Obama, in Arab outreach, shifts on Mideast peace
By Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON | Thu May 19, 2011 5:46pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday backed a key Palestinian demand on the borders of a future state with Israel as part of his vision for a Middle East peace deal and sought to shape political change convulsing the region.
Obama's proposal -- a policy shift that effectively calls for a negotiated Israeli pullback to 1967 borders that existed before it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem -- drew a swift rejection from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of his Washington visit.
The president's first public endorsement of the idea -- in laying out his most detailed framework yet for an elusive peace deal -- came in a much-anticipated "Arab spring" address aimed at recasting the U.S. response to upheaval sweeping the Arab world.
"At a time when the people of the Middle East and North Africa are casting off the burdens of the past, the drive for a lasting peace that ends the conflict and resolves all claims is more urgent that ever," Obama told an audience of U.S. and foreign diplomats at the State Department.
Obama's bid to reset ties with a skeptical Arab world was aimed at countering criticism of an uneven response to the region's uprisings that threaten both U.S. friends and foes and his failure to advance Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
His blunt language toward U.S. ally Israel about the need to find an end to its occupation of Arab land could complicate his talks on Friday with Netanyahu while easing Arab doubts about his commitment to even-handed U.S. mediation.
Obama also had tough words for the Palestinians for what he described as efforts to "delegitimize" Israel, a staunch U.S. ally in the region for decades.
But he urged Israel to act "boldly" and for both sides to revive long-stalled peace talks. "The dream of a Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation," Obama said.
MOST DETAILED PEACE VISION
Seizing on the decades-old conflict long seen as a catalyst for broader Mideast tensions, Obama went further than he has ever gone in offering principles for resolving the stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians.
But he stopped short of presenting a formal U.S. peace plan -- an omission that could disappoint many in the Arab world -- after having failed to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian front since taking office in 2009.
Among the parameters he laid down was that any agreement creating a state of Palestine must be based on borders that existed before Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israel war but "with mutually agreed swaps" of land.
Netanyahu said Israel would object to any withdrawal to "indefensible" borders, adding he expected Washington to allow it to keep major settlement blocs in any peace deal.
Before heading to Washington, Netanyahu said in a statement that "the viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel's existence."
Obama's insistence on the borders issue -- plus his criticism of continued Israeli "settlement activity" -- sends a message to Netanyahu that Washington expects the Jewish state to make concessions.
Obama and Netanyahu have had a strained relationship, and prospects for their talks to yield any significant progress on peace moves have been viewed as dim.
Still, Obama reaffirmed an unshakable U.S. commitment to Israel's security and condemned what he called "symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations," referring to the Palestinians' plan to seek General Assembly recognition for statehood in September.
And he acknowledged that a new reconciliation deal between the Palestinian Authority and the Islamist group Hamas raised "legitimate questions" for Israel, which has condemned the accord as blocking any new peace talks.
Putting pressure on Netanyahu, who will address the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC on Monday and a joint session of Congress on Tuesday at the invitation of his Republican supporters, could be politically risky for the Democratic president as he seeks re-election in 2012.
"President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus," said likely Republican candidate Mitt Romney. "He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace."
HISTORIC OPPORTUNITIES
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Obama's efforts to renew talks with Israel that collapsed last year in a dispute over Israeli settlement building.
Robert Danin, a Middle East analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that for the first time the United States has "embraced the Palestinian position on borders."
Obama also hailed popular unrest sweeping the Middle East as a "historic opportunity" and said promoting reform was his administration's top priority for a region caught up in unprecedented upheaval. "The people have risen up to demand their basic human rights," he said. "Two leaders have stepped aside. More may follow."
And he ratcheted up pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, saying for the first time that he must stop a brutal crackdown or "get out of the way," and prodded U.S. allies Yemen and Bahrain as well for democratic transformation.
While throwing his weight behind the push for reform, Obama did not abandon his approach of balancing support for democratic aspirations with a desire to preserve long-time partnerships seen as crucial to fighting al Qaeda, containing Iran and securing vital oil supplies.
Struggling to regain the initiative in a week of intense Middle East diplomacy, Obama seized an opportunity to reach out to the Arab world following the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of U.S. Navy SEAL commandos.
He announced billions of dollars in aid for Egypt and Tunisia to support and encourage their political transitions after revolts toppled autocratic leaders.
Obama has scrambled to keep pace with still-unfolding events that have ousted long-time leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, threatened those in Yemen and Bahrain and engulfed Libya in civil war where the United States and other powers have unleashed a bombing campaign.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland, Patricia Zengerle, Alister Bull, Andrew Quinn and Arshad Mohammed; editing by Laura MacInnis, Mohammad Zargham and Todd Eastham)
The Irish Times - Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sterling show as royals win over traders at English Market
BARRY ROCHE in Cork
Prince Philip was taken with the spiced beef while the Queen inquired about the olives
CORK MAY well have to write to Meath to ask for an exchange of nicknames after the Rebel County gave a right royal welcome to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip when they paid a short but highly successful visit to the city yesterday.
Gardaí estimated that about 30,000 people came into Cork city centre to witness the first visit to the city by a member of the British royal family since Queen Elizabeth’s great grandfather Edward VII came in 1903.
They were rewarded when tight security was relaxed just a little to allow the Queen go on an unscheduled walkabout.
Emerging from the English Market, Queen Elizabeth crossed a sun-splashed Grand Parade and made her way up to the corner of Washington Street, chatting with groups of teenagers including some with special needs, who had lined the street to catch a glimpse of her.
Of course, Cork earned its soubriquet as the Rebel County not, as some think, for the daring deeds of War of Independence guerrilla fighters such as Tom Barry and Liam Lynch but for its support in the 1490s for the Yorkist pretender to the British throne, Perkin Warbeck.
But yesterday, it appeared that the Queen was willing to overlook Cork’s mutinous indiscretions when she breezed into the English Market and put in a sterling 20-minute performance where she won over traders with her interest and informality.
Fishmonger Pat O’Connell spoke movingly of how proud his late mother Kay, who established the business in 1962, would have been on such a day before revealing how he unintentionally set Queen Elizabeth laughing merrily.
“I told her it’s almost 30 years to the day since I got married and that was the last day I was this nervous of a morning and she just laughed – she was very relaxed, extremely friendly with a good sense of humour – it’s the most exciting day we’ve had in the market.”
Tom Durcan presented Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with a hamper of local produce from the vendors in the market and revealed that while neither of them commented on the local delicacies of tripe and drisheen, Prince Philip was very taken with the spiced beef.
“He was asking me about the spiced beef and how you cook it so I explained – I think they enjoyed the visit,” said Durcan whose eight-year-old nephew, John St Ledger, presented Prince Philip with a bound copy of Diarmuid and Donal O’Drisceoil’s history of the market.
The Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Michael O’Connell, presented the Queen with a specially commissioned brooch by Cork silversmith Chris Carroll depicting Cork’s Butter Market and finished off with 18 carat gold, and garnets and diamonds to represent the Cork colours.
“I had met her in Dublin on Thursday night and her parting words to me then were as if she had been in Cork all her life – ‘I’ll see you in the market tomorrow’,” quipped O’Connell, adding that she really enjoyed the visit and the warm welcome accorded her in Cork.
Olive stall owner Toby Simmonds, who has lost his London accent after living for nearly 20 years in Cork, told how Queen Elizabeth and Prince
Philip were very taken with his wide selection of olives – including some unusual looking white
ones.
“She asked me did I grow my own olives so I told her we had tried but it didn’t work out too well and then she asked me about the white olives and I explained that they were actually buffalo mozzarella and she just commented on how cosmopolitan Cork was.”
Among the other traders who met Queen Elizabeth was ABC bread shop owner Liverpool-born Sheila Fitzpatrick whose great-great grandmother, Bridget Melia, left Crossmolina in Co Mayo as an Irish speaker and started a market stall in Liverpool.
“I was used to seeing her image on stamps and coins,” she said. “So it’s a bit surreal to see her in front of you but she was very gracious and warm and I was delighted to meet her. It was such a positive experience and a sign things have moved on as they should do and it’s wonderful.”
The Irish Times - Saturday, May 21, 2011
SF mayor shakes hands with Queen
MARY MINIHAN
BOYCOTT: SINN FÉIN has moved to distance itself from the party’s mayor of Cashel, Co Tipperary, who made history by breaking ranks and choosing to shake hands with Queen Elizabeth yesterday.
Michael Browne, who is seriously ill and was using a wheelchair yesterday, defied Sinn Féin’s policy of boycotting events associated with the royal visit and is believed to be the first representative from his party to shake the Queen’s hand.
One of several local dignitaries invited to welcome the Queen to the Rock of Cashel, Mr Browne said he did not regret his action.
“We all stand by our own political parties as best we can, but there comes a time when people must come before political parties,” he said.
He added: “I welcomed her to Cashel as mayor of Cashel and said I hoped she enjoyed her visit.”
The Queen thanked him and the Duke of Edinburgh then inquired about the various symbols on the mayoral chain he was wearing, he said after the visit.
Mr Browne, who unsuccessfully contested the general election for Sinn Féin in February, has been a town councillor for almost 20 years.
“After all, I was elected by the people of Cashel and elected mayor by the elected members. I hope I did the right thing and insulted nobody by so doing,” he told The Irish Times.
Mr Browne said he was “probably” the first Sinn Féin representative to shake the Queen’s hand. “Sooner or later it was going to happen anyway,” he added.
The party’s press office afterwards released a statement in the name of Muiris Ó Suilleabháin, who was described as the “South Tipperary Sinn Féin spokesperson”.
Mr Ó Suilleabháin said party members in Tipperary were surprised by Mr Browne’s action, “especially as he recently signed a statement against the English queen’s visit to the Rock of Cashel”.
He said Sinn Féin’s position on the visit remained that the party’s elected members should not participate in events related to the trip.
“Sinn Féin’s position on the visit of the English queen to Ireland is that it is premature and we are opposed to it and that its elected members should not attend any of the events related to it,” Mr Ó Suilleabháin said.
Ahead of the election, the Sinn Féin website said Mr Browne was urging voters to “seize the chance to rid the country of the gombeen politics of the past”.
Mr Browne is vice-chairman of the joint policing committee as well as mayor. He is a former Tipperary camogie county board chairman.
No comments:
Post a Comment