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Hidden with code "Policy Violation" |
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News :: Israel / Palestine |
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Arab Rulers to Pay for Lebanon Crisis: Experts |
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by Ahmed Fathy, IOL Staff
(No verified email address) |
02 Aug 2006
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CAIRO — The failure to stand by the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance and the defeating silence regarding the Israeli killing of civilians and destruction of infrastructure would likely "expedite" the ouster of some Arab rulers, through military coups or at the hands of reformists, analysts expect. |
"The sepulchral silence of Arab leaders at the barbaric Israeli attacks on the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, and the gallantry displayed by the resistance factions would help topple some Arab leaders," Mohammad Darif, a Moroccan political analyst and professor of political sciences at Al-Muhammdiya University, told IslamOnline.net.
Darif predicted that reformists would bring in the wind of change.
"Reformists will replace incumbent rulers or force them to change their political agendas with national blueprints that give priority to facing up to the challenges posed by Israel and counter the suspicious alliance of Arab governments with the West," he said.
Heart-breaking images of Lebanese children and civilians brought from under the rubble of a house demolished in an Israeli air strike on the southern village of Qana only drew "strongly worded" statements of condemnation from Arab leaders.
Some of them have even spared themselves the agony of offering condolences to the Lebanese.
An initiative by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to convene an emergency summit to discuss the war on Lebanon failed to get the needed quorum over the lack of interest shown by several Arab leaders.
"Free Officers"
Angry Arabs felt betrayed by their leaders. (Reuters)
Darif did not rule out the emergence of a group of army officers, following in the footsteps of the Free Officers Movement, which toppled the monarchy in Egypt in 1952.
"Our last hope is that politicians or army officers take an action in a way that protects the harmony and social fabric of countries," he said.
Diaa Rashwan, a political expert at Egypt's Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies think tank, said the region teeters on the bring of all-inclusive chaos and military coups.
"Arab rulers did not only ignore their peoples, but they adopted agendas that alienated them," he told IOL.
Abdel Aziz Al-Ghomisi, a Saudi analyst, agreed that the disgraceful stance of Arab leaders toward Lebanon and Hizbullah would encourage the reformists to stand up and be counted with the help of the army or politicians.
"The Arab peoples lost faith in their rulers, because they failed to stop the war," he maintained.
"Hizbullah did what well-equipped Arab armies failed to do," he said.
Hizbullah has inflicted heavy losses on the powerful Israeli army and proved in no way an easy meat.
Its fighters forced Israeli forces to withdraw from the two strategic towns of Bint Jbeil and Maroon Al-Ras in the south they had earlier seized after die-hard battles.
Hizbullah has also downed at least two US-made Apache helicopters and damaged a giant warship at the very beginning of the conflict.
"What's going on in Lebanon does not only reflect the impotency of Arab rulers, but is also an insult to the military establishments in the Arab countries," fumed Darif.
Qatar's Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani on Monday accused some Arab countries of supporting the Israeli offensive on Lebanon.
"There was more or less agreement from some Arab states that Israel completes its mission before a ceasefire," he told the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news channel.
"I think they were thinking of the Lebanon's general interest but forgot the Arab general interest and their citizens. Some have changed their views, which is a good thing."
Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have heaped blame on Hizbullah for triggering the conflict without consulting with any party.
But facing outrage and protest at home against Israel's onslaught, they have since taken a tougher stance, warning Washington that Israeli militarism could lead to a wider conflict in the region.
Pundits believe that some Arab rulers hoped that Hizbullah would be defeated by Israel, fearing that a victory by the resistance group would serve as a catalyst for reformists to push forward with their demands.
Reformist powers have gained momentum over the past two years in some Arab countries like heavyweight Egypt.
However Egyptian police have cracked down on pro-reform protesters in recent weeks, detaining hundreds of them during protests against President Hosni Mubarak's 25-year rule.
Britain's mass-circulation The Independent said on April 25 that Mubarak's regime was caught between further repressions or opening up to more reform and risking lose power |
See also:
http://beirut.indymedia.org/ar/2006/08/4979.shtml
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This work is in the public domain |
