‘Unacceptable state of Arab affairs’

The current state of Arab affairs is unacceptable by any standards. Some serious fence mending needs to happen before the situation deteriorates even further.

To be sure, inter-Arab relations have, for a long time, been far from satisfactory.

There have always been jealousies, rivalries, backstabbing, friction and even animosity among different Arab countries or group of countries.

This is “politics”, one might say.

In fact, one cannot recall in recent or distant memory a period when Arab countries have shown true solidarity with each other, though at times they came close to what one would desire.

Still, what we witness at present, starting with the Arab Spring era, which commenced in January 2011, is most probably unprecedented.

Two current developments are particularly disturbing to all those who care about Arab understanding and unity. 

The first is the tendency of some Arab countries working with imperialist and other regional forces to meddle in the internal affairs of other Arab countries, and even destabilise their political order.

In some cases, this meddling translated into regime change, destruction of a country’s institutions and infrastructure, and the forced migration of its citizens.

The second, a reaction to the first, is the trend of some Arab countries (Arab regimes, rather) that feel threatened by other Arab countries or regimes to invite foreign powers to protect them, thus placing themselves under the hegemony of those countries.

Both trends are at once negative and destructive, to the countries directly involved and to the overall Arab region.

Not long ago, Arabs struggled to get rid of foreign domination or colonisation. Now, consciously or unconsciously, they are bringing it back.

How would Arabs benefit from placing themselves and their countries at the mercy of imperialist or subversive foreign powers?

In such situation, there are no Arab winners. If anyone stands to win, it is the foreign countries that manipulate Arabs for their own strategic or tactical gains. 

At present, inter-Arab animosity and foreign hegemony in some Arab countries are at a peak and harming our region badly.

In addition to the literal destruction that is unfolding in front of our eyes, and the violence and the destabilisation of the entire region, the feeling of insecurity and uncertainty millions of Arab citizens have about their future and about the horrors that might still materialise can be very damaging.

Security and certainty are essential if development is to happen. There is no future for the Arabs, peoples and countries, without this sense of security and certainty, and without inter-Arab understanding, respect, recognition of sovereignties, and then coordination and collaboration.

Inviting others from the region and beyond to intervene in matters or concerns that Arabs, and Arabs alone, can and should address has to stop.

An initiative with this end in mind needs to be launched soon, lest such self-destructive trends escalate and cause more damage and more horrors.