The Middle East Peace Process- A fading hope

Culled from Isrealmatz.blogspot.com

The latest attempt, this time by France, to kick-start the peace process by holding talks on the 3rd of June 2016, is put in perspective.

The talks that was no talks has served to highlight the sad reality of what the Mideast peace process has become. It is an exercise that none of the stakeholders seriously believes would lead to meaningful dialogue, which creates opportunity for peaceful co-existence  between the state of Israel and a Palestinian state, long the wish of the Palestinian people.

Dare one ask how it has come to this? The answer is not far removed from the truth that is a lack of moral courage of the principal players to seize the opportunities presented thus far, from the Oslo accords of 1993 to present day.

With a significant proportion of the Middle East embroiled in strife, this lack of moral courage has very little opportunity to be called out as it should.

In 2016, the hope for a meaningful peace process is dimmed by a lack of moral courage which has as its crutch, a wider Middle East in the throes of an upheaval, the effects of which is being felt well beyond Its geographical borders.

On Syria, the matter of Assad

Militants pointing Kalashnikovs at an image of Assad 

 The current development that has seen the United States of America pledge to coordinate activities with the Russian Federation with a view to finding a constructive solution to the 4-year old civil war in Syria, is put in perspective.

Russian troop build up in the country in spite of America's objections has led to an acceptance that Russia is in Syria to stay, and a lack of acknowledgement of this fact would most likely lead to a situation that serves to worsen rather than ameliorate the crises.

While the United States is grappling with the new reality of Russia's presence in Syria, a recurring question keeps interjecting itself into the conversation- the fate of President Assad.

The position of United States and the generality of the West is to declare that Assad has no place in a peaceful and secular Syria, whilst Russia's view on this is ambiguous at best.

As America does what amounts to the right thing under the current circumstances by agreeing to cooperate with Russia on the issue of Syria, it should be mindful of this ambiguity.

Due to the presence of ISIS, thousands of Syrians have either lost their lives or have been displaced by a war that has evolved beyond President Assad's conflict with the Syrian opposition. It is perhaps important that an acknowledgment of this be put front and center as the United States attempts to reach a meaningful accommodation with the Russians on the issue of Syria.

Failure to do this would lead to Russia wielding its ambiguity on the matter of Assad in a manner that delays respite for the millions of Syrians desperately in need of an end to this war.

 

Nigeria: The weight of a decision.

Muhammadu Buhari

The recently concluded presidential election in Africa's most populous and ethnically diverse nation, is put in perspective.

After what at times was a fraught process that threatened to end in chaos and violence even in the very last moments, Muhammadu Buhari a former military General and dictator, emerged as winner.

What transpired in Nigeria during the March 28 election was a case of the volition of ordinary people to embrace change, pitted against the rapacious appetite of an entrenched ruling  party to hold unto power at all cost.

On assuming power in a few weeks, Muhammadu Buhari would be faced with an incredible weight of expectation from a people that for the last 16 years, has had to contend with a leadership that essentially established a 'culture' by condoning corruption and impunity not just from elected officials, but also from ordinary people themselves.

The newly elected president and his government would therefore not only face the challenge of building credible institutions and establishing the rule law which punishes elected officials for delivering for self rather than for the people. It would also have to deal with a people that are essentially cast adrift by years of direction-less leadership to the extent that it has become a challenge to appreciate and be committed to the basics of civic responsibility.

Nigeria's future peace and prosperity will depend on not only curbing the excesses of the political class, but also rekindling the meaning of love of country in a people thirsting for change.

Contemplating Charlie Hebdo two months later

The news seems to have moved on since the terrible happening of the morning of 7th of January 2015, when the Kouachi brothers stormed Offices of satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo and sprayed the place with bullets, leaving 11 people dead and 12 people injured in their wake.

As a close follower of news event and analysis from  around the world, one is left with the perception that the world, much of which was united with the people of France to declare "Je suis Charlie" has taken a back sit and is waiting for the next event that would give a sense of how the French government and its people have adjusted to the new realities that are an inevitability of happenings as profound as one that, as in this case, threatens the philosophical  bedrock of  a people.

Emotions ran high in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack as one would expect. It caused a lot of generalization which at its best, seemed to suggest that the Kouachi brothers were disaffected youth from marginalized Parisian suburbs whose lot could perhaps have be bettered by a more attentive government. At its worst, they were Islamists whose wholly embraced jihad- fueled nihilism had been fatefully employed to threaten freedom of expression, a critical cornerstone that makes France the country it is today.

As things continue to evolve however, It is perhaps best to be reminded that there are dysfunctional individuals, people with a poverty of spirit, that would latch unto any excuse to wrought mayhem on society, tarring the collective black, and instigating wars if necessary whilst they are at it. The Kouachi brothers can safely be put in this category given the terrible wantonness of their crime which has no justification.

However, a balanced approach to getting to the bottom of the happening of the 7th of January which sees France question not only fundamentalist Islam but itself would go some way to guaranteeing that such dysfunctional individuals remain on the fringes of society, where they belong.

         

On Israel and Palestine at the beginning of 2015

Culled Photo: Mahmoud Abbas signs around 20 international treaties. 

Mahmoud Abbas's decision with the support of the rest of the Palestinian leadership, to sign up to join the International Criminal Court in the wake of the rejection of a U.N Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017, is put in perspective.

The American State Department has issued a statement describing the decision of the Palestinians to join the ICC as counterproductive to achieving the Palestinians stated goal of a two- state solution and peaceful co-existence with Israel. It followed on by exhorting all sides to "work constructively and cooperatively to lower tensions, reject violence and find a path forward".

This statement from the American State Department cannot disguise the fact that the United States has been powerless to serve as a catalyst for mutual understanding and trust between both parties.

The threat by the United States Congress to impose sanctions on the Palestinians for signing up to join the ICC is hardly the answer, as it merely re-enforces the position of any Israeli who  is not actively seeking a peaceful and just co-existence with his/her Palestinian neighbor. It merely entrenches the position of any Palestinian who embraces nihilism as a means of staking his/her claim to self determination.

Madiba magic

Celebrating Mandela. Photo by Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach

Earlier today, over 90 world leaders, including millions around the world joined South Africa and South Africans to mourn the loss, and  celebrate the life of a lion of our time.

Since Nelson Mandela's passage into history on the 5th of December 2013, we the peoples of the world have vacillated between grief and eulogy as we attempt to grapple with the extent to which we are bereft of the wisdom, foresight and steadfastness of the man.

As he readily attested to whilst in life, he was not a saint, and certainly wasn't always perfectly sensible in all his decision making.

It is however clear that over time- much of which was spent in incarceration- Madiba grew into his calling, and utilised the opportunity bestowed on him by destiny, to engineer a striving for peaceful co-existence amongst South Africans. This has also served as a beacon for the rest of the world, laying the foundations for meaningful dialogue whilst shunning destructive conflicts.

The legacy of Madiba is not lost on the world, as the emotional out-pouring shows.

As aptly put by the Secretary- General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, even in death "Nelson Mandela connected people with each other and with the true meaning of peace".

Libya: history's take.

The kidnapping of Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zaidan on Thursday 11th October 2013, by a faction of the country's Militia, is put in perspective.

As the New York Times describes it, the unrivalled authority of Libya's militias has seen it literally hold the country hostage "... hampering production of oil, forcing power cuts, participating in gun running- all with impunity".

There is collective agreement that Libya's weak central government does not have the means to rein in the militias as well as deal decisively with its worst excesses.

It should become increasingly clear that in spite of knowledge that Colonel Qaddafi governed his country for 42 years without credible institutions including a police force, this fact was not taken into consideration when a section of  the international community backed an intervention that guaranteed his demise.

A much better scenario should perhaps have been to strengthen the opposition militarily, to the extent that Colonel Qaddafi would have no choice but negotiate or face significant erosion of his power.

Given the current circumstances, it is simplistic to merely suggest that getting rid of Colonel Qaddafi guaranteed safety for the citizens of Libya that opposed his rule.

History's take on Libya in the immediate aftermath of the country having been rid of its absolute ruler of 42 years, looks to be that a fundamental mistake was made in the manner of  resolution of its 'Arab spring'.