MEDIA REACTION ON SHARM EL-SHEIKH AND AQABA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003233 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN USAID/ANE/MEA LONDON FOR GOLDRICH PARIS FOR O'FRIEL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR JO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON SHARM EL-SHEIKH AND AQABA SUMMITS News reports -- All dailies on June 3 led with reports on the Sharm summit where King Abdullah is expected to arrive today to deliver an address at the opening session. The summit, according to the dailies, will focus on four issues: the Roadmap, the situation in Iraq, the war on terror, and President Bush's proposal to establish a free trade market between 12 Arab countries and the United States. Reports also included the meeting between Foreign Minister Muasher and Secretary Powell, who briefed the FM on the draft speech that President Bush will deliver at the summit. Other reports said that Arab foreign ministers at Sharm have agreed on the draft final statement. -- King meets Abu Mazen. All dailies reported that King Abdullah met yesterday with Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen. Following the meeting, the King said that the Aqaba summit is a serious step towards implementing the Roadmap, which he described as a historic opportunity to achieve peace. Editorial Commentary Editorial commentaries, political cartoons, and analyses outside the opinion pages also dealt with the Sharm and Aqaba summits. The overall outlook, as expressed by analysts and commentators, is that the Israeli government opposes the Roadmap in principle, and that despite its acceptance it will do everything possible to sabotage the map. All analysts agree that the decisive factor in the success or failure of the Roadmap will be the United States' ability to pressure Israel into honoring its commitments in the road map, the likelihood of which they view with varying degrees of pessimism. Below are sample commentaries. -- "Will the Aqaba Summit Succeed in Describing Sharon As An Occupier?" Daily columnist Sultan Hattab writes on the op-ed page of semi-official influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (06/03): "Those who meet at Sharm and in Aqaba should wrench two issues from Sharon: The first is that the territories on which his forces have been stood since 1967 are occupied territories. The second is that his government should commit itself to a vision of two neighboring states on the historical land of Palestine, namely, Israel and Palestine. This should be done before Sharon wrenches from the meeting, particularly from the Palestinians, the recognition that the State of Israel is a solely Jewish state, which means writing off the Palestinians right of return." -- "An Attempt to Render the Aqaba Summit A Failure" Daily columnist Mahmoud Rimawi wrote in semi-official influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (06/03): "The way the occupation government [of Israel] has dealt with the Roadmap, after the Palestinians and Arabs have accepted it, surely indicates a premeditated attempt to sabotage the Aqaba meeting. The danger is that the Aqaba summit would be reduced to a forum for Israel's fables and legends, which would drown the Roadmap, in ambiguous and loose expressions about a Palestinian state, instead of making a clear commitment to the implementation of the articles of this plan, and to a timetable and mechanisms to monitor, and follow up on its implementation." -- "The Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh and the Results in Aqaba" Chief Editor Taher Udwan wrote in independent, mass- appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (06/03): "If the Sharm El-Sheikh summit is intended for the U.S. to dictate its terms [to Arabs] as some Arab papers have predicted, then the results will be revealed in the statements at Aqaba, particularly that of Sharon. On the other hand, if the Sharm summit aims to establish an understanding between Bush and the other leaders, this will be revealed in Bush's statement, also at Aqaba. This is because tomorrow's summit, not today's summit, will show the extent of the U.S. commitment to the peace process and whether seriousness [in pursuing peace] has replaced its indifference and blind bias for Israel, which were the hallmarks of U.S. policy under the current administration." -- "Full Jordanian Support for the Brothers in Palestine" After referring to the King's meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas "Abu Mazen" in Amman yesterday, Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al- Dustour (06/03) editorialized: "The Aqaba summit constitutes regional and international recognition of Jordan's efforts, that had a great affect in reinforcing the Palestinian's steadfastness in the face of Israeli aggression and settlement program, and in breaking the wall of international silence that has enveloped the Palestinian scene. [Therefore] we look forward to the Aqaba summit with optimism and hope, as do many capitals in the region and beyond, as this big event is seen as a historic opportunity to stop the slide into the abyss of violence, extremism, and chaos." GNEHM