[...and recognizes the right of states and peoples to resist to foreign occupation."]
The summit's final declaration, a draft of which was obtained by AFP, underscores the "importance of respecting the unity, sovereignty and independence of Iraq and to not interfere in its domestic affairs."
The proposed text also says it "rejects foreign occupation and recognizes the right of states and peoples to resist to foreign occupation." The paragraph has triggered concerns in the United States and Israel.
Agence France Presse via Yahoo!
Mideast, Iraq take spotlight in first Arab-South American summit
May 10 2005
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050510/wl_mideast_afp/latamarabsummit&printer=1
Arab leaders seized on the opening of the first Arab-South American summit to highlight their concerns over Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The summit of more than 30 nations -- including 12 from South America -- also marked Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's debut on the world stage. Palestinian Authority chief Mahmud Abbas also took part and there was tight security with helicopters buzzing overhead, some 9,000 military and police officers standing watch, and tanks and riot police on standby. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greeted the participants at the opening ceremony in the Brazilian capital, saying the gathering's "great challenge is to design a new geography of international economy and trade." "We have a historic opportunity to lay the foundation of a strong cooperation between South America and the Arab world," Lula said. But Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the summit's co-chairman, used the platform to raise concerns over the Middle East and Iraq. "We must find a solution so that Israel obeys international law and accepts a negotiated peace. It is the sovereign right of the Palestinians to have Jerusalem as capital and for Israel to pull out of the occupied territories," he said in opening remarks. Bouteflika added that Iraq "is another source of great concern", affirming that "this country which has suffered so much must have its democratic institutions and territorial integrity." Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa said the Arab community "seeks a new future based on national reconciliation, in which Iraq regains its sovereignty and its independence." He also warmly greeted Talabani. "It is a great pleasure to have among us the Iraqi president, whose election crystallized the start of Iraqi unity," Mussa said. He insisted the summit was an appropriate forum to air the Palestinian issue. "This summit must take into account a just peace in the Middle East, based on the UN Charter, to achieve an independent state for Palestinians and the withdrawal from the occupied territories," Mussa said. "It is an ethical duty, a legitimate commitment ... If we ignore the Palestinian people, we are left in an international chaos, in a spiral of international violence." But Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo voiced concern, saying it was not pertinent to inject politics into the summit with its economic and trade focus. The summit's final declaration, a draft of which was obtained by AFP, underscores the "importance of respecting the unity, sovereignty and independence of Iraq and to not interfere in its domestic affairs." The proposed text also says it "rejects foreign occupation and recognizes the right of states and peoples to resist to foreign occupation." The paragraph has triggered concerns in the United States and Israel. Israeli diplomatic sources in Brasilia told AFP they were not surprised by the Arabs' use of the gathering to speak out on the Middle East. "There is no international gathering in which Arabs participate where they do not take advantage to promote their demands," an Israeli source said. Israeli sources also said the paragraph on foreign occupation was "the type of recommendations (that) are useless in the framework of peace negotiations." Although the summit has drawn few Arab leaders, with only five of the 22 members of the Arab League represented by a head of state compared to nine South American presidents, Brazilian diplomatic sources said the participants have agreed to hold another summit in Morocco in 2008. <...>