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Dr. Mustafa Fiqi, Chairman of the Egyptian parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, was interviewed by Ahmad Mansour on Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar) on May 19, 2004. Dr. Fiqi discussed US policies in the Middle East and the Arab involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Following is a verbatim translation of excerpts from Al-Fiqi's interview:
Al-Fiqi: The US is not against the establishment of religious regimes in the Arab world. That is what they want for Iraq provided that they are obedient regimes. America's problem is not the establishment of democratic regimes in the Arab world, but obedient regimes in the Arab world.
Host: This is why they stopped talking about democracy and started talking about reforms.
Al-Fiqi: What democracy? Democracy does not serve the American interest. The gap between the peoples and Washington is much wider than the gap between the regimes and Washington. Had free elections been held in the Arab world, under the present conditions, regimes hostile to the US would have come to power. Besides that, since when did the US become the defender of democracy? Didn't it bring down Allende's democratic government in Chile and replaced him with a dictatorship wanted by the courts to this very day? It is untrue. The US only wants obedient regimes. An obedient regime becomes acceptable.
We must speak with the Americans in an unconventional manner. For example, we as Arabs, together and alone, are prepared for mutual security arrangements with Israel if they stop committing their crimes and join negotiations for a comprehensive, balanced, and just peaceful settlement. This is a new discourse that neutralizes the Israeli security complex that is found in Hebrew thought from the dawn of time. But as long as we continue to talk about our problems in a tragic and emotional manner, no one will listen.
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