Arab League Chief, Sudan’s FM discuss reform issues
CAIRO, Feb 29, 2004 (MENA) — Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa held on Sunday talks with Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Uthman Isma’il.
At a joint press conference, Musa said he discussed with Isma’il the situation in the Arab region as part of preparations for the Arab Follow-up Committee meetings, to start later in the day.
He said the Sudan Committee will convene after the Arab Follow-up Committee meetings in order to discuss the developments in Sudan and necessary recommendations within the coming period.
Musa added that the extraordinary meetings of the Arab foreign ministers will be held on Monday to study re-structuring the Arab League and other issues that will be tabled on the agenda of the coming Tunis Arab summit.
He lauded efforts exerted by the Sudanese minister to bring about peace in Sudan.
On the reconciliation efforts between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the Sudanese minister said the current session of peace talks between SPLM leader John Garang and government officials started on 18 February and is to run until 16 March.
He said the issue of the three marginalised areas in Sudan still needs to be settled.
The Sudanese minister lauded the important role played by the Arab League in the reconstruction of southern Sudan.
On whether a reconciliation conference would be held in Darfur under the sponsorship of Sudanese President Umar Hasan al-Bashir, Isma’il said a 100-strong committee was formed a few days ago to contact Darfur sons both inside and outside Sudan.
Once the committee finishes its assignment, the conference will be held in March, he said, hoping the conference would come up with means to reconstruct Darfur.
On the Sudanese initiative on developing the Arab League, Isma’il said the initiative is based on economic reform and the role of civil society organizations in activating Arab action and administrative reform at the Arab League.
He said he urged Musa to raise all suggestions on developing the Arab League in one initiative to be discussed by the Arab foreign ministers.
On reports there were reservations by many countries, including Sudan, on the Egyptian-Saudi initiative, the Sudanese minister said he visited Saudi Arabia two days ago and was briefed on the initiative by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Sa’ud al-Faysal.
Isma’il stressed that the initiative was part of efforts to redress the situation in the Arab world.
He said Sudan has no reservations, but only wants one initiative to be raised at the coming Tunis Arab summit.
On the US initiative to develop the Mideast region, Musa said the Mideast region certainly needs to be developed, but it is Arab countries that should decide the steps to be taken.
If there is really a desire to develop the Mideast region, this should be done via dialogue and consultations, he said.
Any talk on developing the Mideast region should include a dialogue on all weapons of mass destruction in the region.
“We cannot talk about such matters without addressing Israel’s nuclear armament,” he said.
The Sudanese minister underlined the importance that Arab news media should focus on Arab reform initiatives.
“We need reforms in the fields of women and human rights, but we do not want reforms to be imposed on us from outside,” Isma’il said.