Oct  14, 2001

In an interview with members of the
General Secretariat of the Arab
Journalists Union

In his full-dressed interview with members of the General Secretariat of the Arab Journalists Union at the Presidential Palace yesterday, President Mubarak welcomed the new stance of US President George Bush and his declaration that a Palestinian State should be set up.

    However the President said this new approach by the US Administration should be translated into practical steps that guarantee the establishment of peace in the Middle East.

    The President said he did not believe that the United States would attack any Arab country in its campaign against terrorism.

    He said he told Americans that they should not attack any country in the region.

    The President said there was some sort of perplexity that was caused by the US statement before the Security Council which referred to the likelihood of attacking countries other than Afghanistan.

    President Hosni Mubarak Sunday said that there should be no mixing between terrorism and Islam.

    He stressed this to US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac.

    "I say to the Americans: we should deal with terrorists in Afghanistan but, at the same time, we should keep away from killing innocent people” the President said.

    President Mubarak made the statements in reply to questions that were put to him by members of the General Secretariat of the Arab Journalists Union and a number of Chairmen of Arab Press Syndicates whom he received Monday.

    Ibrahim Nafei, Chairman of the Arab Journalists Union, said that in reply to a question on what he would say to the Arab press and Arab media in the present critical period through which the Arab and Islamic nation was passing, President Mubarak conceded that the Arab and Islamic nation was actually passing through difficult circumstances.

    I hope that the Arab press will be objective in dealing with issues so that the West may not have an erroneous understanding.

    Our press should be clear, definite and factual.

    It should not exaggerate because this could be harmful to our issues and others may have a confusing picture.

    Criticism should be in a respectable manner. We should respect our dignity and ourselves. We should concentrate on this in the coming stage, President Mubarak said.

    A questioner referred to what some Arab newspapers were saying that there was a separation between Arab peoples and their leaders.

    President Mubarak said he did not believe that any leader was separated from the people at the present time.

    “As to me myself, I do not conceal anything from citizens. We, Arab leaders, should clarify matters very accurately to our people whenever there was an issue which was not clear or not understood," the President said.

    President Mubarak explained, in reply to a question, that there was a big difference between the coalition that was formed during the Gulf war (when Iraq invaded Kuwait) and the present coalition (against terrorism).

    Egypt joined the coalition in the Gulf, because there was an Arab mutual defence agreement and there was a stipulation that no Arab country should attack another Arab country.

    We joined the (Gulf) coalition militarily after presenting the issue to parliament that approved (our participation). As regards the present war (against terrorism) it is completely different. There is no agreement binding on us," the President said.

    "I say quite frankly that nobody asked me to join with military forces. I say this in order to be fair."

    Egypt supports measures for combating terrorism

    President Mubarak added: ''It is true that I support measures to combat terrorism. I had warned against striking the innocent as happened at the World Trade Centre when unarmed innocent people from different nationalities were killed. This is a principle which we follow."

    President Mubarak said he had explained to US President George Bush, basically, and also to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Schroeder and French President Chirac that there should be no mixing between terrorism and Islam because Islamic civilization is the oldest civilization.

    The President said: "It is true that there is some mixing between Islam and terrorism. It may take some time to remove this. I say to the Americans: We should deal with terrorists in Afghanistan and should, at the same time keep away from killing innocent people."

    Palestinian issue

    As regards the Palestinian issue, President Mubarak said he had sent to US President Bush messages since the peace process began to deteriorate until the election of the Sharon government that believes in the issue of security more than that of reaching a fair peace.

    "I pointed out that there should be progress on this issue and there should be exploration of the causes which led to terrorism as a result of failure to solve this issue,” the President said.

    President Mubarak repeated this to British Prime Minister Tony Blair when he visited Cairo last week. Blair talked with Bush as soon as he returned to London from Cairo.

    The British Prime Minister will Monday meet in London with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. "This was the result of our talks in Cairo."

    President Mubarak said that after Blair contacted Bush, the US President said that a Palestinian State should be established. Blair also stressed this afterwards.

    " My message was clear that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should not be left to kill and destroy," the President said. You may have noticed that there was a "severe" US attack on (the President) in Western newspapers.

    They accused me of dictatorship whereas real dictatorship is in Israel where verdicts issued by the judiciary are not carried out and human rights do not exist.

    Coordination

    As regards Arab coordination at present, President Mubarak said coordination was continuing to a great extent. "It is strange that whenever I visit an Arab country, there is an immediate Israeli campaign against us," the President said.

    As regards the Palestinian issue, President Mubarak said: “We shall never take any decision on behalf of the Palestinians. We shall not, and cannot, pressure Arafat, who has his own advisers and we support the decisions they take which concern the people of Palestine."

    Nafie said that in an interview with Israeli television, President Mubarak prayed for God to guide them in Israel to think and be reasonable" .

    President Mubarak said that he had heard yesterday that Sharon would partially lift the siege on some (Palestinian) towns and villages.

    "This would be a beginning if he carries out what he said because the Palestinians should be given hope." the President said he had told the Americans and Europeans that the siege on (Palestinian) towns and villages could not continue because this prevents education, work and medical treatment and makes the Palestinian people feel frustrated.

    As regards the holy lands, Jerusalem should not at all be placed under Israeli sovereignty. When the President was asked whether AL Haram AL Sharif could be placed under Arab sovereignty, he said frankly: Get out of it and leave it to the Arabs to agree about it.

    President Mubarak pointed out that there was a big difference between Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon.

    Rabin had a political vision; Sharon knows only war, killing and slaughtering. It is strange that the Israelis boasted in an official statement that they had killed 600 Palestinians and wounded 13,000 others since the Intifada began in September 2000.

    “The important thing is that if Sharon’s statements (about partial lifting the siege) are true, this could be the beginning to give hope to the Palestinians, “President Mubarak said.

    President Mubarak said that Rabin had political vision, Sharon lacks such a vision.

    The President recalled that when Rabin closed Palestinian territories, he gave President Arafat a cheque for 15 million dollars to compensate unemployed (Palestinian) workers. This was a high political vision.

    President Mubarak said that when (former) US President Bill Clinton was in power, Arafat told President Mubarak in a telephone call that he had 22 remarks on the agreement.

    “I at once told the Americans that they should listen to the remarks of Abu Ammar (Arafat)," President Mubarak said.

    "Again at Shram Al Sheikh my position was the same. We worked all night until we reached what we arrived at the conference. It was strange that Barghouti attacked me after that.

    He said that Mubarak "dragged" Arafat to accept the conference. I said to all and stressed that I could not take a decision on behalf of the Palestinians and I do not dictate on them any decision in any form," President Mubarak said.

    President Mubarak said that he had frankly told Israeli Foreign Minister at that time, Ben Ami, that sovereignty ground or underground would not be accepted as regards holy lands. Arab Palestinian sovereignty on sanctities is inevitable.

    President Mubarak added that at the Taba meeting there was an agreement between the two sides to make mutual concessions.

    Had Clinton remained longer, a final agreement would have been reached. But Sharon came to power. He is the only Israeli premier with whom President Mubarak spoke only once since he assumed the premiership.

    "All hopes to reach agreement evaporated because he (Sharon) gave the issue of Israel’s security preference over the issue of reaching peace with the Palestinians," President Mubarak said.

    As regards possible American strikes against Arab countries, President Mubarak said: "I do not think that they will strike Arab countries. I doubt this very much. I told the United States: you should not strike any country in the area.

    I see that it was their message to the Security Council which gave the impression, and created some confusion, that they will strike other countries in the Middle East."

    President Mubarak said he believed that there should be no expansion in interpreting this message to the extent of imagining that they will strike other countries in the area.

    President Mubarak said he had told the Americans and British Prime Minister Tony Blair that Libya had no terrorists and no chemical weapons.

    Also Syria does not permit terrorists to operate from inside its territory.

    Hizbollah operates with Iran. Syria has no control on Hizbollah. There should be no jumping to conclusions as regards Syria or any other Arab country.

    As regards holding an Arab summit to agree on a definition of terrorism, President Mubarak said the definition of terrorism should be made at an international conference to ensure that it would be binding to all and in accordance with definite agreements on financing terrorism, political asylum or harboring terrorists.

    This is not the duty of an Arab summit. It should be done within the framework of the United Nations and in accordance with binding decisions. There is unanimity on this and its turn will come. "I hope that the conference will be held at an appropriate time," President Mubarak said.

    As regards statements made by US President Bush about the Palestine issue, President Mubarak said:
"We welcome the new orientation of President Bush and the American Administration.

    But this orientation should be translated into practical steps which ensure putting back the peace process on track through the implementation of the Mitchell report and entering final status negotiations."

    Asked whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair has made a commitment to hand over persons against whom courts had passed ententes and they are present abroad, President Mubarak said that Britain would take a decision about the issue of political asylum to extremist elements in Britain.

    The President pointed out that the European group had rules under which those sentenced to death are not returned to their countries. When this idea was presented to us "I said that we did not interfere in sentences passed by the judiciary or in changing the bases of legislation in our country.

    But, at the end, I repeated my warning to them that the existence of these elements in their territory represents an inherent continued danger to them," President Mubarak said.