Hypocrisy United: The Palestinian Nationhood
Palestinians want to be recognized
as a State, what's wrong with that? Israel was curved out of Palestine
in one of the first acts of the rubber-stamp imperialism era. That was a
different age. That was a time when the retreating British empire
wanted to leave small pockets of direct influence and weaken the
incumbent states. So, we had Pakistan, which was meant to be a client
state of the Empire overlooking its oil interests in Persia; So was
Israel, another protege, another victim, tasked with the job of holding
Middle East on balance. But, Israel was being curved out of Palestine, a
state which existed then, which the Palestinians objected to. They
ended up being gobbled up, exactly as they would have feared, in the
end.
For
someone watching the drama, this would have been amusing if not for all
the bloodshed. Palestinians objected to Israel then not because they
were nationally minded, but it made no sense curving out some land to a
nation of immigrants. It was dispossession of their own land they
feared, and they turned out to be prescient. Today, they are coming back
to the United Nations as they have acquired a sense of nationhood,
united in dispossession let us say, and the Head Honchos there,
including our Tony Blair, are behaving as if nationalism is so last
century. Blair says things which only a politician can say: Seeking
nationhood is bad because it can jeopardize the peace process. Peace
process for what? These guys just supported the Libyans in their quest
of Liberty over peace, and now this. I am almost thinking - how does
this guy keep a straight face and say this without wincing - a trick I
must try to learn.
The
point is, indeed, Israel is as much a victim as the Palestinians, as
Indians and Pakistanis are united in that sense. The generations of
people in Asia have become Children of Violence, foot soldiers and pawns
in the global game of power, resource grab and influence by proxy. I am
no conspiracy theorist and don't necessarily see a group of imperial
bosses shrouded in secrecy here. Rather, I see a group of people so
immersed in personal comfort and sense of power that they are unable to
see beyond it. These guys are regular blokes - not Tony Blair, you would
think he is devious - who work in banks, governments and newspapers. I
don't necessarily believe that they lie, just that they believe truth is
what they say.
This
is where Palestinian nationhood makes them very uncomfortable. This is
not what they want, and they will do everything, with some lame excuses,
to topple the plan. The plan is simple: These poor Palestinians should
be happy with the hand-outs, periodic invitations to peace conferences
in luxury resorts and getaways, and not talk beyond their station. The
fact is that they are being so stupid to challenge the hand that feeds
them is really upsetting people, notwithstanding the fact that they are
dying of starvation anyway.
It
is uncomfortable timing too. The 'revolutions' in Egypt, Tunisia and
Libya are still underway, and the bosses are clinging on to power
through some of their clients, who were asked to expropriate the street
revolutions. It is laughable that BBC is now making a documentary on
'Facebook revolution' in Egypt, though the revolution on Facebook and
Twitter only happened outside Egypt (as Facebook was shut down inside
anyway). It is the same trick again: Make a defeat look like a victory
and fool the people with a sense of freedom. It has gone on for too long
though, and it is hard to maintain this any longer. People are still
protesting in Cairo and Palestinians are coming back for the nationhood
vote. Libyans are making uncomfortable noises. The people don't seem to
know their station any more, they are not happy anymore with what's
being handed down to them. They are asking: They are taking the rhetoric
of democracy and freedom too seriously.
This is time for a tune change perhaps: Let the final act begin.
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