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Press statement the arab world pot on the boil

By Firoz Osman

The Media Review Network is inspired and astonished at the rapidity of the uprising against the unelected and unrepresentative rulers in Egypt, Algeria and Libya following the ousting of the despotic Ben Ali leadership, in Tunisia, a few weeks ago.

The revelations of the Palestinian Papers, leaked by Al Jazeera, demonstrates the depth of depravity of the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas, who were being moulded by the Israelis, the USA and the UK, into another corrupt regime to serve the interests of the Western masters.

These36are reminiscent of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 which changed the dynamics of the regional and international world order. In fact, these sensational36in North Africa have the potential of having an even broader impact on the role of the power-brokers in the Middle East.

The retreat of the US military in Iraq, its failure in Afghanistan, the rise and brilliant outmanoeuvring of the US by Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, and the failure of Israel to crush Hamas in Gaza, all point to the weakening of the vice-like grip over the oppressed Arab masses.

The thrones of the illegitimate rulers of the region have undoubtedly begun to sink in the shifting desert sands. But more than them, it is the illegal, Apartheid entity of Israel that has been protected by the illegitimate Arab regimes that will feel most vulnerable.

There is the possibility that the dictators and the sponsors will use immense brutality to suppress or manipulate the leadership of the uprising, but there is no doubt that a threshold for the downtrodden masses have been reached. The foreign policies of the Western world led by the USA, UK and Israel have obviously failed miserably.

The MRN urges the South African government to consider the new reality of the volatile region and engage robustly with the movements such as Hamas, Hizbollah, Ikhwan-al-Muslimeen and Al Nahda. Given our still admired struggle credentials, South Africa can make a much-needed contribution in the region.

MRN