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A rchive Date
[ 28-08-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Palestine ]
      [http://www.amin.org/eng/ghassan_khatib/2002/aug13.html

      The "trouble" with democracy
      by Ghassan Khatib*
      August 12, 2002

      The issue of democracy has always been a source of debate in liberation movements, with the Palestinian liberation movement posing no exception. Palestinians nearly settled that debate when they had the chance to cultivate a political authority for the first time based on the 1994 Oslo agreements.

      On that occasion, Palestinians proved (first to themselves, then to the outside world) faithful to their democratic intentions, taking the first available opportunity to elect a legislative body. Unfortunately, this council was limited in its powers and responsibilities by the Oslo agreements with Israel. Most of those limitations were Israeli restrictions, some set in the language of the agreement, and others simply Israeli practices implemented through the course of that agreement.

      The debate over democracy, power, and its place in the conflict was recently renewed among Palestinians and others when United States President George W. Bush made his famous speech launching a vicious attack on the Palestinian leadership and calling for elections, while at the same time telling Palestinians in no uncertain terms not to reelect their current leadership.

      That statement inspired discussion within the Palestinian leadership over the importance of democratic elections and the need to support the right of the Palestinian people to choose their leadership. It also shored up the Palestinian public's insistence on supporting the current leadership because it is an elected leadership.

      It is easy to make the argument that the greatest limitations on Palestinian democracy are those imposed by the Israeli occupation. For example, Israel in 30 years of military occupation only twice allowed Palestinian municipal elections. Today, the reason that the Palestinian Legislative Council has not held a second election in six years is that Israel has not allowed that to happen. This raises very legitimate questions about Israeli democracy, which is democratic to a certain extent inside Israel, but prevents democracy and democratic problem solving by Palestinians. In addition, the nature of Israeli practices in the occupied territories contributes to creating an apartheid situation where two communities--one, an indigenous Palestinian society, and the other, an illegal Israeli settler community--are living in the same area but under two completely different and unequal sets of laws.

      There is, on the other hand, a strong linkage between democracy and peace for the simple reason that democracy allows the public to have its say over the policies and practices of its government. Human beings usually express a genuine desire for peace. And for that reason, the more democratic a society is, the more peace is pursued in that society's political expressions.

      Allowing for real democracy and democratization to emerge in Israel and Palestine can only increase the chances for peace. In order to enable Palestinians to develop their society towards democratic practices and norms, what is required is to end external control over Palestinian society, i.e. to end the occupation. That is the main obstacle towards real democracy.

      *Ghassan Khatib is minister of labor in the new Palestinian Authority cabinet. He has served for many years as a political analyst and media contact.


      World Fact Book (CIA)]


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