The Riyadh Arab Summit Is To Present A Peace Plan, Which Could Be Divisive.

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BEIRUT - The March 28-29 Arab summit conference in Riyadh is to present a Middle East peace plan which can cause a new type of split in Arab ranks. This time the split will be not only between moderates and radicals in the Middle East, but also between what a highly-placed APS source here calls "marginalised opportunists trying to ride the wave of the rejectionist camp which now calls itself mainstream" and those Arab allies of the US who want stability even as the expense of American democratisation plans.

People in the Arab world are enthusiastically looking forward to the Arab summit. King Abdullah ibn Abdul-Aziz, the summit host, has voiced optimism that the two-day conference will strengthen Arab unity and be a source of effective resolutions.

The Saudi publication Arab News on March 19 quoted Muhammad bin Ahmad Tayeb, director-general of the Saudi Foreign Ministry's office in the Makkah region, as saying: "This summit is [to be] held at an important time when the Arab world is facing several challenges such as the situation in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Somalia. I expect the summit will issue important resolutions to meet our political, economic and social challenges".

Tayeb did not mention the emerging regional role of Iran's Shi'ite theocracy in leading the rejectionist camp against Israel and the US and its nuclear ambitions. These two issues are inter-dependent and, as one block of problems, will take the lead in developments which will affect diplomacy across the globe (see overleaf).

One of the marginalised players is the Libyan ruler, Col. Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi, who is not only boycotting the Riyadh summit meeting (see news11-SaudiOffensiveMar12-07), but is also charging the Saudi promoters of the Arab peace plan with a conspiracy to resettle the Palestinian refugees in their host countries. Among other measures, Libya has threatened to send its Palestinian residents to Gaza "to undermine the resettlement plot".

The Hamas envoy to Lebanon, Usama Hamdan, on March 18 described the Libyan measure as "mass punishment of the Palestinian refugees" and said this will be condemned throughout the Arab world. Other Arab officials later said Qadhafi's Libya was, in the process, trying to lead the rejectionist camp. So far, this camp has been the sphere of influence of the Iran-led axis of regimes and movements opposed to the US sponsored peace process between the Arabs and Israel (see news4-IranSyriaAxisJan22-07).

Tayeb, however, said he was optimistic the Riyadh summit would be a big success in terms of "vital resolutions". Riyadh has been making intense preparations for the summit during the past six months. King Abdullah has sent his envoys to Arab capitals to invite leaders of the 23 Arab League member-states including Qadhafi and President Bashar Assad, Syria's Alawite/Ba'thist dictator who is a key part of the Iran-led axis.

Tayeb said: "My optimism is built on the success of our diplomatic efforts during the past six months". These include King Abdullah's meeting on March 3 with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad in Riyadh which resulted in defusing tension in Lebanon, the Feb. 8 Makkah agreement between the Palestinians' Fatah and Hamas leaders and the kingdom's participation in Baghdad's March 10 conference and New York's March 16 gathering on the future of Iraq.

Tayeb underlined the role played by King Abdullah in getting the leaders of Hamas and Fatah to form national unity government. He noted Riyadh's efforts to reconcile the various Lebanese groups, despite Syrian interference. Tayeb explained: "Saudi Arabia has been making continuous efforts to promote unity among the Iraqi people and protect their country's sovereignty and territorial integrity" (see sbme3-IraqiNeo-SalafiSunniThreatMar26-07).

Tayeb said the Riyadh meeting, the 19th Arab League Summit, will relaunch the Arab peace plan, first proposed by Abdullah when he was crown prince and endorsed by the Arab summit in Beirut in late March 2002. Jordan's King Abdullah II has urged Arab states to unite and re-launch the peace plan. During recent talks with Saudi and Egyptian foreign ministers in Amman, and more recent meeting with the Saudi monarch, King Abdullah II said: "We must co-ordinate... Arab states must strive to unite their positions, particularly by giving new momentum to the Arab peace initiative". But for the Saudi plan to bear fruit there will be a lot intrigues and violence.