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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (189120)	5/23/2004 10:39:51 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575537

Doubts cast over Arab leaders' resolution to reform Brian Whitaker and agencies Monday May 24, 2004 The Guardian Arab leaders, struggling to produce a united response to US demands for democratisation in the Middle East, yesterday promised to carry out political and social reforms. Documents read out at the end of a poorly attended summit in Tunis said they would promote democracy, open up politics to greater public participation, strengthen the rights of women and expand civil society. The summit also issued an attack on American foreign policy, prompted by the deteriorating situation in Iraq, the Israeli onslaught in Gaza and new US sanctions against Syria. But doubts about the reform plans were raised when it was decided to seek approval from home countries before signing key documents. While Arab leaders are happy to support reform in general, yesterday's declaration masked ongoing disagreements about specifics. Its real effect, according to one Arab diplomat, is to let individual countries carry out reforms, or not, at their own pace. Describing the Tunis meeting as "a summit to save face", Rime Allaf, an associate fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, said: "It's a futile PR exercise - just to show the people they are not following an American agenda." The US agenda, though, is also in trouble. Proposals for Middle East reform to be presented at the G8 summit next month are a heavily watered-down version of the "forward strategy of freedom" boldly announced by President George Bush last November. An earlier attempt to hold the annual Arab summit, in March, was aborted at the last minute - apparently because there was no sign at that stage of an agreement on reforms. This time, a number of the heads of state, notably from the Gulf countries, stayed away, including the Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat. The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gadafy, stole the limelight by obtrusively puffing a cigarette during the opening session and then storming out. "What's the significance of this Arab gathering?" he said later. "How can this summit convene while there are two Arab presidents in jail?", a reference to Mr Arafat and Saddam Hussein. guardian.co.uk