A tear on the tomb of liberty [Archives:2008/1166/Opinion]

archive
June 23 2008

Hamza Al-Maqaleh
Philosophers of the past were not true while defining politics, often believed as the mother of all sciences since in the past, politics meant managing community and civil affairs, and meeting community needs and demands with a concept that is very close to idealism. Nowadays, we are more than two thousand years far away from this concept, coupled with a further distance in cognitivism and time.

These days, politics turned to be understood as merely cheap and trite concept that targets the entire human structure, splits the unified social fabric, and confiscates liberty and sells it in the slavery market. Such a concept also harms the institutional capacity and removes all the sights of human civilization under the pretext of public right. The current politics are limited to a circle having zero and selfishness as its point, aside from peoples' concerns, pains and problems, as well as the future of coming generations.

In my homeland, the matter is totally different since a particular group of opportunists is managing the urban and rural affairs, as well as pain lands and mountainous areas, and history and geography. These opportunists are the only people entitled to print the documents of patriotism, which is why we in Yemen are experiencing an unprecedented catastrophe.

We have no choice but to perceive and admit how huge the catastrophe is, specifically as we have no adequate time to list negative consequences of the catastrophe here. It is also illogical to waste much of our valuable time in political arguments and controversies that are not in our favor as a nation and human beings.

What we have to do today is search together for a real deliverance that can rescue our homeland from unprecedented catastrophes and give a top priority to addressing issues of Yemeni society and people, aside from the language of politics and fragmentations, which may not be tolerated by those having no faith in the intellectual and political diversity.

Nowadays, we are experiencing a critical stage of time as there is a notably huge difference between the ruling party and the opposition, represented by Joint Meeting Parties (JMP). There is a presidential platform and agenda that shyly encourage Yemeni people to do something seriously wrong while time has turned to be inconvenient for this agenda, and the tasks gets more complicated due to emergence of other issues such as the turmoil of South Yemen, Sa'ada fighting, poor living standards and the economic crisis Yemen is currently suffering.

Democracy aborted:

In addition, there is a real abortion of the democratic project inside the country, plus the remarkable restriction of freedom of the press, even the image of press freedom in Yemen is beautified by many of those exploiting the dire press situation to achieve certain interests.

What is hovering over our heads is larger than what we see before our eyes while the outcome is more congestion and escalating chaos. I don't want many people to be infected with the ache of chaos, mainly as separating people from each other is no longer feasible.

The world has become one information system while any man may know more about the outside world via an electronic device without any monitor or surveillance. It is no longer possible for anyone to control the space transmission of news and facts from other parts of the world into our territories. As everything has become clearly known to everyone, why we do escape identifying our problems and setting with citizens of the same homeland. Having diagnosed our pressing problems, it will be easier for us to suggest workable solutions to them one by one.

Unity is a first-class Yemeni popular product, and in the meantime, nobody – irrespective of his status and reputation – is entitled to control or privatize such a unique national project. And, any coupe against this project is a historical crime against people and humanity. We still remember much more about covenants of the unity and the various institutional and civilized projects contained in these covenants, which also embrace other vital projects based on pluralism, freedom of expression, free economic climate and autonomous judiciary.

The unity-related projects also include national military institutions based on competence and eligibility, aside from favoritism and nepotism. Unity may become an easy victim as a result of irresponsible actions and practices, as well as other acts contradicting covenants and agreements of the unity.

The 1994 War led to privatizing unity, jailing and hunting journalists and closing newspapers.

A remorseful tear will be shed on the tomb of liberty as an inevitable result of victimizing our unity unless we establish the kind of national project that helps rescue our homeland from repeated calamities.

Source: Maribpress.net
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