Brazil Must Take Stance on Continuing Gaza Crisis (Folha, Brazil)
"Another bloody stage of the war in Gaza seems to have come
to an end, but by no means does this mean an end to the way it haunts Brazil's
diplomatic agenda, precisely the one labeled a 'dwarf' by Israeli Foreign
Ministry spokesman YigalPalmor.
… Brazil should adopt a statement similar to that of Mercosur - a moderate
statement more-or-less in line with the declarations of European and even U.S.
leaders ... Like it or not, such verbal acrobatics are absolutely necessary if in the future, Brazil wants at all to be part of any global negotiation on the Israel-Palestine peace process."
A summit of UNASUR [Union of South
American Nations] is to be held this week, hosted by Uruguayan President José Mujica, who wants a UNASUR
commission to formulate a joint position regarding the conflict. [The summit
was rescheduled for October due to scheduling conflicts among leaders].
"UNASUR has never turned away
from its commitment to address the most important issues on the international
agenda," says for example, Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro.
President Mujica has a very strong
position on this matter - stronger than the note issued by Itamaraty
[Brazil's Foreign Ministry], which has drawn a reaction from Israel, for which
Israeli President ReuvenRivlin
has subsequently apologized. Incidentally, there are some people in the
Brazilian government who question whether the apology is endorsed by the
government’s executive branch (the Israeli presidency is merely ceremonial).
According to Mujica, what happened
in Gaza was "genocide." Since the host always influences the agenda,
it is reasonable to assume that his aggressive stance will permeate the meeting
of UNASUR leaders, which [President] DilmaRousseff will not attend
due to campaign engagements.
Furthermore, the traditional pro-Palestine stance of
Venezuelan’s Chavista movement, which is always
lively and loquacious at meetings of the South American bloc, can be expected
to reinforce this confrontational approach.
Venezuela broke off relations with Israel in 2009.
Venezuela’s current president, NicolásMaduro, calls the Israeli offensive in Gaza "a war of
extermination," and can be expected to champion this position at the
meeting.
Brazilian diplomacy has no interest in
deepening the open crisis in relations with Israel. It even hopes that a
permanent agreement, or at least one capable of interrupting the war, will
already have been reached by the time UNASUR meets.
In its final declaration, Mercosur
"vigorously condemns the disproportionate use of force on the part of the
Israeli armed forces in the Gaza Strip, which affects mostly civilians,
including children and women." It also didn't fail to condemn, "any
kind of violent actions against civilian populations in Israel."
It is therefore a moderate
statement more-or-less in line with the declarations of European and even North
American leaders - traditional allies of Israel.
Like it or not, such verbal
acrobatics are absolutely necessary if in the future, Brazil wants at all
to be part of any global negotiation on the Israel-Palestine peace process.
After all, as stated
by Thomas Carothers, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Center,
"The fighting between Israel and Gaza highlights the fact that the failed
peace process between Israel and the Palestinians leaves in place not a
workable status quo but a fundamental conflict that will keep descending into
violence."
Clovis Rossi is a special correspondent and member of the Folha editorial board, is a winner
of the Maria Moors Cabot award (USA) and is a member of the Foundation for a
New Ibero-American Journalism. His column appears
on Thursdays and Sundays on page 2 and on Saturdays in the World Notebook
section. He is the author, among other works, of Special Envoy: 25 Years
Around the World and What is Journalism?
