Japan told not to be overly optimistic on Mideast peace

Japan Policy & Politics, July 26, 1999

TOKYO, July 22 Kyodo

The head of a U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees advised Japan on Thursday not to be overly optimistic about the Middle East peace process, and called for more aid to resolve the refugee problem. Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, in a 20-minute meeting with Peter Hansen, commissioner general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, pledged to continue assisting Palestinian refugees, a Japanese official said. Hansen credited new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for his positive stance on the peace process, but said the international community "should not be overly optimistic," the official told reporters. The agency chief stressed a need for more attention to Palestinian refugees because "there will be no progress of the overall Mideast peace process without progress in resolving the refugee problem," the official said. Komura expressed hope for progress under the Barak government because of what he saw as "changes from the time of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when we were advised not to be overly pessimistic," the official said.