INTERVIEW - Muslims watching U.S. with guarded optimism - OIC chief
- From: PakistanPal <pakistanpal@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:17:55 -0800 (PST)
By Thomas Grove
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Muslim world is watching how the United
States will act on the stalled process for Palestinian-Israeli peace
and wondering how one of the main sticking points, Israeli
settlements, will be resolved, the world's top diplomat for Islam said
on Saturday.
Arab discontent over statements from Washington seen as favouring
Israel culminated this week when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
said he did not want to run in an upcoming poll, citing disappointment
with U.S. President Barack Obama.
Abbas' frustration with Obama centred on the U.S. administration
backing away from support for demands for a "freeze" on Israel
settlement building in the occupied West Bank and an endorsement of
Israel's view that settlement expansion should not be a bar to
resuming peace talks.
"We would like to keep our hopes that President Obama's commitments
and good intentions will translate to reality, but of course we've
found that the whole negotiation comes back to square one," said
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference (OIC).
"The sine qua non for any negotiation is the stopping of the
settlements ... We are still hopeful despite the fact that there are
more reasons not to be hopeful," he told Reuters.
The 57-nation OIC, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was set up in the
early 1970s when Islamic nations were divided along Cold War lines.
While the body has no direct political power it represents more than
one billion Muslims.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to halt
construction in the settlements, many of which the Jewish state plans
to annex under any eventual peace accord.
Palestinian elections are scheduled for Jan. 24, though few are
anxious to take on Abbas' role, throwing into doubt the reconciliation
of fighting Palestinian factions as well as the peace process with
Israel.
Ihsanoglu, a Turkish history professor who became OIC secretary
general in 2005, spoke ahead of an economic summit that has drawn
criticism from human rights organisations for hosting Sudan President
Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is facing an international arrest warrant
for war crimes.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Syria's President Bashar al-
Assad and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are also expected to
arrive to Istanbul on Sunday for the summit, which is expected to
focus on boosting economic alliances among OIC member countries.
The one-day summit's guest list has added to concerns that European
Union candidate Turkey, an important regional ally of Washington, is
shifting away from its pro-Western foreign policy, while distancing
itself from traditional ally Israel.
Ihsanoglu rejected claims predominantly Muslim Turkey with was
drifting away from its western allies.
"I don't see Turkey's strengthening its relations with its neighbours
or the OIC countries at large as a substitute for its relations with
other countries, including European countries, or the West," said
Ihsanoglu.
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
Article Source : http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43777220091108?sp=true
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