Brasília – The Brazilian government was praised by the Palestinian and Sudanese ambassadors to Brasília, Ibrahim Alzeben and Abd Elghani Elnaim Awad Elkarim, on behalf of Arab authorities. The Brazilian emissary to the Middle East, Turkey and Iran, ambassador Cesário Melantonio Neto, spoke in favour of Palestine’s right to self-determination and the end of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
“Unfortunately, the [United Nations] resolution was restricted to the condition of observer state [in the case of Palestine]. We need to take the next step,” said Melantonio Neto, during a dinner offered by the Arab ambassadors this Tuesday (18) in Brasília, referring to the UN’s late-November ruling which approved Palestine’s new status within the organization.
At dinner, the recognition of Palestine as an autonomous state and the suspension of Israeli settlements set the tone for the conversations and the ambassadors’ addresses. High-spirited, the Palestinian ambassador, who was the main host for the evening, welcomed the guests with fireworks. “The Palestinians just can’t do without the noise,” he quipped, in an allusion to the bombings against the Palestinian territory.
“President Dilma Rousseff bears the brunt of today’s concerns and tomorrow’s hopes,” said the Palestinian ambassador to Brazil. “We will never forget the fact that in the past two years, president Dilma has stood up for Palestine. Long live the Arab nation. Long live Brazil and friendship between peoples.”
The Sudanese ambassador described Dilma and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as “great leaders who will be remembered by world history for their humanitarian, anti-bloodshed views.” Awad Elkarim reiterated that Palestine counts on backing from 132 countries for its recognition as an independent, autonomous state.
The ambassadors of Sudan and Palestine believe that the recognition of the state of Palestine is a world security issue, because stability and balance in the Middle East are directly linked to ending the stalemate between Palestinians and Israelis. To Melantonio Neto, Palestinian self-determination is an “ethical and moral issue.”
The dinner offered by the Arab ambassadors was attended by the special advisor for International Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, Marco Aurélio Garcia, the president of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Chamber of Representatives, Perpétua Almeida (PCdoB party in the state of Acre), the vice president of the PSB party, former minister Roberto Amaral, diplomats, and Brazilian authorities.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
