All Arab States Against Military Strikes on Iraq: Lebanese President

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 22, 2002

All Arab States Against Military Strikes on Iraq: Lebanese President

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said on Thursday that all Arab countries stand against possible US-led military strikes on Iraq, including those states which have been at odds with Baghdad.

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Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said on Thursday that all Arab countries stand against possible US-led military strikes on Iraq, including those states which have been at odds with Baghdad.

During an exclusive written interview with Xinhua ahead of the March 27-28 Arab summit in Beirut, Lahoud said the world community has adopted many resolutions on Iraq and United Nations weapons inspectors has entered the country several times to check alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"Iraq is developing ties with its Arab neighbors in an active and constructive way, then why does the United States want to destroy Iraq by military means?" said Lahoud.

To this extent, the Lebanese president called for a permanent lifting of the decade-long sanctions imposed on Iraq instead of threatening to use force against the country, adding thousands upon thousands of Iraqi children died due to starvation and illness during years of international sanctions.

Iraq has been under the international sanctions since 1990 for its invasion of neighboring Kuwait.

On the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Lahoud said that the Palestinian issue will figure high on the political agenda of the Beirut summit, particularly the latest developments of the situation after the bloody conflict between the two sides claimed over 1,500 lives, mostly Palestinians.

He hoped that the Beirut summit will become a landmark on the way of restoring Arab rights by adopting a clear and unified stand for a just, durable and comprehensive peace in the region, and force Israel to implement all relevant international resolutions and stop its aggression against the Arab people.

He also condemned what he called an Israeli massacre against the Palestinians and its occupation of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian lands.

While commenting on the peace proposal by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Aziz, Lahoud urged the upcoming summit to adopt a clear and unified Arab stand to deal with the pressure from the outside world, saying Arab countries should prove themselves to the world as an important political force, which is able to determine its own fate.

He said the summit will discuss the Saudi peace initiative, which calls on Israel to withdraw its troops from all occupied Arab lands in exchange for Arab recognition of the Jewish state.

However, he said Israel has so far failed to respond positively to the Saudi plan, and it still refuses to implement relevant U.N. resolutions.

Asked about whether Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will attend the summit, he said Lebanon has made all possible preparations for Arafat's participation, but he declined to confirm if Arafat will be able to come to the meeting.

Arafat had been under virtual house arrest by Israeli troops in the West Bank town of Ramallah since early December until he was recently allowed to move in the Palestinian self-rule areas. He is still barred by Israeli authorities from going abroad.

Lahoud further called on all Arab leaders to participate in the meeting given the critical situation in the Middle East and the importance of the summit.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will attend the meeting with leaders of other international organizations, he said.

Regarding the ongoing US-led war on terrorism, he noted that terrorism has become an international challenge, and no country can look on with folded arms.

He believes that no Arab country supports terrorism or harbors terrorists, but he stressed there should be a clear definition for terrorism before resorting to action, adding the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation can not be termed as terrorism.

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