America, Europe, Israel, Palestine, Hamas & Democracy

by Paul I. Adujie

The world is by now familiar with the violence between Palestine and Israel; For over fifty years since the creation of Israel, smack in the center of Arab land and front and center of Palestine country. It is safe to conclude that neither Palestinians nor Israelis are disciples of nonviolent political methodology made famous by Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Neither Palestine nor Israel can claim to have followed the teachings of Mother Teresa. It must be borne in mind that Israel is seen by Palestinians as occupier and usurper of Palestine lands. Israel has never limited itself to lawful tactics, Israel has not been shy to apply aggressive military tactics in Sabra Shatila, or in the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and everywhere else in Palestine and all of the Middle East of Arabia.

Israel has acted too often, outside of legal norms and United Nations conventions and protocols. In fact, Israel has been known, to have historically disregarded UN resolutions, including Nuclear non-proliferation rules, strategic ambiguities and all.

Hamas is reputed for its violent struggle with Israel and even with moderate Arabs. Hamas military wing, engaged in bloody campaigns and a zero sum policy toward Israel, all these, in search of a free Palestine that is not beholden to anyone. Palestine insists they are fighting colonialism and occupation, these are not friendly endeavors worldwide and history is my witness.

Hamas is not all military, and violent in their campaigns for a free Palestine. Hamas has provided social services, including medical services, schools and trainings etc which won the hearts and minds of the average man and woman in Palestine.

Hamas became synonymous with effectiveness and efficiency compared with the established government of the Palestinian Authority administered by the Fatah party, the offspring of the PLO, a brainchild of the late Yasser Arafat

Hamas has now nominated Mr. Haniya to be Prime Minister of Palestine, and all of a sudden there are threats and intimidations emanating from America, Israel and even Europe!

It is a wrong headed policy on the part of the United States, Israel and all others who are attempting to stifle or strangle democracy and governance in Palestine, just because, the ballot box has not produced a puppet or someone that is subject to sundry manipulations.

Hamas won their elections fair and square. Hamas is not accused of any electoral malpractices or frauds. Hamas must be allowed to form a legitimate and constitutional government without outside interference and intermeddling by the United States, Israel and Europe. Israel should unfreeze monies meant for Palestine. In the alternative, Palestine should declare nationhood and create her own currency and institutions!

President Bush should be proud of Hamas for accepting his preachment of democracy. Hamas has embraced constitutionalism and legality. Hamas accepted President Bush s favorite export to the Arabs in the Middle East. Now, who is afraid of democracy or the success of democracy?

It may well be the case that President Bush’s democracy export has worked in Palestine by default. But Hamas now stand as the elected representatives of the people of Palestine and the Americans, the Israelis and Europeans do not have to like that fact, but they must accept it. Accepting Hamas will put to rest, some concerns already expressed regarding the permanent double standards that the Western world frequently indulges in.

Two instances in the past several days stand out clearly. First, David Irvin was convicted in an Austrian court for saying the Holocaust never happened (which of course is contrary to the facts of history and therefore, a ridiculous and absurd thing for David Irvin to say, write or teach. But we must be reminded about freedom of expression and freedom of thought, even if such thoughts or expressions are absurd and illogical!

Soon after, the Mayor Ken Livingstone, mayor of London was suspended for one month beginning on March 1, 2006. Mayor Livingstone was suspended because he used inappropriate and insensitive language in addressing a journalist Mr. Oliver Finegold, who happens to be Jewish. Some have already described the suspension of the Mayor of London, as an overreaction. And they may be right, given the fact that the whole world, particularly Western Europe, have been deriding Muslims for reacting with umbrage to a “mere” cartoons and caricatures of Prophet Muhammad and Islam.

The bulk of the defense of the cartoonists and caricaturists, were hinged on press freedom and freedom of expression. But do these same fine rules of freedom also apply to David Irvin and Ken Livingstone? The world is watching and sees these manipulations and double standards.

Hamas on their part, has now has a very huge responsibility. Hamas must publicly accept peace agreements entered in the past by leaders of Palestine. Hamas must demonstrate to the world in words and actions that they have not engaged in gratuitous violence or violence for its sake! Hamas must reach for the olive branch and declare itself partner with Israel in the peace process. Hamas elected officials must now emphasize democratic credentials and the value of peaceful negotiations and diplomacy.

Both Israel and Palestine must renounce violence. Targeted killings must stop. Suicide bombing must stop. Israel and Palestine must now give peace a chance.

America, Israel, Europe and the whole world will do well to respect democracy and freedom as expressed through the ballots in Palestine. Hamas members elected by the people of Palestine remain the elected representative of Palestine and that is democracy at work.

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5 comments

Anonymous February 28, 2006 - 1:39 pm

Paul!!!

Your comments is absolutely unacceptable. If your one of those people that support terrorism.. you failed this time.. i suggest you start funding the Hamas led Government with the little ALAWI you have.

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Paul I. Adujie February 27, 2006 - 11:47 am

Please read below a news report culled from The New York Times

February 26, 2006

Israel Says "Irrelevant" Abbas to Be Hamas "Fig Leaf"

By REUTERS

Filed at 2:32 p.m. ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel branded Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas irrelevant'' on Sunday, calling Hamas the real governing power and urging the international community not to weaken its pressure on the militant group to seek peace.

The description of the moderate leader, who won public backing by a U.S. envoy over the weekend, came on the eve of a European Union meeting on preventing the Palestinian Authority's financial collapse and possibly channeling aid to Abbas.

Israel has stopped the monthly transfer of 50 million-55 million in tax payments to the Palestinians. Foreign donors, including the EU and the United States, threaten to cut off funds to the Authority once a Hamas-led government is sworn in.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said she feared Abbas, who seeks a negotiated peace with the Jewish state, could serve as a fig leaf'' for an administration dominated by Hamas, an Islamist movement that advocates its destruction.

Our job, among other things, will be to ensure the international community does not … embrace Abu Mazen or some moderate statements by Hamas,'' she said on Channel One television, using Abbas's popular name.

Earlier, Hamas's prime minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh denied he had suggested in a Washington Post interview the group might one day recognize Israel, saying there was only a possibility of achieving a long-term truce.

Livni said Israel was dealing with reality'' after Hamas's victory over Abbas's Fatah faction in a January 25 election and it expected foreign donors to do the same now that the Palestinian Authority was being led by what she termed ''terrorist groups.''

(Donors) have raised the same clear, unequivocal demands that any Palestinian government must accept,'' Livni said, referring to making future international aid conditional on recognition of Israel and a renunciation of violence.

The ball is in the Palestinian court and it is up to the future Hamas government to do something with it, and in this context, Abu Mazen is irrelevant,'' Livni said, using a term Israel applied to the late leader, Yasser Arafat, after a Palestinian uprising began in 2000 and peace talks failed.

UNACCEPTABLE

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat called Livni's statement absolutely unacceptable'' and said it reflected Israel's non-partner policy'' that has led to military escalation.''

On Saturday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch held talks with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah and said he told the Palestinian president that our support for him and his leadership at this critical time'' would continue.

Livni said she would visit European countries this week and expected to see a desire by some of them to grab onto a more sympathetic figure, such as Abu Mazen''

This will be pose a problem for us,'' she said.

The European Union, whose foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Monday, is the largest donor to the Palestinians. The EU gave them 500 million euros (595 million) in aid last year.

A senior EU diplomat said on Friday it was not in the European Union's interest to see the Palestinian Authority break down. An EU official said several ideas were circulating, including how to channel aid toward Mahmoud Abbas.''

Foreign donors have pledged to continue providing humanitarian assistance to ease the plight of ordinary Palestinians, a promise Israel said it supported.

Hamas officials have said in the past the group would offer Israel a 10- to 15-year truce in return for a withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip before pursuing its long-term goals.

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Yomi Dawotola February 26, 2006 - 9:58 pm

You are included among the few who have continuously expose the subjective tendency of the Bush administration to the plights of the Palestinians. It is a foundry of lies and doublespeak. Awareness through efforts of people like you will surely negate this injustice. Please do not relent.

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Anonymous February 26, 2006 - 8:24 pm

Paul my friend,

-Elections do not a democracy make.

-America has the right to chose its foreign policy goals; and that includes the right to back Israel without reservation.

Also, if the Palestinians are depending on American aid to even pay civil servants, they had better not elect persons who would not renounce terrorism.

-The evangelicals, like the liberals and secular humanist as well as the tree huggers and others, have a right to contribute to policy in America. Weep not too hard my friend.

Peace and love.

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Prince Kennedy Iyoha February 25, 2006 - 2:23 pm

It is unfortunate that the American political class has an unconditional loyalty to the Jewish nation. Unconditional in a science that she is always there come rain or sun.

The Bush administration should distinguish loyalty from reality, and call a spared a spared if really he is seeing a spared. If the American people sincerely believe that democracy is the best way of governance, and that every people around the world should enjoy this system, they should forget loyalty and do the right thing.

Saddam Hussein was never a saint, though the bloodbath was not necessary. Many reasoning have it that The American intelligent community has both human and technological resource to put saddam out of power, but they choose to go to war to demonstrate the American military straight to the Arab world.

Beside, many schools have it that private farm like Dick Cheney, pentagon and the entire defence industry had other interest in that country

It is not new to more than half of the world population that the problems of Palestine with Israeli seem to be unsolvable, because the Americans take side with the Israelis. Israeli has flooded all United Nations resolutions, and got away with it all, Arafat was frustrated in all fronts by the Israelis with the help of the American government, until his death, Israeli and America has lead blame on him of their fragrant failure to achieve peace. What is surprising is that almost the entire world population knows the truth, even its Arab brothers choose to look at the other side.

The only person that stood to the end beside the Palestinians was saddam Hussein, Ben laden and some few others that are labelled terrorist.

The American people are not sensitive to the plights of innocent children murdered in cooled blood by the Israelis government. That is the way they consciously potencied the Hamas group to power, that took arms to fight for the defenceless, feed those that are starved directly through the help of the American people, clothed those that had nothing to put on, shelterd those that dont have a roof upon the head. As the Al Fattah group were growing fate on blood money, blood of their citizens, Hamas was caring for the wounded.

Today the people of Palestine remembered those that cared when they had injuries, those that gave them bread when they were hungry, and those that provided a roof upon their head when they had no place to sleep.

What the Israelis Government with the support of the American people, and the European Union are saying to the Palestinian people is, we are going to harden your wedges because you dare choose a group that will bring you freedom instead of staying with our allied puppets called Al fatah.

Hams should also realise that the state of Israel has come to stay for good, and therefore recognise this state, and her right to life.

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