Bouthaina Shaaban
21 June 2018
When the representative of the United States speaks of “moral authority” in the Security Council, one wonders whether she realises that she is using an expression that is in stark contrast to the decisions taken by the United States in that international forum, and most of what the United States has done to nations and peoples since its creation, which came on the remains of a civilization, its history, customs and traditions that were destroyed in cold blood, and for decades. The only human use of the atomic bomb, which claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, was when the US used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Japan) at the end of World War II. Since that date, the United States has used its military forces to occupy countries and change regimes from Korea to Vietnam, Cambodia, South America, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, and now Syria. At the same time, sanctions are being used against any country that aspires to true independence and freedom from old colonialism. While using the veto at the UN Security Council against liberation movements seeking to free their countries from occupation and aggression. In this regard, the Palestinian people who fought against the Israeli occupation and aspired to liberate Palestine have had the largest share of the American vetos in the Security Council. It is no exaggeration to say that the United States, which used the veto nearly 40 times to prevent the Palestinian people from asserting its rights, and has stood alone in the face of the international community and deprived the Palestinian people of a global consensus in favour of its cause. It has become clear in the last two years that the United States and the ‘Zionist entity’ are in a position that is contrary to the conscience of the international community and to the moral authority dictated by this conscience. Therefore, the United States does not seem to use its veto to allow the world conscience to speak in this regard and to give true support to the Palestinian sacrifices for freedom and independence. Today, the Palestinian people are determined to continue with their peaceful uprising, which has been met only by criminal Israeli brutality targeting unarmed and innocent children, women, young men and women with all types of weapons. Today, the United States is vetoing a draft resolution calling for the protection of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank from attacks by the Israeli occupation. Although the primary purpose of giving veto power to a handful of States is to protect international peace and security, how can this right be used to prevent the protection of an unarmed people in the face of a bloody and criminal occupation?
On the other hand, there is a question for all the Arab countires. Do you like the sight of the Palestinians being martyred daily, their blood shed on that holy land, while Arab regimes and Arab politicians are preoccupied with the details of everyday political life? Will such policies lead to the strength and prosperity of these countries? Arab political life has been moulded with ready-made templates and lines that do not transcend or exceed them. These stereotypes guarantee the perpetuation of the vacuum with personal victories here and partial losses there without clear and solid strategies and visions at the national level. Most of the Arab states have failed after their independence to build systems of government, mechanisms of action and a way of conducting society that ensures progress and works to address any gaps and strengthen the nation, away from personal loyalties and ambitions. The most serious problem is that we do not see in the political infrastructure and parties present in the Arab political arena any thinking or planning at this level, which leaves the true adherers of the Arab cause in our Arab world, and the Palestinians are at the top of the list, fighting the occupation armed with their bodies, with their children, their future, and their livelihoods, while the energies of the nation are actually to protect the enemies of the nation and those who provide them with an umbrella of protection in the Security Council. The United States and the Zionist entity have learned from the experience of South Africa, where international conscience and moral authority have been a fundamental guarantee of South Africa’s freedom. What the United States is doing today in the Security Council, and on every international platform is to try to prevent the world conscience from providing major and irreversible support until the Palestinian people regain their rights and regain their full territory. What are the possible ways, given this poor Arab reality, to secure Arab, regional and international support, which is much needed at the moment?
Bouthaina Shaaban is a Syrian politician and is currently the political and media adviser to the President of Syria.
Important Note: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Syriana Analysis editorial policy.