Clinton urges Arab reform to foil extremism

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday urged Arab leaders to work with their peoples to implement reforms or see extremists fill the void, warning the region's "foundations are sinking." The chief US diplomat told her Arab counterparts the region's peoples "have grown tired of corrupt institutions" and "stagnant" politics against what she said was a backdrop of depleting oil and water resources.
"Too few countries," she warned, have "plans" to deal with the worsening outlook. "In too many places, in too many ways, the region's foundations are sinking into the sand. The new and dynamic Middle East that I have seen needs firmer ground if it is to take root and grow everywhere," she said. Clinton said the region's leaders "in partnership with their peoples" have the capacity to build a bold new future where entrepreneurship and political freedoms are encouraged.
"It's time to see civil society not as a threat but as a partner," Clinton told Arab leaders in Qatar attending the Forum for the Future, a 2004 US initiative aimed at promoting such partnerships. "It is time for the elites in every society to invest in the futures of their own countries," she said. "Those who cling to the status quo may be able to hold back the full impact of their countries' problems for a little while but not forever.
"Others will fill the vacuum," if leaders failed to offer a positive vision to give "young people meaningful ways to contribute," Clinton warned. "Extremist elements, terrorist groups, and others who would prey on desperation and poverty are already out there competing for allegiance and competing for influence. "So this is a critical moment, this is a test of leadership for all of us," said the chief US diplomat.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad al-Khalifa, who shared a panel with Clinton, said change was not easy for a tradition-bound society like his, pointing out that the Gulf kingdom had "seen a lot of change" since reforms began 11 years ago. The only downside in the process was "how society is taking change," he said. For Clinton, the forum is the highlight of a tour of the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman and Qatar that was organised around her push for a better partnership between governments, business and civil society.
The forum was set up by the George W. Bush administration so that leaders from the Middle East and North Africa, the Group of Eight leading industrial countries, and delegates from business and civil society could meet to discuss reform. But many Arab civil societies do not see the point the forum, said Tunisian journalist and human rights activist Salah al-Din al-Jourshi who represented civil societies in the panel.