Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August/September 1997, pgs. 55-63

Waging Peace

Princeton Mideast Society Meets

Principal speaker at the May 18 annual business meeting of the Princeton (NJ) Middle East Society was Washington Report executive editor Richard Curtiss. With cooperation from the weather, the overflow meeting of the 250-member group was held in the formal garden of outgoing Society president Letitia Ufford and her attorney husband, Charles. Curtiss' brief introductory remarks were followed by a long and lively question-and-answer session that ranged over contemporary Middle Eastern problems from Algeria to Turkey and Iran, and focused particularly on reasons for current Clinton administration inability to rescusitate the Middle East peace process.

The Princeton Middle East Society, which has presented dozens of prominent American and Middle Eastern speakers over 14 years, publishes a regular newsletter and brings together a membership that includes a mix of retired diplomats and educators with Middle East service now living in the area, Middle East-born local residents (many of them political refugees) and their families, Princeton University faculty members and graduate students, and other residents with first-hand Middle East experience. Further information on Society activities may be obtained from Prof. John Marks, tel. (609) 924-2445, or by writing to the Princeton Middle East Society, P.O. Box 7342, Princeton, NJ 08543-7342.

—Donna Bourne

Los Angeles Forum Discusses Privatization in the Middle East

UCLA's Center for Near Eastern Studies hosted an April 30 public forum entitled "Opening the Doors: Privatization in the Middle East," jointly sponsored with the American University in Cairo (AUC) and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. The panel was composed of Dr. Tarek Hatem, associate professor of management, AUC; Ambassador Hagar Islambouly, consul general of Egypt, San Francisco; Dr. Ibrahim Oweiss, professor of economics, Georgetown University; and Jamal Saghir, World Bank senior private sector development officer. The panel was introduced by AUC Trustee B. Boyd Hight, a partner in O'Melveny & Myers law firm in Los Angeles. The forum was made possible through a grant by the Arthur Andersen Partners from the Middle East and the Arthur Andersen Foundation.

Dr. Oweiss focused on the importance of regional economic cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa. He cited recent World Bank reports that characterize the MENA region as one with poor economic performance yet high populations, and noted that by the year 2010, 47 million jobs must be created throughout the region.

Dr. Oweiss divided Arab countries into three major income groups. He said nations in the lowest income group, including Yemen and Sudan, carry severe economic burdens and show no long-term signs of development, while those in the high income group, such as the GCC states, are subject to fluctuations in the price of oil.

The middle income group, however, which includes Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt, has shown the best performance and appears to have the best potential for growth.

Jamal Saghir of the World Bank emphasized the need for job creation, reiterating the need for 47 million jobs in less than 20 years. He cited as areas of concern the high unemployment rates across the region, the fact that the Middle East currently accounts for only 3 percent of world trade, and that a poor record of foreign investment, combined with capital flight from within the region, has in the past crippled growth.

Saghir listed specific economic features in the Middle East/North Africa that are driving privatization. Five conditions for success are continued strengthening of the private sector; a redefinition of government, with a concomitant reduction in bureaucracy; development of adequate infrastructures; human resources development and participation; and, perhaps most critically, regional peace. The World Bank stands ready to provide incentives in the nature of loans, adjustments, guarantees, and the promotion of capital development, Saghir said.

Ambassador Islambouly focused on Egypt as a case study of a successful economic turn-around. She noted that in the past two years there have been fundamental changes in Egypt's management philosophy and in development of an open economy. The private sector, she said, is achieving a dominant role, aided by the elimination of capital gains taxes. The next phase will improve the macro-economic environment, reduce unemployment, slow down population growth, and focus on the creation of a half-million jobs annually.

Among other projects, Egypt is focusing on widening its inhabited land to 26 percent from the current 6 percent, mostly around the Nile, through creation of agro-industrial complexes and regional electricity grids, and on balancing development between Upper and Lower Egypt.

Dr. Hatem's topic was business and Egyptian culture. He said one of the challenges facing Egypt is to make the climate conducive to success of the private sector. He noted that privatization must include limiting government involvement in public activities, and that many opportunities exist for multinational corporate investment.

The event represented the launching of a new Los Angeles forum program by the three sponsors in which expert panels will address topical issues of importance to the Middle East. More information about this program may be obtained from the American University in Cairo's New York office at 420 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018, (212) 730-8800.

—Mary E. Morris

Thirtieth Anniversary of June War Commemorated in Boston

Bostonians gathered June 5 and 6 at The First Church (Unitarian Universalist) in Harvard Square, Cambridge, to discuss 30 years of Israeli occupation.

The first evening's topic was: "Israel and Palestine: Myths and Realities," discussed by Haider Abdel Shafi, Norman Finkelstein, and Leila Zakharia.

"Peace is not coming soon to the Middle East, or to the Palestinians; indeed, at this time the prospects are nil," said Dr. Abdel Shafi, a member of the Palestine Legislative Council elected from Gaza, and the former head of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Conference. He explained that peace will not be achieved unless Israel recognizes the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and to a part of Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state.

He treated the audience to an historical review that began with the first Zionist Congress in Basel 100 years ago. The decisions taken by that congress laid the foundations for today's impasse, when the Zionists laid claim to the entire territory of Palestine for a Jewish state, regardless of the fact that more than a million Arabs lived there.

After the Jewish state was established in 1948, Palestinian leaders advocated establishment of a secular democratic state for everyone living in the territory that was previously British Mandatory Palestine. But opposing Jewish forces were far superior and Israel ignored U.N. resolutions. Since the June 1967 war Israelis steadfastly propagated the myth that they sought peace but the obstacles were on the Palestinian side. At each stage of the dispute, the Israeli claims were widely accepted.

Dr. Abdel Shafi noted that Israel's occupation of all of Palestine was as inadmissible as Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. But the former was allowed to stand. Now, after all the effort and hopes aroused at Madrid, Israel's refusal to abide by the terms of reference established for the "peace process" goes unchallenged by any nation.

"Security," which Israel constantly invokes "is a function of justice," Dr. Abdel Shafi said. "It cannot co-exist with continued settlements and land robbery....These are indirect calls for violence and fighting."

Norman Finkelstein, author of Image and Reality of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and The Rise and Fall of Palestine, reminded the audience that territorial expansion by European states was accomplished by extermination, enslavement, expulsion or encirclement.

Now, at the end of the 20th century, the extermination option is no longer acceptable, nor is the expulsion option on a large scale. On a limited scale it is being implemented by the Israelis, however, by use of subtle stratagems to "thin out" the Palestinian residents of occupied territories.

Israel's main option vis-a-vis Palestinians has been their encirclement, enshrined in the Alon Plan, which for a long time was carefully kept under wraps. The Oslo accords, however, created Palestinian Bantustans. The elaborate network of bypass roads is in effect implementation of the Alon Plan, and thus conquest by encirclement.

The "concession" of establishing the Palestinian Authority permits the Palestinians to police themselves under the powerful control of Israel, and "to administer their own poverty."

Leila Zakharia, who served for 14 years as director of Najda, a non-governmental organization that works with Palestinian women in Lebanon, dealt with the intricacies of refugee politics. She praised UNRWA for providing educational and health services to Palestinian women and children, services that are now in danger of being cut-off. The Oslo agreements dissolve the U.N.'s responsibility for the Palestinian refugees. Despite the fact that there still are 3.3 million Palestinian refugees scattered in several Arab countries, from the Gulf to Libya, the U.N. Commissioner for Refugees no longer bears any responsibility for them.

With Israel consistently refusing any repatriation or compensation, these unhappy masses of humanity are totally subject to the whims of their host countries. Such a situation made it possible for Libya, for example, to cruelly expel thousands of Palestinians into the desert frontiers with Egypt. After months, many are still there.

Following a lively exchange of questions and answers with the audience, the forum adjourned to the street for a candlelight vigil.

The June 6 topic was "Israel and Palestine: The U.S. Dimension." Prof. Naseer Aruri, a political scientist who holds the Chancellor Chair at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, blamed the U.S. rather than Israel for the current instability in the Middle East, saying that the two countries are in agreement that there is to be no Palestinian state and that the Muslim ex-Soviet republics are to be contained as was the Soviet Union. He charged that Israel has emerged from the Cold War with an enlarged role as the super-policeman of the region, fully supported by President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore the very best friends Israel has ever had.

Phyllis Bennis, a scholar with the Institute of Policy Analysis in Washington, DC and author of From Stones to Statehood: The Palestinian Uprising, also charged that the U.S. is establishing a Middle Eastern empire with Israel at its center. Significantly, the U.S. is barring participation by Europe, Japan and Russia in the emerging American economic empire.

Ms. Bennis observed that while at the government-level in several Middle Eastern countries there has been a conscious and deliberate push for "normalizing" relationships with Israel, at the "street level" normalization has been firmly rejected. Jordan is a clear case in point.

The Campaign to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the June War, which culminated in the forums, was sponsored by: American Friends Service Committee; Boston Women in Black; Boston Committee on the Middle East; and Grassroots International.

—Edna Homa Hunt

MEI Hosts Iraq Conference

Despite two wars and six years of sanctions, Iraq remains a sovereign, unified country and will remain a major player in the Middle East for years to come, according to Ahmed Hashim, a defense analyst at the Center of Naval Analysis. Hashim, one of several Iraq specialists who spoke at the Middle East Institute's May 27 conference on "The Future of Iraq," pointed out that Iraq has not crumbled under internal strife, nor has it succumbed to interference from foreign interests. "Many countries have tried but none have succeeded to bring Iraq to their side," he said.

Hashim said that because of the Iraqi regime's fierce independence and knack for survival, the Middle East and the West will have to contend with Saddam Hussain for many years. "The regime has not fallen and it will not fall because of sanctions," he predicted.

While Saddam's relations with the United States will continue to be adversarial, Iraq's interactions with its neighbors vary, Hashim said. With Turkey, for example, Iraq has mainly avoided conflict in the past, and both countries seemed to have very different goals in the region. Turkey has historically focused on relations with Europe, and Iraq's goals have been set on Middle East dominance. Between Iraq and Iran, however, Hashim said there is an "intercivilizational struggle," with both countries competing for ideological dominance: "It is a struggle for the heart of the Islamic world."

Giandomenico Picco, an Italian businessman and former assistant secretary-general for political affairs at the United Nations, agreed that Iraq still holds tremendous power in the Middle East. Even without money or weapons, "Iraq has more assets today than many other countries in the region," Picco said. "Iraq can easily go from pariah state to player in the Middle East." The country's main assets include some of the world's largest oil reserves and a highly educated middle class that includes skilled engineers.

He added that as the sanctions are slowly lifted, a number of countries will move to purchase oil from Iraq. "The next major battle in the Middle East will be fought over access to Iraqi oil," Picco said.

Oil revenues will be essential for Iraq to dig out from under its tremendous debt and the effects of years of sanctions, according to Sarah Graham-Brown, a contributing editor to Middle East Report, a quarterly academic publication in Washington, DC. She said Iraq will need billions to undo the impact of sanctions on social programs and infrastructure. "These problems have been compounded by the bombing campaign in 1991 and the Iran-Iraq war," she explained. One of the most lasting effects of sanctions, she said, will be the loss of so many educated Iraqis. "Those who can get out will go," she said. "Iraq is not a place where people want to be." She added that, with the loss of so many professional opportunities, young Iraqis may be questioning the importance of education altogether.

To counteract these damaging long-term trends in Iraq, said Sinan al-Shabibi, an economic affairs officer at the United Nations, the West must do more to improve the Iraqi economy. He said the U.N. should allow Iraq to sell enough oil to pay the interest on its international debt which is in the billions. This would keep Iraq from falling further into debt and it would lower inflation. 

—Geoff Lumetta

Haris Silajdic at Wilson Center

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted Haris Silajdic, co-prime minister of the Federation of Bosnia, for an overview of the "Continuing Bosnian Peace Process," May 15 at the Smithsonian Institution's S. Dillon Ripley Center in Washington, DC.

Silajdic opened his remarks by observing that Americans might be surprised to find that in Bosnia "the situation on the ground does not reflect the pessimism" currently prevalent in the media. This pessimistic view, he said, reflects the fact that Bosnia still is "either misunderstood or unknown even by its neighbors." Calling the five-year war there a "gross political miscalculation [on Belgrade's part] that cost 200,000 lives," Prime Minister Silajdic observed that "Bosnia has been around for the last 1,000 years and will continue to be so." The country's postwar international boundaries "changed almost nothing, except on the Adriatic," he added, and Bosnians intend that they will stay that way.

Noting that the Dayton accords ending the conflict stated that Bosnia-Herzegovina "continues as a state," Silajdic welcomed the U.S. description of his country as "one state comprising two multiethnic entities." He emphasized the importance of implementing the accords, saying, "The international community must pay attention, must have a sense of urgency," or risk endangering peace.

Pointing out that "economic distress can lead to social unrest everywhere, not only in Bosnia," Silajdic described challenges facing his country. The rural areas have been practically abandoned, he said, with the result that food is not produced locally and therefore must be imported. Many of the people who fled to the towns are unemployed, especially the young men who fought during the war, and the high rate of emigration among the young and the educated is a serious concern.

"Bosnia is paying the price for the collapse of the bipolar system and the transition to the new world order," Silajdic stated. He called the fact that "war criminals are still at large at the end of the 20th century" a "gross humiliation and embarrassment." Saying his countrymen want to implement the "constitution made in America," Silajdic concluded by asserting, "The only thing Bosnia cannot negotiate is an independent Serbian state." 

—Janet McMahon

Georgetown Hosts Roundtable on Yemen Parliamentary Election

Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies hosted a May 17 roundtable discussion on the April 27 parliamentary election in the Republic of Yemen. Panelists included Georgetown's Michael Hudson, John Duke Anthony from the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, Mark Katz from George Mason University, and Les Campbell and Omar Kader from the National Democratic Institute. All five panelists had observed the election at first hand.

Since Yemen's first election was held in 1993, this was Yemen's second parliamentary election and, Hudson pointed out, political scientists say it is not the first, but the second election that is a significant indicator of a country's progress toward democracy. Hudson's characterization of the election in Yemen as "somewhat competitive" was supported by the other panelists.

Despite some positive indicators, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) did not certify the election as "free and fair." Les Campbell explained that NDI recorded more than 10,000 complaints of voter registration irregularities, although not all of them were substantiated. Still, NDI believes that it was a "reasonable and successful attempt at running a transparent election."

For the most part, the mechanics of the election went well, but there were nevertheless some serious problems. For example, many of the panelists witnessed instances of questionable "voter assistance" for illiterate voters by certain political parties. The problem of illiterate voters was supposed to have been solved by placing symbols on the ballot cards to represent each candidate. However, many illiterate voters reportedly requested assistance despite the use of these symbols.

The boycott of the election by Yemen's Socialist Party (YSP) was also a cause for concern. According to Omar Kader, the YSP would like to reopen negotiations between North and South Yemen regarding the terms of national unification, and the party does not believe that the current administration is working to achieve this. Hudson added that the opposition in Yemen felt that the election simply ratified a regime which they see as authoritarian.

Another issue which some of the panelists saw as a problem was the presence of a large number of armed military personnel at the polling stations. NDI felt that this significant military presence was intimidating for voters.

Despite these troubling indicators, all five of the panelists seemed to agree that Yemen's multi-party parliamentary election was a remarkable event in a region where competitive, participatory elections are the exception rather than the rule. Furthermore, it appears that open, public criticism of the government was not suppressed. Kader pointed out that the press enjoyed significant freedom of access during the elections and that critical journalism did not appear to be censored. Finally, it is significant that the government of Yemen invited U.S. scholars who it knew would provide an honest and critical analysis of the election process to be part of a team of international observers.

—Steven Keller

Faisal Husseini Visits Georgetown

Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Faisal Husseini spoke June 4 at the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies about Jerusalem, now the crucible and quite possibly the Calvary of the Oslo agreements.

In order to talk about Jerusalem, Husseini told some 50 students and faculty, one has to talk about history. Refuting the most recent propaganda campaign by Israelis and American Zionists that the Holy City was not important to Palestinians prior to 1946, Husseini said that the contrary was true. "Jerusalem was always an important city for Palestinians. It has always been the economic, religious, and social capital of Palestine."

Husseini outlined what he called "the three disasters of Jerusalem" since 1967. Occupation was the first, and on its heels came the Israeli annexation not just of the original 6 square kilometers of East Jerusalem, but an expanded 70 square kilometers made up of lands detached from the West Bank and added to what Israel now claims as "Greater Jerusalem." The third tragedy was the timing. In June 1967, when the occupation began, most intellectuals and other professionals were out of the city for the summer. Therefore, instead of the actual Arab population of more than 105,000, there were only 55,000 Palestinian Arabs present in the city. This, combined with its creation of Jews-only housing within Jerusalem's expanded boundaries, has helped Israel to establish a Jewish majority.

In the aftermath of the demographic changes it accomplished during the occupation of Jerusalem, "Israel set three new aims," Husseini said: "To isolate the Palestinian population of Jerusalem, to deport them when possible, and to steadily replace them with Jewish settlers." Accordingly, isolating the Arabs in East Jerusalem from the Arabs of the West Bank has continued unabated through construction of a ring of Israeli settlements around Jerusalem. The most recent of these is the Jewish-only Har Homa settlement on Jabal Abu Ghneim, which will complete the Jewish encirclement of Palestinian residents of the city.

Palestinian Jerusalemites, whom the Israeli government now considers only "resident aliens," are deported as soon as the Israeli government rules that their "center of life" is outside of the city itself, Husseini continued. He added that as Palestinians are pushed, prodded, and legally propelled from the city, Israeli authorities also are using various means to acquire homes that Palestinian Arab families have claimed for centuries.

Concluding his lecture, Husseini warned that the future of the peace process is not promising. If Israel continues its current policies, Husseini predicted, "there will be an explosion and everyone will pay a very high price...If there is no comprehensive peace, there will be a comprehensive war."

—John Vandenberg

Georgetown University Marks 30th Anniversary of 1967 War

Marking the 30th anniversary of the 1967 war, a June 5 conference in Washington, DC sponsored by Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding discussed "The Future of Arab Christians and of Christianity in Jerusalem and the Holy Land." The keynote speaker was Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God, the 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and Jerusalem; One City, Three Faiths. Armstrong reflected on the 1967 Israeli conquest of East Jerusalem and compared it to the Crusaders' conquest of the 11th century. Both conquests were products of what Armstrong calls "tunnel vision," in which a single faith attempted to conquer Jerusalem and claim it exclusively for its own believers. Through religious mythology both the Crusaders and Zionists saw the conquest of Jerusalem as a "reunion" with their long-lost religious capital, ignoring its common significance for all three monotheistic faiths. She explained,"Jerusalem is not just a prize to be won," it is "a summons to justice." In turn, Armstrong called for a "triple vision" of Jerusalem to see the connection among the three faiths rather than resorting to "tunnel vision," which breeds violence.

Reverend David Jaeger of the Diocese of Austin, Texas, noted that the international community, via the United Nations, never recognized the Israeli annexation of Jerusalem. Reverend Jaeger focused particularly on United Nations Resolution 181, which was passed in 1947, and even accepted by the embryonic state of Israel. The resolution stated the international community's interest in maintaining the spiritual freedom of the city and its inhabitants. Resolution 181 was reaffirmed in April 1997, when only three countries voted against it, the U.S. being one of the three. Reverend Jaeger stressed that "Christianity is not about Christian rights, but rights for all human beings."

Reverend Naim Ateek of St. George's Cathedral and president of Sabeel, an ecumenical Christian Palestinian Liberation Theology Center, described the historical diversity of Jerusalem, which he compared to a "mosaic" in which all three faiths coexisted. He argued that this diversity is currently under assault by the Israeli government, which is pursuing policies to subordinate or eliminate the religious and cultural life perhaps the very presence of Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem. Reverend Ateek made several suggestions for activism against Israeli policies. Moreover, he advocated nonviolent resistance, arguing that the strongest weapons against the perpetrator are "truth" and "justice."

Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed, a professor of political science at Hampton University, Virginia, described the historical significance of the Six-Day War for all Muslims, including non-Arab Muslims like himself. He compared the impact of the 1967 fall of Jerusalem to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy in that every Muslim remembers where he or she was when they heard of the 1967 defeat. Dr. Ahmed gave examples of collective Muslim memory of the fall of Jerusalem, such as an Indian poet who wrote that it was "an arrow wrapped in a Union Jack struck in the hearts of Arab Muslims."

Jonathan Kuttab, a Palestinian human rights lawyer, described Israeli policies directed toward exclusive control of Jerusalem, including expropriations, denial of building permits, cutting Jerusalem off from its hinterland through closures, and cancellation of residency permits. In contrast to the rights of Israelis who may have dual citizenship if they wish, Palestinians lose their status as Jerusalem residents if they acquire any other residence. Palestinians at checkpoints can be asked to provide several pieces of evidence to prove they are in fact residents of East Jerusalem. He was greeted with a laugh when he pointed out that Palestinian Jerusalemites have the highest rate of paying taxes—110 per cent because of the danger of losing residency. Kuttab told the audience that Israeli attempts at supremacy and exclusivity in the city are throwbacks to the old, tribal/ethnic patterns of an earlier age, yet camouflaged carefully in modern systems and tools of oppression.

Dr. Rosemary Ruether, professor of theology at Garett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, described American Christian myopias toward Israel and the Palestinians. Western Christians have been remarkably silent in the face of prolonged and extensive injustices to the Palestinian community, including the Jerusalem Christian community. Western Christian apathy is partly due to ignorance, or dubious theology, she said, but also due to the lamentable "spinelessness of some liberal Christians" in the U.S. The program ended with a spirited question period.

—Elyse Semerdjian

"Lebanon...Imprisoned Splendour" Holds Official U.S. Premiere

On June 5, the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill was the scene of the official U.S. premiere of the video "Lebanon...Imprisoned Splendour." Over 150 well-wishers in the national capital joined together to kick off the film, including Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV).

Rahall, the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, told the overflow crowd, "This film makes me extremely proud of my heritage, Lebanon has always been the pathway of civilization and the land we all love."

In addition to its attraction for all who by birth or fortune have fallen in love with the country, "Lebanon...Imprisoned Splendour" also stands a chance of being nominated for an Academy Award.

"Film industry officials in Los Angeles saw the film and encouraged us to go for it," said Daizy Gedeon, writer, director, and producer of the film. After being told that the film was "a contender," Gedeon and co-producer Leo Mir, both of whom are Australian citizens of Lebanese heritage, have worked tirelessly to make sure that the film qualifies an intensive process which includes screening the documentary in major theaters.

The film, distributed in the United States by the American Educational Trust, already has met with acclaim in Australia. Narrated by award-winning Egyptian actor Omar Sharif, who also is of Lebanese heritage, the film follows Gedeon as she discovers that 17 years of civil war did nothing to diminish 6,000 years of continuous Lebanese culture and civilization.

The film world seems to agree. Amid positive reviews from around the world, the film won the 1996 Silver Screen award at the U.S. International Film and Video Festival, the Kahlil Gibran Literary Award from the Australian Arabic Heritage League, and was voted the "Best of the Shorts" at the Boston Film Festival.

"Lebanon...Imprisoned Splendour" is available from the AET Book Club for $39.95 per copy, plus $4.95 shipping and handling. 

—John Vandenberg