European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse The stars and stripes r peace conference overview to i fat mat that which is past is dead Quot so said then Secretary of state Henry Kissinger using an arabic proverb in addressing the first full scale Arab israeli peace conference in Geneva in 1973. Now 18 years later another conference wednesday in Madrid Spain with another . Secretary of state at the Helm James a. Baker Iii. What will be at stake land Borders tuesday october 29,1991 a Quot a 200mil�s 200 Tun palestinian refugees rights Over scarce water resources israelis struggle for survival. Lack of Trust and entangled issues will make for protracted bargaining at the conference called to put an end to the 43-year-old Arab israeli conflict. The issues the main issues in the peace talks Israel says it will not Trade land for peace. A a wants separate talks with Arab states and format recognition from them. Palestinians a a demand an Independent Homeland in the West Bank and Gaza with a capital in Jerusalem. Syria a a wants Israel to return the Golan Heights. Egypt in a wants Israel to give up All occupied territory and insists this must be the basis for negotiations. Jordan a a supports demands for a palestinian Homeland in the occupied lands. A a wants an agreement with Israel on water rights Long an Issue Between the countries. Lebanon a a wants Israel to withdraw from a Border zone occupied since 1982. A a wants to talk about scarce water resources. A it s now or never Many believe quest for elusive peace begins in Madrid by Steven he1lbronner United press International Washington a arabs and israelis Are set to embark on an unprecedented journey wednesday when they meet in Madrid Spain to begin talks that Mark a fundamental shift in the political landscape of the Middle East. If there is unanimity on one Point it is that the stages will do Little to Bridge the deep and abiding divisions that Are As Basic to the Region As the land itself. But few could argue with the significance of the meeting which will eventually Force the israelis and the arabs to air their differences across a conference table the first time such an Exchange has occurred since the Independence of Israel in 1948. In the Middle East there is no Ideal moment to make peace. But Many participants believe that now May be the Best Opportunity to broker a satisfactory Deal. Sounding a conciliatory note recently israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir said a there will be Many obstacles in these negotiations maybe Many crises. But we have to begin because one thing is Clear without negotiations we will never get the forces that have brought the adversaries together Are Clear namely a weakened soviet Union a decimated Iraq and a strengthened United states. A was an outside Power we Are More predominant in the Region than any country in 200 years a said Robert Hunter is policy analyst at the Center for strategic and International relations in Washington. A american prestige in the Arab world is higher in my judgment than its Ever been the persian Gulf War was a Pivotal moment for All the parties of the Middle East. For the first time since world War ii the United states and the soviet Union presented a unified front against a common enemy. Al it l 1 u is my the soviet change and its deepening Money woes sent an unmistakable signal to its friends in the Region Syria and the palestinians that it was no longer Able to support their efforts. On the other Side the United states helped Israel by weak ening its enemy Iraq and. Shielded it from Arab hostility by persuading the jewish state not to retaliate for the iraqi scud missile attacks during the Gulf War. President Bush and soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev will open the conference with speeches aimed at setting a positive tone for ending the animosity in the Middle East. The United states and the soviet Union also will provide political cover to the three Arab participants and Israel in the initial session but each delegation will have to go it alone in bilateral and multilateral talks after the opening session. Quot the importance of the conference is the fact that it takes place and that it changes attitudes a Hunter said. Besides Israel the parties to the conference include Syria Lebanon and a joint jordanian palestinian delegation. Each is permitted 14 delegates. Egypt and the european Community Are attending As a participants a which will permit their representatives to enter the dialogue though any debate they engage in is expected to be truncated at Best. Observers to the conference or those who will attend but have no right to address the delegations include the Gulf cooperation Council Secretary a representative of the . Secretary general and members of the Arab Zagreb Union which includes Morocco Tunisia Algeria Libya and Mauritania. In a move that threatened to Force israelis withdrawal from the talks Washington and Moscow agreed to permit the attendance of a palestinian a advisory Council a which Israel has insisted May not be composed of Plo members. By definition the group May not be part of the Palestine liberation organization but in practice it will be in close consultation with Plo chairman Yasser Arafat and his deputies. The 14 palestinian delegates All from the israeli occupied West Bank and Gaza strip will not make any negotiated moves without the Blessing of the Plo. In fact the speeches they deliver to the conference will certainly be approved beforehand by the Plo. The real negotiations of they occur at All Are set to begin sunday. Israel would Nold separate bilateral meetings with the arabs and the palestinians. . Officials say they expect the initial bilateral to be held in Madrid though the location has not yet been announced. Those talks could last months if not years. In an Effort to keep the talks from foundering the administration has suggested that it May propose at the opening of the bilateral talks that Israel suspend the building of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza strip in return for an end to the Arab economic Boycott against Israel and a halt to the palestinian uprisings in the occupied territories. Although Israel has not signalled an interest to such an arrangement it has agreed to discuss a five year transition toward palestinian self Rule in the occupied lands. The United states has vowed to provide billions of dollars in loan guarantees to Israel to resettle soviet jews. But the administration has made it Clear in the past two months that it will not favor the Loans if the israelis continue to build settlements in the occupied lands or if they Boycott the to open with Europe taking a Back seat by William b. Ries United press International London a for Europe the Middle East peace conference is the fulfilment of Many years of painstaking diplomacy to push Israel the palestinians and the Arab states toward the negotiating table. When the hard bargaining finally starts at the Royal Palace in Madrid Spain however the european nations will not be there. At the opening ceremony Europe will be represented Only by the dutch foreign minister Hans Lubbers president of the european Community Council of ministers. With no Active role available european nations must wish the participants Good Luck and Retreat quietly to the sidelines. Europe which has a Long a often violent a history of involvement in the Middle East has enthusiastically welcomed the convening of the conference seeing it As a vindication of collective diplomatic peace efforts and for some nations participation in the persian Gulf War. Most europeans realize that the Success of Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii in arranging the conference is further proof that the United states has emerged As the dominant world Power. Nevertheless there is considerable popular discontent in France that it will not have a significant role in the peace talks. France has claimed credit for keeping Western links open to the Palestine liberation organization when other Western nations severed ties after the Iran Iraq War. Britain welcomed the conference and accepted its reduced role without comment. London however did Jake the Opportunity to give some advice. A negotiations will not be easy a foreign minister Douglas Hogg said. A we urge the government of Israel once again to take up the arabs offer to suspend their Trade Boycott in return for a freeze on new
