A rchive Date
[ 02-07-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Terrorism ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/leishman.html
Freedom-loving Palestinians key to peace
By RORY LEISHMAN -- London Free Press
July 1, 2002
In observing that peace in the Middle East, "requires a new and different Palestinian leadership so a Palestinian state can be born," U.S. President George W. Bush was merely stating the obvious: There can be no hope of peace for the Palestinian people so long as they are oppressed by a duplicitous dictator like Yasser Arafat.
Yet, instead of supporting Bush, Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham has served up a fatuous statement about how Canada recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to choose their own leaders. That's a complete non sequitur.
Bush is not seeking to impose a new leader on the Palestinians. On the contrary, he has clearly stated: "I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror."
Apologists for Arafat are quick to point out he won the presidency of the Palestine Authority in a generally free and fair election in 1996.
But that's irrelevant. Adolf Hitler also obtained power by democratic means. Was he a democrat? Of course not. And the same goes for Arafat. No sooner was he elected than he proceeded to eradicate freedom of the press, subvert the independence of the judiciary and try by all means to crush his political opponents.
Even so, if the Palestinians hold another presidential vote within the next few months, Arafat, or someone even worse, might well win.
Bush understands this. He has simply warned the Palestinians that they can have no reasonable hope of achieving peace and the creation of an independent Palestinian state so long as they are ruled by dictators.
In his statement on June 24, Bush expressed understanding for "the deep anger and despair" of the Palestinian people.
"You deserve democracy and the rule of law," he said. "You deserve an open society and a thriving economy."
Bush also held the same goes for the people of all Muslim countries.
"You have a rich culture and you share the aspirations of men and women in every culture," he said. "Prosperity and freedom and dignity are not just American hopes or Western hopes; they are universal human hopes."
Is that right? Certainly, most Muslims hope for prosperity and dignity, but do they also yearn for freedom under law?
In Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, John Esposito, a pro-Arab professor of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, concedes, "Authoritarianism, has been the norm, not the exception in Muslim politics, cutting across the political and ideological spectrum. The track record of governments both non-Islamist (Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt) and Islamist (Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan) reveals a culture of authoritarianism incapable of tolerating any significant opposition."
Nonetheless, Esposito maintains that within these oppressive Muslim countries, there are some impressive reformers who have embraced democracy.
But he cites only three examples: Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister of Malaysia who is now a political prisoner; Abdurrahman Wahid, a former president of Indonesia, whom Human Rights Watch has derided for having, "regularly squandered opportunities for reform," and Mohammad Khatami, the ineffectual president of Iran.
Esposito denies there is any inherent clash of civilizations pitting the democracies of the West against the tyrannies of Islam. How many Muslims, though, would welcome a concerted international effort to follow up the liberation of Afghanistan with a military campaign to free Iraq from the barbaric tyranny of Saddam Hussein?
Precious few. The great majority of Muslims are no less content to let Saddam go on oppressing his own people than they are to condone the bombings of Israeli civilians.
Regardless, Bush is right: The long-suffering Palestinian people can have no hope of peace or freedom so long as they remain in the grip of a brutal and corrupt dictatorship.
It's also evident that, while the United States, Canada and other democracies can offer generous support for democratic reforms, the decisive initiative for freedom and peace within the Palestine Authority will have to come from freedom-loving Palestinians.
Alas, the prospect of such a development any time soon seems remote.
Write Rory at The London Free Press, P.O. Box 2280, London, Ont. N6A 4G1 or fax 519-667-4528 or E-mail. Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@lfpress.com
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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