India, Pakistan Agree to Resume Peace Talks - Salt Lake Tribune

India, Pakistan Agree to Resume Peace Talks The Washington Post

First published 1 hour ago
Updated 38 minutes ago Updated Feb 10, 2011 07:19PM New Delhi • India and Pakistan agreed Thursday to resume formal peace talks that were broken off after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, which were blamed on Pakistan-based militants. The decision could ease tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals and was welcomed by the Obama administration.

The United States has urged the Indian government to resume the dialogue with Pakistan, in part because their rivalry undermines efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. There has been a string of meetings in the past year between officials from both sides, but Thursday’s announcement of a dialogue “on all issues” marks a significant step forward, regional experts said.

It also represents something of a concession by India, which had been pressing Pakistan to bring to justice those responsible for the November 2008 attack on Mumbai, India’s financial hub, when gunmen stormed luxury hotels and a Jewish center, killing 166 people.

Retired Indian Maj. Gen. Ashok Mehta, who has convened informal talks involving retired military and foreign service officials, as well as opinion leaders, from both countries, said India had realized how hard it was for Pakistan to comply with that demand, given the reluctance of judges there to prosecute suspected militants and the reluctance of witnesses to come forward.

“The conditions India imposed in the aftermath of Mumbai were dictated by domestic political compulsions,” Mehta said. “Now that more than two years have passed, we ourselves have realized the conditions have to be watered down, and that is precisely what we have done.”

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Mideast upheaval to alter peace talks - Xinhua

by Adam Gonn

JERUSALEM Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- With the world's media focused on the street protests in Egypt that now has entered their 17th day, observers are asking whether the Israeli-Palestinian peace process will be put on the backburner because all eyes are on Egypt.

Following the successful ousting of Tunisian President Zine al- Abidine Ben Ali three weeks ago, a wave of popular protests have been sweeping the Middle East with large-scale demonstrations in Egypt, Jordan and Yemen calling for regime change.

Ever since direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks started in the early 1990s, they have been grabbing headlines across the world. However, with the process mired in stalemate for the last couple of years, fears are rising that it will slip from the consciousness of world leaders at a time when it needs their involvement perhaps more than ever.

Analysts that spoke to Xinhua said that the protests in Egypt and across the region will definitely in the near future receive more attention, but in the long run could lead to a stronger Palestinian position against Israel, if Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak steps down.

STRONGER PALESTINIAN POSITION

Palestinian analyst Hani Masri said that while the peace process is dead at the moment, once the dust settles in Egypt there will be a new reality. That will affect the talks in a positive way for the Palestinians.

"It will be difficult (for Israel) to continue in the same way as before because the Palestinian stand will be stronger and they will be able to reject Israeli positions," Masri said.

"When Egypt becomes a democracy, this will help the Palestinian issue because it will show us that the Egyptian people can rule themselves," he said, adding that this would be better for the Palestinians than the Mubarak regime.

Asked if what is happening in Egypt could spread to Jordan, the only other Arab state that has a peace treaty with Israel, Masri said that it might be possible but that "Jordan has some national characteristics that are not present in Egypt," which makes the situation in Jordan more complicated. Jordan's King Abdullah II has already made some government changes following events in Egypt.

Looking forward, Masri said that what is needed now is another "serious" peace process, but it will take some time before that happens. He said one of the most important preparations for a new process will be the unification of the Arab and Palestinian positions so that a united front can be presented against Israel.

INTERNAL UPHEAVAL

Prof. Mohammed Dajani, director of the American Studies Institute at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem told Xinhua that in the long run the protests in Egypt will have a positive impact on the peace process and the Palestinian people.

"Egypt is one of the leading Arab countries so whatever events that take place in Egypt affects the region; it has a very strong ripple effect on the countries around it, particularly on the Arab countries," he said.

Dajani believes that Egypt has played a very big part in the peace process and what's happening in Egypt is connected to the peace process. He pointed out that some of the slogans being heard during demonstrations in Cairo - such as "Revolution until victory " - are old Palestinian slogans from the 1960s.

While most commentators have said that protests in Egypt are solely focused on domestic issues, Dajani disagreed.

"It's not only about food and about jobs," he said. "It's also about dignity, about peace, about what is happening in the area and about not just being followers of other big countries."

Dajani agreed with Masri that Egypt's future part in the peace process will be more "moderate," which may bring "equity and balance of the players" that are the main actors in the process.

The protests in Egypt may not only affect inter-governmental relations. According to Dajani, they may also inspire people in the West Bank and Gaza to protest against both the Israeli and government and Palestinian leadership.

"I do believe that in the near future the frustration with the peace process, as well as the frustration with economy and political situation might also lead to protests here," he said.

He added that issues such as the continued Israeli occupation and land grabbing as well as corruption in Palestine would act as "drops adding and then over-spilling."

GAME CHANGER

Gad Gilbar, professor of Middle East modern history at the University of Haifa, said that what is happening in Egypt will not only have a profound effect on the peace process but on the region as a whole.

However, Gilbar also pointed out that predictions about what will happen in Egypt and how that might affect the region are still very speculative since the situation is changing on a daily basis.

He said that one of the earliest assumptions - that Mubarak would step down - has still not happened and that it may take anything from two months to two years before we know what is happening in Egypt.

If the Muslim Brotherhood, which opposes the Egyptian peace treaty with Israel, will be given power in a future government then "we can forget about the peace process," Gilbar said.

Dr. Maha Azzam, an associate fellow at Middle East and North Africa Program at the British think-tank Chatham House, believes that popular protests in Egypt and other countries across the Middle East will grab some of the attention from the Israel- Palestinian peace process.

"Inevitably what is happening in the region is going to take much attention of the people in the region, and also of the U.S.," Azzam said.

However, in order to have stability in the region there is a need to keep a close eye on what's happening with the Israeli- Palestinian issue, Azzam added.

Azzam agreed that events in Egypt will affect the way the Palestinian people view and judge their own leadership, which will lead to demands for greater accountability and transparency.

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Egypt transition vital for Mideast peace: Ban - AFP

Egypt transition vital for Mideast peace: Ban(AFP) – 1 hour ago

MUNICH, Germany — An orderly transition in Egypt is essential to the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Sunday, a day after attending a Middle East Quartet meeting.

"Egypt has been playing a very strategic role in the Middle East peace process. President (Hosni) Mubarak was one of the key players in trying to facilitate reconciliation," Ban told reporters in Munich, Germany.

"Overall in the Middle East peace process he has participated and contributed," he said.

"This is what we are concerned about, and that is why we would like to see this transition take place in an orderly and peaceful manner without having any negative sudden impacts on the overall peace and stability in this region."

On Saturday Ban took part in a Quartet meeting in Munich with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

In a statement afterwards, the grouping called on all parties "to undertake urgently efforts to expedite Israeli-Palestinian and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, which is imperative to avoiding outcomes detrimental to the region."

"The Quartet meeting took place at a critically important time, considering what has happened in this region. It has serious implications for continuing a peace negotiation process," Ban said Sunday.

He said it was important that the Quartet had agreed to step up its engagement in order to get the stalled peace process "back on track."

"We will do our best efforts," Ban said.

He said that the next Quartet talks would likely take place on the sidelines of a Group of Eight (G8) foreign ministers' meeting, which is due on March 26-27 in Paris.

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Election of New Leader in Nepal Brings Hope of Peace - Voice of America

Anjana Pasricha | New Delhi  February 04, 2011

Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) Chairman Jhalanath Khanal arrives at parliament in Kathmandu, February 2, 2011

Nepal has elected a new prime minister, following a seven month political stalemate.  The new leadership is expected to revive Nepal's languishing peace process.

Jhalanath Khanal was elected as prime minister following a last minute decision by the Maoist party’s candidate, Prachanda, to withdraw was elected as prime minister on Thursday evening by lawmakers following a last minute decision by the Maoist party’s candidate, Prachanda, to withdraw from the race.

It was the 17th time that parliament met to choose a new leader after the resignation of the previous prime minister last June. Since then, Nepal has been in a political vacuum due to the inability of its fractious political parties to decide on a leader.   

Jhalanath Khanal belongs to the UML, United Marxist-Leninist, party, which is allied to the Maoists. The Maoists are the largest party in a divided parliament.

Yuvraj Ghimire, a political analyst in Kathmandu, says the new prime minister faces many challenges.

Ghimire says Nepal’s new leader will have to restore better governance and speed up the task of drafting a new constitution for the country.

"After all it is a hung parliament and there is just four months left for the new constitution to be delivered to the country. In addition, the country’s economic situation, law and order situation, and general sense of security is very, very bad," Ghimire said.

Prime Minister Khanal, whose UML party is the third largest in parliament, has appealed for the support of all political parties. He says the country can only make the transition to peace and prosperity on the basis of national consensus.  

Political analysts say the new Prime Minister will have to work out a common agenda with both the Maoists and the opposition Congress party.

The task will not be easy in a country where the peace process has been stalled by deep differences between the country’s political parties. The peace process began in 2006, when Maoist guerrillas ended a decade-long civil war. But the parties disagree both on the shape of the new constitution and on the future of about 19,000 former Maoist fighters who are living in camps.  

The new prime minister has warned lawmakers that they must consolidate the progress made since the civil war ended or once again be plunged into crisis.

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