Istanbul – The Brazilian foreign minister, Celso Amorim, participated this week, in Istanbul, Turkey, in the second edition of the Alliance of Civilizations Forum. The meeting, which ended last Tuesday (7th), was promoted by the United Nations and by the government of Turkey, and brought together heads of state, politicians, intellectuals and civil society representatives from the five continents during two days.
Brazil should host the 2010 edition of the Forum and was under the spotlight at the event. In an exclusive interview to ANBA, Amorim mentioned the efforts of Brazilian diplomacy for establishing closer ties between the Arab and Muslim world and the West, the most recent example of which is the 2nd Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa), held last week in Doha, Qatar.
Another important example presented by Amorim is the establishment of the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa). To him, Brazil is a natural model for an alliance of civilizations, because of the way in which the Brazilian society is organised, characterised by diversity and based on values of tolerance and understanding among the various groups that comprise it. “In order to exemplify this situation, I have been using an expression by a popular musician in Brazil, who says that the country sets itself apart for the ‘gracefulness of mixture’,” he declared, in an allusion to song “Meninas do Brasil” (Girls from Brazil), by Moraes Moreira and Fausto Nilo. Read below the main stretches of the interview:
ANBA – The world is facing more and more conflicts stemming from religious and ethnical differences. The Middle East is one of the regions with this kind of problem. Where does Brazil, which aims to host the next edition of the Alliance of Civilizations Forum, stand with regard to this matter?
Celso Amorim – I believe that ethnical and religious differences are often used by those interested in waging conflicts. I will not deny that these differences also end up gaining significance, and that is why we need initiatives such as this one, the Alliance of Civilizations. However, as many people said here in Istanbul, I think that in fact the similarities between the peoples are much larger than the differences. Thus, what we must do, by means of our work in the Alliance of Civilizations, is to make that clear. That is why it is important for people to engage in contact and dialogue, because it will be through these that we will be able to show that the worsening of conflicts due to religious and cultural reasons is entirely artificial, and is in keeping with economic or geopolitical interests. I do not believe that the religions in themselves are against one another.
What role does Brazil intend to play in order to improve this situation, within the context of the Alliance of Civilizations?
Brazil in itself is obviously the fruit of this alliance and combination among civilizations. It is not that there are no problems in our country, as there are in other countries, but there surely are no cultural or religious barriers. I believe that Brazil may contribute to the issue, given the fact that we would like to include in this debate the issue of our relations with the members or representatives of the peoples from the black Africa, for instance. I have noticed that few of them were in attendance at the Istanbul Forum. Thus I realize that there is an entire group that has not joined the debate yet. This is why I think Brazil may make a significant contribution for that to happen.
In your opinion, which concrete measures adopted by Brazil are contributing to bring the Arab and Muslim world and the West closer together?
As we all know, Brazil was important in terms of promoting the contacts made via the Forum between the Arab world and the West, by means of the summits between South America and the Arab world, which are the best example of this coming together. And this is also proof that our regions were actually the first ones to put to use this alliance of civilizations. I remember having been questioned, right at the beginning of this process, a few months or nearly one year before the first summit, in Brazilian capital Brasília: why have a summit with the Arab countries? As the scheduled date grew closer, the questions that I got asked started changing, and turned into: why did this not happen before?
The answer of Brazil regarding the establishment of closer ties between cultures is also illustrated by other concrete examples, such as the creation of the IBSA (India/Brazil/South Africa). These three important emerging countries, characterised by their multicultural nature, are working on a variety of issues, such as political coordination or South-South cooperation.
Finally, another example that I also like to mention in order to illustrate our efforts is the fact that we have hosted events such as the second congress of African intellectuals, including those from the Diaspora, in the city of Salvador, capital of Bahia. The first edition was held in Senegal.
Many people in Europe, the United States and even in the Arab world look at Brazil with great admiration when they realise how Arabs and Muslims live in the country. And the question that they always ask is: what is the formula adopted in Brazil for attaining this exemplary situation of coexistence between cultures and ethnicities? Is there an explanation for that?
As a matter of fact, I never hesitate to say that the Arabs made a very positive contribution to Brazil. People usually name politicians or businessmen of Arab origin as examples, but I also like to mention many Brazilian poets and writers of Arab origin who have enriched Brazilian culture. That is why I can say that we have received from the Arab world nothing but valuable contributions.
Perhaps there are sociological explanations for this phenomenon. Brazil is a new country, and the people that came here did not bring along the baggage of previously experienced conflicts. It cannot even be said that Brazil was "kind" to the Arabs. Our country received those peoples and they are now part of our social fabric and comprise our culture, which is characterized by its diversity and for its values of tolerance and understanding among the various groups that comprise it. In order to exemplify this situation, I have been using an expression by a popular musician in Brazil, who says that the country sets itself apart for the "gracefulness of mixture". That is why I can only say that Brazil recognises itself in the harmonious mixture of its population, rather than by emphasizing the differences.
And what is your reply to comments made in other parts of the world, where people deem it odd that Brazilians should have the capability of coexisting without problems amidst different cultures?
I can only answer that by making another comment, which is: I find it odd when people do not coexist in that way.
And how are the arrangements going for next year’s edition of the Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Brazil?
We have already devised our national plan for the Alliance of Civilizations and, as I said during the opening session, we handed it over to the High Representative of the United Nations’ Alliance of Civilizations, president Jorge Sampaio (former president of Portugal).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
