OIC FOREIGN MINISTERS ADOPT DAMASCUS DECLARATION

From Muin Abdul Majid

DAMASCUS, May 26 (Bernama) -- Foreign ministers of Muslim countries have
declared that any development in relations with Israel -- if any exist at all --
should hinge on the concrete expression of its commitment to just and
comprehensive peace.

This means a guarantee of the restoration of legitimate national rights and
withdrawal from occupied lands in Palestine, Golan and Southern Lebanon.

This was contained in the Damascus Declaration adopted by the 36th Session
of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organisation of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) which concluded in the Syrian capital Monday.

The ministers noted that the 57-nation OIC was basically established to
defend Al-Quds Al-Shareef which was currently facing a critical situation that
threatened to obliterate its spiritual character and historical diversity.

They went on to make a list of Israel's sins -- constructing a "racist"
separation wall in the West Bank, inhuman blockade imposed on Gaza as well as
the intensification of land-grabbing and settlement building.

"All of this requires us all not to compensate Israel over its crimes," said
the ministers who had gathered in Damascus for the three-day meeting which began
Saturday.

Malaysia was represented by Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

The ministers also felt that terrorism, to be sure, was not a security issue
but rather an ideological one with political, security and even cultural
manifestations.

"Combating it therefore cannot be by fighting the manifestations but by
addressing its core and causes," said the foreign ministers of OIC nations
representing some 1.5 billion Muslims on the globe.

They stressed that Muslim countries could gain power by strengthening their
economic relations, mastering science and other fields of knowledge as well as
by political cooperation and mutual support of national causes.

The ministers concurred that possessing the will and determination was a
basic condition for developing and advancing the reality of the Muslim world.

"This will must be enhanced by the insistence on resolving our problems
ourselves, as well as by the ability to develop visions and implementing plans
for the complex issues which we are facing," they said in the declaration.

The participating foreign ministers also called on OIC member states to
enhance their solidarity to confront the current political and economic
challenges.

Meanwhile, the CFM meeting entasked the OIC general secretariat to prepare a
proposal on the criteria of observer status for states in accordance with the
OIC Charter.

The charter was signed in Damascus by six nations, namely Syria,
Afghanistan, Libya, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Cameroon.

The next CFM meeting will be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in 2010.
-- BERNAMA