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Arab League will never recognize occupation government in Iraq http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=17471 The following item is by the United Arab Emirates news agency (WAM) ABU DHABI, Apr. 10 (IPS) - The Arab League will never recognize any new government in Iraq that is set up under occupation and not represented by the people of Iraq, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) daily quoted an official of the Arab League as saying in Abu Dhabi. According to 'Khaleej Times', Saeed Kamal, Assistant to the Secretary-General of the Arab League and Chairman of the General Administration for Palestine Affairs at the Arab League, said in a lecture delivered at the UAE Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-up (ZCCF) on Tuesday that the US-led war on Iraq was to dominate the region and set up a puppet regime, securing control of Iraq's oil. He said, "The Americans and Israelis will try to settle the Palestinian issue by settling the refugees in Iraq. I urge the Arabs and Palestinians to stand up firmly in the face of such plots." He pointed out that the war on Iraq and its repercussions will be finally used to enhance Israel's interests in the region at the expense of Arab security. He rejected the idea of replacing the Arab League with another institution confirming that the League had always played a significant role in Arab world. "The international community, including the Vatican, has refused the war against Iraq. It is time for the US to think and work for its own interest ignoring the pressures of the Jewish lobby and Israel," he added. Kamal explained that Syria's attitude towards the war on Iraq was dictated by its security concern owing to the proximity to Iraq. US threats against Syria would not necessarily mean war, "but could well be implemented by other means such as economic pressures or playing on Syria's support for Hezbollah," he added. He expressed confidence that Arabs will never accept any plan to impose democracy on them, especially the Iraqi people. He considered the reshaping of the Middle East map by the United States as unacceptable as it serves US hegemony. The Arab world, Europe, Russia, China and others consider this as dangerous to their interests. He ruled out any chance of the Palestinian issue being put on the backburner due to the present crisis. "The Palestinian issue has acquired international attention and concern," he added. "The Beirut Arab Summit," he said, "had agreed on a peace initiative which calls for Israel's withdrawal from all Arab lands, acceptance of all resolutions, including the Palestinian refugee issue and the creation of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, while in return the Arabs will recognize the state of Israel." This was, however, not accepted by the Israelis and instead they resorted to more aggression against the Palestinians, he said. (END/2003) _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk