British MP and Minister for Foreign Affairs engages in open debate with AUB students and faculty
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and MP David Miliband engaged the AUB community [today] on November 19 in a one-hour question-and-answer session, during which the audience accused his government of toeing the US line in foreign policy as well as supporting repressive regimes in the region.
While Miliband denied such charges, he urged the Arab world "to be active, not passive" and asked them "not to wait for the United States to make its decisions" with respect to the Mideast. In fact, he said, Arabs should embrace and support the 2002 Arab peace initiative as "an active, living, breathing document" for discussion.
Organized by The Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies the debate was held in West Hall's Bathish Hall and attracted a large audience of AUB students and faculty, including British Ambassador Frances Guy.
Arts and Sciences Dean and Acting President Khalil Bitar introduced Miliband, welcoming him to AUB, and thanking him for taking his time to engage in a public debate with Lebanon's young generation and the AUB community.
Before opening the floor to debate, Miliband told his audience that he chose to come to AUB to speak with students and faculty, because it is not sufficient to engage in "traditional diplomacy…but what's required also is people-to-people contact, cultural diplomacy, in addition to commercial diplomacy."
Miliband added that AUB has the reputation of being "the best university in the region and the symbol of open debate and academic freedom."
Since November 16, Miliband has been on a Mideast visit that included Israel, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Lebanon.
Miliband said that his tour has left him with the impression that the year 2009 will be a "potentially decisive year," because of the change in the US administration with the election of President Barack Obama, as well as parliamentary and presidential elections in Lebanon and Iran, respectively.
"Also, most people believe that the window of opportunity for the resolution [of Mideast conflicts] is quite narrow and potentially getting smaller by the month," he added. "The stakes are rather high."
Miliband also noted that Lebanon's stability is closely intertwined with that of the region. "That's why it's important to defend the values that define Lebanon, not only those of sovereignty and independence, but also its democratic values."
Miliband insisted that his government's recent designation of the military arm of Hizbullah as a terrorist organization is a confirmation of the British government's belief that "politics and not violence is the way for views to be expressed."
"Far from it being a precursor to prescribing Hizbullah's political wing as a terrorist group also, the government is actually making a sharp distinction," he added.
Miliband came under fire from Professor of Arabic literature Tarif Khalidi with respect to the British government's decision to merely label imported products made in illegal settlements instead of boycotting them. "Why not embargo products made in illegal settlements in the West Bank in order to send a message to the world that illegal settlements are in violation of international laws and should not be tolerated," asked Khalidi, prompting applause.
The minister defended his government's position as "reasonable," and added that by making the distinction it allows British consumers the freedom to choose what to buy.
Although the minister repeatedly argued that his government "does not follow US policies, but fashions its own policy independently yet in close coordination with the EU and the US," the audience did not seem to be convinced, with several audience members, including Political Sciences Professor Ahmed Mousalli, accusing the United Kingdom of toeing the US line in foreign policy and not supporting those who believe in the political process unless they subordinate themselves to the West.
"We really believe in change and support it, but this remains difficult as long as the UK and Western nations support repressive regimes in the Arab world," lashed out Dr. Mousalli, to more applause.
Professor Karim Makdisi explained to the foreign minister that hostility toward UK policies in the region stem from the UK's support of Israel in its heavy-handed war against Lebanon in 2006, and its support of the US war on Iraq--both positions spearheaded by the neocon US administration.
But Miliband argued that the UK has always been in support of a two-state solution between the Palestinians and Israelis, unlike the United States, who has only recently started supporting this view. "We have not been waiting for the US to argue for that," he said.
Miliband was appointed as secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs in 2007. Born in 1965, he was the youngest to be appointed to that position in 30 years. He has also served in several ministerial appointments in the British government and is a social democrat. He is the current favourite to succeed PM Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party.
Miliband studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. In 1988/9, he won a Kennedy Scholarship to study for a Masters' Degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
