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Emporium Current Essavs

From Palestine to Kashmir, from Algeria to Afghanistan, and from the Mediterranean to

the Indian Ocean, the Muslim world is in deep crisis. Instead of being settled, the years-long issues facing the world of Islam have compounded, and there is no hope of their

long-lasting settlement in the foreseeable future.

The Middle East peace settlement is being derailed by intransigent outlook of just one

person, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. Although he agreed to the

January protocol on Hebron, Netanyahu does not appear to be willing to implement the

Phase B of the-Oslo agreemenfs, which call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from allthe villages of the West Bank. Even the Hebron protocol and become possible only after

the hawkish Israeli leader realised that he could no more sustain the growing Western

pressure upon Israel because of which Israel was fast being cornered in the international

community.

Hebron was the first Palestinian town in the West Bank from where Israel withdrew itstroops as part of Phase A of the Oslo treaties on Palestine. Even this withdrawal was

partial, since some

20 per cent of the town with 400 of its Jewish settlers, and, for their protection, 1200

Israeli soldiers, is still under Israeli occupation. There are other fundamental issues ofsettlement about which the -. Israeli leadership remains as adamant as before, despite the

fact that its Palestinian and Arab counterparts have shown the necessary. flexibility. The

Jewish settlement!!, East Jerusalem, security of the borders and Safe Areas are some ofsuch issues. As regards Syria, it refuses to negotiate peace with Israel unless its leaders

are ready to hand over the Golan Heights to Syria. The list of factors contributingto' the perpetuation of crisis in the Middle East is endless.

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Things are not fine either in the Persian Gulf. The United States is fast tightening its

noose around Iran. Its forces are now physically present not just in the ocean itself but in

the very Sheikhdoms of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The US ,Central Command

is expanding its warship strength in the Persian Gulf.

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Certainly a serious development, if seen in the backdrop of world media news about apossible American strike against strategic targets in Iran.

In the case of Iraq, even if the Security Council has allowed Iraq to export a limited

quantity of its oil and buy food in return with some of the amount thus earned, a common

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Iraqi reportedly remains hard pressured due to the non-availability of the essential items

of life.

The reason is that a big chunk of the revenue generated from the so-called Oil-for-Food

package is being consumed by sources not Iraqi. Some 33 per cent of the amount is being

given to the powers that fought against Iraq, primarily Kuwait, as compensation. This isin addition to the money that the government of Iraq is allocating out of its Oil-for-Food

package earnings for the salaries of the UN officials monitoring the destruction of Iraq's

alleged weapons of mass destruction.

In Afghanistan, even if Taliban are now well-entrenched and hold Kabul, the wars is not

over yet. Let the winter finish and mountain snow melt, a new round of intra-Afghan

warfare may begin. Anti-Taliban factions, most importantly those of Dostum and Masoodhave not accepted defeat. In addition, there appears to be no end in sight to the external

support available to the various warning factions of Afghanistan, which has all along

been a key factor behind the continuing, rather growing, turmoil in the country. The

United Nations has also shown no interest in settling the affairs of the war-tornAfghanistan, ever since, after winning its crusade against the Soviet Union, the United

States abandoned it. As regards Pakistan and Iran, they are still followingdifferent approaches to bring about peace in Afghanistan. That they do not accept this

difference of approaches, is besides the point.

The story does not end with Palestine, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. In North Africa, thepolitical crisis and its military dimension have not yet ended. The Islamic Salvation

Front, which. was denied government formation in 1989 even though it had won the

election, has renewed its militancy. Dozens of innocent civilians were killed in a recentbomb attack by FIS activists.*

Then, in Cyprus, the critical circumstances facing the Muslim Turks of the TurkishRepublic of Northern Cyprus have assumed grave proportions due to two reasons. One is

the Greek . Cypriot decision to deploy Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missiles in South

Cyprus which is administered by a Greek Cypriot Administration. This latest offensiveact by the Greek Cypriot106

Emporium Current Essays

leadership, which was condemned widely in the world, endangers not only the security of

the Mediterranean island of Cyprus but of the entire region, including Turkey. And, with

Turkey, Greece is not yet ready to discuss the issue of islands in the Aegean Sea.

The second serious development that will surely mar the Cyprus peace process, once it

takes place, is the Greek Cypriot application for membership of the European Union. TheEU has said that it will start deliberation on the matter in April next year, the time when

the Greek Cypriot leaders intend to start deployment of S-3GO. an EU membership of the

island without the willingness of Turkish Cypriots - who, under the 1960 agreements on

Cyprus, are as equal a citizen of the island as Greek Cypriots - means disaster: Neither

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Turkish Cypriots nor Turkey will accept an indirect union of the island with Greece

which is what the Greek Cypriot move for EU members these offensive acts being taken

unilaterally by the Greek Cypriot leaders may lead to the outbreak of war in Cyprus.

Besides Cyprus, Bosnia remains short of a total settlement. The Serbs who led the

genocide are still free and have not been tried by the Hague-based Tribunal for warcriminals. Some of those who were tried and found guilty are free as well. Last but not

least, the Kashmir issue remains unsettled despite the fact that the UN resolutions clearly

specify as to what the international community should do in order to settle the problem ofKashmir. The Indians continued butchering innocent Kashmiris and continue

stagemanaging the elections there. Yet they remain immune from international criticism.

Indifference and hypocrisy are perhaps two words which describe these approaches. It'sabout time they ended. For peace and security in the international order is not possible

without managing the Muslim world crisis. - .