Forget political agenda, says Egypt ambassador
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Fulya Özerkan
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 17, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - ’I am optimistic that we will reach a cease-fire soon, but not overly optimistic, cautiously optimistic,’ underlines Egyptian Ambassador to Ankara Alaa El Hadidi, adding political agenda should be taken out of the equation
While complaining about the world's silence in the face of a "Qana everyday," Egypt's ambassador to Turkey has urged all parties in the Gaza conflict to put aside their political agendas and secure an immediate cease-fire.
"The political agenda should be taken out of the equation; the immediate concern is to stop the killing and let children, mothers and everybody live. We cannot continue this carnage for political reasons," Ambassador Alaa El Hadidi told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview.
He said what was happening in Gaza was "more than a tragedy."
"In 2006 when a group of civilians were killed in (the southern Lebanese town of) Qana, all the world rose up and now we have a Qana everyday and the world is not taking much action, even though the U.N. Security Council calls for a cease-fire," El Hadidi said.
Elections play a role on Israeli assault
The Israeli air strike on Qana saw the greatest loss of civilian life in the 2006 conflict against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and caused a worldwide outcry. He said that domestic power games led to civilian suffering as much as global politics.
"We are holding many elections in the region. One of them is the Israeli elections on Feb. 10," said the ambassador, underlining that one of the reasons behind the Israeli assault was to play up to voters in the election race and that Defense Minister Ehud Barak had already gained in popularity according to recent polls.
Israel has conditioned ending the offensive on a cessation of Gaza rocket fire against southern Israel and creating an effective mechanism to halt smuggling into Gaza, while Hamas insists on an end to Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip, which the Islamic group took over in June 2007, and an opening up of crossing points to normal traffic.
The Egyptian ambassador said a cease-fire "will unfortunately be determined by the events on the ground." "How close a cease-fire is?" he said. "I am cautiously optimistic that we'll reach a cease-fire soon but not overly optimistic, cautiously optimistic."
Turkey and Egypt are directly involved in efforts to bring about a truce and a delegation headed by the Turkish prime minister's top foreign policy adviser, Ahmet Davutoğlu, has been crisscrossing the region since Jan. 11.
"Contact is happening every day," said El Hadidi, but declined to comment on press reports about a tripartite meeting to be held in Cairo on Tuesday, with the attendance of the presidents of France and Egypt, and the Turkish premier.
Monitoring mission to ensure secure border passage
The Egyptian plan unveiled on Jan. 6 and backed by Turkey and France calls for an immediate halt to the violence, talks on opening crossings into the Gaza Strip and securing Gaza's borders. One of the components of the plan is to create a monitoring mission that will ensure secure passage through the border gates.
"Once we reach a cease-fire, we will discuss the second stage, which is the monitors Ñ a civilian monitoring mission, not an international force," said El Hadidi.
He said the monitoring mechanism would be an extended version of a 2005 agreement between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the European Union brokered by the United States. "There were EU monitors at that time and maybe this time there will be Turkish monitors or others from other countries," he said, adding the details would be discussed.
"Egypt was not part of that agreement because EU monitors were on the Palestinian side of the border," said the ambassador. "Some people have asked for an international force to be deployed on the border with Egypt. We, as Egypt, would never accept an international military force on our side of the border, even monitors, because we are a sovereign state."
On the Turkish policy throughout the Gaza crisis, El Hadidi said it was very strong and much admired. "Egyptian and Turkish diplomacy are working to reach a cease-fire. We, Turkey and Egypt, hope we can put enough pressure on everybody to reach a cease-fire today before tomorrow, this hour before next hour."
"The political agenda should be taken out of the equation; the immediate concern is to stop the killing and let children, mothers and everybody live. We cannot continue this carnage for political reasons," Ambassador Alaa El Hadidi told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview.
He said what was happening in Gaza was "more than a tragedy."
"In 2006 when a group of civilians were killed in (the southern Lebanese town of) Qana, all the world rose up and now we have a Qana everyday and the world is not taking much action, even though the U.N. Security Council calls for a cease-fire," El Hadidi said.
Elections play a role on Israeli assault
The Israeli air strike on Qana saw the greatest loss of civilian life in the 2006 conflict against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and caused a worldwide outcry. He said that domestic power games led to civilian suffering as much as global politics.
"We are holding many elections in the region. One of them is the Israeli elections on Feb. 10," said the ambassador, underlining that one of the reasons behind the Israeli assault was to play up to voters in the election race and that Defense Minister Ehud Barak had already gained in popularity according to recent polls.
Israel has conditioned ending the offensive on a cessation of Gaza rocket fire against southern Israel and creating an effective mechanism to halt smuggling into Gaza, while Hamas insists on an end to Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip, which the Islamic group took over in June 2007, and an opening up of crossing points to normal traffic.
The Egyptian ambassador said a cease-fire "will unfortunately be determined by the events on the ground." "How close a cease-fire is?" he said. "I am cautiously optimistic that we'll reach a cease-fire soon but not overly optimistic, cautiously optimistic."
Turkey and Egypt are directly involved in efforts to bring about a truce and a delegation headed by the Turkish prime minister's top foreign policy adviser, Ahmet Davutoğlu, has been crisscrossing the region since Jan. 11.
"Contact is happening every day," said El Hadidi, but declined to comment on press reports about a tripartite meeting to be held in Cairo on Tuesday, with the attendance of the presidents of France and Egypt, and the Turkish premier.
Monitoring mission to ensure secure border passage
The Egyptian plan unveiled on Jan. 6 and backed by Turkey and France calls for an immediate halt to the violence, talks on opening crossings into the Gaza Strip and securing Gaza's borders. One of the components of the plan is to create a monitoring mission that will ensure secure passage through the border gates.
"Once we reach a cease-fire, we will discuss the second stage, which is the monitors Ñ a civilian monitoring mission, not an international force," said El Hadidi.
He said the monitoring mechanism would be an extended version of a 2005 agreement between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the European Union brokered by the United States. "There were EU monitors at that time and maybe this time there will be Turkish monitors or others from other countries," he said, adding the details would be discussed.
"Egypt was not part of that agreement because EU monitors were on the Palestinian side of the border," said the ambassador. "Some people have asked for an international force to be deployed on the border with Egypt. We, as Egypt, would never accept an international military force on our side of the border, even monitors, because we are a sovereign state."
On the Turkish policy throughout the Gaza crisis, El Hadidi said it was very strong and much admired. "Egyptian and Turkish diplomacy are working to reach a cease-fire. We, Turkey and Egypt, hope we can put enough pressure on everybody to reach a cease-fire today before tomorrow, this hour before next hour."