South American, Arab Leaders Hold Summit
By ALAN CLENDENNING
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
BRASILIA, Brazil
theledger.com
South American and Arab leaders opened an unprecedented summit Tuesday to usher in a new wave of cooperation aimed at undercutting the international influence of the United States.
With 9,000 soldiers posted around the city and helicopters flying overhead, 16 heads of state and top officials from 34 South American, Middle Eastern and North African nations gathered for the first Summit of South American-Arab Countries.
"Today, we are facing a historic opportunity to build the foundation for a bridge of solid cooperation between South America and the Arab world," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
He said the leaders must band together to ensure that free trade helps the developing world's masses, instead of only rich countries and multinational corporations.
He singled out agricultural subsidies developed nations give their farmers, saying they must be slashed to ensure "poor countries receive the benefits of globalization."
"We want to make concrete and lasting steps in the struggle for development and social justice," Silva said.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who heads the Arab League, said the two regions may lie far apart but have a combined population of more than half a billion people and share strong cultural links. About 10 million South Americans are of Arab descent.
"More than 600 million people are looking with hope to the summit of hope, the Brasilia summit," he said.
The summit started amid the biggest show of security in Brazilian capital since Silva was sworn into office two and a half years ago as the first elected leftist leader of Latin America's largest country.
Police said four pistols were confiscated from U.S. security guards for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani ahead of the summit because paperwork had not been filled out for them to carry the weapons.
The leaders will hold two days of talks, and are expected to join forces by signing a "Declaration of Brasilia."
In the draft declaration, the leaders pledge to support sweeping political and economic efforts to tighten links between their regions.
The stronger ties to counter U.S. dominance in the global political arena reflect a key policy goal of Silva, who proposed the summit during a 2003 trip to the Middle East. The gathering comes at a time when Washington is pressuring Arab nations to relax their mostly authoritarian systems of government.
The draft summit declaration also condemns Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory and denounces terrorism but asserts the right of people to resist foreign occupation, according to the document approved by foreign ministers Monday.
In the statement, the two regions demand that Israel, whose biggest ally is the United States, disband settlements in Palestinian areas, including "those in East Jerusalem," and retreat to its borders before the 1967 Mideast war.
"It's not against Israel. It's certainly against the occupation by Israel," said Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
They also lash out at U.S. economic sanctions against Syria and denounce terrorism. But they assert the right of people "to resist foreign occupation in accordance with the principles of international legality and in compliance with international humanitarian law."
The clause was a clear reference to Israeli and American condemnation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Bouteflika tried to play down elements of declaration criticizing U.S policy, saying the summit's main point is to strengthen regional ties.
"This summit, in its idea, its initiative, is not directed against anyone," he said.
But the declaration came under fire from leading Jewish groups.
"It leaves the door open for terrorists groups to interpret it as a support for their criminal activities," said Sergio Widder, the Simon Wiesenthal Center representative for South America.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said that "terrorism is condemned in a clear manner," but with regard to the paragraph relating to the right of resistance, "each party will read it as they understand it."
On the Mideast peace front, the draft supports international efforts, including the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan. And on Iraq, the two sides stressed the need to respect the "unity, sovereignty and independence of Iraq and of not interfering in its internal affairs." |
