RABAT, Morocco - Amid intense criticism, the
"Forum for the Future", the first step of the
controversial "Broader Middle East and North Africa"
initiative, took place in Rabat, Morocco's capital, this
Saturday.
Drawing foreign and finance ministers
from about 20 Arab and Muslim countries, the Group of
Eight (G8) leading industrial nations, as well as the
Arab League and the European Union, the conference,
co-chaired by outgoing US Secretary of State Colin
Powell and Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa,
aimed to discuss political and economic reforms in the
region.
Iran withdrew its
participation at the last minute without any official
explanation, while neither Sudan nor Israel was invited.
Described
by Powell as a "historic and successful" event,
the conference nonetheless underlined once again
the differences between US representatives and their
Arab and European counterparts.
In the opening session, Amr Moussa, secretary general
of the Arab League, said he was in favor of a
partnership with the G8, but cautioned that it could only work
if partners were "on an equal footing". "How
could this partnership succeed if one of the parties is
accused of terrorism?" he asked, calling forum participants to withdraw
former accusations against Islam and urging a settlement
of the Palestinian issue.
French Foreign
Minister Michel Barnier and Javier Solana, Europe's
chief diplomat, voiced their opposition to an
"institutionalization" of the forum by the United States to
the detriment of already existing structures such as the
Euro-Mediterranean partnership, adopted in Barcelona in
1995. Bahrain is expected to organize the forum next
year.
As a matter of fact, the unique reunion
ran short of concrete political proposals and mainly
produced declarations of intent.
Because of Arab
opposition to the US project of democratization of the
region, government, business and civil representatives
mainly focused on financial and social issues ranging
from training for small businesses and micro-enterprise,
to literacy for women.
But the Palestinian
question, largely addressed at the forum, stole media
attention, with most participants insisting that reforms
had to go along with a rapid resolution of the conflict.
In the closed session, Foreign Saudi Minister
Prince Saud Faisal's comments - broadcast to reporters
in a press room - echoed the Arab sentiment that the US
administration has a biased policy toward Israel. "Let
us face it," he said, "we perceive no clashes of
civilization or competing value systems. The real bone
of contention is the longest conflict in modern
history."
In the final declaration, participants
"reaffirmed that their support for reform in the region
will go hand in hand with their support for a just,
comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Arab-Israeli
conflict". They also called for a revival of the now
moribund roadmap for peace.
But on the contrary
to the present Arab and European leaders, Powell
rejected any direct link between successful reforms and
the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. "We can't
hold up reform because of these other issues," he said,
alluding to the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict and
the turmoil in Iraq.
In Morocco, the host
country, local human-rights organizations and Islamists
expressed their opposition to any US meddling in the
country's internal politics days before the event. Last
Friday, as the forum opened, about 200 people gathered
outside Morocco's parliament in a sit-in organized by
the Cellule Marocaine Contre le Forum de l'Avenir.
As ministers met on Saturday morning, dozens
of people tried to stage a protest outside the
Foreign Ministry building but were rapidly dispersed by
police.
In an effort to answer
critics, Communication Minister Nabil Benabdallah told
reporters that the forum, "a non-binding/restricting
consultation", was not meant to impose any model for
democratization to any country. "Morocco doesn't feel
any embarrassment to host this forum," he said.
A strategic US ally in the region,
Morocco, which also has close ties with its formal colonial
power France, has been cited by US President George W Bush
as an example in the Arab world for its progress
toward democracy and press freedom as well as its
recent women's-rights law.
Morocco has intensified
ties with the US since King Mohamed VI took the throne
in 1999. The first African country and the second Arab
one, after Jordan, to have signed a free-trade agreement with
the US, the kingdom has also been a key partner in the
US-led "war against terror".
According to
investigative journalist Wayne Madsen, Morocco, with its
moderate policy toward Israel, is "viewed with favor by
the neo-cons". "The US foreign policy now is based on
two pillars: what is best for the oil industry and what
is best to prop up Likud in Israel," he said.
In
the current international conjuncture dominated by the
US, Morocco probably didn't have any choice, said
economics Professor Ben Ali, while noting that this
forum, although questionable, could be an opportunity
for Morocco. "It's interesting because Morocco will not
stay eclipsed diplomatically. It will put Morocco
forward," he argued, mentioning the recent lack of
dynamism of Morocco's diplomacy.
As he put it,
"Morocco has a constraint: the Sahara issue. And Morocco
knows it depends on the US. Bush says the US will not
impose any solution, and in this way has demonstrated a
positive attitude towards Morocco."
The Western Sahara question was not discussed at the forum
but analysts agree that it is at the core of
Morocco's foreign policy. The status of the territory disputed
by Morocco and the independence movement Polisario Front
has still not been settled by the international
community, 13 years after a ceasefire was signed.
The United Nations-sponsored referendum
for self-determination failed to take place because of a disagreement over the list
of voters. Since that time, the different parties have
failed to agree on a political solution to the dispute.
"I think that any forum in Morocco is
questionable as far as 'tilting' the consensus to the
Moroccan point of view," said Madsen.
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