Iraq Becomes Main Issue for Arab Summit

The controversy over sanctions against Iraq has taken center stage from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at a gathering of Arab heads of state that begins today, as officials struggle to reduce bitter differences that have alienated Baghdad from its Gulf neighbors for a decade.

With Iraqi officials pushing hard to win an unequivocal endorsement for ending the U.N. sanctions, and a perception among Arab leaders that public support is squarely in Saddam Hussein’s corner, officials drafted a compromise documenting established positions. Although an incremental step at best, it would allow a declaration of progress by the Arab leadership.

Iraq, however, has given no indication that it will accept anything short of complete victory.

“We are engaged in serious negotiations, serious dialogue on that, and I believe that . . . the consensus of all delegations is that the sanctions should be lifted” as long as all countries’ conditions are met, said Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, who will be taking over as secretary-general of the Arab League at the end of this conference.

But this Arab League summit is promising to be as divisive as past gatherings. Even the issue of funneling $40 million a month to the Palestinian Authority, which was supposed to have been agreed upon before the meeting, has exposed tensions. Some nations still are uncomfortable with handing money directly to Yasser Arafat’s organization. As a result, officials here are trying to hold down public expectations and define success broadly.

“This summit is supposed to say ‘Enough is enough of not coming together,’ ” said Taleb Rifal, information minister of Jordan, which with Egypt has played the key role in the Iraq talks. “We want people to leave this conference feeling they have a consensus and agreement that makes every party feel a little bit better.”

After two days of negotiations between foreign ministry officials from various nations, most of the heads of state began arriving Monday, prompting this relatively relaxed and open city to impose severe security measures.

Downtown streets were lined with armed soldiers. Tanks guarded intersections. Roads were blocked, and the hotel where the leaders were staying and meeting was sealed off. Jordanian security agents even rounded up six Israeli journalists and drove them out of the country, alleging that their lives were in danger.

Leaders had hoped that this gathering would highlight Arab unity. But tensions were evident even before it started.

Instead of sending Crown Prince Abdullah to head its delegation, Saudi Arabia sent its defense minister, leaving the impression that it was protesting the sympathy being shown Iraq.

In the days leading up to the summit, Arab leaders and Iraqi officials said that they would focus on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Iraq said that if a unanimous agreement could not be reached on supporting the lifting of sanctions, then it would back off and allow the focus to be on the Palestinian intifada. However, Iraq has pushed aggressively to have its demands met.

After a meeting with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali abu Ragheb, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz underscored the existing tension.

“There is an aggression against Iraq in the north and the south,” he said, referring to the air patrols that bar Iraqi military aircraft from the Kurdish-held north and the mainly Shiite Muslim-populated south.

“This aggression has Arab partners,” he said, referring to air bases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait used by the United States and Britain for the patrols. “If they want to correct the general situation, they should correct their participation and their role in this aggression.”

Iraq was studying the compromise proposal, which includes about six points, officials said Monday.

The proposal calls for lifting the sanctions, which were imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, and for opening regular air travel to Iraq. But it also repeats demands by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia that Iraq respect all U.N. resolutions--a demand that Iraq has in the past refused while accusing its neighbors of being agents of the United States.

Rifal, the Jordanian information minister, said that bringing the three antagonists together would be progress, even if they did not change their positions.

“We are not talking about anything crystal-clear just yet,” he said. “The idea is to come up with a draft that calls for lifting sanctions but addresses all the other concerns.”

Before Iraq took center stage, Arab officials drafted a statement of support for the Palestinians that essentially repeats what the leadership said at an emergency summit five months ago in Cairo. It blames Israel for the stalled peace process and blasts it for its military response and economic blockade.

The Cairo meeting pledged $1 billion to the Palestinians, but very little was delivered. This time, Arab officials are promising $40 million a month for six months to cover salaries in a bid to shore up the fragile institutions that do exist in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, such as schools and hospitals, officials said.

Majdi Khaldi, an official in the Palestinian delegation, told Voice of Palestine radio that there were lingering disputes over whether the money would be a loan or a grant.

Ahmed Tibi, a former advisor to Arafat and now a member of Israel’s parliament, accused Arab states of hypocrisy when they cite Palestinian corruption as an obstacle to financial aid. Many of the region’s other leaders are every bit as corrupt, he said.

“When we are talking about the transfer of $1 billion, and only tens of millions actually arrive, this should be a mark of Cain on all the leaders of the Arab states,” Tibi told a local radio station this week.

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Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Jerusalem contributed to this report.