[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: Egyptians Question Powell on Mideast Reform

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Egyptians Question Powell on Mideast Reform

July 29, 2004
 By NEIL MacFARQUHAR 



 

CAIRO, Thursday, July 29 - Secretary of State Colin L.
Powell, in an unusual meeting on Wednesday with a small
group of Egyptian civic group leaders and other activists,
was told that American backing for political reform in the
region would only truly gain momentum if Washington pushed
for a fair settlement to the Israeli-Arab dispute. 

Mr. Powell, who left Egypt for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday
and was expected to continue on to Kuwait on Thursday, is
visiting the region for talks on a broad range of issues,
including the proposed Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza
Strip, the stability of Iraq, fighting terrorism, and
possible sanctions against Sudan, as well as political
change in the Arab world. 

There are widespread doubts in the region that the Bush
administration is serious about pushing political change.
Many in the Arab world view the effort as a bargaining
tactic to pressure longtime Arab allies into unpopular
decisions, like pushing the Palestinians to come to
unfavorable terms with Israel and supporting changes in
Iraq. 

Part of the problem was evident in the meeting with Mr.
Powell, participants said, in that he did not appear to
have much to offer beyond verbal support for civic groups. 

"Although America is talking about reform and democracy in
the Middle East, it still lacks a comprehensive vision
regarding the issue," said Hala Mustafa, editor in chief of
the quarterly Democracy Review and one of the participants
at the meeting, held in the restaurant of a luxury hotel.
"That is why sometimes we find one item on the top, civil
society, another day technology, then human rights." 

Participants in the meeting, billed by the Egyptian news
media as the first of its kind, and generally welcomed by
civic groups here as a sign of support, stressed to Mr.
Powell that the United States lacks credibility because it
is seen as fundamentally biased against Arabs. 

"If the Americans want to be more effective in the process
of reform, they must make a greater effort to solve the
Arab-Israeli conflict," said Osama el-Ghazaly Harb, a noted
Egyptian political analyst who also took part in the
meeting. "This will make the environment easier for reform.
The American image is poisoned by the Arab-Israeli
conflict." 

Asked about the issue at a joint news conference with Mr.
Powell, the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit,
said the recently appointed Egyptian cabinet is eager to
pursue reform. 

"Egypt has been developing over the last 200 years, we are
embracing modernity, we are working on our plans to
generate resources in our society, to develop economically
and socially," he said. "The new government is determined
to pursue that objective. If you call it reform, I call it
energetic development." 

In Saudi Arabia, the subject was also raised at a news
conference the secretary held later with Prince Saud
al-Faisal, the foreign minister. Mr. Powell said the two
sides had discussed various reform measures, including
municipal elections scheduled for the fall, but that the
United States accepted the idea that each nation must
change according to its own traditions. 

As for the Saudi side, "the whole country is working on
this issue," the prince said. 

In Cairo, on the main regional issues, there were
differences of emphasis between the United States and
Egypt. 

On Iraq, Mr. Powell said the United States was continuing
to lobby for Arab and Muslim countries to send troops to
help protect United Nations workers who are expected to
begin working in Iraq soon to organize elections to be held
in January 2005. 

Egyptian officials said Cairo was not contemplating sending
troops and questioned an apparent attempt to build a force
from Islamic or Arab countries. 

Contributing troops to any such force would likely be
wildly unpopular in any Arab country, as the public would
view it as propping up what is still considered an American
occupation. 

In Jidda, Prince Saud said the two sides had also discussed
dispatching a Muslim force to Iraq. It would presumably not
include any Saudi troops, given that the Iraqis have
repeatedly stated that they do not want any troops from any
neighboring states. 

On the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Mr. Powell expressed
somewhat less patience than his Arab counterparts with the
attempts by the Palestinian Authority under Yasir Arafat to
bring calm to Gaza in advance of any potential withdrawal. 

Mr. Arafat pledged on Tuesday to give the prime minister,
Ahmed Qurei, greater powers to consolidate the security
forces and gain political control, long an American demand.


"We hope that this is in fact what has happened and that
the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority will have
the necessary influence," Mr. Powell said in Cairo. 

Abeer Allam contributed reporting for this article.


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/29/international/middleeast/29powe.html?ex=1092116898&ei=1&en=a8cd131d092dbd59


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