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Malaysia To Press For OIC Emergency Meeting On Iraq/Kuala Lumpur (IslamOnline.net)/04/27
http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2003-04/27/article04.shtml
Malaysia To Press For OIC Emergency Meeting On Iraq
By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
Kuala Lumpur (IslamOnline.net) - Malaysia will continue to
press for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC) to discuss the organization's role in post-war
Iraq despite the obvious lack of cohesion and leadership within
the group.
Malaysia is pressing for the OIC meet on Iraq though Qatar, the
country chairing the group until October this year when Malaysia
will take over, is opposing such a move, Bernama news agency
said on Saturday, April 26.
"We have asked Qatar to be more open on this matter.
The meeting is to discuss a new government for Iraq, the role
the OIC can play in it, Iraq's position in the OIC and the U.N.,"
Malaysia's Foreign Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar said on
Saturday.
Hamid said it was a strange situation with Malaysia and several
other Islamic countries sharing the view that a meeting should
be held, while others not wanting it, when the party involved
was Iraq, an OIC member and when the conflict was taking place
in the OIC members nations' area.
"Qatar asked us not to have a meeting at whatever level
as they consider it still early.
Qatar is saying the time is not opportune and want us to wait
until the situation in Iraq becomes clearer."
This is not the first time Qatar and Malaysia seem to be on the
opposite side of the fence when it came to OIC meetings regarding
members of the Islamic organization.
"Oh I See"
The OIC is believed to be a toothless bulldog, without any weight
and wisdom by many in the Muslim world.
It has been publicly called "Oh I See" (OIC) by Malaysian
Premier Mahathir Mohamad in one of his attacks against the laxism
that has engulfed the Muslim world.
Malaysia is bound to take over from Qatar in October 2003 and
it is been suggested by several parties in Kuala Lumpur that
Malaysia's outgoing Premier Mahathir would become the next Secretary
General of the OIC.
With the accession to the position of Chairman of the OIC, Malaysia
would have a greater say in the running of the organization.
However its conflicting relations with Qatar may altogether undermine
the good running of the OIC in the long run, some observers in
Kuala Lumpur said.
The war on Iraq has showed the deep division that exists within
the Arab World and this worries Malaysia, a country that is to
act as the coming Chairman of the OIC, as the lack of cohesion
and unity among Arab countries within the Organization poses
a great challenge for Malaysia in dealing with OIC's role in
the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq.
Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-large Tan Sri Hasmy Agam said
last week that there were too many undercurrents within the Arab
world that have created doubts in Malaysia on how effectively
it can lead the OIC.
Whether this division and the constant squabbling with Qatar
will douse Malaysia's desire to be chairman of the OIC is still
to be seen, an observer told IslamOnline.net on Sunday.
Hasmy said one of Malaysia's challenges in post-war Iraq would
be its role in leading the OIC to make a firm stand on the restructuring
of the war-torn nation, according to Bernama.
there was too much overflow of the unresolved problems within
the Arab League into the OIC and this bogged down the organization,
he added.
WMD Motion
Meanwhile, Malaysia's Ambassador to Syria, Abdullah Sani Omar
said his country can play its role in getting support from the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and OIC nations for Syria's motion
that West Asia is free from weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Syria submitted the motion to the United Nations (UN) Security
Council last week in the wake of intense pressure by the United
States on Syria following the fall of Saddam Hussein's government
in Iraq.
The Malaysian Ambassador said as the Chairman of NAM and host
of the October OIC summit, Malaysia can use its position to influence
the member countries of both organizations to support Syria's
motion, Bernama reported.
The motion could be viewed as an intelligent move to gauge United
States' sincerity as Israel too had weapons of mass destruction
including nuclear arms, he said.
"Allegations made by the United States have been refuted
by Syria.
Syria has raised the motion at the UN Security Council to make
West Asia free from weapons of mass destruction," he said.
The United States has hurled allegations against Syria, accusing
the country of giving protection for Saddam Hussein's family
members and supporters apart from having weapons of mass destruction.
Indonesian sources told IslamOnline.net a week ago that Malaysia
would press for and support the motion by Syria.
The source also said Indonesia would give total support to Malaysia
on that issue.
Syria's move is bound to create a sudden interest and give a
role to the U.N. and NAM as well as the OIC, and extract them
from being redundant after the war on Iraq.
"We now see that NAM, the U.N. and other world bodies are
just floating around and have no role at all.
This has resulted in many countries trying to adjust on their
own to the new situation," Malaysia's Foreign Affairs Minister
said earlier.
http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2003-04/27/article04.shtml