation, preferably within a framework adopted by the Gulf Cooperation Council, whose six members include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Iraq Fires on Kuwaiti Boats:

Iraqi speedboats entered Kuwaiti territorial waters and fired on Kuwaiti fishing boats March 27, according to reports by Kuwait's daily newspaper Al Anbaa. According to an anonymous Kuwaiti security official cited by the Arabic daily, the incident took place east of Kuwait's Bubiyan island and there were no casualties.

Oman Will Not Pursue $10 Billion Gas Pipeline with India:

Oman announced April 3 that it will not pursue an estimated $10 billion project to supply natural gas to India via an undersea pipeline. During a four-day visit to India with Omani leader Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Oman's Commerce Minister Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan announced in New Delhi that the project was "unlikely to see the light of day," following $70 million worth of feasibility studies. The initial agreement for the project was signed in Muscat during a 1993 visit by then-Indian Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, but the enormous financial risk involved and large sums of capital needed apparently have scuttled the ambitious project.

Indian Foreign Minister Inder Kumar Gujral characterized the deal as postponed rather than abandoned. "Technology for laying deep-sea pipeline is not there at the moment and hence it is kept in abeyance until technology is available," he said.

Kuwait Denies Iraqi MIA Report:

Following a March 24 Iraqi report that Baghdad had submitted files on 300 Kuwaitis missing and detained since Iraq's 1990 invasion of neighboring Kuwait. Ibrahim Majed Al Shahin, a representative of Kuwait's Committee on the Missing, told Agence France Press that Iraq only has provided the remains of one individual and "submitted incomplete information on 120 Kuwaitis whom it recognizes as having been detained and taken to its territory, but there has been no other news." He added that Iraq is "obliged to clarify the fate of all of the Kuwaiti and other prisoners" according to United Nations Security Council resolutions that ended the 1991 Gulf war.

Kuwaiti officials say 549 Kuwaitis and 10 others remain unaccounted for. Iraq claims to have released all of the detainees and has accused Kuwait of exploiting the issue to justify continued U.N. sanctions against Iraq. Information about the missing persons is handled by the Kuwait-Iraq joint committee, which operates under the auspices of the International Red Cross.

German Tourists in Yemen Kidnapped, Freed:

Yemeni security forces freed four German tourists April 6 after they had been held captive by Yemeni tribesmen for nearly two weeks. The two German couples were abducted on March 27 and taken to the mountain village of Al Mahjaza where they were held by members of the Jihm tribe. According to Agence France Press, Yemeni security forces surrounded the village and fired mortars and anti-tank rounds into surrounding buildings, forcing the eight captors to surrender. No one was injured in the incident.

Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan

World Bank Loans Jordan $1 Billion:

The World Bank will lend Jordan approximately $1 billion during the next five years to help the Hashemite Kingdom continue the economic reform program it began in 1989, local Jordanian newspapers reported in March. Kamal Darawsheh, World Bank vice president for the Middle East and North Africa, said the bank "is very encouraged by the success that Jordan has seen in achieving macro-stability in terms of inflation, annual growth and budget deficits." Jordan began its economic reform policies with the International Monetary Fund in 1989.

King Hussein Has Prostate Surgery:

Jordan's King Hussein underwent successful prostate surgery April 5 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Chris Gade, spokesman for the Mayo Clinic, described the procedure as a "standard operation" to correct a benign enlargement of King Hussein's prostate. One day after the surgery, Hussein held a two-hour bedside meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was in the United States to meet with President Clinton and to attend the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

U.S. Considers More Aid for Jordan:

During April 1-2 meetings with President Clinton, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Jordan's King Hussein discussed U.S. policy in Iraq and the Middle East peace process, and presented Jordan's wish-list for American military aid. The contents of that list, described in the weekly Defense News, include F-16 combat aircraft, transport aircraft, helicopters and M1A1 main battle tanks. Last year Jordan received $100 million worth of excess U.S. military equipment, including 18 UH-1H helicopters, 50 M60 tanks, one C-130 Hercules airlifter, 250 transport vehicles, three small boats and other light weaponry.

Jordan's request is expected to cost approximately $250 million during the next five years. The total White House aid request for Jordan this year is $74 million, $7 million more than was appropriated last year by Congress. One potential opponent of more aid to Jordan is Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), a member of the Senate Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee. Specter, quoted in Defense News, expressed "grave reservations about aid to Jordan" after the March 13 killing of seven Israeli schoolgirls by a deranged Jordanian soldier. Specter also raised the subject of Jordan's support for Iraq during the 1990-91 Gulf crisis.

Syria-Russia Military Cooperation Reported:

There is growing concern in Israel that Russia is planning to upgrade Syria's military, particularly the Syrian air force, Israel's Hebrew daily Ma'ariv reported April 14. Israeli intelligence sources cited in the article said that a Syrian delegation had visited Moscow in April to reschedule Syria's $12 billion debt owed Russia. The Israeli sources also claimed that a Russian military delegation had been in Damascus a few weeks earlier. "We are certainly following developments, and it is clear that if they are preparing their army it is not for the sake of holding a military parade," a senior Israeli security source told Ma'ariv. One month earlier, during bilateral meetings in Moscow, Russian President Boris Yeltsin assured Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that Russia would not upgrade Syria's military.

Syria to Unify Exchange Rates:

Syria will gradually unify its exchange rates and shake up its state-controlled banking system, Economics Minister Muhammad Al Imadi announced in Damascus March 24. Imadi told German economists that Syria's 1988 budget "will be calculated on the basis of a single exchange rate," Agence France Press reported. He warned, however, that the transition to a unified exchange rate would be gradual to avoid a catastrophic rise in food prices. Currently the U.S. dollar officially exchanges for 43 Syrian pounds in Syria, but in neighboring countries it brings 50 Syrian pounds.

Former PM Alleges Lebanon Phone Tapping:

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri ordered an investigation March 26 into allegations by a former Lebanese prime minister that the government had used eavesdropping devices to listen in on cellular phone calls, Reuters news service reported. Hariri asked Defense Minister Mohsen Dalloul to investigate the claim made by parliament member and former Prime Minister Selim Al Hoss. Al Hoss said on March 15 that "a device for tapping cellular telephone calls has been installed about one month ago to complement the existing wire-tapping operation" used by the Lebanese government.

Responding to the charge, Lebanese Interior Minister Michel Al Murr told members of parliament April 2 that "military and security organs are not tapping the cellular [network] in any way."

Elections Postponed in Lebanon:

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri's April decision to postpone municipal elections scheduled for June, the first in 34 years, set off a political storm at the highest levels of Lebanon's government. Following parliament's decision to approve the prime minister's withdrawal of the bill organizing the countrywide polls, Agriculture Minister Shawki Fakhury accused the prime minister of "violating the constitution and parliament's internal workings." Fakhury said "Hariri's position reflects only his own convictions and not government policy." Hariri justified his decision on the basis that elections could "overwhelm the country" and lead to increased sectarian tension in an already divisive political climate.

President Elias Hrawi later threatened to resign over the issue. On April 8 he was quoted in two Beirut Arabic daily newspapers saying, "I want the elections held at all costs. It's either elections or I go home. There is no other alternative." He later denied making those statements.

Turkey to Spend $31 Billion on Defense:

Turkey will spend at least $31 billion on defense during the next 10 years, Defense Minister Turhan Tayan announced April 11. The planned acquisitions include helicopters, early warning aircraft, advanced missiles and targeting systems, main battle tanks, combat boats, and new and upgraded combat aircraft. Turkey has the second largest armed forces in NATO, after the United States, with approximately 800,000 soldiers. Turkey hopes to produce many of these weapons domestically or to co-produce them with outside defense companies as it has with 240 F-16 combat aircraft co-produced with the U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin. "We are aiming at not only having strong armed forces, but also boosting the indigenous defense industry," Tayan said.

Erbakan Blasts Israel During Israeli Foreign Minister's Visit:

Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan leveled serious criticism at Israeli policies in the occupied territories during an April visit by Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy. As Levy sat by his side during an April 8 press conference, Erbakan told reporters that "Israel should immediately withdraw from lands it has occupied for years," that "plans to establish new settlements in Jerusalem should be aborted," and that Israel "must always recognize that Jerusalem is a sacred city not only for Jews and Christians but also for Muslims." Following the prime minister's remarks Levy rose to his government's defense, saying, "Israel has been faithful to all peace agreements." Earlier, former prime minister and current Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller stressed positive developments in cooperation and trade between Turkey and Israel.

Iran/Iraq

Defector Says Ba'ath Party Responsible for Uday Assassination Attempt:

The December assassination attempt of Uday Hussain, son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussain, was the work of members of the president's own Ba'ath Party, according to remarks made by a high-level Iraqi defector interviewed in Jane's Intelligence Review. General Wafiq Al Sammara'i, a former head of Iraqi military intelligence, told Jane's Pointer that Ba'ath Party members hoped to kill Uday Hussain to remove him as a potential successor to his father. "By trying to eliminate Uday, people associated with the Ba'ath Party were making it clear that they have no interest in the regime continuing, if anything happens to Saddam," he said. According to Gen. Sammara'i, approximately 600 people were arrested in central Iraq following the failed assassination attempt, but "the authorities don't have a clue as to [the assailants'] identity."

Baghdad Calls on Iran to Free Iraqi POWs:

Iraq called on humanitarian groups to pressure Iran to release Iraqi prisoners of war from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war during a March appeal to the international community, Agence France Press reported. "The time has come for international humanitarian organizations to take the necessary measures to oblige the Iranian regime to end the tragedy of 20,000 Iraqi prisoners of war," said a statement in the official Al Thawra newspaper of Iraq's Ba'ath Party.

Iraq Ratifies Controversial Oil Deal With Russia:

Iraq's national assembly ratified a multi-billion-dollar oil deal with Russia in April under which Moscow will develop seven to eight billion barrels of oil reserves during the next 23 years, Reuters news service reported April 14. The deal, originally signed by Russia and Iraq on March 21, commits Russia to developing Iraq's Qurna oil field, 500 kilometers south of Baghdad. The project, which is expected eventually to produce 600,000 barrels per day and bring in more than $70 billion in revenue, will remain on hold until United Nations Security Council resolutions on Iraq are lifted, according to Russian officials. Currently Iraq is allowed to sell only $4 billion of oil per year, with the revenues used to pay only for food and medicine.

German Court Convicts Iranians:

On April 10 a German court imposed life sentences on two Iranians and lesser sentences on two others for their involvement in the Sept. 17, 1992 assassination of four Kurds in the Mykonos Greek café in Berlin. Presiding Judge Frithjof Kubsch also ruled that the evidence had shown that the orders for the assassinations were approved by a top-level Iranian triumvirate composed of Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Spiritual Leader Ali Khamanei and Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian under the auspices of their "Committee for Special Affairs." Prior to the announcement of the verdict, an arrest warrant had been issued for Fallahian for his role in the murders.

Immediately following the ruling, Germany recalled its ambassador to Iran for consultations and said it would change its so-called "critical dialogue" policy with Iran. Fifteen of the 16 European Community countries, along with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Denmark, also recalled their ambassadors from Tehran. American officials applauded the court's ruling and encouraged others to follow the U.S. lead in isolating Iran diplomatically and economically.

After the ruling was announced in Iran, more than 100,000 Iranians marched on the German Embassy in Tehran, one of several demonstrations across the country. Demonstrators, who were characterized as orderly by the Associated Press, were not allowed to burn a German flag or an effigy of the German judge. Instead, marchers burned American and Israeli flags and chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

Ukraine Won't Provide Nuclear Reactor Parts to Iran:

Responding to American and Israeli requests, Ukraine will not provide Iran with turbines for use in nuclear reactors, The New York Times reported April 15. After two years of flip-flopping on the issue, Russia last year decided to provide Iran with nuclear reactors despite American and Israeli objections. American officials said they hoped Ukraine's decision would at least slow down Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Israel/Palestine

U.S. Navy Will Help Search for Missing Israeli Submarine:

Salvage teams from the U.S. Navy will help Israel search for a submarine missing since January 1968, the Jerusalem Post reported March 15. Israel's Dakar submarine was last heard from on Jan. 28, 1968 when it passed through Gibraltar during its maiden voyage from shipyards in Britain. A year after Dakar's disappearance, one of the submarine's emergency buoys washed up on a beach in Gaza. Examination of corrosion on the buoy led investigators to believe the wreckage lay off the coast of Egypt, which was later corroborated by sonar images taken by Israel after the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty in 1979. Sixty-nine crew members died on board Dakar, and Israel has spent millions of dollars searching for the vessel from Egypt to the Aegean Sea.

Israeli Linked to Arms Deals With Iran is Jailed:

An Israeli businessman living in Switzerland was arrested and jailed after landing in Israel March 27. According to information published in the April 18 New York Times, Nahum Mandar was arrested for alleged illegal arms sales to the Islamic Republic of Iran. After leaving Israel in 1984, Mandar eventually set up several businesses in France, Poland and other countries. Two of his companies, Mana Investments International and Europol Holding Limited, were involved in sales of chemical weapons components to Iran, according to State Department information cited in the Times article. In a December 1995 interview with the Israeli Hebrew daily Ha'aretz, Mandar admitted selling arms to Iran but said that none of them "could endanger Israel."

Settler Gets 3 Years for Throwing Tea at MK Dayan:

An Israeli extremist was sentenced to three years in prison April 15 for throwing scalding tea in the face of Minister of Knesset Yael Dayan in Hebron last year. Israel Lederman threw the tea at MK Dayan allegedly because of her dovish views on Israel's deployment from the West Bank city of Hebron. Daughter of former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, Yael Dayan is a dovish member of Israel's Labor Party. She suffered second degree burns on her face and damage to one of her eyes during the assault. Lederman also received a 15-month suspended sentence for the attack, which he told a Jerusalem magistrate happened because he was pushed from behind. Lederman was previously convicted of the random murder of a Palestinian passerby.

Hamas Bombing Mastermind On Trial in Israel:

Hassan Salameh, the suspected No. 2 person in the Izzadin Al Qassim military wing of Hamas, went on trial in Israel in March for his alleged involvement in supplying explosives for several suicide bombings against Israel. "The most successful way to defend our rights is through armed struggle," he said before his hearing in an Israeli military court. Salameh was caught by chance last year in Hebron after he was shot by Israeli security forces allegedly while trying to flee an Israeli checkpoint. He was arrested in a Hebron hospital after Palestinian Authority officials informed Israel of his identity, the Jerusalem Post reported.

20,000 Palestinians Return to Work in Israel:

Twenty thousand Palestinians were allowed to return to work in Israel April 13, following three weeks of military closure of the West Bank and Gaza imposed after the March 21 bombing of the Apropos café in Tel Aviv that killed three Israelis along with a Palestinian suicide bomber. The Israeli army also announced that 50 trucks loaded with foodstuffs and other necessities would be allowed in the West Bank and Gaza. More than 50,000 Palestinians had been unable to travel to their jobs in Israel since the closure began.

The army's announcements followed a series of good faith gestures by the Palestinian Authority including an outright condemnation of terrorism against Israelis by PA chief negotiator Saeb Erakat, and information supplied by the Palestinian Authority to Israel that aided in Israel's discovery of a Hamas cell operating in the West Bank. PA officials also helped Israeli security forces recover the body of a missing Israeli soldier allegedly stabbed to death by members of the cell seven months ago. Goodwill gestures toward Israel from the Palestinian Authority met with sharp criticism from Hamas representatives. Ibrahim Ghosheh, a Hamas spokesman in Amman, warned in a statement to PA President Yasser Arafat that "the Islamic Resistance Movement does not accept in any way being betrayed and backstabbed by the Palestinian security apparatus."

France Reaffirms Commitment to "Land-for-Peace":

France remains committed to the "land-for-peace" principle underlying the Middle East peace process, said French Defense Minister Charles Millon in an April interview published in the UAE Air Force magazine. Recalling President Jacques Chirac's controversial October 1996 trip to Israel and the occupied territories, Millon emphasized that this had "provided France with the opportunity to voice her support again for the peace process." Land-for-peace, embodied in U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, represents the "underpinning of the future of the peace process," he said, adding that the European Union also "is ready to play a more significant part in the peace process negotiations" between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Israel Raids East Jerusalem University:

Israeli security forces raided Al Quds University in Arab East Jerusalem in the morning hours of April 9, arresting 20 students suspected of belonging to an Islamic student organization affiliated with Hamas. Representatives of the Islamic student coalition reported that Israeli soldiers stormed the university dormitories, located in the village of Abu Dis on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and "tried to terrorize the students."

UAE Donates $100 Million for Palestinian Housing:

UAE President Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan donated $100 million to help finance Palestinian housing construction in Gaza, a Palestinian Authority minister announced in April. Maher Al Masri, minister of economy and trade, said the donation will provide jobs and housing for thousands of Palestinians in densely populated Gaza.

Israel Prevents 37 Palestinians From Making Hajj:

Israeli security officials in Gaza refused to allow 37 Palestinian Muslims to leave Gaza to make the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca required of all Muslims who are financially and physically able, Agence France Press reported April 4. Said Safyan, Palestinian head of security at the Rafah crossing point on the Gaza-Egypt border, told AFP that 36 pilgrims were sent back to Palestinian self-rule areas and one other was detained when they attempted to cross into Egypt to continue on to Mecca. The detainee, 44-year-old Said Zoroud, was accused of belonging to the Islamic Hamas organization. Ahmad Saati, a member of the Islamic National Salvation Party who was one of the 36 turned back at the crossing, described the incident as a "violation of basic human rights, that of freedom of religious worship."

U.N. Says Israeli Closures Ruined Palestinian Economy:

The Palestinian economy lost $6 billion from 1992 to 1996, primarily because of Israeli closures of the West Bank and Gaza, according to a United Nations report issued April 3. "Clearly the impact of this [Israeli] policy on economic development, social conditions, donor resources, United Nations activities and the peace process itself has been devastating," the report said. Presented in Gaza City by U.N. envoy to the Palestinian territories Chinmaya Gharekhan, the report also showed that Palestinian gross national product per capita dropped a staggering 36 percent, from $2,700 in 1992 to $1,700 in 1996. Lost wages for more than 50,000 day laborers, lost trade revenues and uncollected taxes, all results of Israeli-imposed closures, were the principle reasons for the dramatic drop in Palestinian income, the report said.

Palestinians Left $6 Billion in Assets in 1948 According to Israel:

Palestinian refugees driven from their homes during Israel's 1948 War for Independence left behind $6 billion worth of land and houses, according to an official Israeli report published April 18 in Israel's Ha'aretz Hebrew daily newspaper. The report, a 1951 official government document recently made public by the Israeli archives, said that some 700,000 Palestinians left behind $1 billion worth of assets, mostly homes and land, during the mass exodus in 1948. That property currently has an estimated $6 billion value, without interest added, Ha'aretz reported.

According to the Israeli document, then-Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett had proposed that approximately 150,000 Pales-tinians be allowed to return to their homes and the rest compensated. Then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion vetoed the proposal, which had also been suggested by the United Nations. Compensation for Palestinian refugees is a final status issue to be decided by the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority by May 1999.

North Africa

FIS Will Not Participate in June Elections:

Algeria's outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) will not field any candidates in general elections planned for June 5, one of the group's leaders announced March 31. "FIS representatives have absolutely no intention to stand in these elections, and [will stand] with no other parties whether they share our ideology or not," a FIS official told Algeria's Al Alem Al Siyassi daily newspaper.

Other opposition parties, most notably the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), will take part in the balloting in June, the first general elections in Algeria since 1992. More than 60,000 Algerians have died in a low-level civil war after the army forcibly aborted the 1992 elections when it became clear that the FIS was poised to win.

Sudan Strikes Deal with Four Rebel Factions:

The Sudanese government and representatives from four southern rebel factions have struck a deal to help end the civil war in southern Sudan, Minister of Peace Muhammad Al Amin Khalifa announced in Khartoum April 6. Germany's Deutsche Presse Agentur reported that the deal is a spinoff of the political charter for peace signed by the government and several rebel groups April 10, 1996. Aside from the Sudanese government, the four other signatories are Riek Machar of the Southern Sudan Independent Movement, Kerbino Kuanyin Bol of the Bahr Al Ghazal group, Theophilus Ochang of the Equatoria Defense Force, and Arok Thon Arok, who leads a group of independent rebels. The agreement reportedly stipulates that a coordination council will run the affairs of southern Sudan for a period of four years. At the end of that term, the mostly Christian and animist south will decide whether to create a separate state or to join with the overwhelmingly Muslim north.

Not signing the agreement, however, was the Sudanese People's Liberation Army, by far the largest and most powerful rebel military group in southern Sudan.

Tunisia, Argentina Sign Cooperation Agreements:

During a three-day visit to Argentina March 24-26, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali signed six cooperation agreements with Carlos Menem, president of Argentina. The agreements include trade-boosting measures in the energy, agriculture, tourism and shipping sectors, increased Argentine investment in Tunisia, a joint industrial project to exploit Tunisia's potential for phosphate exports, increased science and technology cooperation in the fields of agriculture, education and environmental protection, and the creation of a joint commission to identify further areas of economic and other cooperation between the two countries.

Egypt Does Not Support "Camp David"-Style Peace Summit for Palestinians:

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced April 7 that an Israeli proposal to hold Camp David-style peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority would not solve the problems of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and could further complicate the already floundering peace process. Mubarak and Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa voiced their concerns separately about the Israeli suggestion, saying that failure could potentially destabilize the region. "Camp David will not solve the problems now," Mubarak told reporters after casting his vote in local council elections. On a more upbeat note, Moussa later told the London Financial Times that he was confident the Americans "will come up with a balanced formula."

Subcontinent

Former Prime Minister's Career Over in Afghanistan:

Afghan warlord and ousted Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is finished in Afghanistan and has fled to Iran, a one-time rival-turned-colleague told Agence France Press April 14. A spokesman for Ahmed Shah Masoud, military chief for the government of Afghanistan ousted from Kabul by the Taliban militia last year, told AFP that "Hekmatyar has left Afghanistan, and I think he is not coming back in the near future."

Hekmatyar fled Kabul for northern military bases with Masoud and Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani when the Taliban took Kabul last September. He has stayed out of the alliance against the Taliban which is composed of Masoud, northern Afghan warlord General Abdul Rasheed Dostam and others. "The longer he remains in Iran, the more he will lose his importance," the spokesman said. "He will not be a major player in Afghanistan anymore."

U.S., Pakistan Sign Air Traffic Accord:

On April 10 the United States and Pakistan signed an agreement to expand air traffic between the two countries, replacing a 1948 agreement that limited air travel to single destinations in each country. The new agreement will allow cargo-only flights and will allow both countries to increase the number of cities served by their respective carriers. Currently airlines from the U.S. and Pakistan only fly from New York to Karachi. The accord was signed in Islamabad by Pakistan's Defense Secretary Hassan Raza Pasha and U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Thomas W. Simons.

Sharif Plans to Cut Ministries:

The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will reduce the number of ministries in Pakistan to 12 from 32, sources from the prime minister's office told the Jeddah-based English-language daily Saudi Gazette April 15. The measure is expected to save an estimated 60 percent of the government's operating costs for the various ministries.

The far-reaching plan will include the dissolution of several ministries, the merger of others, and a shift to provincial governments to perform functions of many of the ministries dissolved under the prime minister's plan. Ministries to remain in federal government hands include finance, communications, defense, railways, water and power, telecommunications, petroleum, foreign affairs and unspecified others.