Lest we forget [Archives:2005/832/Opinion]
Contrary to what a recent e-mailer wrote, this observer is not addicted to writing about Bush and Sharon and the last three or four articles have focused solely on issues confronting Yemen. However, it should be borne in mind that even Yemen has now become somewhat receptive to American influence in its internal as well as regional and international affairs. Time and again Common Sense has touched upon many of the major issues confronting Yemen and surely there are no efforts being spared to reflect the observations of this columnist on the local events that matter and have a bearing on the situation in Yemen. To some of the writers who have suggested that CS looks at local issues, CS has no qualms about that and has always dealt with most of the substantive issues facing the country.
There is difficulty in believing that Yemenis can remain closed eyed to the problems confronting other Arab states, for the people in Palestine, Iraq, the Sudan, etc. are also our brothers and they have a right to hear about how we feel about the overwhelming challenges they are confronted with. Furthermore, many of the inhabitants of these Arab states ancestrally have roots in Yemen and accordingly deserve our sympathy and support when they are confronted by serious challenges, especially if those challenges are instigated from abroad. It might be also surmised that if every Arab felt that they should only worry about the problems faced in their own country, then it would be easy to see how the Arab World has become easy prey for interference and sometimes humiliation by foreign powers, with the humiliation actually coming from misguided reactions of the other Arab states. Lebanon is a case in point, where it is obvious that what is going on there is not merely the work of internal political forces seeking to affirm their independence. On the contrary, the recent events in Lebanon are the obvious workings of the Bush clique in the Pentagon and the State Department, who are acquiescing to Israeli designs and desires.
It is not sure how much influence American prodding has effected the state of affairs in Yemen, but it is no secret that our Government is going out of its way to make sure that Washington is placated to the highest extent possible, sometimes by incorrect displays of our fervent desire to engage in the “War on Terror”, under a wholly different perspective. Thus it is imperative for Yemenis to highlight the misconceptions that may be utilized to reflect adherence to the international trends, while as Yemenis, we must remind our Government and the outsiders, who have a slight interest in our affairs, that a spade should be called a spade if it is a spade. Otherwise, Yemen would be serving its interests better if the country was at peace and carrying on with Government based on sound meaningful application of good governance. To put it more specifically, if we say we are a democracy, than we should act and interact as such, and not have the word democracy mean two different meanings for the underlying concepts of democratic government, one for the outside world and one for the Yemeni citizens.
The situation in Yemen is not to be viewed as being sound, if we also discuss the plight of our brethren, but rather to point out how the people of Yemen also feel about what their brethren are undergoing. We should not be able to live in peace with ourselves if our brethren are living under the horror of an unjust occupation and blood is spelt daily in their lands, while we neglect to air our views about the tragic consequences of foreign interference in our region. There is no telling when these foreign powers of Israel and the United States will find it convenient to undermine our stability and keep every Arab country busy with its own infighting, while they harvest the fruits of their military occupations and economic exploitation. So, there is no point in not reminding our leaders that there is a dangerous enemy waiting for the right opportunity to meddle in our affairs, unless they shape up and realize that carrying on with all the problems that they have accumulated in their respective countries: corruption, political repression, mismanagement of resources, mismanagement of the economy, etc. is an actual invitation for Bush (and Sharon in the background) to come in and set things straight. Thus there is indeed a strong interrelationship with what goes on in the other Arab States with our own state of being. As such, the right way to indicate our fervent desire to be free from foreign interference is to set our house in order, as we see fit, not as others dictate to us. This does not mean, by any means maintaining the status quo. In looking at our situation in Yemen, there is no such thing as a status quo, because we are being forced to project an image of combating terror, by choosing to engage in internal strife that is not in any way related to the War on Terror. Isn't the foreign influence obvious in such a situation? Of course, we must keep abreast of what Mr. Bush or Mr. Sharon are up to, lest our leaders continue to use the New World Order as an excuse to keep their constituents under lock and key, for no justifiable reason than saying we have had enough of all the political wrangling and infighting, while those with strong attachment to the regime are enjoying the time of their life plundering whatever they could without facing any accountability to speak of. We know that if we had a sound government functioning, the economic potential of Yemen would be far more different than the dismal and retractive economy we are forced to live under.
On another note, we should emphasize to those with designs here and there in the region that, they are theoretically forcing us to be skeptical of their designs vis a vis our own countries. In other words, it is not far fetched to assume that fairly soon, we could be the next victim of the designs of the Bush clique and their Zionist mentors (sometimes through the misguided acquiescence of our leaders to what they wrongly perceive as the wishes of Washington). It is an interconnected and intertwining world we live in and we have a moral duty to attach our well being to that of our brothers, without prejudice to seeking improvement in our own turf.
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