Al Ahram, p.6, (19-6-2006)

Al Ahram interview with the Indian candidate for the post of the UN secretary-general: It honours me to be supported by the Arab world as an Indian for this post. The Arabs and the Indians face the same challenges

Interview by: Yehia Ghanim

Few days ago, the UN invited me to participate in an international forum for peace in the Middle East. The forum was held in Moscow in cooperation with the Russian foreign ministry. The forum discussed the effect of mass media in the region on the peace process. Tens of politicians and journalists from Palestine and Israel participated in the forum, in addition to those from other countries like China and Japan.

Shashi Tharoor, the United Nations Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, presided over the international forum. Al Ahram had an interview with Tharoor where he answered many questions relating to the forum at a time where “the peace process” is having a hard time. Three days later, I came to know that India, his country, decided to nominate him to the post of the UN secretary-general which will be vacant within several months as the second term of office of current UN secretary-general Kofi Anan ends.

Hence, we made this interview with Tharoor about the international forum he presided over in Moscow. The interview is the first to be made with Tharoor - the strongest candidate for the post of the UN secretary-general. It comes as an appreciation by Tharoor to Al Ahram newspaper, Egypt and the Arab world. He spoke about his candidature to the post and the honour conferred on him if the Arab countries supported him, asserting that he considers himself member of the Arab family and he said that while in Egypt, he feels as if in his second home. He also spoke about the international forum held in Moscow answering a question on the reasons of the absence of Hamas from this forum. Following is the interview:

Q. In your opinion, what are the opportunities of India in particular and Asia in general for assuming the post of the UN secretary-general.

A. I think Asia is widely favoured, since it is its turn for assuming the post. The Chinese FM has rightly said that there must be a suitable person for this post among the 3 billion people of Asia. As for India’s opportunities, the matter is up to the UN member countries. Yet, I hope that I would be elected for the post in view of my personal potentialities. 

Q. In view of the convention that the post of the UN secretary-general is not given to any of the five permanent members of the UNSC and the efforts being made for expanding the UNSC and giving India a permanent seat, does your candidacy mean that India has given up its ambitions in this connection? Or it rather reflects poor confidence in the possibilities of reforming the UNSC?

A. As for the first part of the question, this convention has been followed out of the right concept that it is not fair that a certain country would have the right to take the initiative through the capacities of the UN secretary-general, while at the same time having the ability to stop this action through the veto, a power given to UNSC permanent members. Regarding the second part of the question, a new UN secretary-general will be elected within coming few months, whereas reforming the UN is an issue put forth since 1992 and will be called for by many countries even after the election of the new secretary-general.

Q. Do you think the Arab world would have a role in supporting your candidacy not only as a representative of Asia, but as a representative of the South as well?

A. I would be honoured and delighted if the Arab world – which has had strong historical relations with my country India – considered granting me its support. Believe me, during the two visits I made to Egypt in 1997 and 2005, I felt at home. The Indian and Egyptian cultures are similar. Through your newspaper, I welcome the Arab world’s support to me considering myself a member of the Arab family.

Q. Is there any special message you would like to send to readers in Egypt and the Arab world?

A. As an Indian, I believe that we suffer from common problems and challenges, the most important of which are providing enough food, shelter, education and good jobs to our peoples. This challenge is currently our greatest task and the UN plays an indispensable role to face it. My message to the readers in Egypt and the Arab world is: let us work together within the framework of the UN to overcome this challenge for the benefit of us all whether Arabs or Indians.

Q. Do not you think it was strange that no representative of Hamas movement has been invited to participate in the International Forum for Peace in the Middle East, which is an unofficial UN forum? This would have helped in starting dialogue with Hamas and urging it to change instead of warning it through the media. And if it was legally impossible - even in a UN unofficial forum - was not it possible to invite a personality that adopts the ideology of Hamas without belonging to it? Do the US pressures have anything to do with that?

A. No, the US does not have anything to do with this. The UN is a member of the international quartet committee and it adopts a policy that provides that we can meet and talk with any party with whom we should talk for practical reasons. But we kept the political contacts to the minimum until we decide how to deal with Hamas’s rejection to respond to the requests of the quartet committee. On the other hand, in this forum we want to hold a constructive dialogue with concerned parties that are ready to hold dialogue. We believed that if we called Hamas for participation, this would lead other parties not to participate, which was not the objective of the Moscow forum.

Q. How are you so sure? Did u consult with other parties?

A. No, but we did not call Hamas for the first reason. But the second reason was one of the strong factors leading not to inviting them for participation in the forum. It was important to gather the parties that are ready to talk and not just Hamas. Let me say that we did not succeed to have the Israeli Right Wing with us in the forum but do you think that a Hamas representative would respond positively to our invitation?

Q. I believe so….

A. This is good and it would lead us to consider taking such a step in the future. 

Q. But this means you will invite Hamas after one year as the meetings of this forum will be held at the same time next year.

A. Of course not. There are other meetings and forums to be held by the Ambassador of Senegal in his capacity as chairman of the International Commission for the Rights of the Palestinian People. Hamas might be invited to participate within this framework.

Q. How do you see the Israeli fierce attack on the Moscow international forum and its call for boycotting it and even for canceling it?

A. I felt sorry for that and I talked to Israelis in this regard as Israel is a UN member.

Q. Did you talk with its representative in the UN Dan Gilmar?

A. No, I talked with Roni Yaar, director of International Organizations Department in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who came to New York to talk to me in this regard.  I explained to him my point of view and that we want to expand this forum to represent a real dialogue and that his position means ignoring certain parties. I quoted the French political Taliran as saying “The absent are always in the wrong”. Therefore, I called on all Israelis of different affiliations- including the Right Wing- to participate in this dialogue. As you can see, there is a large number of respectable figures from different camps who came to consolidate understanding among them under the umbrella of the UN and I am afraid that the Israelis who opposed the forum missed this chance.

Q. How do you see the endeavors exerted by Israel to revise the UN resolutions related to the Palestinian issue and how far could it achieve success?

A. It is a natural step by a member state that wants to achieve its national goals but up till now the majority of the UN members are opposing this.

Q. Through your position in this international organization, do you expect that Israel would succeed in doing this? if yes, then when?

A. Up till now the majority of the member states do not see enough progress in the peace process that might urge them to review their national agenda in this regard. This might lead me to support one of the idea of the Israelis who opposed the forum who said that Israel could accept this forum if it convened according a resolution adopted by all Arab states and Israel under the umbrella of the UN. Israel rejects this forum as it believes that it is the fruit of a biased resolution by the UN General Assembly. I will personally be happy in case the forum is convened through a resolution supported by Arabs and Israelis. Yet, this resolution would not be taken by the General Secretariat but it should be submitted as a draft resolution by a member state. Therefore, it is better for Israel to urge Palestinians to do so. In this case we will be more than happy in the UN to implement this resolution.

Q. How do you evaluate the current session of the forum?

A. I believe that it is a very good and interesting forum. I headed it for six times. Each time it is different. As for the approach of dealing with the issues on the agenda, what is interesting is the interaction among participants, which is not confined to the conference halls but it extends to breaks, side talks, and dinners. The interaction outside the conference halls is sometimes more important than interactions inside the conference halls. Interaction between Israeli and Palestinian journalists is also very important. Therefore, in my opinion, this forum includes high caliber interactions inside and outside it.

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