Arabs must prevent lifting of UN sanctions on Iraq

News, May 2003 Al-Jazeerah.info

Arabs must prevent lifting of UN sanctions on Iraq, says Maksoud
Dubai |By Bassam Za'za' | Gulf News, 20-05-2003

A former Arab diplomat recently suggested sending a delegation of political, media and law specialists, along with Arab officials, to the UN to thwart any attempt by the U.S. and the UK to lift sanctions imposed on Iraq.

Lifting the sanctions on Iraq, through a new draft resolution proposed recently, will grant the U.S. and the UK more legitimacy in Iraqi affairs, believes Dr Clovis Maksoud, a Western-trained lawyer who resigned his post as Arab League Chief Representative to the UN after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.

Addressing a seminar at the Dubai Press Club, Dr Maksoud said that such a delegation should stand up against that resolution which gives the U.S. and UK wide-ranging powers to run Iraq and decide how to spend its oil wealth for reconstruction purposes.

Dr Maksoud maintained that the delegation could study a modification on the clauses of the draft resolution to preserve the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq. He noted that if such an act wasn't taken then the Palestinian crisis would be repeated.

Moreover, Dr Maksoud, who has a doctorate in jurisprudence from George Washington University, warned: "We can't bear the consequences of losing Iraq the same way we lost Palestine and Al-Iskandaron. The U.S., UK and Poland wanted the UN council to legitimise the occupation of Iraq. We are starting to notice some evidence that Iraq has started to break away from Arab nations like the Kurdish issue with Turkey in northern Iraq."

Dr Maksoud added, "There are many steps that need to be taken by the Arabs to prevent the Americans from penetrating Arab unity. The decision makers need to be more in harmony in order to strengthen Arab nationalism. The two main paths that need to be worked on are Iraq and Palestine. We should determine our Arab parameters for the Arab identity."

Moreover, he called on the Arabs to activate the role of the Arab League in order to preserve a decent future for Arab autonomy.

The recent Riyadh and Casablanca bombings are a humiliation to the Arab nation and not like the resistance in the Occupied Territories. He said: "Revenge isn't resistance by any means and terrorism isn't a retaliation to the humiliation as well."

Dr Maksoud elaborated: "In order to get out of the current situation we have to be patient and to struggle step by step. Yet that patience mustn't be transformed into negligence or laziness."

He considers that the operation to oust Saddam Hussain and his regime was not conducted by Arab uprising but rather through a foreign invasion.

"The Arabs have neglected so many trespasses committed on our nation for long which led us to the present deteriorating situation. Thus we have to adopt constructive criticism and avoid the disagreements," he stated.

Dr Maksoud further said: "In the post-war Iraq era we should adapt ourselves with the current situation in a different manner from that adopted to solve the Palestinian matter.

"Sometimes Arab decision makers or people react to a particular situation fluidly under the pretext of flexibility. This may lead to a failure in dealing with that particular situation."