The third summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) concluded in Istanbul on Tuesday night with not one, but two separate declarations?the joint declaration agreed on by all member states, and the chairman?s statement at the conclusion of the CICA summit.
Right until the moment when the summit reached its final session, there was uncertainty over whether a joint declaration would be issued at all. Negotiators from the 20-member states had spent more than two days and nights trying to arrive at a draft agreeable to all. The central bone of contention was Turkey?s strong push to include a paragraph strongly condemning Israel?s attack on a Turkish aid flotilla and its continued blockade of Gaza in the joint declaration.
However, this insistence would have only led to the summit ending without a joint declaration, which may have been embarrassing for Turkey that has just taken over the chairmanship of CICA. Israel effectively had a right to veto a joint declaration that contained any reference to Israeli actions?all CICA decisions and declarations are made by full consensus of the members present. And contrary to some speculation at the start of the summit, Israel did show up at the summit, even if it was only represented at the level of its ambassador to Turkey.??
In the end, the Turkish chair agreed to remove the paragraphs with reference to Israel from the draft joint declaration, so that a formal joint declaration could be issued. The formal joint declaration was essentially a reaffirmation of CICA?s guiding principles on cooperation across different spheres. But the sense of the member countries on the one issue (Israel) that dominated the summit above anything else was contained in the chairman?s statement.
The chairman?s statement was a reflection of the general consensus among member countries that Israel had overplayed its hand and violated international law in attacking the Turkish organised aid flotilla bound for Gaza. It said all member states except one (Israel), had expressed their grave concern and condemnation for the actions taken by the Israeli defence forces against international civilian flotilla transporting humanitarian aid material to Gaza strip while they were in international waters on May 31, 2010. All the member states, except one, had agreed that this was a blatant violation of the charter on the UN and backed the establishment of an independent international commission to be set up by the UN secretary general.
The statement also said all member states except one had stressed the need to lift the inhuman blockade on the Gaza strip, which has proved to be counter productive and destructive for regional peace and stability, once again reflecting the growing international criticism of Israel?s recent policies. India had earlier condemned Israel?s ?indiscriminate use of force?, and said the blockade of Gaza was causing a humanitarian crisis.
On the issues of Israel?s nuclear weapons and withdrawal from all Arab lands occupied in 1967, there clearly wasn?t the same degree of consensus among CICA?s members that include Russia, China and India, but the chairman?s statement is not bound by consensus. The statement said ?an overwhelming majority? of members had supported a call for a nuclear weapons free West Asia and called on Israel to accede to NPT and put its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards.
An overwhelming majority of the members also called for Israel?s withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. According to sources, Iran reportedly objected to the insertion of an explicit reference to a two-state solution, and it did not, therefore, find its way into the chairman?s statement.