A Brief Overview of Panel I of the Schiller Institute Oasis Plan Conference

After opening remarks by Helga Zepp-LaRouche (cf. above), two ambassadors from Palestine had the floor: H.E. Prof. Dr. Manuel Hassassian, Palestinian Ambassador to Denmark; and H.E. Mounir Anastas, Palestinian Ambassador to UNESCO.

Professor Hassassian said that Palestine had been conquered many times in history, pointing to the Balfour Mandate that unleashed a century of aggression and ethnic cleansing in the forced creation of a Zionist “homeland” through the expulsion of the Palestinians, such that you can say that “the Palestinians paid the price for the Holocaust in Europe”. Now, Israel has a “license to kill” with full backing of the U.S. Israel is declared to be the “bastion of democracy” in the Mideast, but it is clearly no democracy but a theocracy. His Excellency thanked the SI for providing a “window of opportunity” with the conference.

Ambassador Anastas pointed out that UNESCO has had a water project since 1965, and will hold a conference in Bali, Indonesia on it in May. Israel has used water as a weapon, and the world has watched with “passive complicity” even from those who are not arming Israel. He pointed out that UNESCO, as a UN organization, has different fields of competence and “all have been targetted or destroyed by the Israeli aggression”, including journalists, educational facilities and schools, and cultural centers.

The Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to Mexico, H.E. Beryl Rose Sisulu, discussed the role of her nation in establishing a principle for resolving racial and ethnic divisions and hatred through negotiations and cooperation, as her country had resolved years of Apartheid going back to the Dutch and British occupation beginning in the 17th century. It was a long and violent struggle, but was resolved through peaceful negotiations.

The “world has never been so close to nuclear war”, warned H.E. Donald Ramotar, former President of Guyana, in his remarks. However, he emphasized that the possibilities for escaping global poverty and war exist, which he went on to summarize.

Dr. Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, lecturer and strategic analyst from Indonesia, reviewed the history of the region, proposing that the British and the French, who caused the problem, must sit down together to figure out how to get out of the crisis.

H.E. Pavel Shidlovsky, Chargé d’Affaires of Belarus to the U.S., noted that the emergence of a multipolar world was “unacceptable to the West”. He described the Oasis Plan as “ambitious, a benefit for all,” which “grows on you the more you study it”, saying he hoped others would join.

An interesting initiative for resolving the disaster in Gaza was presented by Prof. Georgy Toloraya, Director of the Russian National Committee for BRICS Research. This plan would involve having the BRICS play a major role in the administration of the area and in organizing infrastructure development.

Graham Fuller, the former vice-chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Agency, with many years in the CIA in the Islamic world, described the Oasis Plan as “the most exciting element to arise in a long time” in the Mideast. He was optimistic about its success , arguing hopefully that the end of the Cold War could prevent the interference by colonial powers to sabotage it.

We will report on Panel II of the conference, which dealt more specifically with the actual projects involved in the Oasis Plan, in next week’s issue. Meanwhile, all the presentations are available in video on the Schiller Institute website and many of the texts will be published in EIR Magazine.Highlights of the conference are also featured in a 1’20’’ video here.