Review of the Arab press

AMMAN, Jordan, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Arab press round up for Sept. 6

Many Arab newspapers commented critically Monday on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, which called for Lebanese sovereignty and the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country, without naming Syria. Jordan's mass-circulation al-Rai daily said that just because Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon, was not mentioned by name, it did not mean the United States and France, which drafted the resolution, were not serious in dealing with the two neighboring countries. The paper, partially owned by the government, urged the two countries to be prepared to face what lies ahead, and wondered why Beirut and Damascus had not asked for an Arab position on the resolution. Describing the decision as "serious," the daily said if Syria and Lebanon were not in need of an Arab position because they were not confident of such a position, "then that is something we respect. But if they believe that Washington is merely pressuring the Security Council, then that would be a horrifying mistake."

The English-language Jordan Times daily commented in its editorial titled "Discriminatory Resolution" that the Security Council decision would have been more balanced had it called for an end to all occupations in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and the Palestinian territories. "By singling out Syria, the resolution is discriminatory and its shortcomings do not end there," the paper insisted. It added that international law suggested a sovereign state with foreign forces must itself demand the withdrawal of the foreign armies, noting that the Lebanese government had not made such a demand. The kingdom's only English-language daily said the part of the resolution that called for dismantling the paramilitary forces was also a decision that must be made by the country in question. However, it defended the portion that called for free elections in Lebanon, saying the U.N. had the right to seek democracy in any part of the world. The paper concluded that since the Security Council had adopted the resolution, "Lebanon has no other choice but to honor it in its entirety."

Commenting on the same issue, the London-based al-Hayat daily said the excuse used by those who opposed the resolution on Lebanon, especially the Arabs, was that it constituted an intervention in Lebanon's internal affairs and in the relations between Lebanon and Syria. The Saudi-funded paper said such excuses were "underestimating the Lebanese and Arabs ... or they are blind to the truth and don't see what is truly happening." Adding that there was "nothing new in these Arab positions that have been disappointing since the civil war in Lebanon, this doesn't mean that the American and French position is ideal. It is stupidity facing another stupidity." It said if the motives behind the resolution were pure, the international community would not have "waited till the final hour and after Damascus had determined the need for extending the presidential term of President Emile Lahoud." The paper added that when there is international intervention claiming to help Lebanon, "it pushes (Lebanon) further into Syria's lap." It said the Lebanese people remain the primary and only losers.

On Iraq, the London-based ash-Sharq al-Awsat quoted unnamed sources as saying there were intensive consultations being held in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to discuss choosing the judges who will hear the case of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his top aides. They said the trial would start in the first quarter of next year, adding that not all the detainees of the former regime, but only those in leadership positions, would be tried in that court. The sources told the Saudi-owned daily that meetings were intensified to name the judges after Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi asked that the process be speeded up to convene the trial by the beginning of next year. They said the hearings would be held in accordance with Iraqi laws "after collecting the testimonies of witnesses and those harmed by the policies of the former regime." They added that several political parties and movements had filed complaints against Saddam and his regime for allegedly executing some of their members, mainly Kurdish parties.

The United Arab Emirates' al-Bayan daily quoted former U.N. envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, as saying that Iraq would remain without full sovereignty indefinitely, adding that the United States still maintained the "higher decision" in Iraq. He told the pro-government paper that the departure of Iraq's former U.S. administrator Paul Bremer from the country was not out of Iraqi necessity, adding that it was "nothing more than an American scenario in terms of the upcoming U.S. presidential elections game." Brahimi also ruled out the possibility of an eruption of a civil war in Iraq, insisting that the Iraqi people, "in all their sects, reject the arbitrary violence they are now suffering."