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On Wednesday the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) along with some trade unions and other organisations mounted a protest exercise outside the U.S. embassy against the violence being unleashed on the Palestinians by Israel in Gaza.
The PPP-led protest was not surprising, because historically the party has stood on the side of the homeless Palestinians and in Guyana has always been in the forefront in giving support and solidarity to their struggle for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In both the local and international arenas, the PPP has championed the cause of the Palestinian people who, for decades, have been suffering at the hands of the Israelis, aided and abetted by the U.S. and its western allies.
All the Palestinians want is a homeland and despite resolution after resolution being passed at the UN and other international fora, supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state and condemning Israel for its genocide against the Palestinian people and illegal occupation of lands belonging to them, the situation has not changed much.
The major reason for this is that the U.S. and its western allies are fully supportive of Israel’s actions because it is their gendarme in the Middle East. The collapse of the Warsaw Pact bloc has not helped the Palestinian struggle either because the absence of a counter- balancing bloc gives the west a freer hand to act in a manner that suits its interests.
However, a credible theory of why there can be no peace in the Middle East of which the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a pivotal component is that U.S. economic and geo-political interests take precedence and over-arching priority over everything else.
It is a well established fact that the U.S. military-industrial complex is the foundation of its economy, without which it may collapse, and therefore if the Palestinian problem is resolved and it brings lasting peace, then arms sales to the Middle East will decrease dramatically and this will have equally dramatic effects on the U.S. economy. So the U.S.’s strategy is to keep the area at boiling point and forget about the suffering of people, the innocent loss of lives of children, women and men and the indescribable agony of those who are living under the siege and tyranny of the Israelis.
But this is the same country which is the self appointed “world policeman” which believes it is the bulwark of democracy and human rights and everything righteous and is trying to impose its values on almost every other country.
The human rights of the Palestinian people have been violated for decades by the Israelis, but the self-appointed bulwark of democracy and human rights has been silent. In fact, it has been increasingly supportive of Israel and condemnatory of the Palestinians, branding them as terrorists. But the Israelis who have been slaughtering innocent, defenceless people are branded as democrats and upholders of human rights.
The Israelis have the right to possess nuclear weapons but the Iranians do not have the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Such is the double standards of the self- appointed “world policeman”. If you are its puppet you do no harm or wrong. If you are not then all that you do is harmful and wrong. This is the cardinal principle that guides the U.S. foreign policy and perhaps is the fundamental reason there is no resolution of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Maybe, the closest to a lasting solution came during negotiations between the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat and late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, but the latter was assassinated when they were on the verge of reaching agreement on the resolution of the conflict.
While an Israeli extremist has been convicted for the killing of Rabin, there is strong evidence to make one believe that major U.S. interests were behind the assassination plot.
Similarly, the controversial death of Arafat could be linked to powerful U.S. interests. We may never know the truth behind these deaths but we know for sure that there are powerful interests who do not want peace in the Middle East and would do anything to undermine it.
History has repeatedly shown that justice always triumphs over injustice, no matter how long it takes and this certainly gives hope to the Palestinian people that one day they will also receive justice in their just cause for a homeland.
The PPP-led protest was not surprising, because historically the party has stood on the side of the homeless Palestinians and in Guyana has always been in the forefront in giving support and solidarity to their struggle for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In both the local and international arenas, the PPP has championed the cause of the Palestinian people who, for decades, have been suffering at the hands of the Israelis, aided and abetted by the U.S. and its western allies.
All the Palestinians want is a homeland and despite resolution after resolution being passed at the UN and other international fora, supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state and condemning Israel for its genocide against the Palestinian people and illegal occupation of lands belonging to them, the situation has not changed much.
The major reason for this is that the U.S. and its western allies are fully supportive of Israel’s actions because it is their gendarme in the Middle East. The collapse of the Warsaw Pact bloc has not helped the Palestinian struggle either because the absence of a counter- balancing bloc gives the west a freer hand to act in a manner that suits its interests.
However, a credible theory of why there can be no peace in the Middle East of which the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a pivotal component is that U.S. economic and geo-political interests take precedence and over-arching priority over everything else.
It is a well established fact that the U.S. military-industrial complex is the foundation of its economy, without which it may collapse, and therefore if the Palestinian problem is resolved and it brings lasting peace, then arms sales to the Middle East will decrease dramatically and this will have equally dramatic effects on the U.S. economy. So the U.S.’s strategy is to keep the area at boiling point and forget about the suffering of people, the innocent loss of lives of children, women and men and the indescribable agony of those who are living under the siege and tyranny of the Israelis.
But this is the same country which is the self appointed “world policeman” which believes it is the bulwark of democracy and human rights and everything righteous and is trying to impose its values on almost every other country.
The human rights of the Palestinian people have been violated for decades by the Israelis, but the self-appointed bulwark of democracy and human rights has been silent. In fact, it has been increasingly supportive of Israel and condemnatory of the Palestinians, branding them as terrorists. But the Israelis who have been slaughtering innocent, defenceless people are branded as democrats and upholders of human rights.
The Israelis have the right to possess nuclear weapons but the Iranians do not have the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Such is the double standards of the self- appointed “world policeman”. If you are its puppet you do no harm or wrong. If you are not then all that you do is harmful and wrong. This is the cardinal principle that guides the U.S. foreign policy and perhaps is the fundamental reason there is no resolution of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Maybe, the closest to a lasting solution came during negotiations between the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat and late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, but the latter was assassinated when they were on the verge of reaching agreement on the resolution of the conflict.
While an Israeli extremist has been convicted for the killing of Rabin, there is strong evidence to make one believe that major U.S. interests were behind the assassination plot.
Similarly, the controversial death of Arafat could be linked to powerful U.S. interests. We may never know the truth behind these deaths but we know for sure that there are powerful interests who do not want peace in the Middle East and would do anything to undermine it.
History has repeatedly shown that justice always triumphs over injustice, no matter how long it takes and this certainly gives hope to the Palestinian people that one day they will also receive justice in their just cause for a homeland.
