Last update - 00:00 30/10/2007
Former Norwegian diplomat mulls Oslo accord in new book
By DPA
Former Norwegian diplomat Jan Egeland said Tuesday the 1993 Oslo peace
accord aimed at finding a solution of the Middle East conflict would likely have benefited if the process had been kept under wraps.
In a new book, "It Serves a Purpose" and interviews with, among others, Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Egeland said the Mideast peace process may have faired better if "the U.S. had taken over the talks" as part of a Washington process.
"In that case, the U.S. may have used more of its power to ensure the parties abided by the treaty," Egeland told NRK.
"I think this is the peace process I have been part of where the parties acted the best and really wanted a good agreement," Egeland said, adding that he regretted the subsequent squabbles about who was best suited to claim credit for the deal.
In addition to touching on the talks held in Norway between the PLO leadership and Israel, the book covers some of his experiences in international politics, including as head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
During his tenure at OCHA from September 2003 to the end of 2006, he experienced the conflicts in Darfur, western Sudan as well as Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Before joining the UN, Egeland was secretary general of the Norwegian Red Cross and he also served as secretary of state at the foreign ministry 1990-1997 during Labour Party governments.
Last month, Egeland assumed the post as director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).