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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 MADRID 000052 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
S/P FOR KAREN VOLKER 
EUR/FO FOR FARAH PANDITH 
EUR/PGI (COOK, ELDRIDGE, WEINSTEIN, KAMGAR) 
IO/UNP FOR ANNELIESE REINEMEYER 
DEPT FOR IO/RHS, IO/PPC, DRL, G 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2018 
TAGS: PREL PHUM ODIP UN SOCI SCUL KISL KIRF KPAL
KMPI, SP 
SUBJECT: FIRST FORUM OF THE UN ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS 
 
REF: A. STATE 4482 
     ¶B. 2007 STATE 171224 
     ¶C. 2007 MADRID 2295 
     ¶D. 2007 MADRID 2046 
     ¶E. 2007 NEW YORK 851 
     ¶F. 2007 NEW YORK 496 
     ¶G. 2006 NEW YORK 2289 
     ¶H. 2006 NEW YORK 2245 
     ¶I. 2006 ISTANBUL 2084 
     ¶J. 2005 MADRID 960 
 
MADRID 00000052  001.4 OF 006 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Ambassador Aguirre represented Secretary 
Rice at the opening ceremonies of the First Forum of the 
Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) in Madrid January 15-16. 
UNSYG Ban Ki-Moon, President Zapatero, President Erdogan of 
Turkey, and AoC High Representative Jorge Sampaio inaugurated 
the Forum, with Erdogan announcing that Turkey would host the 
second forum in 2009.  Other high-level attendees included 
President Turk of Slovenia, President Wade of Senegal, 
Algerian PM Belkhadem, Finland President Jalonen, Malaysian 
PM Badawi, EU High Rep for CFSP Javier Solana, Queen Noor of 
Jordan, Qatari First Lady Mozah bint Nasser, OIC Sec Gen 
Ihsanoglu, Arab League SecGen Amr Moussa, Iberoamerican 
SecGen Enrique Iglesias, Prince al-Hussaini of Aga Khan, and 
UNESCO DG Matsuura.  The combination talkshop-ministerial 
yielded two significant financial commitments - a USD 100 
million AoC Media Fund announced by Queen Noor and a 100 
million euro youth employment initiative announced by the 
Qatari first lady.  Sampaio concluded ten other agreements 
with foundations and international organizations to 
collaborate on intercultural dialogue and tolerance 
initiatives.  A large body of participants/speakers praised 
the initiative with some taking the opportunity to launch 
potshots at U.S. foreign policy and perceived double 
standards of the West.  The separate high-level political 
dialogue comprised 66 interventions, approximately 
three-fourths of which were delivered by secretaries general, 
ministers or deputy ministers.  All but two of the 
interventions focused on what their respective countries are 
doing to improve diversity, religious tolerance, education, 
and integration.  Iranian Deputy FM for Europe Ali Bagheri 
spoke about "some countries" and "some people" whose self 
indulgence, rampant violence, double standards, and abuse of 
freedom of expression indicated the weakness and decline of 
their civilizations.  The Palestinian Delegate in Madrid, 
Musa Amer Odeh, gave a long, vehement address that criticized 
the January 15 IDF incursion in Gaza and complained of 
Israeli non-compliance with UN resolutions.  Syria did not 
participate, the Israeli bilat ambassador attended half of 
the session, and the U.S. was present for the entire session 
but did not intervene.  Post will report on domestic 
political impact and implications on the bilateral 
relationship septel.  END SUMMARY. 
 
//OPENING SESSION// 
 
¶2. (U)  Ambassador Aguirre represented Secretary Rice at the 
opening session of the First Forum of the Alliance of 
Civilizations on January 15, accompanied by the DCM.  Seven 
heads of government, approximately 30 ministers, 
representatives from approximately 30 other nations and 
authorities, and secretaries general of a dozen international 
organizations, including the Arab League, the OIC, the OSCE, 
UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the European Commission, 
attended.  All P-5 and G-8 nations were present.  A fuller 
list of state delegates appears below.  Representatives from 
major corporations (including GE and Siemens), media outlets 
(including Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya), think tanks, and 
private foundations (Carnegie, Aga Khan) also attended the 
open sessions, along with a broad spectrum of religious 
leaders and human rights activists. 
 
¶3. (U)  President Zapatero convened the Forum by stating that 
the goal of the Alliance of Civilizations was to bolster, 
empower, and unite the vast majority of the world's citizens 
 
MADRID 00000052  002.5 OF 006 
 
 
who prefer tolerance, diversity, and peace over religious 
extremism, terrorism and cultural misunderstanding.  He noted 
the four pillars of the AoC - education, youth, immigration, 
and media - and announced that the GOS had approved a 
national plan with 60 projects and initiatives that would 
impact both domestic and foreign policy.  Turkish Prime 
Minister Erdogan discussed Turkey's national plan and used 
the occasion to advocate for Turkish accession to the EU as a 
positive step to bridging the divide between majority Islamic 
nations and the West.  He also railed against religious 
intolerance while praising Turkey's tolerant, democratic, 
predominantly Muslim society.  Erdogan emphasized the 
importance of providing youth with education and access to 
unbiased media, and he concluded by inviting attendees to 
join him in Istanbul for the second forum in 2009.  UN SYG 
Ban Ki-Moon said, "Never in our lifetimes has there been a 
more desperate need for constructive dialogue among nations, 
cultures, and communities."  He praised the leadership of 
High Rep Sampaio, and said that the efforts of the AoC would 
compliment UN efforts to implement its counter-terrorism 
strategy adopted in the General Assembly.  He also said that 
the AoC's most important contribution would be to instill a 
real sense of our common humanity at the local, national, and 
regional levels.  AoC High Representative and former 
Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio's emphasized that the AoC 
was "the right initiative at the right moment to fill a gap 
at the international level," and he said that he and SYG Ban 
had oriented the AoC toward action and the achievement of 
results. 
 
//ANNOUNCEMENTS// 
 
¶4. (U)  Qatari First Lady Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al 
Missned announced the creation of a 100 million euro 
initiative called Silatech to employ young people in North 
Africa and the Middle East.  She called on national leaders 
to make youth employment a major international priority. 
Queen Noor of Jordan announced a USD 100 million AoC Media 
Fund, of which she is a founding board member, for the 
production and distribution of films and programs that 
enhance cultural understanding.  Partners in this initiative 
include Sir Richard Branson, Participant Productions 
(Syriana, Kite Runner, An Inconvenient Truth), YouTube (which 
will create an AoC channel on its site), film distributor 
Summit Entertainment, and International Creative Management 
(one of the world's largest talent agencies).  Sampaio signed 
MoU's with UNESCO, the Arab League, ISESCO, ALESCO, and 
United Cities, as well as an LoI with the Council of Europe. 
The AoC announced the official launch of three initiatives, a 
rapid response media mechanism designed to put media in 
contact with appropriate issue experts in times of 
international crisis, an on-line clearinghouse which will 
catalog ongoing programs and projects in conjunction with 
partner governments and major universities, and a youth 
solidarity fund to provide scholarships and grants for youth 
programs, intercultural exchanges, and young people's media. 
 
//HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL DIALOGUE// 
 
¶5. (C)  Sampaio billed the High Level Political Dialogue, 
which was closed to the press, as an informal discussion of 
ways to move the AoC forward, inviting participant states to 
elaborate on ways to implement the AoC goals going forward. 
The end result was a plenary session with 66 four-minute 
interventions, almost all of which expressed support for the 
AoC, detailed with varying levels of specificity what each 
nation was doing with respect to AoC goals, and expressed 
full commitment to the initiative.  No delegations announced 
major financial contributions, although Luxembourg made a 
100,000 euro pledge to the voluntary trust fund.  FM 
Moratinos announced that Spain would host a World Youth 
Encounter in Cordoba.  Dutch FM Verhagen said, "torture is 
not acceptable under any circumstances," and he called for 
religious freedom for Christians in the Arabian Peninsula. 
Brazilian Justice Minister Genro offered to host the third 
AoC Forum in 2010.  Bulgarian Deputy FM Kalfin mentioned the 
importance of the future of the holy sites in Jerusalem. 
 
MADRID 00000052  003.4 OF 006 
 
 
Russian Deputy FM Yakovenko repeated the Russian proposal for 
a Consultative Council of Religions in the General Assembly. 
British Secretary of State for International Cooperation 
Shahid Malik said, "The war on terror is doomed to failure 
without a parallel war on the root causes."  The OIC 
representative called for withdrawal from all occupied 
Palestinian territories and the establishment of a sovereign 
Palestinian state.  The Pakistani ambassador focused on the 
spread of Islamophobia in the world, likening it to 
Anti-Semitism. 
 
//IRAN AND PALESTINIAN DELEGATE// 
 
¶6. (C)  Iranian Deputy FM Ali Bagheri began by noting that 
Iran is one of the cradles of civilization and has endured as 
a civilization, while others have declined due to their 
self-indulgence and failure to pay attention to justice. 
"Some people" and "some nations" practice double standards 
and rampant violence, uprooting millions in the Middle East. 
The abuse of the right to freedom of expression is not 
civilized and is a sign of weakness and decline in a 
civilization.  He proposed the establishment of a committee 
of eminent persons to combat the denigration of values and to 
make recommendations to the Alliance on how to combat these 
trends, as well as offering to organize a world congress of 
youth parliaments in Tehran. 
 
¶7. (C)  The Palestinian bilateral delegate Musa Amer Odeh did 
not ingratiate himself, delivering an address that more than 
doubled the allotted speaking time toward the end of the 
already interminable session.  He said that Palestine was 
constantly under attack, and that their opponents wanted them 
to disappear.  Palestinian land had been occupied for over 42 
years, and there are over 5 million Palestinian refugees. 
The Middle East conflict is not a religious conflict but one 
of colonization.  The world has not enforced UNSC resolution 
242, settlements are continuing, there is an illegal border 
wall, and fifty two percent of Palestinian land has been 
taken away.  There are 12,000 Palestinian prisoners in 
Israeli prisons, including many minors, and the Israeli 
occupation has included the legitimization of torture.  Major 
world powers protect Israel and uphold their claims in 
defiance of UN resolutions.  Israel flees from its 
obligations, and always talks about Israeli security, but 
never about Palestinian security.  There can be no peace 
without justice and no peace without independence.  Odeh also 
condemned the January 15 IDF attack in Nablus which produced 
19 "martyrs" and 59 wounded.  He affirmed the PA's commitment 
to the goals of the AoC and thanked the Spanish for 
organizing the forum. 
 
//TALKSHOP// 
 
¶8. (U)  The remainder of the program consisted of three 
"plenary sessions" and eight "working sessions."  Five major 
themes ran through all of the sessions.  First, the media 
both in predominantly Islamic nations and in the West were 
perpetuating stereotypes and misconceptions about the others 
because sensationalism was the easiest story to sell. 
Second, without progress in the Israeli-Palestinian question, 
no amount of dialogue could succeed.  Third, the AoC can be a 
positive force if it can give a voice to the overwhelming 
majority of people who want peace and tolerance.  Fourth, 
religions are not the problem; international actors are 
manipulating religion in fighting political battles.  Fifth, 
the term "war on terror" is ineffective and counterproductive. 
 
¶9. (U)  In the first plenary session entitled "Managing 
Diversity in the Era of Globalization," former Irish PM Mary 
Robinson and former Norwegian President Bondevik criticized 
the term "War on Terror" as counterproductive, saying that it 
was being misconstrued internationally as a war on Islam and 
that it promoted a dynamic of opposition between the U.S. and 
citizens of Arab and predominantly Muslim nations.  Slovenian 
President Turk said that humiliation and the loss of dignity 
of persons in the Palestinian territories and elsewhere in 
the Middle East was one of the root causes of extremism in 
 
MADRID 00000052  004.2 OF 006 
 
 
the region.  He noted the perception in the region of the 
West applying double standards on human rights and even on 
the enrichment of uranium.  Javier Solana said that the 
globalized world is experiencing a resurgence of ethnic and 
cultural identities in opposition to western modernity which, 
while not a problem in itself, made it easy for bad actors to 
manipulate cultural differences to sinister ends.  In 
response, the world needed to further embrace and celebrate 
cultural and religious diversity to eliminated extremists' 
ability to exploit differences.  Sheikha Nasser of Qatar said 
that the Muslim world is producing terrorism as a product of 
humiliation and poverty, as well as dissatisfaction with 
political problems such as the MEPP, Iraq, and Afghanistan. 
She acknowledged that governments in the region were not 
doing nearly enough. 
 
¶10. (U)  The second and most politicized session, entitled 
"Political Challenges to Building Cross-Cultural 
Understanding", included discussion of President Bush's trip 
to the Middle East.  Spanish FM Moratinos said that Spain 
wanted the AoC to play a part in eliminating stereotypes and 
cultural misunderstandings in the Middle East.  He said that 
the Middle East faced a lack of political and individual will 
for progress, and that the AoC could work on increasing the 
individual will, while the EU and others must do more to work 
on the political will.  Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin 
Ebadi was critical of the U.S., noting recent arms sales in 
the Arabian peninsula and saying that the international 
concept of the "clash of civilizations" was created by the 
U.S. because the U.S. needed a new enemy in the aftermath of 
the fall of the Soviet Union.  Algerian PM Belkhadem said 
that democracy is not a commodity that can be exported or 
flown into a country.  He said that the Mideast conflict was 
causing the entire Muslim world to feel the injustice of the 
Palestinian occupation and the war in Iraq.  Gareth Evans, 
Secretary General of the International Crisis Group, pointed 
 
SIPDIS 
out that the United States is no more a monolith than the 
Arab world by awkwardly contrasting presidential candidates 
Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama.  He also drew loud applause 
when he said, "The U.S. population needs to get serious about 
electing a government that will be even-handed." 
 
¶11. (U)  The third and least dynamic plenary, entitled "From 
Global Talk to Local Action," included the mayors of Madrid, 
Cordoba, Barcelona, Paris, Istanbul, and Cairo, along with 
renowned authors Paulo Coelho and Wole Soyinka.  Coelho and 
Soyinka delivered engaging remarks replete with anecdotes of 
small-scale engagement, while the mayors stuck more to 
formulaic elaboration of how their cities were handling 
diversity.  Madrid Mayor Gallardon participated but was 
clearly unprepared and distracted by the morning's headlines 
that he had been effectively banished from national politics 
by Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy. 
 
¶12. (U)  Emboffs attended several of the smaller working 
sessions, including sessions entitled, "Engaging the 
Corporate Sector in the AoC," "The Role of Religious Leaders 
and Communities in Promoting Shared Security," "Innovative 
Uses of Mass Media to Promote Cross Cultural Understanding," 
and "Youth Approaches to Intercultural and Interreligious 
Dialogue."  Participants emphasized the overall message that 
media outlets and civil society, in particular religious 
leaders and youth groups, have a strong role to play and have 
more credibility at the grass roots level than national 
politicians.  As such, they must be brought into political 
discussions both internationally and locally. 
 
//COMMENT// 
 
¶13. (C)  The healthy mix of state delegates and participants 
- state and non-state actors, private citizens, foundations, 
religious leaders, minor celebrities and royalty - made for a 
fairly animated and enthusiastic dynamic as well as a 
colorful crowd.  The informal discussion format, combining 
government leaders such as Turk, Jalonen, Wade, and Solana 
with opinion makers and private citizens, made for an 
informal and candid discussion at times.  Some non-state 
 
MADRID 00000052  005.4 OF 006 
 
 
participants aired overt and oblique criticisms of U.S. 
foreign policy, though most participants sought to keep their 
comments focused on the goals of the AoC.  Almost every 
speaker and panel acknowledged the importance of resolving 
the Israeli-Palestinian question, while few took the occasion 
to criticize Israel.  The HLPD could have used more 
controversy in fact; only two moments of genuine emotion 
punctuated six hours of mind-numbingly earnest speeches on 
tolerance, diversity, and support for the AoC.  Coming as 
they did toward the end of the session after countless 
expressions of support for diversity and tolerance and a 
willingness to engage, the speeches by Iran and the PA struck 
a discordant tone, though delivered to a mostly empty room. 
END COMMENT. 
 
//DETAILS// 
 
¶14. (U)  Participants received several documents, including 
the Terms of Reference of the AoC Voluntary Trust Fund, a 
summary of contributions and pledges, an AoC org chart, a 
description of AoC officer responsibilities, and Forum 
participant lists, which post will pouch to IO/UNP. 
 
//PARTICIPATING STATES// 
 
¶15. (U)  Following is an incomplete list of heads of 
delegation of participating states, authorities, and IOs (* 
indicates membership in Group of Friends): 
 
AoC - High Rep Sampaio 
* Afghanistan - FM Spanta 
* Albania - FM Basha 
* ALESCO - DG Bousnina 
* Algeria - PM Belkhadem 
* Arab League - Deputy SecGen ben Helli 
* Argentina - FM Taiana 
* Australia - Bilat Amb. Campbell 
* Austria - FM Plassnik 
* Belgium - Bilat Amb. Rijmenans 
* Brazil - Justice Minister Genro 
* Bulgaria - Deputy PM Kalfin 
Canada - Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Obhrai 
* China - Bilat Amb. Qiu Xiaoqi 
* Council of Europe - SecGen Terry Davis 
Cyprus - Bilat Amb. Yiordamlis 
* Denmark - FM Moller 
* Egypt - Culture Minister Farouk Hosni 
Ethiopia - Bilat Amb. 
* European Commission - Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner 
* Finland - President Jalonen 
* France - Spec. Amb. for Cultural Affairs Donnedieu de Vabres 
* Germany - Spec. Amb. for Intercultural Dialogue Tempel 
* Greece - Deputy FM Yannis Valinakis 
* Hungary - FM Goncz 
Iberoamerican Secretariat - SecGen Enrique Iglesias 
* India - Bilat Amb. Tripathi 
* Indonesia - Bilat Amb. Mustafa 
* ISESCO - DG Altwaijri 
Israel - Bilat Amb. Schutz 
* Iran - Deputy FM for Europe Ali Bagheri 
* Italy - Youth and Sports Minister Melandri 
* Japan - Bilat Amb. Yoshikawa 
* Jordan - Culture Minister Bakir 
* Kazakhstan - Deputy FM Kazykhanov 
* Latin Union - SecGen Osio 
* Lithuania - FM Vaitekunas 
* Luxembourg - Deputy PM Asselborn 
Macedonia - FM Milososki 
* Malaysia - PM Badawi 
Mauritania - FM Lemine 
* Mexico - Culture Minister Vela 
* Montenegro - FM Rocen 
* Morocco - Minister of Islamic Affairs Toufiq 
* Mozambique - Culture Minister Ali 
* Netherlands - FM Verhagen 
* New Zealand - Ethnic Affairs Minister Carter 
Nigeria - Bilat Amb. Ginsau 
 
MADRID 00000052  006.4 OF 006 
 
 
* Norway - SecState for Development Gulbrandsen 
* OIC - SecGen Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu 
* OSCE - SecGen de Brichambaut 
* Pakistan - Ambassador to UN-Geneva Khan 
* Peru - Bilat Amb. Sanchez-Cerro 
* Philippines - FM Romulo 
* Poland - Senate Foreign Affairs Commission Pres. Kieres 
* Portugal - FM Amado 
* Qatar - First lady Mozah bint Nasser al Missned 
* Romania - FM Cioroianu 
* Russian Federation - Deputy FM Yakovenko 
Saudi Arabia - Bilat Amb. Abdulaziz al Saud 
* Senegal - President Wade 
* Serbia - FM Jeremic 
* South Korea - FM Min-soon Song 
* Slovenia - President Turk 
* Spain - President Zapatero 
* Sweden - FM Malmstrom 
* Switzerland - FM Micheline Calmy-Rey 
* Syria - not present at HLPD 
* Thailand - Special Envoy Xuto 
* Tunisia - 
* Turkey - PM Erdogan 
* UAE - Culture Minister Al Owais 
UN - SYG Ban Ki-Moon 
* UNESCO - SecGen Matsuura 
* Ukraine - Deputy FM Veselovsky 
* United Cities - SecGen Gateau 
* United Kingdom - SecState for Int'l Cooperation Shahid Malik 
United States - Bilat Amb. Aguirre 
* Yemen - FM Al Qirbi 
Palestinian Authority - Bilat Delegate Musa Amer Odeh 
AGUIRRE