The president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, plans to make a trip to the war torn Middle East in an attempt to convince the Palestinians to de-militarize, as Costa Rica chose to do in 1948.  Arias will first arrive in Turkey, where he hopes to develop some commercial links, then travel on to Israel where he will cross over into Palestinian territory.  Both Israel and Palestine are providing security for President Arias.  His destination will ultimately be Belén, where he will meet with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.  Arias plans to relay to Fayyad the story of Costa Rica’s pathway to peace via disarmament with the suggestion that maybe Palestine could achieve similar results.  In an article in La Nación Arias states that what Israel demands, and demands justly, are guarantees of peace from Palestine and that a disarmed and demilitarized Palestine may just be the best guarantee.  There is a small brouhaha in Arias’ own country concerning the cost of the trip, estimated at $50,000.  Arias may indeed be seeking to confirm his place in Costa Rican, and even world, history in the concluding moments of his final term.  However, Arias has proven adept at peace negotiations in the past and if he can bring about even a subtle move in the direction of a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, it will have been well worth the cost and the effort.  And the stature of Costa Rica as a model of peaceful prosperity for the world certainly won’t be diminished either.

Link to Article in La Nación

Tags: Arias goes to Palestine, Israel-Palestinian conflict, oscar arias

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