Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Middle East
SPRING TURNS TO WINTER
By Michael Kuttner
We all know that the lazy hazy days of summer follow spring. Therefore, one could reasonably expect that following the much touted Arab ‘spring’ the same feelings of joy and contentment are about to sprout forth. Unfortunately, in this case, the climatic forecast is for a stormy winter, the first signs of which are already discernible on the horizon. Instead of recognising the impending upheavals, our politicians and media prefer to pretend that the forecast is wrong. For an alternative analysis of the situation read what our correspondent on the ground in Israel has to say. KBRM is dedicated to bringing you a fair and balanced presentation of facts and opinions which your local media prefers to ignore.
Climatically, the first green shoots and buds which appear at springtime, herald a renewal of life and growth, following a harsh winter. Traditionally this change of seasons inspires optimism, hope and a feeling of contentment. Climate changes have resulted in more unpredictable and extreme weather patterns but despite this, we still know that spring will be followed by the mellow months of summer. There is a definite pattern to the seasons even if we are unable to predict their intensity or exact length.
The recent upheavals in the Moslem Arab world have been likened by commentators, editors and politicians to a ‘spring’ of freedom, brotherhood, democracy and civil rights. Waves of euphoria have swept through the State Dept., Downing Street, Elysee Palace and even the Beehive, hailing these events as the dawning of a new age of democracy. The overthrow of long reigning dictatorial regimes as a result of popular uprisings has been perceived as somehow being a sign of the arrival of enlightenment and tolerance in those countries involved. Ecstatic declarations emanating from all political quarters, fueled by a media short on facts and long on preconceived illusions, have resulted in an uninformed public being led to believe that an era of peace and respect for human rights is about to dawn. The conclusions drawn by these so called ‘experts’ is that this ‘spring’ demonstrates that the region's only true democracy, Israel, is in fact the ultimate impediment to peace, because it continues its refusal to commit collective suicide as per the demands of its neighbours. Ignoring the disaster which followed Iran’s ‘spring’ and blissfully unable to face the unpalatable facts now occurring, politicians & media alike continue to fixate on the mirage like visions of Arab countries embracing genuine democratic principles. The overthrown rulers were no paragons of liberality or enlightenment, but what is replacing them carries the seeds of a worse disaster.
It has been pointed out that democracy is much more than free elections. Even these so called ‘free’ elections have been tainted with accusations of parties being banned and ballot boxes manipulated. Ignoring & excusing these glitches for the moment, there in fact have been far more serious consequences facing societies suddenly freed from years of oligarchic rule. The absence of an infrastructure and culture dedicated to liberal democratic values of human rights, equality of women, tolerance of other Faiths and a desire to live in peace with other countries, is an insurmountable impediment to the flowering of a real spring. This has been proven in recent years and is being re-enacted again today. Surveying the landscape will show how this so called spring is being turned into a bleak winter for those aspiring to a better future.
Thanks to a combination of economic deprivation, massive corruption and State media manipulation, the only viable alternatives waiting in the wings are the Islamic parties. Stepping into fill the socio economic void and exploiting the misery of the masses, these well organised groups are playing a pivotal role. If they were truly dedicated to the liberal democratic values our naive politicians and media pundits assume them to be, then we could expect a glorious future for those countries involved the misnamed ‘spring’. However a closer look at the philosophies & programmes of the Moslem Brotherhood & associated groups reveals beneath the veneer of high sounding slogans, a sinister concoction of aims, designed to lull gullible western listeners. Lurking beneath the surface is a road map which has a fundamentalist Islamic agenda, one certainly not designed to advance gender equality, civil liberties as we understand it and intolerance of non Islamic beliefs. The latter of course means danger for Christians & Jews with a particular emphasis on hatred for the Jewish State and denial of the legal right for Jews to have a legitimate place in their historic homeland.
Across North Africa into Egypt, the Middle East & the Arabian Peninsula, the forces of Islamic intolerance are either being ‘democratically’ elected or are waiting to take over. Syria is the next prime candidate for an Islamic takeover. In a gesture of unbelievable naivety, the American Secretary of State has said that post Assad Syria must be democratic and uphold human rights. Assad’s Syria is currently supported by such paragons of democracy and human rights as Russia, China, Iran & North Korea and one can guarantee that Syria after Assad will be taken over in the name of democracy by the same Iranian backed lovers of liberty, peace & tolerance, as those currently winning in Egypt. This select band of brothers, joining their comrades in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority and elsewhere will add to the instability of a region already riddled by hatred and sectarian violence.
The bottom line is that the much vaunted Arab Spring is rapidly developing into an Islamic winter with all the implications for terror, oppression and mayhem that follows in its wake. Tragically, most politicians and the media prefer to pretend that summer is on the way. Like Chamberlain and the appeasers of the looming Nazi terror in the 1930’s, today’s ‘makers & shakers’ would rather prefer to believe that sunny days are here again, instead of facing the truth that a harsh winter of turmoil must be confronted. Those of us, old enough to have seen the consequences of such blinkered behaviour and others, determined not to repeat the mistakes of past generations, must batten down the hatches and redouble our efforts to safeguard life, liberty and tolerance for all.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who was for many years actively involved with several Jewish Communal organisations. He is now retired, lives with his family in Israel and volunteers at the Israel News Resource Agency in Jerusalem.