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Who vetted the guest list? By Gideon Remez Tags: Peres conference This week's conference under the auspices of President Shimon Peres is meant to be, among other things, a salute to Israel by world leaders. But who are these leaders, for whom the citizens of Jerusalem have been placed almost under house arrest to host them? The president of the United States has come, and he is accompanied by a full complement of his Eastern European and post-Soviet colleagues, who are seeking Washington's help via Jerusalem, as protection against what they again see as a rising threat from Russia. But when we list who did not come - and it is hard to believe they were not invited - the gesture seems more like a slap in the face than a salute: Not a single Western European head of state came. Neither did any head of state from Latin America. From the rest of the world, the representation at this level consisted solely of Mongolia, Togo, Uganda, Rwanda, Palau, and to Israel's great honor: Burkina Faso. I do not want to cast any aspersions on Burkina Faso, "the land of upright people," because it is poor, isolated and almost completely forgotten - even if that may be the reason the Jerusalem street named after the country is still called Upper Volta Street. But what is unacceptable is the kingly honor extended to its president, Captain Blaise Compaore, one of the longest-serving of African leaders - and one of the worst and deadliest of them. Advertisement Our guest from Burkina Faso took power in a violent coup with the support of Libya's Muammar Gadhafi, Compaore's patron until this day. Among the victims of the coup was Compaore's partner in a previous coup, his predecessor as president, Thomas Sankara, who was killed "by accident." Since then Compaore has ruled his country with a heavy hand, thanks to a combination of the disappearance of other opponents, constitutional changes, so-called elections, and Libyan patronage. But not only the citizens of Burkina Faso are suffering the consequences of his devoted service to Libya and Gadhafi. Through Burkina Faso, Libya has trained, armed, financed and run some of the most murderous organizations in the worst civil wars in West Africa. For example, Charles Taylor's militias in Liberia and those of Foday Sankoh in Sierra Leone. Both of these leaders were finally captured and put on trial by international tribunals for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since Gadhafi and Compaore continue to lead sovereign nations, they still have yet to face judgment. In recent years they were suspected - among other crimes - of initiating the attempted coup in Mauritania, whose leader is not exactly a saint either, but at least he is the only member of the Arab League, except for Jordan and Egypt, who maintains full diplomatic relations with Israel. So what Realpolitik interest does Israel have in moral self-restraint in legitimizing such a person, and granting him a photo-op with the president of the United States? Such an opportunity is certainly important to Compaore, as well as for a number of our other visitors this week, certainly much more important to them than our 60th anniversary, or the exalted matters of the future of the world under discussion at the conference. There is possibly one justification for allowing Compaore to enter Israel: If he is coming with Gadhafi's silent blessing, or even a message from the Libyan ruler. He may be bringing a message of a thaw in relations with Israel as part of Gadhafi's conversion in his relations with the U.S. and the West, which has included the promise to end Libya's nuclear weapons project. Blessed are the believers. But if that were the case, it would have been enough for Compaore to make a separate and secret visit, and not to be presented as one of the greatest world leaders honoring Israel on its anniversary. But in all honesty and regret, the mistake seems to be more an oversight than intentional, at least not on Israel's part. It seems that the disgrace is more a matter of the normal combination of bureaucratic inertia and ignorance: Everyone was invited, and whoever wanted came. But in addition, there was the silence of the few involved who even knew where Burkina Faso is, and who is its president. It is hard to imagine that former foreign minister Shimon Peres is not one of those in the know. The writer is the editor of the International Hour on Israel Radio. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Animated massacre Animated Israeli film at Cannes explores Sabra and Shatila massacre. Kowtowing to funders When papers are sponsored, can their reporting be truly independent?

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