Controversial Egypt minister lobbies for UNESCO job

By Alain Navarro 
June 10, 2009
AFP
Original Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hu8WD5kjrc7YrN93Ns1eueeNaxMA

CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptian Culture Minister Faruq Hosni heads to Paris on Wednesday as he steps up lobbying to be picked as head of the top UN culture body and tries to defuse a row over burning books comments.
Hosni, whose jet black hair belies his 71 years, hopes to be the first Arab to head the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) when Japan's Koichiro Matsura leaves the supposedly apolitical job later this year.
But despite being favourite at the start of the race, the flamboyant culture minister, who is also an artist, came under fire for saying in parliament that he would burn Israeli books if he found any in libraries in Egypt.
Last month, three prominent Jewish intellectuals -- Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, and film-maker Claude Lanzmann -- called for his candidacy to be blocked.
Hosni was a dangerous man, the opposite of a man of peace, they wrote in an opinion piece in France's Le Monde newspaper.
They quoted him as saying Israeli culture was inhuman, aggressive and racist and was based on a simple principle, stealing that which does not belong to it and then claiming it as its own.
Hosni, who has been culture minister for the past 21 years, is also accused by Islamists in Egypt of being too liberal and is shunned by intellectuals hostile to the regime.
He responded to the French intellectuals a week later, writing a piece in Le Monde to apologise for his book-burning comments and arguing that appointing him, an Arab, to the job would be a formidable message of hope.
I want to solemnly say that I regret the words that I used, he wrote.
Electing me would be a unique opportunity, and not doing so would be an historic loss, including for Israel, Hosni told AFP.
While explaining his book burning comment as a popular expression used to show that something doesn't exist, Hosni admitted that he has not previously sought cultural rapprochement between Israel and Egypt.
Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel, but since the 1979 treaty it has blocked mostly cultural ties with its neighbour.
In Egypt we feel you can't dance and sing together when you see the bloody daily attacks against the Palestinian people, he said, adding that once there is peace, it will be an entirely different matter.
A few gestures have emerged recently: Argentine-born Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim performed in Cairo in April, and Arabic translations are being planned of renowned Israeli novelists David Grossman and Amos Oz.
What I haven't been able to do in Egypt, I will do without reservation at UNESCO where I will be the best artisan of cultural dialogue, Hosni said.
But despite the attack by French Jews, now even Israel has withdrawn its objections to Hosni getting the UNESCO job, following a direct request from President Hosni Mubarak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
We received instructions to lift the red light on his candidacy, Israel's ambassador to Egypt Shalom Cohen told AFP, while barely disguising his personal reservations about Hosni's declarations.
Hosni insisted that no deal was made between Israel and its main Arab ally to allow his candidacy to proceed.
The Israelis understood that I would be the best candidate. They showed their good faith, and that will help in the future, he said.
UNESCO's executive council will interview all candidates and then its 58 members, who represent the 193 states belonging to UNESCO, will vote for a winner.
Their choice must then be ratified by a UNESCO general assembly in October.
My most serious competitor seems to be Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said Hosni.
The former Austrian foreign minister, who in the past received backing from the late controversial far-right politician Joerg Haider whom she accsued of being demonised, is outgoing European Union external relations commissioner.
It's the turn and the right of an Arab candidate, Hosni said, claiming support not only from Arab, African and Muslim countries but also from several European, Asian and Latin American states.