SERGHOUN Posted 2008-12-29

Oh! It would be magnificent to see the foreign ministers of the countries of the United Arab Maghreb meet and make a joint statement, which, beyond firmly condemning Israeli aggression in Ghaza, takes concrete measures and brings the heads of state and kings of the Arab states together for a summit. Some will say that I am just letting myself dream for a moment and that these measures will not be included on the agenda of a summit, for which the Arab leaders cannot even agree on a date. What are they afraid of? Is it their population or the Western powers that unconditionally support the standing of the state of Israel? Alas, my dream is not allowed. Not even two countries in the Maghreb can manage to transcend the claims of their leaders, who are blocking this union, which the people so strongly demanded. So many opportunities exist to negotiate in strength with the European Union and the World Trade Organisation in order to get most advantageous standing, which could only be beneficial for the peoples of the United Arab Maghreb. And, what if we were to return to the 1970s, when there was a Maghreb football team and a Maghreb football tournament? At the level of mathematics, an enormous number of things united these countries and very few things divide them. Let us ensure that the math is respected and that the points of discord are dealt with in another way, through this union, which is not only an objective necessity, but also strategic. Germany and France and South Korea and Japan have dealt with their past marked by conflicts in order to have a union in the case of the first two and co-operation for the second two. The countries of the Maghreb – especially the two countries putting the breaks this union – have fought against the same occupiers and the blood of their peoples was even mixed.

Fathi Posted 2008-12-30

The countries of the Maghreb should first of all begin by putting an end to the violence that they exercise against their own peoples, emptying the prisons of their political prisoners and putting an end to torture and to the inhumane practices employed to neutralise their dissidents. May they respect the International Declaration of Human Rights instead of stomping it under foot. What is more, this would not be poorly looked upon. If only they were to become states of rights like the civilised nations, where justice is not rendered by corrupt judges. Alas, the deviants can manage to arise in civilised countries; Bush has demonstrated us that. He officially introduced torture into American practice. Fortunately, his successor has already announced his rejection of Bush’s barbarism, who went as far as using music, a refined art, as an instrument of torture against the detainees in Guantánamo Bay. Fortunately, I repeat, Obama has already distanced himself from this barbarism. But, which leader of the Maghreb has ever declared a similar stance? The answer is obvious. The authoritarian regimes of the Maghreb are going to continue on with their torturing so long as they stay in power (and that is thanks to elections with “weird” results). It would not be a bad thing if the world’s new strongest man were to make a sign in the direction of the tyrants, telling them clearly that American no longer practices torture and it will no longer tolerate friends who practice torture. We must hope that he will say this clearly and that his words will be heard. Only then can the regimes of the Maghreb remonstrate Israel without losing face. But, so long as they comprise a policy of disregard, of violating human rights in their country, no one will take them seriously – not even at home. Charity, well deserved, begins with one’s self.