Brasília – The Brazilian government is going to integrate international efforts to seek practical and peaceful solutions for ending the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa. The Brazilian cooperation will consist of agricultural and income transfer programmes, aiming to provide autonomy to countries such as Libya, Egypt and Tunisia. The Brazilian proposal has won the backing of the United States, Jordan, Turkey, Monaco, Lebanon, Algeria and Hungary.
A message to foreign authorities was given by the Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Antonio Patriota, during visits to the United States and Italy, which he ended on Saturday (4th). “The Brazilian stance of moderation and abstention in the debate on the air exclusion zone in Libya were widely praised by Middle Eastern and North African authorities,” said to Agência Brasil the spokesman for the Brazilian foreign ministry (Itamaraty), Tovar Nunes.
In his visits to Washington, in the United States, and Rome, in Italy, Patriota spoke with the United States secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, the president of Hungary, Pál Schmitt, and the prime ministers of Monaco, Michel Roger, and Egypt, Essam Sharaf, and to the foreign ministers of Jordan, Nasser Judeh, of Morocco, Taib Fassi Fihri, of the Netherlands, Uriël Rosenthal, of Lebanon, Ali Hussein Al Shami, of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, and the minister to the presidency of Algeria, Abdelaziz Belkhadem.
According to Nunes, Patriota told foreigners that food security and autonomy in this respect are means to ensure the internal balance of countries undergoing times of apprehension. “There is a consensus regarding the need for inclusion and these paths that have been pointed out by Brazil are welcome,” said Tovar Nunes. “Secretary Hillary Clinton regarded the Brazilian proposal as very interesting and adequate.”
In the Middle East and North Africa, political crises have broken out from Tunisia, where popular protests began, to Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, Yemen and more intensely in Libya. Contrary to the position of part of the international community, Brazil did not condone the air attacks promoted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) in Libya. To the Brazilian government, the best alternative is to seek the agreement through the dialogue with all sectors of Libyan society.
The crisis in several Middle Eastern and North African countries is seen with concern by the international community due to its short- and long-term consequences. The reports of violations of human rights, including records of crimes against humanity involving mass murder and rape, increase on a daily basis. The United Nations organization (UN) and non-government organisations warn of the difficulties in distribution of food and water to civilians living in the conflicted areas.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
