Press Slams Mubarak for Skipping Summit

Syrian news outlets carried strong criticism of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s decision not to attend this week’s summit of Arab heads of state in Qatar.



Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit announced on March 28 that legal and parliamentary affairs minister Moufid Shehab would represent Mubarak at the summit in Doha, scheduled for March 30-31.



“Mubarak’s decision amounts to an unjustified and unacceptable Egyptian boycott of the summit, where the rest of the leaders of the Arab states will be making important decisions,” wrote Waddah Abd Rabbo, editor-in-chief of the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan. “After everything that has happened in the Arab world, with threats from Israel and threats against Sudan, it is unacceptable for the Egyptian president to back out.”



Abd Rabbo was referring to the three-week Israeli offensive in Gaza and to the international arrest warrant issued against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, accused of committing war crimes in the Darfur region.



“It will be difficult for Egyptian leaders to justify this decision,” said Abd Rabbo, adding, “Cairo is only isolating itself and reducing its influence on Arab affairs.”