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U.S. Goals Are Thwarted At Pro-Democracy Forum
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The aid most affected by the wording of the declaration would come from one of the two new funds established Saturday, the Foundation for the Future. The foundation has commitments of over $50 million to help nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions and professional associations foster freedom and democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. The United States has pledged $35 million.
The second new fund, called the Fund for the Future, is designed to help small and medium-size enterprises to stimulate the private sector and attract foreign investment. The fund, which is expected to establish offices in Egypt and Morocco to evaluate and recommend investments, will contain about $100 million, with the Bush administration pledging $50 million.
The dispute over the forum's final declaration underscored broader differences between the West and Muslim nations of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Several Arab delegates expressed concern that the norms of democracy -- and the means of achieving it -- were being imposed by the outside world. At a dinner Friday night before Rice arrived, several delegations made clear that the Arabs want more say in crafting criteria for change, according to Arab and European officials present.
Britain, which co-sponsored the forum with Bahrain, acknowledged the issue at the news conference. "It would be a disaster for the region if this region thought democracy was an American idea," said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
In her opening remarks at the conference, Rice voiced criticism of Syria and demanded it release all its political prisoners -- specifically a democracy activist, Kamal Labwani, who was arrested Tuesday after he returned from talks at the White House.
"We continue to support the Syrian people's aspirations for liberty, democracy and justice under the rule of law," Rice said, as Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Charaa looked on.
"We would like to see an end to the arbitrary detentions of democratic and human rights activists," Rice said.
