Haikal: Larger than a life’s experience [Archives:2005/886/Opinion]
Mohammed Hasanien Haikal
In my youth, and we are talking about the forties here, my generation had clear options and vision in front of them from which they chose their paths. Today I find this generation in a political mess and completely lost. I believe that the awareness of nations could be measured through a number of indicators; the most important of which is the knowledge of the direction it wants to take forward and where it wants to go. It is relevant whether it does achieve its goals or mission but the most crucial is to understand these goals in the first place with a clear picture of its directions as a nation. What surprises me is that today supposedly the number of educated people is more, the number of intellectuals has increased and media has improved much better. In spite of the fact that there are many more university students today than there was sixty years ago, this generation is not being able even to participate in deciding its own fate. What is happening in Iraq is heart breaking while during my time Iraq and Egypt were embracing the Arab world and nurturing the youth and their intellectual thinking, now all are watching without even lifting a finger.
The conspiracy in Arafat's death
When the topic of Arafat's death is approached and discussions on the circumstances of his death are discussed the very generation of today is not being able to rationalize or even form an opinion. While when Tchaikofski, in Ukraine was said to be poisoned the world went upside down but no one was mentioned the conspiracy theory. They took the facts and documents and was declared that the government of Ukraine poisoned the man and so and so. Now we have an Arabian leader who was in relatively good health and suddenly became mysteriously dead. There is a claim that his death was natural? There are many incidents and indicators that the death of Yaser Arafat was not natural and since 2001 there were clear statements by the Israeli national security council that it is time to put an end to Arafat. It was told publicly by three Israeli leaders: Ariel Sharon, Shaul Mofaz and Shalom Silvan. At that time in 2001 when this was said the Arab League rushed to USA and complained to Bush that such things should not be told and the US president actually interfered and promised that Yaser Arafat will not be harmed. Then in 2002 again this was raised on the pretext that apparently Arafat is not following the plan and that he stopped midway and did not want to compromise further in the Palestinian issue. And again in 2004 it was all over the Israeli and American newspapers for example publishing a letter from Sharon requesting the US president to release them of the promise to keep Arafat's life, as they have tried since 2000 and yet he has not “changed his ways” and the reply was why don't we leave it to Almighty, considering Arafat's age. Yet Sharon replies: “Don't you think Mr. President that we have to give him a push?”
To be continued
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[archive-e:886-v:14-y:2005-d:2005-10-17-p:opinion]
