Outcome of
Arab Summit
By: E. Yaghi
Red
carpets have been rolled back. Trombones no longer blare and drums no longer
boom. There are no endless formations of goose stepping soldiers to receive,
honor and march to a seemingly never ending procession of kings, princes and
heads of state. The helicopters no longer hover overhead and sentries posted
throughout Amman no longer keep vigil. Streets are no longer blockaded or
cordoned off and traffic moves more frantically than ever. The grandest of all
hotels, where dignitaries congregated, looks like a tinsel ghost town.
And so it has all ended. The
fancy eloquent loooooooooooooong speeches, the indecision, the hesitation to
take any decisive action, the overflowing rhetoric, the beating around the bush
and countless press conferences where some of those who staged such scenes
sugar-coated the failure of the whole scenario.
Yes, there was pomp and
ceremony. The silk cloaks, the gold braided head bands, the expensive suits, the
army of attendants and body guards all disappeared in a swoosh as suddenly as
they had come. Across the boundless stretches of red carpets, leaders, heads of
state, kings, princes and all floated back to their respective extravagant
palaces to forget once more until the next summit, Palestinian children dying in
the streets.
Even before the disintegration
of the summit, Israel launched deadly attacks on Palestinian cities. Israeli
helicopters bombarded Palestinian security forces and the home of Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat was damaged in the process.
The greatest thing that came out
of the summit was that the Arab leaders, staunch make-believe defenders of
Palestinian rights, human rights, justice, freedom, and the Holy Land agreed to
“support” the Intifada. Support here means to nod their heads in sympathy
when a Palestinian child or elderly person dies on the streets or in their
homes. Support means that the
millionaire, or rather shall we say billionaire rulers, pay by proxy for
Palestinian babies to die on their behalf in defense of Haram al-Sharif. It’s
ok if Palestinian kids die as long as the sons and daughters of the nobility are
fed with diamond spoons and pampered in ways the ordinary could never imagine.
In fact, it would be no big deal if Israel killed all Palestinians as long as
the Arab leaders remain untouched.
As expected, during the summit,
elaborate banquets were spread out on miles and miles of ornate tables. And
bellies, some of them hanging hopelessly over imaginary belts, were stuffed to
the max on feasts fit for kings and princes and the like. Some of the poverty
stricken masses did manage to stare through the stained glass windows of Le
Meridien at the feasts spread out before their eyes, but they were dismissed by
a wave of multi-ringed royal hands to the tune of, “Hmph! If they can’t
afford to buy bread, let them eat biscuits instead.”
During the summit, two suicide
bombers blew themselves up, taking with them an Israeli or two. Though any act
against civilian targets cannot be condoned regardless of who the instigator is,
such suicide bombings are a result of the frustrations and utter despair of
Palestinians living under the most brutal occupation.
CNN no longer pretends to report
the news of Palestinians being slaughtered with any objectivity. A stone thrown
by infant Palestinian Davids is defined as “violence” while Israeli
helicopters, army jeeps, tanks, and soldiers who shoot to kill the innocents are
defined as those who are merely enforcing law and order in the form of
“reprisals.”
George W. Bush had the insolence
to stand up in front of the world and condemn Palestinians who are fighting not
just for freedom and liberty anymore, but for their very lives and then say that
it is time the Palestinian Authority contains the violence and those who are
responsible for it. Obviously he conveniently forgot that it is Israeli jeeps,
tanks, gunboats and helicopters that bombard indiscriminately Palestinian
civilian targets on Palestinian land. Obviously he forgot to mention that there
are no Palestinian jeeps, tanks, gunboats and helicopters bombarding Israeli
homes and civilian targets. It is beyond a doubt that this “born again”
Christian has been listening to too many Billy Graham sermons. In case you
forgot who Rev. Graham is, he is the rich and famous evangelist who
“blessed” George Senior’s bombing of Iraq.
Bush’s
condemnation followed the US veto of a UN resolution that would provide UN
observers to protect Palestinian civilians from the war that is being waged by
Israel on the entire Palestinian community. Apparently Bush too decided that it
is ok if Palestinians children are killed as long as the children who die are
not his own.
The eloquent summit speeches
have not brought back any Palestinian children to life nor replaced any limbs
that have been amputated. Arab leaders have promised to pay $40 million a month
for a period of 6 months to the Palestinian Authority. But who will pay hard
cash to the orphans of the Intifada, to those who are permanently impaired, to
those who are starving? It is not very likely that any of the $40 million a
month will reach those who so desperately need financial support.
The Arab leaders did not deliver
an ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon nor did they demand the
Americans tell the Israelis to stop their holocaust of the Palestinians. Bush
has not asked that the siege of the Palestinian homes and cities be lifted, nor
insisted that Israelis get off Palestinian backs.
The Arab leaders did have a
chance to insist that there be a just, comprehensive peace based on fairness,
equality and the inalienable rights of all concerned parties. They had the power
to make demands to issue threats not in the name of war but in the name of
justice, in the name of freedom, in the name of human decency. Arab leaders had
their chance, they have the power, the money and the means but here again, they
don’t have the guts, they simply don’t care and most of them are
client-agents of American and Israeli whims. They left the summit as they began
it, unwilling to make any sacrifices, unwilling to unite on a common cause but
willing to let the slaughter of Palestinian civilians continue.
Meanwhile, Palestinians will
continue to bury their dead as the massacre goes on.
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