One-Act
Farces On Peace In Palestine And Their Political Lessons
By
Agustin Velloso
30 December,
2007
Countercurrents.org
Last
week end (14-16 December), the Forum for a Just Peace in the Middle
East, one of the longest running plays in the world, was once again
performed, this time in Alcorcon (a town close to Madrid). The plot
was written by the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) and
directed by Miguel Angel Moratinos, the Spanish government's Foreign
Affairs Minister. The cast was mainly made up of some people who should
not have been there and some people who rather wish the earth might
have swallowed them up.
This performance
has taken place in Madrid at least twice in the last few years: same
script, similar actors, same results. The first took place in one of
the elegant halls of the Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional,
the Spanish Cooperation Agency. The man in charge of the "meeting"
between Palestinians and Israelis, decided that a mural map of Palestine
would be a great background for the event. He chose an Israeli map,
which served well to show off Spanish mediating skills in the conflict
between a powerful country and an occupied destitute nation.
The second
took place in a town close to Madrid. Again, outstanding Israeli speakers
were invited, a former minister amongst them. When he realised that
this time there was no map, he pulled one himself out of his pocket
to fix the problem. Then he proceeded with his presentation detailing
what Israel planned to achieve through the peace process. It was so
unbearable that I could not help but interrupt him: why do not you take
Al Aqsa mosque as well together with the rest? He remained silent for
a while gauging the idea, and when he decided it was good he tilted
towards his colleague at the table to find out if the building was cherished
by the Zionism movement, and finally answered that it was something
to be negotiated with the Palestinians.
Lesson nº
1: Zionists by themselves are well able to organise their own meetings,
conferences and international summits and get benefits at the end of
them. Corollary: There is no need for a Minister, director general,
mayor, PSOE's foreign affairs department head or even king's counsellor,
to help them.
Some might
argue that this is not so, since the Forum for a Just Peace in the Middle
East web site says: "we are part of the civil society and include
as many players as possible". Palestinians and other non-Spanish
participants may fall for this, but those who know gypsy Spain, are
quite aware that that civil society is mostly under occupation by the
same player who created it: the PSOE.
This political
party established the Foro Social, the forerunner to the Foro por la
Paz, so as to arm itself with another weapon against the right wing
Popular Party. But it lacks the moral strength, let alone any real ability
to "give an answer to the loss of human rights, peace and solidarity
taking place around the world", as it proudly announces in its
web page.
When the
theater curtain of the PSOE "peace encounters" falls and real
political life continues, the PSOE shows its true commitment with human
rights through its international policy, especially with regard to the
Middle East. The socialist government supports Israel in several efficient
ways, in and out of Spain, officially and extra-officially, by itself
and together with the European Union, in the UN and even in Eurovision.
Recent statements
by Moratinos about Spain's unconditional support for Israel, and the
2007 Principe de Asturias prizes awarded to Zionist institutions and
individuals, are but an obvious sample of the sizeable group of actions
- less notorious but more important- in favour of one State that has
violated human rights unremittingly since its establishment back in
1948. Amongst those actions, arms and intelligence exchanges, joint
military exercises, preferential economic, cultural and scientific agreements
stand out.
Lesson nº
2: The Socialist Party has a consistent policy towards Israel, which
not only is rightist, but also runs against international law. UN member
States are obliged to ensure that all States comply with the UN Charter.
Corollary: meetings, conferences and forums organised by invisible civil
societies, are just children games, something already denounced by Hamas
in 1987 in its charter.
Senior Socialist
Party officials are able to wave their reactionary international policy
before Spanish public opinion as if it was a leftist one, without blushing
and without investing too much brain work. They do not even need to
put forward strong arguments, since they feel confident that some staple
magic sentences will do the trick: "no to terrorism", "building
up confidence amongst the partners", "steps in the right direction"
and the recent and most stupid discovery: "civilisations alliance".
This is so because the average Spaniard does not understand the Palestinian
problem and, more importantly, he/she does not care about it, so long
as Arabs and Muslims do not put bombs in our train stations and carriages.
What happens
when a few leftist Spaniards do not put up with the PSOE supporting
a country that unremittingly violates human rights and launches aggression
wars against its neighbours? Nothing, because the PSOE foots the bill
for them to organise a Forum for Peace in the Middle East and then seizes
the day.
The Socialist
Party does not have any problem with giving some love to the symbolic
left wing. Did not the government's president, Mr. Zapatero, pose in
front of the cameras with a kufiya around his shoulders to show how
far he will go in order to defend human rights in Palestine? If the
leader does so as a sign of a firm compromise with the damnes de la
terre, his own party can well organise a Forum and make sure all participants
get their sandwiches.
It would
be a different matter if the government - as it should do - withdrew
from the European Union-Israel Association Agreement. For this stipulates
its cancellation if a member state violates human rights. Or the government
might end its military and intelligence cooperation with Israel, because
its army is a relentless aggressor of Arab countries and its security
services are involved in several conflicts and dirty wars all around
the world. However, the only thing the government feels compelled to
do in order to help solve the Palestinian conflict is to organise a
Forum from time to time.
Lesson nº
3: The Socialist Party takes advantage of its support for Israel in
the international arena, because in exchange it receives the blessing
of the mafia-like cartel known as the "international community".
The price it pays at home is a bargain, because when the leftists open
their mouth, it puts a sandwich inside and they keep quiet. Corollary:
As the PSOE gives up its leftist ideals, it acquires - in inverse proportion
- the techniques of the double game to hold on to power.
The Socialist
Party organises as many Forums as necessary, as long as it retains its
right to choose the participants: who pays the piper, calls the tune.
The PSOE also asks civil society to help with the Forum. What is civil
society? A curious mix of committed people, both poor and largely unknown,
plus several groups trying to live up to leftist ideals while enjoying
government grants, plus some official and quasi-official institutions:
trade unions, institutes, think tanks, charities and the like, plus
some non governmental organisations, plus a bunch of informers, spies
and the usual go-getters of the political realm.
In the meantime,
Zionists, both domestic and foreigners, do not sit about, arms folded.
Phone calls, messages, meetings and lunches pile up in the Foreign Affairs
Ministry, the Party headquarters and many private and public offices
and rooms. Some months later the Ministry is unable to resist the pressure,
but it is too late to stop the whole thing.
The only
way out is to keep on working according to the plan and to include some
last minute participants who by chance happen to be Zionists. These
took pains to make sure that the PSOE included them to "balance"
the Forum. Surely because at Annapolis Zionists felt isolated and in
Palestine they feel helpless with 300 nuclear war heads against millions
of stones.
For some
members of the civil society, the reminder that there is no such a thing
as a free lunch came also too late, and they were left with only two
options: either to share it with the Zionists or to quit the Forum.
Consistent - national, Israeli and other - leftists quit, Palestinians
refused to be humiliated once again and the rest did what they could.
Since then, statements, counter-statements and press releases pile up,
all of them with even less meaning than the Forum, if this ever had
any.
The good
news about it all is that all participants have shown their cards, from
high officials down to modest activists. The bad thing is everything
else: Zionists had their day once again, Palestinians won nothing once
again, and the Spanish solidarity movement came out debilitated and
with a damaged image before the Palestinians.
Lesson nº
4: Pro-Palestinian activists should neither join nor work together with
those who are not pro-Palestinian, whether government or non-government
actors. Their respective positions are as far apart, as Palestinians
and Zionists are. What is the point of trusting people who support Zionism?
Corollary: Solidarity with the Palestinian people should take place
either in Palestine or in Spain against the PSOE policy and its related
groups and media outlets.
(Article proof-read by toni solo)
Agustín
Velloso Santisteban
UNED-Facultad de Educación
Dpto. Hª de la Educ. y Educ. Comparada
Paseo Senda del Rey, nº 7
28040-Madrid (ESPAÑA)
E-mail: [email protected]
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