MEDIA REACTION ON THE CANCELLATION OF THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002366 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 THE CANCELLATION OF THE ARAB SUMMIT Summary -- Lead story in all papers today, March 29, highlights the decision to "indefinitely" postpone the Arab summit, focusing on the resulting "frustration of the Arab people", and Egypt's offer to reconvene the summit in Cairo on April 16. All papers give prominence to King Abdullah's interview with the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper, in which he noted his "shock" at Israel's assassination of Sheikh Yassin and his emphasis that reform is an internal issue. Front pages also highlight the Parliament's decision to approve a rise in the sales tax from 13% to 16% in Jordan. Editorial Commentary -- "The `folkloric tradition' of convening Arab summits" Daily columnist Urayb Rintawi writes on the back page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (03/29): "For the past twenty years, the writer of these lines has had the opportunity to witness a large number of Arab summits - comprehensive and small-scale ones, ordinary and emergency ones - only to get a feeling of suffocation towards the folklore of these summits and their traditions. In addition to the same old faces at every summit - not only with respect to rulers, but also with respect to ministers, counselors, and media delegations - there exists a repetitious and rhetorical address that has no effect on anyone anymore. It neither brings harm nor benefit.. And when the summit fails to provide complete and comprehensive answers, we - the masters of the Arabic language - as usual, resort to beautiful prose along the lines that the mere convening of an Arab summit is a national gain not to be underestimated. --- "The farce" Daily columnist Basem Sakijha writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (03/29): "The farce that is trying desperately to get the audience laughing will not find a place to convene. The landowner does not want it to take place on his own land, and he has every right to do that. Tunis, which embraced the Arab League when it temporarily left Egypt, does not want to be the place where the coup de grace is administered to the horse that never won a race and was always behind. Why would an Arab summit convene when it is already known that the level of representation would not be summit- level, that core issues would not be discussed, and that a clear stand followed by a clear action vis-- vis the issues that are facing the Arab nation could not be adopted.? It is a summit doomed to fail even as it opens. The Arab countries evaded the responsibility by pointing an accusing finger at Tunis because of its bold decision - typical of the Arab habit of coming up with conspiratorial explanations. But this will not harm Tunis, the only country that agreed to embrace the Palestinian resistance when it was kicked out of Lebanon." -- "Convening the summit is a pan-Arab necessity" Center-left, influential Arabic daily Al-Dustour (03/29) editorializes: "We do not need to list the dangers that would evolve around us if we display our helplessness in creating a stand vis--vis the Israeli measures against the Palestinian people and against the peace process and vis--vis the situation in Iraq, and even vis--vis the reform project that is being planned externally, or if we come to believe that the the Arab League and its pan-Arab programs are over and done with. We view what happened in Tunis as merely a passing problem, since the Arabs have become aware of the need to work towards convening the summit as soon as possible." -- "The summit, the failure, the success and the cancellation" Daily columnist Yaser Za'atreh writes on the op-ed page of center-left, influential Arabic daily Al- Dustour (03/29): "The `indefinite' postponement of the Arab summit is an expression for the wide gap that exists between prevailing positions.. We are not saying this because we are depending on the summit. However, maintaining the minimum level of Arab solidarity or let us say an Arab understanding on the basics is a requirement to serve Arab interests, particularly when we live in a time where such solidarity is to be erased from the Arab dictionary by the American and Zionist parties.. What happened in Tunis is very regrettable. If some people say that the blood of Sheikh Yassin has contributed to the failure of the summit, then it would be better to say that his blood was not sufficient to bring about a stand that would be better than the current frailty. The postponement was the best way to avoid embarrassment before the people who are at the height of their anger because of what happened." -- "The Tunisian event" Chief Editor Taher Udwan writes on the back page of independent, mass-appeal Arabic daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm (03/29): "The decision to postpone the summit was exceptional in the history of Arab summits because it was a unilateral decision issued by the host country and without any consultation with the Arab leaders. This leads to the conclusion that the Arab regime, as represented by its highest-ranking institution, namely the summit institution, has become frail and is collapsing.. The number of those who are crying the demise of the summit will shrink in number, because what happened is difficult to fix and because it is conclusive proof that the Arab regime are on the edge of collapse and that what history destroyed cannot be fixed." GNEHM