Category Archives: English

August 25, 2011 · 13:57

Questions and Uncertainties Regarding the Palestinian Statehood Bid

Commentary by Riccardo Dugulin – 25 August 2011

Mahmoud Abbas

Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary general of the PLO, called it a ‘crime against humanity’ when on August 14 Syrian troops started firing indiscriminately at the Al Ramel Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian town of Latakia. The prompt condemnation of these acts by the Arab League and the ongoing increase of sanctions against the Syrian crackdown appeared as a clear statement denouncing these events as a further criminal act in a five months long brutal repression by the Assad regime. Continue reading →

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Filed under English, Palestine & Israel

Tagged as Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu, Palestine, Palestinian Statehood, Palestinian-Israeli conflict

August 22, 2011 · 18:52

Why Libya 2011 is not Iraq 2003

Commentary by Janaina Herrera – 22 August 2011

Benghazi celebrates the adoption of the UNSC resolution 1973, 17 March 2011

Many, including China, Russia and other emerging powers[1] have opposed a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution condemning the Syrian regime for its ruthless crackdown on protestors. For many of these countries, the reproduction of the Libyan precedent has been a major cause for fear. They believe that any harsh condemnation of Damascus’s tyrannical repression could unleash a sequence similar to that of the Libyan scenario: condemnation would lead to multilateral sanctions, and from there to the possibility of military intervention if other methods were to prove ineffective. The intervention in Libya has been the cause for debate. For many, criticism has revolved around the idea that NATO military action in Libya is associated with the Iraq War of 2003. In the context of current massive human rights violations in Syria and other restive Arab states, such a comparison merits considerable attention. Continue reading →

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Filed under Arab Spring, English, Iraq, Libya

Tagged as Iraq, Iraq War 2003, Janaina Herrera, Libya, Libya War, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, NATO, Qaddafi

August 18, 2011 · 13:25

Palestine’s Legal and Legitimate Bid to Statehood and UN Membership

Commentary by Shereen Dbouk – 18 August 2011

Source: http://www.sauer-thompson.com/.

It is official. According to Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki, the Palestinian National Authority (PA) will present its application for a full UN membership this September at the 66th UN General Assembly. Faced with a peace process in a persistent deadlock and Israeli Prime Minister B. Netanyahu’s continued defiance of the international consensus over a two State solution, the PA has decided to take a unilateral step toward international recognition. This marks the culmination of a two years strategy by Prime Minister Salam Fayed, which has led to wide diplomatic recognition and the building of independent Institutions for the future State of Palestine within the1967 borders. Now the moment is ripe for Palestine to claim its admission as the 194th member state of the United Nations. Continue reading →

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Filed under English, Foreign Policy & IR, Palestine & Israel

Tagged as Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestine, Palestine UN bid, Shereen Dbouk, Two state solution

August 15, 2011 · 11:47

Interview: Michael Young on the “Arab Spring”

Michael Young

Michael Young is one of the leading political analysts in the Middle East and broader Arab world. He is the opinion editor of the The Daily Star (Lebanon) and the author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle. He also tweets @BeirutCalling. In light of recent developments in the region, ArabsThink.com has had the opportunity to interview Michael Young about his take on events. The interview was conducted on the 9^th of August 2011. Continue reading →

Standstill of Turkish-Syrian Relations Decisive for Syria

Commentary by Van Meguerditchian – 11 August 2011

Bashar al-Assad & Ahmet Davutoglu

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s speech in Ankara following a six-hour talk with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad signals a crucial turning point in the shaky relations between the two Middle Eastern states. As Assad stood firm on his belief that his army is fighting terrorist groups, Mr. Davutoglu took another step towards allying his country with pro-democracy protesters in Syria. Continue reading →

The Pesky Middle Classes of Syria’s Regime: The Paradox of a Caste that Must Shape Syria’s Post-Revolutionary Future

Commentary by Tamer Mallat – July 18 2011

For source click here

It was on March 15, 2011, in the heart of the Syrian capital Damascus, that the spark of a protest attended by no more than a few dozens ignited a revolution that would engage millions. It is in Damascus where, symbolically, and then structurally, the Syrian Revolution will bear fruit and finally end. Symbolically, because the capital represents, with the northern city of Aleppo, one of the last autocratic havens for the regime. Structurally, because the fall of these fortresses will not be the work of the countryside revolutionaries, but by those who today constitute the last bastions of regime support: the urban Syrian middle classes. Continue reading →

Libya and the Institutionalization of Humanitarian Interventions

Commentary by Shereen Dbouk – 13 July 2011

For source click here

When the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) decided to authorize a military intervention in Libya, most of us were still processing what was happening in Egypt. In matter of weeks, two UN Resolutions had been adopted and the fear of continuing war crimes being committed without being challenged by the international community was lifted with a sigh of relief. Continue reading →