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The Repercussions Of Bringing Former Terrorists To Mainstream
Politics
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By Angelique van Engelen
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Today, in many countries¡¯ political realities, tribalist andnationalist or globalist forces clash fiercely, underminingchances of peace and democracy. This is particularly topical inthe Middle East, where efforts by established leaderships todiscourage armed conflict have reached a new phase, in whichboth Hezbollah and Hamas, organizations labeled ¡®terrorist¡¯ bythe US, are nudged to start thinking about participation inmainstream politics.
The number of countries in the world at the moment that are insome form of transition is higher than some ten years ago, andin some ways more efforts are made to resolve situations thatthreaten stability. And the moves of all involved parties arenot without major-league risks.
By finally addressing security issues by making a cleansweepthrough, the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is slowlyshifting into gear, starting the clampdown on Palestinianinsurgency that has long been called for. he has even told Hamasfighters publicly to give up their arms, This was a first forthe president who until now has been anything but clear onsecurity issues. The Hamas leaders according to a report in theLondon Asharq Al Awsat paper are reportedly planning to returnto Gaza after the Israelis have withdrawn.
The newspaper report detailed that the leaders are likely tomove their group¡¯s political bureau to Gaza as soon as Israeltransfers control over the border crossings to the PalestinianAuthority. "When a militia turns into a political party, Ibelieve the issue of a need for arms becomes irrelevant," Abbaswas quoted as saying. "There will be only one authority, one lawand one legal [armed force]," according to the recently electedPalestinian leader, who played down the risks involved in theoperation, saying that this has happened many times before inhistory.
Hamas leaders however deemed it necessary to reiterate that theyhave no intention of disarming at all. "Our fingers will remainon the rifle triggers until the removal of the occupation,"Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said, according to the IsraeliAl Haaretz paper. Even though Hamas has participated in theelections recently, Masri doubted that this means the membersare actually going to function as such. It is remarks like thesethat worry the international community very much. US PresidentGeorge W. Bush has been said to be waiting with inviting thePalestianian leader Abbas until he has got something ofsubstance to report. Perhaps an invitation will finally beextended soon now. The Palestinian leader has installed ahardliner as new intelligence chief. Tareq Abu Rajab, who usedto be deputy intelligence chief, is known to have played animportant role in a crackdown on the militant group Hamas.Hamas, which has participated in municipal elections already,might see next July¡¯s municipal elections turn out in its favor.¡°Extrapolating from the present point in time, Hamas I believewould gain between 30 and 50 percent in the elections to thePalestinian Legislative Council in July. Fateh is in totaldisarray and is searching for its lost identity¡±, said MattiSteinberg, an Israeli former security advisor to two heads ofthe Israel General Security Service. ¡°Hamas could registerconsiderable gains in elections and possibly demand to play arole in the next Palestinian Authority government¡±, according toYossi Alpher, a former senior advisor to Israeli Prime MinisterEhud Barak. The gains that the ¡®party to be¡¯ is likely to winare largely due to unhappiness of the Palestine population withthe Fateh party, which has lost its identity more or less due todysfunctioning of the PA. This is echoed by Ghassan Khattib, thePalestinian Authority minister of planning. ¡°It is possible thatHamas, which so far maintains a fundamentalist ideological andextreme political position, will become a pragmatic movement ifit has the chance to be part of official politics, locally,regionally and internationally. The rhetoric of Hamas nowreminds many of Fateh's rhetoric when it was treated by the"legitimate powers" as an "illegal terrorist group". Fatehsuccessfully worked out a trade-off. It was recognized andincluded in the system in return for playing politics within theparameters of international legality¡±, he says. Some view themoves of the radicalists to mainstream politics as a positivetransformation and it is surely to be hoped that theorganizations involved in the decades-long strife in the regionthat are now close to becoming involved in mainstream politics,will ultimately disarm. Yet their popularity might be evidencingreal hardship on the ground. Aside from what¡¯s driving theislamist vote, Israel¡¯s reaction to a possible Hamas inclusioninto the PA might not be favorable and it might be unwilling tonegotiate with Hamas leaders. But then, this might not turn outto be the case. Prime Minister Sharon who is said by some tofavor a peace process that is open ended might think he has abetter negotiating partner in a Hamas partipated PA. It is alsogoing to be interesting what is going to be happening withHizbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah leaders have expressedopposition to disarmament that¡¯s as strong as the thePalestinian Hamas leaders. So far, this issue, the groups¡¯status as terrorist and their unwillingness to recognize Israelas a state has always deterred countries like the US to dealwith them as mature political entities. This is changing. Wordin the diplomatic corridors has it that the State Departmentmight acquiesce in Hizballah's entry into Lebanese politics ifit abandons terrorism and severs its political and operationalties with Syria. This US recognition of Hizballah could serve asa precedent for US acceptance of a political role for Hamas.
So far it looks like every major move that the islamist groupsmake by definition will continue to go accompanied with pledgesto hold onto arms. But one ought to bear in mind that often thepublic rhetoric is different than any private action. The leaderof Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrullah, recently reiterated thathis group will not give up their weapons. In an interview withReuters he said that his party will keep its weapons and willnot give it up, noting that this decision is because of thecontinued Israeli occupation and the risks of occupation againsthis country. He even snubbed the UN, saying that its SecurityCouncil resolution demanding Hizbullah to hand over its weaponsis ¡®meaningless¡¯ and ¡®of no value¡¯.
Meanwhile, in Iraq Al Qaeda¡¯s Jordanian-born leader Abu Musabal-Zarqawi also recently publicly rejected a call from the newIraqi president for militants to lay down their arms. Callingthe new Iraqi leader President Jalal Talabani an agent of the USand Jews, the rebels said they would continue their strife untilSharia law was established in the country and never forgive theleader for his "infidelity" and "spilling of the blood ofMuslims". It is not clear whether the statement, posted on awebsite used by Islamist militants is authentic. It is a smackin the face however of Mr Talabani, who has been quite lenientto those Iraqi¡¯s who have taken to violence over the past fewyears, saying a peaceful solution should be found with Iraqiswho were ¡®led astray¡¯ by terrorism. He even invited them in toparticipate in the democratic process and offered some convictedterrorists an amnesty.
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