The *FREE ARAB VOICE*
(Your Voice in a World where Zionism, Steel, and Fire have turned Justice Mute)
The Contents of This Issue of the Free Arab Voice (FAV)(http://www.mindspring.com/~fav)
1) On the Alleged Crisis in the “Peace Process”: An alternative analysis of the crisis by Naji Alloush, a Palestinian Arab writer and thinker, and the General Secretary of the Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists.
2) Announcements:
a) A Correction from the Last Issue of FAV,
b) Join ADC in the South of the United States,
c) Subscribe to Arab Journal,
d) Read Al-Moharer Al-Australi, and e) An Action Alert for Lifting the Siege on Iraq: A French Group Pursues the Legal Course .
1) Is the “Peace Process” Really Breaking Down?! by Naji Alloush
From the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to the Egyptian government, and from the French to the Russian governments, the alleged crisis of the “peace process” seems to have become the topic of the hour. But does mean that mere talk can make such a crisis real?
To answer this question, we probably should look first at those agonizing the most over this supposed crisis, namely some Arab regimes and the leadership of the PLO. These had found circumstances congenial earlier in the nineties for the resolution of the Arab-Zionist conflict on the basis of recognizing “Israel’s” right to exist within the borders of the land occupied in the 1948, in exchange for some form of a Palestinian entity in the (and not necessarily all of the) West Bank and Gaza.
This official Arab trend was counting in this conclusion on the following three overarching assumptions:
I- that there is an international front led by the U.S. government which supports the establishment of “peace” between Arab governments and Israel”. And now after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S.government, the leading superpower, has got what it takes to overcome both Arab and Zionist obstacles to such “peace”.
II- that an official Arab consensus, including and especially from the eadership of the PLO, to recognize “Israel” would set Zionists internationally in the political corner, and thus force them to drop any reservations about accepting such “peace”. This would be additionally true because the “peace” package offered to Zionists does not only include recognition, but also opening up Arab hearts, markets, and resources to our brothers and sisters from Abraham.
III- that the Arab regimes that participated in operation “Desert Storm” and the siege on Iraq had all agreed to accept peace, under the principle of “Land for Peace”. That position and the particular record of those taking it should be enough to support U.S. efforts and to allay Zionist fears.
However, as time and events later unfolded, it became increasingly obvious that those Arab regimes and Palestinian groups that naively adopted anything like the three assumptions above, have regally misjudged three elements of the situation:
I- The Reality of the U.S. Government’s Role:
The U.S. government is a party to the conflict not a mediator. Its understanding of the nature of the “peace process” is essentially THE SAME as that of Zionists. Verbally, the U.S. government advocates the formula of “land for peace”. Practically, its policy revolves around
a) enforcing the recognition of “Israel”,
b) catering to “Israeli” interests and security obsessions, and
c) securing all the necessary Arab and Palestinian concessions to make “Israel” feel safe.
Thus U.S. government here does not simply restrict itself to recognizing
“Israel’s” right to exist, but actively pursues the implementation of two concomitant strategies: a) refurbishing “Israel” with all the elements of strength, and b) extricating every possible element of strength from the hands of the Arabs, and even Muslims.
For example, the strategic partnership between the U.S. government and
“Israel” GREW after the Gulf war. Military aid increased both in quality and quantity. On the other hand, pressure on Iraq to eliminate its sources of strength increased. Pressure on Iran is increasing, and so is pressure on Syria and Egypt.
Evidently, these overt U.S. policies serve directly to consolidate Zionist political gains and to weaken the Arab position. In spite of that, we still encounter some Arab officials who say that they are counting on the U.S. government to salvage the “peace process”!
II- Misjudging the Zionist Position:
The governments of Rabin, Perez, or Netanyahu, like the governments of Ben Gurion, Eshkol, Golda Meir, and Begin before them, never for a second cut out the rhetoric about peace…They entered ALL their wars under the political cover of peace slogans. But what kind of peace was that? The one kind that may have different expressions. It is the kind that Yigal Ellon or Perez suggested in the form of a “New Middle East”. It is the kind that guarantees colonialization without limit, possessing the elements of strength without limit, and conquering the Arab world economically and politically with the tools of violence or “peace”…That is Zionist peace!
Misjudging the Zionist position, letting oneself believe that “Israel” can be peaceful, and forgetting THE NATURE of the Zionist entity all remain totally incomprehensible. Therefore, if there are some today trying to convince us that this foundering of the “peace process” is nothing but a problem created by Netanyahu, THEY’RE ONLY FOOLING THEMSELVES. Yigal Ellon, who was from Labor, not the Likud like Netanyahu, proposed long ago a project not very different from Netanyahu’s. Moreover, neither Perez of the Demonah nuclear reactor and the operation “Grapes of Wrath” in south Lebanon, nor Rabin, of the 1967 War and the crimes against the children of the Intifadah, ever had any political project that is intrinsically different from Netanyahu’s.
III- Misjudging the Arab Position:
When some Arab regimes got carried away in the “peace process” without any real understanding of the U.S. or Zionist position, they also lacked an Arab position ON THE GROUND that would guarantee peace.
Realistically speaking, ANY peace, even if its ultimate ambition was only the implementation of United Nations resolutions 242 and 338, REQUIRES:
a) the existence of a total Arab resistance INSIDE AND OUTSIDE Palestine
that would be even more advanced than all forms of Palestinian resistance between 1965 and 1998, including the so-called “suicide”
operations,
b) the existence of Arab armies READY to do battle on every front, and the preparation for a people’s war MORE massive and more protracted than the Vietnamese, and
c) the existence of a UNITED Arab political position, which nevertheless does not bow before Zionist blackmail and U.S. government pressures.
As long as these strategic considerations have not been taking into account, as long as the PLO has dropped its weapons and the Arab governments concerned with the so-called “peace process” DID NOT PREPARE FOR IT, and as long as these Arab governments rely instead on U.S. government goodwill and Zionist rhetoric, what goes down on the ground won’t be the “peace process” that the Arab regimes are talking about, BUT THE “PEACE PROCESS” THAT THE OTHER SIDE IS TALKING ABOUT.
And the other side, the U.S. government and “Israel”? THEIR “PEACE PROCESS” IS NOT IN ANY CRISIS. In fact, we have saved the other side from its crisis by conceding everything that could possibly lead to it.
That’s because the official Arab strategy in “peace’ emanated from recognizing the right of the enemy to exist AT LEAST on the land occupied in 1948 in total security, and then to committing itself to the preservation of that Zionist security. Moreover, the Arab side accepted the U.S government’s auspices in “peace”, even though the latter has been clearly committed to building up “Israel” and protecting its security, and has signed an official treaty of strategic alliance with it. Then to add insult to injury, the Arab side accepted a) the transformation of the PLO from a resistance movement to a hired police force working for and protecting the enemy, and b) the disarmament of Iraq and starving its people to death.
The Alleged Crisis is Part of the Show:
Therefore, the other side, U.S.- Zionist side, IS NOT IN A CRISIS, AND NEITHER IS ITS “PEACE PROCESS”. On the contrary, the other side has achieved more in our region since the Gulf War than it has since WWII. So much so that perhaps a decade or so may be needed to absorb it all. That’s why the other side wants this “peace process” to go forward WITH the semblance of its slipping away. It wants lots of TALK about the crisis of the “peace process” to reassure the Arab side while the process goes as planned , but only ACCORDING TO “ISRAEL’S” ABILITY FOR ABSORPTION, and to sallow land.
So the present crisis is only that of the official Arab side which wants
a little more out of the “peace process” without trying to possess those
elements of power which improve the conditions of its participation. In
the meantime, the U.S.-Zionist side enforces military, economic, and
political conditions coercing the Arab governments to march on exactly
as planned. Eventually, neither those Arabs calling for peace do what
it takes to accomplish that peace, nor those Arabs calling for war do
what it takes to make that option feasible. Consequently, the crisis of
the Arab regimes in the “peace process” translates into more Zionist
successes at the expense of the Arab and Palestinian people until direct
political action on their part allows these temporary successes to be
reversed.
2) Announcements:
a) Correction: In the last issue of the Free Arab Voice about non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), the Peace Corps was erroneously
listed as an NGO. In fact, it is an established branch of the U.S. government even though many of its members are idealistic volunteers. In a way though, this innocuous cover may have been the source of this inadvertant mistake, which is SOMETHING TO THINK about when discussing the role of NGO’s in third world countries..
b) The ADC Wants *YOU*: The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is looking for individuals from the Arab American community and all Americans to start and activate its chapters throughout the southern US: Tennessee,Kentucky,Louisiana,Alabama,Texas,Kansas,Florida,Georgia
etc..If you are interested please contact Ghazi el-Assali at:
g9arl@uno.edu
c) Empower yourself with the truth: SUBSCRIBE TO ARAB JOURNAL
Arab Journal is not a commercial venture. It dares to speak out against
oppression, injustice, embargoes, and Zionism. It advocates democracy,
Arab unity, liberation, and enlightened Islam.
Contact Ali Bagdadi at P.O.Box:5095 , Woodridge, IL60517
Phone & Fax: (630) 964-8975
Email: arabjournl@aol.com
d)AL-MOHARER AL-AUSTRALI (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~fouad)
AL-MOHARER AL-AUSTRALI covers Arab world affairs and Arabic literature from Australia and around the world.
AL-MOHARER AL-AUSTRALI publishes information that is generally unknown
in this time of silence.
AL-MOHARER AL-AUSTRALI challenges all forms of ‘New World Order’
conditioning and thought control.
Check out our website http://www.ozemail.com.au/~fouad
If you believe in free speech, and have news or material concerning
suppressed news and information, please contact the Editor-in-Chief
Fouad El-hajj: fouad@eisa.net.au
e) Legal Action by a French Group to Lift the Embargo off Iraq: Sign On.
The following are excerpts from the Action Alert:
“We bring charges before the International Court of Justice of the Hague, and before all other competent National and International bodies, against the aforesaid embargo decreed by the United Nations Security Council for
– Non-Respect of the Geneva Conventions (12/08/1949)
– Non-Respect of the United Nations Charter (26/06/1945)
– Non-Respect of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10/12/1948)
– Non-respect of the Universal Declaration of Childhood Rights The violation of these International Conventions, by which our countries are formally bound, implies the judicial and moral responsibility of our nations for the victims of the Iraqi people.
. In the face of such grave consequences we also suffer prejudice and are consequently directly involved with the Iraqi victims
I the undersigned :
Name:
Address/email:
Give power of attorney to Mr. Alain Michel, President of the association EquiLibre, to represent me in the submission of the above mentioned charges to the International Court of Justice of the Hague and to the other International and National bodies concerned.
Date : Signature :
The moral persons (organizations, unions, groups…) can join this indictment Association EquiLibre – (plainte contre l’embargo)
23, Allée du Mens
BP 1613 – 69606 Villeurbanne Cedex (Lyon-France)
Tel. 33 33 79 78 4 (33):
Fax: 02 50 79 78 4 (33):
Email : embargo@equilibre.org
Internet : http://www.equilibre.org/embargo
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