VOL. XLVII
No 14
The Political Scene (5 April 2004)
The Tunisians have unilaterally postponed the summit they were scheduled to host on 29 March
Tunis Summit Postponed Indefinitely
Arab summits usually manage to paper over differences between the participants with communiqués of anodyne blandness. So when the Tunisians, without consulting anyone else, on 27 March indefinitely postponed the summit which was scheduled to be held in Tunis on 29 March, it could only be taken to mean that inter-Arab disagreements are at the moment too deep to be overcome by traditional means. The Tunisian explanation for the decision – which followed a discussion at foreign minister level of reform proposals from Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Qatar and Tunisia – was that, as a Foreign Ministry statement put it, “it became clear that there was a variance of positions on… proposals related to fundamental issues on modernization, democratic reform, human rights and the rights of women.” However other reports suggested that Washington’s grandiose plans to remodel the whole of the greater Middle East and relations between Tunisia and the US in the wake of President Zein al-'Abidine bin 'Ali’s visit to Washington in February played a major role in the decision. According to an unnamed Gulf delegate quoted by Reuters, “it’s all about the Tunisian approach to the US, the Tunisian attempt to win US favor. President bin 'Ali was asked to deliver a certain scenario at the summit and, when it became clear that he couldn’t deliver, the Tunisians announced they were calling it off.” That analysis was obliquely confirmed when a Syrian official told Reuters on 30 March that “we in Syria want Arab consensus on Arab reform that replaces what foreign sides propose. Their proposals do not take into account fundamental issues such as the Arab-Israeli conflict.”
Whatever the reason, the Egyptians were clearly outraged by the Tunisians’ high-handed behavior, with President Husni Mubarak saying on 28 March that “there is no justification for the delay of the summit and for a party to impose its view unilaterally without consulting the others” and the presidency issuing a statement on the same day expressing “astonishment and regret following the unexpected decision” and calling for a summit to be held in Cairo “at the earliest time that can be agreed.” The Tunisian Foreign ministry answered on the same day with a statement that Tunisia retained the “right” to host the summit and that “wanting to change the venue overshadows the real reasons” for the postponement, while the next day President bin 'Ali “reaffirmed that the postponement of the summit does not mean that Tunisia had abandoned the summit presidency or changed its commitment to host it.” Mr Mubarak then modified his call for the summit to be held in Cairo, saying on 29 March that “if the presidents want to meet again in Tunis, I have no objection and we do not impose anything on anybody. We just want to rescue the situation.” On the same day the head of the Arab League, 'Amr Musa, suggested that the summit would take place in “three to seven weeks’” time. And after talks with Mr Mubarak on 30 March, Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara' said “we are optimistic about holding the summit and we hope there will be a comprehensive response from the Arab states.” However by the end of the week the upshot of the whole affair appeared to be that no-one seemed to know where and when the summit might be held.
Charles Snow