DATE=9/12/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ARAB LEAGUE (S&L)
NUMBER=2-253765
BYLINE=LISA BRYANT
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=

VOICED AT:


INTRO:  The Arab League Foreign Ministers' meeting 
opened (Sunday) in Cairo with calls for unity and for 
healing divisions among Arab countries.  These appeals 
may be put to the test during the two-day meeting, the 
first to be chaired by Iraq since the Persian Gulf 
war.  From Cairo, Lisa Bryant reports.

TEXT:  Iraq set the tone, as Foreign Minister Saed al 
Sahaf told Arab League members they must build 
solidarity and enhance national security among Arab 
countries.  In what was for him a restrained speech to 
Arab foreign ministers, Mr. Sahaf described new 
threats facing the bloc -- particularly, he said, from 
America's growing influence in the region.

Mr. Sahaf said Arab countries must adopt unified 
responses to these threats, and he called for an Arab 
summit or a high-level meeting to discuss them.

The Iraqi Foreign Minister once again condemned 
ongoing U-S and British air strikes over Iraqi no-fly 
zones.  He said it was time for the United Nations to 
lift sanctions on his country. 

            //REST OPT FOR LONG//

Mr. Sahaf pointedly did not ask for Arab League 
members to strongly criticize the strikes.  During the 
last League meeting in January, when Arab League 
members refused to issue such a condemnation, Mr. 
Sahaf stormed out of the meeting.

Iraq's chairmanship of the Arab League this year has 
already fueled speculation and tension, particularly 
among Persian Gulf countries.  But one Iraqi delegate, 
Mohammed Ali, said initial responses to his country's 
stewardship have been positive.

            // ALI ACT //

      We hope that such meetings will continue to 
      solve our problems in Arab countries, because we 
      are all Arab brothers -- although there are 
      problems between us created by some 
      circumstances.  But we hope that all these 
      problems will be ended very soon.

            // END ACT //

The Arab foreign ministers are expected to tackle 
issues that tend to surface at most of their twice-a-
year meetings.  These include concern over Turkish-
Israeli relations and Israeli nuclear weapons.  
Ministers may also raise the possibility of 
establishing an Arab court of justice. 

In his speech, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat 
discussed the recent peace pact signed between the 
Israelis and Palestinians.  Mr. Arafat stressed the 
importance of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as 
its capital.

New on the agenda, according to an Arab League 
official familiar with the discussions, is a Libyan 
proposal to treat national boundaries and airspace as 
Arab territory.  That would mean that an embargo or 
flight ban on one country would be treated as a ban on 
all.  Libya -- which only recently emerged from a long 
flight ban and partial embargo -- also wants Arab 
countries to establish a regional airline.   (SIGNED)

NEB/LB/DW/RAE



12-Sep-1999 11:32 AM LOC (12-Sep-1999 1532 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.