US embassy cable - 05BRASILIA1229

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001229 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, ETRD, XR, XF 
SUBJECT: ARAB-SOUTH AMERICAN SUMMIT: MISSING HEADS OF STATE 
UNDERMINE CREDIBILITY 
 
REF: BRASILIA 760 
 
1.  (U)  On the eve of the Arab-South America Summit in 
Brasilia, one key point of contention is preventing consensus 
on the long-running negotiation over a Summit Declaration, 
according to the local press.  On Sunday May 8, senior 
representatives from the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon, 
with Venezuelan support, continued to press for inclusion in 
the final Declaration language that would exclude acts of 
"national defense" from the category of terrorism.  The rest 
of South America opposes the language.  Foreign Ministers are 
meeting May 9 to seek a resolution to the impasse. 
 
GUESS WHO IS "NOT" COMING TO DINNER? 
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2.  (U)  According to Brazil's Ministry of External Relations 
(MRE), all but four South American Presidents will attend the 
Summit (Vice President Francisco Santos Calderon will 
represent Colombia; Foreign Ministers Antonio Parra Gil and 
Maria Levens will represent Ecuador and Surinam respectively. 
 Bolivian President Carlos Mesa canceled at the last minute 
due to pressing legislative issues.) 
 
3.  (U)  However, senior attendance from the Arab side is 
well below GOB expectations -- and hopes.  While Algeria's 
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the principal Arab League 
organizer for the Summit, will lead the Arab side, an 
unexpected absentee will likely be Morocco's King Mohamed -- 
reportedly because of a spat over appropriate hotel 
accommodations for his oversized delegation.  Minister of 
Cooperation and Foreign Affairs Mohammed Nasser Mansoor 
al-Khasibi will head Morocco's delegation.  Arab Heads of 
State include Qatar Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thanim, 
Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh, President Jalal 
Talabani of Iraq (participating in his first international 
event as president), and President Mahmoud Abbas of the 
Palestinian Authority.  The Comores Islands will be 
represented by Ms. Soule Abdou ElBack, President of the 
Autonomous Island of Ngazija.  The Prime Ministers of 
Lebanon, Syria, and Mauritania, and Foreign Ministers from 
the rest of the other Arab League countries round off the 
expected attendees. 
 
4.  (SBU)  Comment:  While the Summit does not officially 
begin until May 10, Brazilian pundits already are debating 
whether the absence of most senior Arab leaders has softened 
the Summit's impact.  We expect that locally, lower than 
anticipated turn out will also raise questions about 
President Lula's image as a global statesman.  Five heads of 
state out of a possible twenty-two from the Arab League is a 
low batting average.  Certainly, the absence of King Mohamed, 
a prime mover and shaker during preliminary meetings between 
the two regions, is a bitter pill for Brazil's leadership. 
The GOB had known for two months that Egypt's President 
Mubarak would not attend, however, it still had hopes for 
other heads of state, particularly from the Arabian 
peninsula.  As Brasilia -- a city not accustomed to such 
international spotlight -- remains tied up in traffic knots 
because of security, some average Brazilians and journalists 
are asking why are we doing this? 
 
5.  (U)  We will provide a follow-up report on the summit in 
septel. 
 
Chicola