Brussels, 01/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 30 June, several political figures from the Arab countries and Maghreb called on the international community, including the EU, to do more for them - and particularly to help in the fight against Islamic State (IS).
Stating that the international community believes that invading Iraq was a mistake, the leader of the Free Egyptians Party, Naguib Sawiris, said that the international community was “responsible for all this mess”. “It's your responsibility to re-establish stability as you have created the mess. I don't agree with saying 'we took action and it was a mistake so now we won't take any more action'. You must now help us”, he said at a press conference on the future of the Arab world, organised by the Arab leaders network for freedom and democracy.
For Syrian opposition member, Fawaz Tello, IS has gained ground because the international strategy was “mistaken” and this helped strengthen the terrorist organisation. “We must ask what approach is required”, he said, stating that when the Syrians started being killed by Bashar al-Assad's regime, “the world looked on” but did nothing. “Islamic State is the concrete result of the failure of the international community in Iraq and Syria, particularly in Syria”, he added. “You can't remain seated and ask us to get rid of IS without fighting against the reasons that created IS”, he said. In addition to the inaction of the international community, the speakers explained how IS has developed through widespread youth unemployment, or the geopolitical challenges of the neighbouring countries.
In the view of the leader of Lebanon's Future Movement, Ahmed Hariri, “the Arab League should play a role in the search for a solution and help us calm this chaos”. He underlined the importance of the EU, which “knows our region much better than the USA or Russia”.
Guy Verhosftadt, from the European Parliament's ALDE Group, said he believed the EU must participate in resolving the problems in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and should have a new neighbourhood policy, “a true plan between the EU and the Arab world, whether or not it's called the Marshall Plan”. In the view of the former prime minister of the Libyan transition government, the president of National Forces Alliance, Mahmoud Jibril, it is not a question of help but of investment. “Investment must be made. It's for your security”, he said, warning that it was important “to help them reconstruct the country or everyone would pay the price”. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)