Qatarâs Emir Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al-Thani said yesterday it was no longer acceptable to link the introduction of political reform in the Arab world to a settlement of the Middle East conflict. âFrom now on it is unacceptable to make the conflict with Israel and the realization of peace with this country a pretext for justifying the slow (adoption) of reforms,â he told the opening of a seminar on âDemocracy and reforms in the Arab worldâ.
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The emphasis on the specificity of each country âis allowing some to avoid engaging on the road of reform,â Sheikh Hamad told some 70 intellectuals and Arab civil society representatives.
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The issue of reform was at the center of last monthâs Arab summit in Tunis, when heads of state made a collective commitment to promote domestic reform at their own pace and in their own manner. âAnother pretextâ that has arisen in the region âis that reforms must be opposed because they come from abroad,â said the emir, calling for âan independent Arab approach to reform.â
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âThe problems our region is experiencing are a result of the postponement of reform and the shunning of democracy,â he added. Meanwhile, the Group of Eight industrialized countries has heavily rewritten its plan for reform in the Middle East, giving a prominent place to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and making clear change cannot be imposed from outside. A draft of the plan answers many of the severe criticisms Arabs made when the Greater Middle East Initiative was leaked in February.
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It will be one of the main documents under discussion when G-8 leaders meet in the United States next week. The new version, now known as the Partnership for Progress and a Common Future with the Region of the Broader Middle East and North Africa, cuts out a long preamble lamenting the current social and economic conditions in the Arab world. On the Arab-Israeli conflict, which did not appear in the original version at all, it says: âThe resolution of long-lasting, often bitter, disputes, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is an important element of progress in the region.â
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âAt the same time, regional conflicts must not be an obstacle for reforms. Indeed, reforms may make a significant contribution toward resolving them,â adds the draft. |