Foreign Policy Prostitution - Terrorism Invitation

The recent decision taken by the Maldivian government to restore and develop diplomatic relations with Israel came as a shock to the Maldivian public. The simple question asked by many is: 'Why?' A question that the Maldivian government has miserably failed to answer.

The decision wasn't such a big shocker for me though. This government has been giving signals of its indifference towards Israeli crimes since even before it took office. On 10th November 2008, the then president-elect, Mr. Mohamed Nasheed, while talking to The Guardian about his plans for the newly born democracy, compared his plan to legitimately buy an environmental refuge for Maldivians to what the Zionists did back in the early 1900s in order to acquire Palestinian land!

Now moving on to the real no-brainer: 'WHY?'

Take a slight look at the condition the Maldivian economy is in right now. While the Maldives is currently enjoying the highest GDP per capita in the region, 60% of it is spent on maintaining big government. Foreign debt amounts for 35% of GDP. And we have 5% of our tourism-earned blessings for developmental projects. Yay!

True, there was a time when the President promised to get the economy in ship shape within a week. But I'm sure he's truly and honestly over that day-dream. Now, he's trying to reinitiate the preferencial trade agreement with the US that was suspended in 1995, due to human rights violations by the previous government. Also, let's not forget that we're practically sending SOS messages to the World Bank to help us reduce the giant-sized civil service, recover the green we lost funding the previous regime's corruption, and don't let acquiring more green to fund actual development slip off the list.

Well, Israel isn't exactly the kind of economy where Maldivians will want to be investing in. But truth be told, improving diplomatic relations with Israel sure will help reduce the number of investors who do not want to inject their green in the Maldivian economy because Maldives has been refusing to have relations with a big not-so-behind-the-scenes player in the international community circus. Besides, it's an inarguable fact that the Israeli economy is one of the most highly techonological economies in the world right now. Forget the undisclosed nuclear weapons program. I'm talking about Intel, IBM, and Cisco all having R&D facilities in Tel Aviv. So, I guess you can connect the dots now.

President Mohamed Nasheed, in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, gave more reasons than just that though. He stated that the Maldivian government intends to use its relations with Israel as leverage to push for a sovereign and independant Palestinian homeland. I have one word for you, Mr. President: 'BULLSHIT!' (With all due respect.) Egypt and Jordan have had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1960s. They have more to offer Israel and more leverage to provide for the Palestinians than we ever will. Not once have the two countries been able to use their relations with Israel to reduce or stop the killing of Palestinian people during its many military expeditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hell, all the UN Secretary General was able to do when Israeli military aircrafts bombed a UN-operated school in the Gaza strip last time was to 'strongly condemn both sides'. The Obama administration since it entered the White House has been trying to push the Netanyahu government to freeze settlements. It backfired: Now the Obama administration is asking for a "restraint" in activity.

Reality check, Mr. President: Maldives doesn't even have an airforce to begin with. Israel has the most highly combat-trained, technologically equiped army in the world. And being a nuclear power adds a cherry on top of that cake. What leverage?!

In the meantime, the Maldivian Foreign Minister, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, claims that restoring diplomatic ties with Israel must in no way be seen as condoning the actions of Israel against the Palestinian people. That's kind of hard, really, especially since at the very beginning of this year Israeli aircrafts and tanks and footsoldiers assaulted a people trapped in a refugee camp, and killed thousands of civilians including hundreds of children. So what's our reaction? Go to the UN and shake hands with the Foreign Minister who's pushing for more illegal settlements. Bravo! Way to to use leverage.

And just for kicks, let's take the Palestinian people and any feelings of solidarity the general Maldivian public may or may not feel towards them out of the picture. It's an undisputed fact that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the failure of the international community to bring an end to it, has inspired a many Islamic terrorists. Maldives had its first brush with terrorism when a group of extremists exploded a home-made bomb in Sultan Park, which houses the National Museum. Don't get the wrong idea: We shouldn't bow down to that kind of extreme demands and extreme methods. But will the restoration of diplomatic relations with Israel not fuel more extremist thought? Do we want to legitimise attacking our country in the eyes of extremists the same way a US military base in Saudi Arabia legitimised, in the eyes of some, rebellion and the use of terrorism against the Saudi government. And for what? Agricultural help? Seriously?!

In any case, it's questionable if getting under the sheets with the Israel for a one-night stand will in any way benefit the people of Maldives. It will help Israel get a facelift sure, especially after the Goldstone report. Bravo, Mr. Nasheed and Dr. Shaheed! Way to expose us to extremism and terrorism just so that the Israeli government will provide agricultural help. Were they the only ones who could do that?

History is written by the victor - Winston Churchill

In this case victors are those who write history.

How many times have you heard on the media statements like, 'You can't change the history', 'History bears witness to such and such'? I bet you heard it a lot, and I bet that lately, you heard it being said a lot by Arabs.

Well, to all of those who are silly enough to keep on dreaming that 'History will bear witness to our rights or suffering or that we were not murderers but victims', it's time to wake up. History is written by the victors. And in this day and age of mass media, victory is all about being able and daring to write history the way you like. A history that will highlight that you have rights. That you have suffered. That you are not the murderers but the victims.

History is not about what actually happened. It's about what and how much people remember from what happened. So if you want to write history, you have to make sure that people remember the happenings the way you like them to remember. Unfortunately, in many of the struggles by the weak and the wretched, the question of survival overpowers the question of history. In the end, many a people's stories are lost to the tales of the past.

Yes, you're right about what I'm getting at with all this talk. The Palestinian struggle is long past the stage where it has become a struggle for a place in History. Zionists have managed to legitimize their state on lands that belong to the Palestinians. If the Palestinians want to legitimize their claim on their homeland now, the land of their fathers and forefathers, they have to more than fight the aggressors.

People seem to be forgetting about how this struggle started. Many people think that the Israelis were living peacefully in their own homes when the Palestinians came out of no where and started rocketing them. Israel has managed to highlight the small amount of deaths and casualties they've had on their side (compared to the deaths and wounds suffered by the Palestinians) so much that the hundreds of thousands of Muslim and Arab deaths at the hands of Zionists starting from long before the establishment of the state of Israel seem to get diminished. People today don't know about the Palestinian people who were murdered raped and intimidated out of their homes when Zionists established a state for themselves in their land. Truth be told few people know the true extent of the atrocities carried out by the Zionists against the people of Palestine.

I've heard many people wonder, 'Why won't Hamas just stop fighting? Why don't they just accept the existence of Israel especially since they've gained legitimacy through United Nations?' And I wonder how many of those people know that the Palestinian refugees come from not only towns and villages within the Gaza Strip and whatever is left of the West Bank after the illegal Israeli settlements. Where do they expect those people to return. I also wonder how many of those people have known about Mr. Khalid Mish'al's interviews with different newscasters since 2006, I believe, in which he has said that a the Hamas movement could accept a peace deal under which a Palestinian state will be established within 1967 borders. Have they heard about the same offer being made by Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zafar. I wonder if they know that Hamas adhered to the last truce despite being put under an economic blockade until Israel broke that truce in early November.

The truth is, they don't know. And most people don't have the time to try to find out. If you are struggling for a cause, and if you want to establish your rights, and if you want public support, it's not enough to simply fight with weaponry for that cause. People are busy. And people want the information to be at their doorstep when the collect the newspaper every morning. People want the information to be a click away when they decide to watch the news.

The truth is, Zionists do that. They provide whatever fabrications they want people to believe at people's doorsteps. On their TVs. On their PCs when they browse the internet. While writing this blog, I wanted to know the number of Palestinians killed before 1967 and I typed in 'palestine; massacres; before 1967' in the Google search engine. The first site on the list reads 'List of attacks against Israeli civilian before 1967'. They provide their stories and people accept them.

Unfortunately, from the other side of the conflict, the PR is not so great. The current PR strategy seems to be the Palestinian internal conflicts. Believe me, it's not helping the Palestinian image. Many people are just sick and tired of it. So first things first: Someone has to broker a Palestinian unity plan. And in the mean time, someone has to write history. Educate people about the Palestinian suffering. Raise awareness. And that's not the duty of Palestinians alone. Every single person among us who claim to sympathize with the Palestinian cause, it's the least we can do!

History is written by the victor. And in this race for people's minds and hearts, victory is defined by who dares to write history.