15th Arab Summit Ends with Firm Rejection of War on Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 02, 2003

15th Arab Summit Ends with Firm Rejection of War on Iraq

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15th Arab Summit concludes

The 15th Arab Summit ended on Saturday with a joint statement declaring opposition to any war on Iraq; while the Turkish Parliament voted against the government's motion for allowing the deployment of US troops in the country.

ARAB SUMMIT OPPOSED TO WAR ON IRAQ

The 15th Arab Summit ended on Saturday evening with firm rejection of any war on Iraq.

"Arab states firmly reject any attack on Iraq, and any threat to Iraq's security is a threat to that of all Arab countries," said a final statement issued at the end of the one-day gathering in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"Arab states will not take part in any military action which undermines the territorial integrity and security of Iraq and other Arab countries," it said.

The statement stressed the need to seek a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis according to the international law while calling for giving UN arms inspectors more time to allow them to fulfill their missions objectively.

During the summit, Arab leaders also rejected any attempt to impose a certain regime or system on a single Arab country.

"It is up to the Arab people to decide upon their own matters and systems of their own countries, which brook no external interference," the statement said.

Speaking to reporters after the summit, Arab League chief Amr Moussa said that during the summit, Arab leaders agreed to form a tripartite committee, composed of Lebanon, Bahrain and Tunisia, to help seek a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis.

The Arab summit came as a US-led war on Iraq looms large. The United States has stepped up its military buildup in the Gulf region with at least 100,000 US troops having already been deployed in Kuwait, which might serve as a launching pad for a possible war on Iraq.

TURKISH PARLIAMENT DISAPPROVES US TROOP DEPLOYMENT

The Turkish Parliament's vote on US troop deployment witnessed a dramatic development on Saturday, with the government's motion finally rejected by the lawmakers.

It was reported earlier Saturday evening that the Turkish Parliament voted to approve the government's controversial decision to allow in 62,000 US troops to launch a possible military strike against neighboring Iraq.

But parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said later that the parliament voted down the government's motion because the votes in favor failed to take a majority of those present.

Speaking after the three-and-a-half-hour meeting, Arinc said 251 deputies voted against the motion, 264 voted in favor and 19 abstained from voting.

Reliable sources said the parliament may vote again on March 4.

Commenting on the parliament's rejection of US troop deployment,Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said the parliament's decision should be respected, adding, "We will do what is necessary. We will take all political and economic measures."

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, chairman of the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party, described the parliament's decision as a democratic result.

Turkey is seeking up to 30 billion US dollars in economic aid from the United States as a reward for its cooperation in the effort to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

It also tries to get a US guarantee that the Kurds in northern Iraq will not be allowed to establish an independent state, fearing it could encourage separatism among Kurds in southern Turkey.

IRAQ DESTROYS FOUR AL-SAMOUD MISSILES

UN arms inspectors confirmed Saturday that Iraq had destroyed the first four Al-Samoud 2 missiles and one casting chamber.

UN inspection team spokesman Hiro Ueki said the four Al-Samoud 2 missiles were destroyed at the Al-Taji military complex north of Baghdad and one casting chamber was destroyed at another site south of Baghdad.

Ueki also noted that Iraq has agreed to a timetable to scrap the rest of the missiles.

UN deputy chief inspector Dimitri Perricos said earlier in the day that one missile had been crushed while the destruction of the other three was under way, adding that it would be in Iraq's interest to accelerate the destruction.

Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix welcomed Iraq's pledge to meet the deadline to destroy the Al-Samoud 2 missiles, describing it as "very significant."

Iraq reportedly had scores of Al-Samoud missiles, which have a range exceeding the 150-km limit set by Resolution 687 passed by the UN Security Council in 1991 following the Gulf War.

US, BRITAIN DOWNPLAY IRAQ'S DESTRUCTION OF BANNED MISSILES

Both the United States and Britain refused to take Iraq's destruction of four Al-Samoud missiles as a signal of cooperation,describing the move as a "game of deception" and a "cynical trick."

White House spokeswoman Mercy Viana said Saturday that "this is part of their game of deception."

"(The UN Security Council) Resolution 1441 called for a complete, total and immediate disarmament. It did not call for pieces of disarmament," Viana said.

"The president has always predicted that Iraq would destroy its Al-Samoud missiles as part of their game of deception," she added.

Speaking to the Labor Party North West Regional Conference on Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw dismissed as a "cynical trick" Iraq's pledge to destroy all its banned Al-Samoud 2missiles under the supervision of UN weapons inspectors.

"It's a very familiar pattern. Iraq first declares a total 'zero,' saying they have nothing illegal whatever to declare," Straw said. "Then, under pressure, they cynically trickle out concessions to divide the Security Council, buy time, and avert military action while continuing concealment."

"But his [Saddam Hussein's] games should prove nothing but his own bad faith," he said, warning that the international community "shouldn't be taken in."

The foreign secretary said that "enormous stocks of poisonous chemicals and diseases" remained in the hands of the Iraqi regime," adding that easing pressure on Iraq now would be a disaster for the United Nations and Iraqis.

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