ArabsThink.com

March 26, 2012 · 13:59

Human Rights and Syria: An Original Position for the Gulf?

Commentary by Riccardo Dugulin – 26 March 2012

Source: informeuropa.it

On February 29, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted by an overwhelming majority a resolution condemning the flagrant violations of human rights in Syria. Regardless of the fact that the HRC cannot generate legally binding resolutions, the move of the council must be read as a major step forward in the international push to limit Bashar al-Assad’s ability to further wage war on his own population. Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been instrumental in drafting and garnering support for the resolution. The Syrian crisis represents the first event in Middle Eastern recent history in which local Arab powers, along with Turkey, openly take a position and lead the way in denouncing crimes committed by an Arab government against its own population through a UN resolution. Continue reading →

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Filed under English, Foreign Policy & IR, Gulf states, Lebanon & Syria

Tagged as Human rights, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Syrian Revolution, Turkey, UN Human Rights Council (HRC)

March 15, 2012 · 18:09

عام على الثّورة

بقلم أسامة حريري – ١٥ آذار ٢٠١٢

لربّما جفّت الأقلام من كثر المقالات التي كُتبت عن الثورة السوريّة و لربّما جفّت أيضاّ العيون من كثرة الدّموع التي ذُرِفت علما أنّ الدّموع لا تنفع. عام مضى على بدء الثورة في سوريا وما زال المدنييون العُزّل يُقتلون يوميا ويشرّدون ويعذّبون تحت أعين العالم أجمع. إلى أين نحن ذاهبون إذا في مسلسل القتل هذا ؟ أي متى ستدرك الدوّل الكُبرى أنّه قد آن الأوان لنسيان الجيوسياسية وموازين القوى والبدء بالتفكير بشكل إنساني ؟! لو كانت المشاكل تُحلّ بالشّجب والتّنديد ، لكانت سوريا اليوم تعيش بسلام من دون الطّاغية الذي ما زال قابعا في قصره في دمشق. ماذا ينتظر الثورة السوريّة بعد عام على بدئها ؟ الى أين ستؤدّي سياسة تضييع الوقت والتخبّط التي يتّبعها المجتمع الدولي ؟ Continue reading →

Little Hope for Iran as Green Movement Fades Away

Commentary by Behrooz Vosooghi* – 11 March 2012

"Grandpa says no action is necessary, you just need to put a mirror above each voting box". Source: mardomak.org

It was in June 2009 when an estimated 3 million people marched toward Azadi square in Tehran, showing their opposition to the result of the Islamic Republic’s tenth presidential election. Ever since hundreds of men and women were killed either in the streets or in prisons, thousands more have been imprisoned and tortured, and political leaders have been made to confess before millions of TV viewers. The Islamic regime has sustained the crackdown it first adopted against the opposition. Some people wonder what drove the Green Movement into isolation this fast? I here offer a few reasons for this. Continue reading →

Hezbollah: From Lethal Politics to Political Suicide

Commentary by Oussama Hariri – 1 March 2012

This article was first published in Arabic.

Source: mar15.info

In a recent speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, reasserted his party’s support to the Syrian regime. Among his rather far-fetched statements was the blunt denial of what is happening in Homs, describing the city’s massacres merely as exaggerated events. While the people of Homs face a brutal ordeal, Hezbollah is far from changing its political course. Successful policy is based on adapting to changing times and the emergence of new political players. While change has swept across the political scene in the Arab world with new powers rising and others declining, one cannot help but wonder where Hezbollah’s policy, the fierce defense of a doomed regime, will lead it; all this in the context of the changing prospects of regimes across the Arab world. Continue reading →

La « main étrangère » pour faire oublier les mains locales

Par Kamel Daoud – 27 février 2012

Kamel Daoud, journaliste algérien

Qu’est-ce que la main étrangère ? Quand on serre la main de Hillary Clinton qui vient voter avant le peuple et valider avant les urnes, cette main est-elle étrangère ou chaleureuse et bienvenue? A creuser. Car la «main étrangère» semble servir à tout et à rien du tout. Quand un dictateur sent son heure venir, il évoque souvent, dans ce «monde arabe», la main étrangère. Celle qui ne veut pas de lui. Pourtant, il est le premier à courir l’empoigner. La main étrangère vote dans le monde «arabe». Elle élit et choisit. Elle désigne et signe. Continue reading →

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Filed under Algeria, Arab Spring, Français

Tagged as Algérie, élections législatives 10 mai 2012, Bashar al-Assad, colonisation, complot, Hillary Clinton, kamel daoud, Syrie

February 19, 2012 · 14:56

Republican Foreign Policy and the Changing Middle East

Commentary by Wajdi Mallat – 19 February 2012

Source: articles.nydailynews.com

The Republican Party has for a long time been known as the more credible party on foreign policy in the United States. While the Republicans are typically against heavy spending on government, they have always been adamant that military spending should not be cut. George W. Bush based a large part of his reelection campaign on his and his party’s strength on foreign policy, especially in the difficult times following the attacks of 9/11 and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. His campaign frequently attacked Democratic candidate John Kerry for being too soft to be able to lead the country. Whether or not the Republican Party has earned its strong reputation on foreign policy is another issue, yet the impression in the United States makes it clear that it is considered the stronger of the two when it comes to foreign relations. Continue reading →

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Filed under English, Foreign Policy & IR

Tagged as George W. Bush, Herman Cain, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republican Party, Rick Perry, US Presidential Elections 2012, Wajdi Mallat

February 14, 2012 · 14:31

حزب الله : عن السياسات القاتلة

بقلم أسامة حريري – ١٤ شباط ٢٠١٢

Source: Islamtimes.org

منذ بضعة أيّام قام الأمين العام لحزب الله حسن نصرالله بإلقاء خطاب أكّد فيه من جديد دعم حزبه للنّظام السوري. وجاء في الكلمة التي أُلقيت تصريحات بعيدة عن الواقع أتى فيها نفي ما يحدث في حمص من مجازر على أنّها أحداث متفرّقة مبالغ في أمرها. ففي الوقت الذي يُقتل فيه أهالي حمص بالمئات ما زال حزب الله لم يغير أجندته السياسية علما أنّ السياسات الناجحة هي تلك التي تعتمد على التغيير و التّأقلم مع مرور الوقت وظهور لاعبين جدد على السّاحة وقد بدأ التغيير يظهر في العالم العربي مع صعود قوى جديدة وهبوط أخرى. فإلى أين تؤدّي هذه السياسة التي ينتهجها الحزب ( الإستماتة في الدفاع عن نظام يحتضر ) في خضم ما يحدث في العالم العربي من سقوط أنظمة وقيام أخرى ؟ Continue reading →