Leaders see Palestine elections as chance for peace

The Palestinian elections provide an opportunity to revive the Mideast peace process, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today, adding that Israel is ready for such a step.

Annan spoke at an Egyptian Red Sea resort conference on Iraq and held a side meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

Annan said talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Colin Powell were dominated by the January elections for a Palestinian Authority president to replace the late Yasser Arafat.

Powell, who held talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders before flying to Sharm el-Sheik, had assured them that President George Bush intended to advance the peace process in his second term.

Israeli leaders, who boycotted Arafat, told Powell they would ease travel restrictions on Palestinians to facilitate voting.

“We are all encouraged,” Annan said, adding the UN would provide election monitors.

“There is an opportunity to move ahead with the road map,” Annan said, referring to the peace plan sponsored by the UN, EU, US and Russia. “We believe the Israeli government is also ready.”

The host of the Iraq conference, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said the Israeli-Arab conflict was as much a threat to the region as the insurgency in Iraq.

“Efforts to achieve stability in Iraq cannot be separated from strenuous efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East,” Aboul Gheit said in an opening address.

The conference brought together amid tight security representatives of nations that opposed the US led invasion of Iraq but who recognise the need to contribute to its reconstruction.

“It is a world duty to save Iraq from its tragic situation,” Aboul Gheit said.

The 20 nations attending the conference are expected to endorse the interim Iraqi government’s campaign against insurgents. Their draft resolution also calls on all parties to avoid violence against civilians and excessive use of force.

The 20 nations attending the conference condemned “all acts of terrorism in Iraq,” as well as kidnappings and assassinations of foreign and Iraqi civilians, including aid workers, diplomats and journalists. They urged the interim Iraqi government to deal firmly with terrorists, but to avoid hurting civilians.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the conference his government was committed to holding “full, free and fair elections across the country for the first time in our history.”

Referring to the recent campaign against insurgents strongholds in cities such as Fallujah and Mosul, Zebari said: “We must guarantee that all sectors of the Iraqi electorate have an equal chance to cast their vote free from intimidation, terror and fear spread by an extreme minority – a lethal mix of Saddamists, foreign terrorists and criminal gangs.”

Zebari defended the US led forces in Iraq, which are widely viewed in the Arab world as an army of occupation.

“The contribution of the multinational force is essential to help secure necessary conditions for voting and to support our security forces in stabilising the country,” Zebari said.

Iran and Syria voiced criticism of the US led military campaign against the insurgents. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa said while his government condemns terrorism, “we cannot over-emphasise the need to refrain from shelling civilians, destroying cities and killing innocent people.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi also criticised ”the use of excessive force and bombing of towns.” But he also condemned the insurgent attacks and kidnappings, saying “such acts will help prolong the presence of foreign troops in Iraq.”

The final communique urged the interim government to meet peaceful groups from across the political spectrum before the January 30 elections to encourage broad participation in the vote.

Bahrain told the conference it was willing to host a meeting of all Iraqi factions.

“In principle, there is no objection. However, we believe that the best place to hold a reconciliation meeting is in the capital Baghdad,” Zebari said.

The conference has steered away from setting a deadline for withdrawing allied forces from Iraq – despite a push by France and some Arab countries. The final communique, though, does say the mandate of foreign forces is “not open-ended."