ReflectionsUN-Stan, Arabistan, Houthi-Stan & Eritrea-Stan [Archives:2005/836/Opinion]
By Yahya Al-Olfi
[email protected]
UN-stan:
The United Nations was established after World War Two. Its main achievements surround the establishment of Israel, which some say was established as an outpost for the West in the oil rich Middle East, and to solve the Jewish issue in Europe. The second achievement of the UN is its non-application of UN resolutions on Israel through the notorious American veto.
Lately, talk is heating up about widening Security Council membership. I think it would be fit to accept all genuine democracies as full Council members, but instead of the veto system, a majority vote should apply. Adherence to human rights and real democracy should be the benchmark for prospective members. Beijing could remain a member provided that it adheres to human rights and never repeats the outrageous events of Tiananmen Square.
Arabistan:
I once read a book by an Englishman and his wife who toured Syria, Iraq and Iran on camelback. What attracted my attention was the fact that Iran has many Arab Nomadic tribes and the fact that the English couple were hosted, more than once, by the Iranian Sunni Arabs, while the Iranian Persians were xenophobic and interested only money.
The British colonialists deliberately annexed several Iraqi territories into today's Iran, the people of that area (Iran's Marsh Arabs) call their oil rich area “Arabistan”. Being Shiites, they sided with Iran against Saddam Hussein. Now they are complaining about Persian oppression and seek Arab support, which has not been forthcoming as most Arabs are Sunni Muslims and distrust Iranian ideology. They will have to wait longer for “Abasalih” who will never come, except in their dreams.
Houthistan & the Racist Parties:
The writer al-Mugahed in al-Thaqafiyah issue 288, Thursday 21 April 2005, correctly called the recent events in Sa'ada an incomplete achievement, because the main rebels are still on the run. A similar rebellion is bound to emerge under the allegation of children of the two tummies if the serpents' heads are not caught.
On the other hand, I do not know whether it is good for Yemen to annul the two racist parties “al-Haqq” and “al-Ittihad” or leave them, as they just represent a tiny inflexible minority.
Eritrea-stan:
According to my Eritrean friend Berkessa Tesfaye who is a refugee in Yemen, the current rulers of Eritrea do not seem to be able to remain in power except by antagonizing their neighbors. Yemen has always hosted and is still hosting an ever-increasing number of Eritreans. Yemeni sea guards have never shot at an Eritrean boat even if it is in the edge of our coast, not to mention our continually violated territorial waters. The government of Eritrea has the right to protect its territorial waters but it is not free to shoot to kill. Everybody around the world ought to criticize this behavior on the part of the Eritrean government, behavior that my friend Berkessa treats with contempt too.
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