Arab family seeks to heal its divisions

RAMADAN, the Muslim month of fasting by day and feasting by night, is also the traditional month of peace making among Muslims.

This Ramadan, reconciliation is in evidence between Amman and Riyadh, estranged since Jordan opposed the Saudi sponsored war against Iraq in 1991, and Damascus and Baghdad, regional rivals at odds since the Ba'ath Party which rules in both countries split into warring wings in the 1960s.

King Hussein of Jordan travelled to Saudi Arabia yesterday to perform the umra or "little pilgrimage" to the Grand Mosque in Mecca where he was received by the ailing Saudi King Fahd King Hussein made a similar journey in 1994 but was snubbed.

King Hussein is due to visit Riyadh where he will meet the Regent, Crown Prince Abdullah, who took power last month. Crown Prince Abdullah's elevation was probably instrumental in reconciling the historically antagonistic Saudi and Jordanian ruling families. He has always placed more store on the "Arab family" than other Saudi royals.

King Hussein's formal reception by the Saudis could lead to reconciliation between Jordan and Kuwait, the only Gulf state which has not restored relations with Jordan.

Since 1991 Jordan has lost billions of dollars in remittances from workers expelled from Saudi Arabia, revenues from trade and financial assistance as well as a supply of subsidised Saudi oil.

The reconciliation between Syria and Iraq is one of necessity and does not involve personalities. Technical teams, headed by Dr Abdel Sattar Salman, under secretary of the Iraqi Irrigation Ministry, and Mr Mounib al Rifai, legal adviser at the Syrian Foreign Ministry, began a week long meeting to draw up a common strategy on their dispute with Turkey over sharing the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Iraq claims it has been receiving only half its share of Euphrates water, due to Turkish dams, while Syria, suffering from the diminishing flow of the Fuphrates, has accused Turkey of polluting the river with pesticides and chemicals. Both countries have demanded that Turkey respect international law on sharing the waters.

The limited, tactical reconciliation between Syna and Iraq could be of far greater importance than the dynastic peace between Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

. A home made bomb went off next to a luxury hotel in the Bahraini capital of Manama yesterday and wounded three people, a Bahraini official said.

Eight Shi'ite opposition leaders are among some 600 people detained in connection with anti government rest. They are accused of inciting protests which first broke out in December 1994 to demand the release of political prisoners and the restoration of a parliament dissolved in 1975.