VATICAN CITY - The former Italian prime minister and president of the European Commission backs the Pope's call to respect UNIFIL in Lebanon: either we identify with the UN or what little order there is will disappear into the void. He hopes that at least after the US elections there will be dialogue between China and the US and the waters will calm down.
Antonella Palermo - Vatican City
"Attacks on mission sites Unifil are unacceptable", was the statement made by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as he arrived at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, where he announced the agreement of the 27 member states to support the UN peacekeeping force. He said attacks on UN troops were "totally unacceptable". Meanwhile, the Israeli army is calling on Lebanese civilians to evacuate 25 more villages in the south of the country, and in the northern Gaza Strip several people were reportedly killed in an Israeli artillery attack on an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) food distribution centre in Jabalia. Romano Prodi, former Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Commission, comments with by the Vatican media on Sunday Pope Francis' call in the Angelus prayer to respect the UN mission.
Mr President, how did you welcome the Pope's call on Sunday to respect the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon?
I accept it with hope, because that is the only word one can have. The situation is actually very difficult. There are events taking place that we have never seen before in our history. Shooting at UN troops is something very different. What do you want, to wage war against the world? Either we identify with the UN, or what little order there is will disappear forever. Moreover, I have a personal problem in the sense that the most powerful contributors to the organisation of this mission were my Government, the UN Secretary and, to my great satisfaction, the Israeli Foreign Minister, with whom, as I recall, we made an 'iron pact', as it was called. Because the Israeli Government and the Lebanese Government were in agreement. These things cannot be broken without causing great damage to the world.
What has caused the situation to deteriorate so much in recent years?
A world that is becoming increasingly divided. We had hoped that after the fall of the wall (in Berlin, ed. note.) there will be a moment of unity, of cooperation. And it has come. Then, gradually, tensions increased and the world today is increasingly divided into two blocks: West (West) vs. rest (the rest of the world), they say. That is what must not happen. West has no interest here, and it's a tragedy for the rest of the world. But we have to wait for the American elections, Netanyahu is clearly benefiting from this American uncertainty, and I am afraid that we cannot talk about peace for some time to come.
What strategy, if any, do you think the Israeli Prime Minister is pursuing?
Conquer the entire territory, essentially expelling the entire Palestinian presence. To confront the international community with a fait accompli. Apart from Jerusalem, we already have 500,000 settlers in Palestine. So here it's already done.
Hezbollah, Iran and Hamas intend to oppose this action.....
They don't have the power to do anything at the moment. There is, in fact, a preponderance of Israeli power on the ground. We shall see how international relations develop, but there is certainly a military superiority that is recognised by all, that is a fact. Then there is the other problem: that great formulation of the Pope, 'a world war in parts', is unfortunately very true. Our attention is focused on the Arab-Israeli conflict, but the whole Middle East is in chaos. Remember what is happening in Sudan, in the Red Sea..... It all adds up, countries are now moving closer to one side or the other with staggering instability. And of course an international conference would be needed in these cases, but I'm not so naive as to think it can happen feasibly and quickly. I hope that at least after the US election there will be a dialogue between China and the United States that will somehow calm the waters.
Indeed, the Pope again mentioned Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti, Ukraine....
Sure, Myanmar and Haiti are outside this zone with other dramas, but "isolated" dramas nonetheless. All the countries we have listed are pieces of the same mosaic.
But why does diplomacy seem to have stalled?
It doesn't look like it, she's at a standstill. She's not even here because of Ukraine, it's an unbelievable situation. The attack on the UN garrison worried me because it is the clearest symptom of the lack of diplomacy.
It's Lack of Diplomacy as such, or a presumed superiority that goes against everything and everyone?
We are in the age of strength. And diplomacy is cornered. It is clear that the weakening of the UN is not a fact of the day; it is a long-term and gradual affair. The superpowers have replaced it, the Security Council has marginalised the UN Assembly. But this next step is symbolic, because never before have people stood up against those who represent the highest diplomacy in the world, the UN.
Mr President, you have always emphasised the role of a peaceful Mediterranean. Are you upset about this?
Yes, I have recently put forward the proposal of mixed, equal universities between the North and South of the Mediterranean in order to restore at least those relations that were better during the last years of the Ottoman Empire than they are today. We have come to this absurdity. But everything is tiresome, there is no incentive coming from the European Union to think about the future of the Mediterranean, to build common places where young people can grow up. Because today's politics only thinks about the short term. It takes years to do these things. Democracy is really in crisis. Long-term thinking is in crisis, democracy is forced - I apologise for using this term - to think only about the next election.
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