Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sent a congratulatory message to the President elect of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. In the note Lula says “It is time for the Palestinian people to move ahead in the direction of peace and prosperity.”
Lula also praised Abbas for his democratic spirit and willingness to negotiate, saying that those characteristics will make it easier for his people to “achieve the much-desired establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
In closing, Lula declared that Abbas “Can count on the support of the Brazilian people and their government.”
Brazilian Legislators
Senators Maguito Vilela and Leomar Quintanilha and congressmen Jamil Murad, Carlos Augusto Abicalil and Murilo Zauith, met December 10 the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmud Abbas, who was elected the day before.
The Brazilian congressmen were included in the group of 16 Brazilian authorities who travelled to Ramallah, in the West Bank, to accompany the election, together with foreign observers.
The mission was commanded by the president of the Electoral Supreme Court (TSE), Sepúlveda Pertence, and also included the participation of the minister of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, Nilmário Miranda.
According to information supplied by a spokesperson for Murad, who is the secretary general of the Brazil-Arab Parliamentary League, Abbas had a 50-minute meeting with the congressmen and senators at the Muqata, the complex that houses the Palestinian government in Ramallah.
Abbas, according to the spokesperson, stated that he hopes to bring peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.
ABr and Anba