Arabs favour reforms without foreign pressure.

Abu Dhabi: Political reforms are a national demand and a necessity, but the future of the region must be shaped and decided by its people without external tutelage, said senior Arab and Western officials at a regional forum on democracy held here on Sunday.

"Reform in the Middle East is a national demand and it is a necessity for the present and the future, but the extent and means of reforms differ from one country to another, according to each country's past and current environment, capabilities and culture," Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, told the Forum for the Future, co-chaired by the UAE and Japan.

But he warned the deadlock in the Middle East peace process was creating "frustration" in the region.

Unacceptable

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Sult-anov told Gulf News political reforms must not be imposed on countries. "Each state should implement democratic principles in its own way and no pressure should be put on them."

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al Qurbi expressed Arab governments' resistance to any outside pressure for reform. He told the opening session of the forum that any reform which is imposed and not accepted by the countries and peoples of the region is doomed.

While backing a "partnership" between governments and civil society organisations Qurbi warned, in a thinly veiled reference to Western states, that these organisations should not serve as "a means of pressure on their governments, and even less as an alternative" to the ruling regimes.

Echoing his view, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Mua'llem told reporters that "the future of the region must be shaped and decided by its people without external tutelage".

However, John Negroponte, US Deputy Secretary of State, said citizens in the region now have more opportunities to decide how their societies will be governed by participating as voters and candidates for political office.

The meeting was the fifth since the forum was launched by US President George W. Bush in 2004 at a time when the US was professing high aspirations for democratic reform in the Arab world, following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

The forum is aimed at promoting political, social and economic reforms in the Middle East and North Africa, with the backing of G8 nations.

While some activists have expressed doubts over the usefulness of the forum, which has made little difference so far and is now taking place in the twilight of the Bush administration, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, defended it as an excellent platform for constructive interaction and dialogue among G8 countries, the Middle East and North African states.

- With inputs from agencies

Building bonds: Democratic principles

The fifth Forum for the Future has produced a document that outlines a framework of universal, democratic principles for strengthening the relationship between governments and civil society in the region.

The "partnership between G8, BMENA Governments and Civil Society" reflects the meaningful contributions from governments and civil society leaders in the region, and represents an important benchmark for judging our progress," said Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, State Minister for Foreign Affairs.

He said the document is a statement of commitment to constructive partnership.

Is democracy the future of the region? What according to you are the most important requirements for regional stability?

[c] Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2007. All rights reserved.

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company