Middle East: a Belgian solution?
Khaled Diab (The Guardian)
11 October 2009
Northern Ireland offers one model for Israeli-Palestinian peace. But a dose of Belgian pragmatism wouldn't go amiss either
George Mitchell's reappearance on the Middle Eastern scene earlier this year has reignited speculation as to whether he'll be able, with President Barack Obama's more hands-on approach, to repeat his success in Northern Ireland and help mediate peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Given the parallels between the two conflicts, the Northern Irish peace process has been held up as an example of how Israelis and Palestinians can proceed on the road to resolution.
While I have expressed scepticism vis-à-vis Mitchell's chances of success – because the shift in US foreign policy has been mainly rhetorical, the Israeli position has hardened and the Palestinians are in disarray – there are certainly lessons to be learnt from Northern Ireland. These include the need to involve all the parties in a conflict, even if they are viewed as "terrorists" by the other side, and for the self-appointed peace broker to pursue a relatively even-handed approach when dealing with the antagonists.
Another country that can point the way forward in conflict resolution for Israelis and Palestinians is Belgium. In fact, Israelis and Palestinians could well use a dose of Belgian pragmatism.
Uninformed outsiders may be excused for thinking that nothing much happens in Belgium, a quaint land of mild-mannered and polite chocolate connoisseurs, beer aficionados and comic-strip lovers. As one Israeli friend asked me incredulously when I drew an analogy between Belgium and Israel-Palestine: "What have Belgians got to fight over except for chocolate?"
But Belgium has been gripped by a nonviolent conflict which has its roots, like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the late 19th century. And the similarities don't end there: both Belgium and Israel-Palestine are about the same size geographically, have a similar population density, and are made up of two main communities.
While there is no raging conflict between Belgium's two language groups, there are major tensions which could have prove a recipe for disaster, and still can, if the wrong dynamics were ever to be set in motion to prise open the country's fault lines. I was especially struck by these undercurrents when I returned from Israel and Palestine.
So, how have the Flemings and Walloons avoided coming to blows for all this time?
The answer partly lies in their pragmatic penchant for negotiation – marathon, all-night talks are an integral part of the political culture here – and finding the kind of middle ground where, although neither side may be entirely satisfied, they are not disgruntled enough to take up arms.
In addition, there is such a commitment to consensus politics that "Belgian compromise" has become a term recognised internationally, despite recent frictions and the growing intensity of Flemish nationalism and Walloon inflexibility, which led to premature reports of Belgium's imminent demise. But even if Belgium does break up one day, it is unlikely to collapse into bloodshed in the Balkan manner, but will continue to be dismantled one brick at a time.
Interestingly, Jerusalem and Brussels are quite similar in surprising ways. Both cities are disputed territories which are hotly contested as capitals by the two communities. Brussels has undergone gradual Frenchification and Jerusalem rapid Hebrewisation. However, while Jerusalem currently divides Israelis and Palestinians and is one of the major stumbling blocks on the path to peace, Brussels cements the Belgians together, and the power-sharing compromise reached in Belgium's capital could be useful for Jerusalem. Perhaps declaring the Holy City the capital of the two peoples would carry enormous symbolic significance and have a benign bonding effect for Palestinians and Israelis.
While Belgium highlights the critical importance of pragmatism, negotiation and compromise, Palestinians and Israelis will need a much higher measure of it than Walloons and Flemings, if they are to find peace and, one day, live peacefully side by side. After all, Belgium is a prosperous European state whose two communities are of similar power, have been established there for centuries and who became a single country voluntarily. And though they may carry historical baggage and political grievances, there is little in the way of actual bad blood between them.
In contrast, Israelis and Palestinians carry the burden of decades of bloodshed and violence, dispossession, insecurity, economic inequality, and the balance of power is so skewed that it makes compromise difficult. But even if Mitchell's efforts fail, as they probably will, I agree wholeheartedly with his view that:
"There is no such thing as a conflict that can't be ended. Conflicts are created by human beings, and can be ended by human beings. It may take a long time. But with committed, active and strong leadership, it can happen here in the Middle East."
11 October 2009
5 October 2009
Clintons have played key role in the quest for peace in Ulster (Belfast Telegraph)
Clintons have played key role in the quest for peace in Ulster
Jim Dee (Belfast Telegraph)
5 October 2009
Northern Ireland is fortunate to enjoy Bill and Hillary Clinton's two-decade-long concern for its future, writes US Correspondent Jim Dee
Of all the life-changing events Northern Ireland has witnessed over the past two decades, among the most fortuitous was the decision of a little-known governor from the US state of Arkansas to seek America's highest office.
Like all ambitious politicians, Bill Clinton set out to win the keys to the Oval Office in the early 1990s by seeking any and all political advantages available.
Enter Bruce Morrison - a buddy of both Bill and Hillary since being a fellow classmate of the pair at Yale Law School during the 1970s.
Morrison, who'd just wrapped up a eight-year stint as a congressman from Connecticut, helped convince the presidential wannabe to take an interest in Northern Ireland arguing that the issue resonated strongly with Irish-Americans particularly in key states like New York.
At the time, Northern Ireland was synonymous with conflict - as in the most intractable, bloody, and vicious variety on the planet.
Aside from places like Boston, New York, Chicago and San Francisco - cities with significant Irish and Irish-American populations - mainstream media outlets in America cared little for reporting the steady stream of 'bad news' from Belfast.
That all changed with Bill Clinton. A year after taking up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he ditched past deference to Downing Street and decided to grant Gerry Adams a temporary visa to the US in early 1994.
Given that the IRA's first peace process ceasefire followed six months later, there is little doubt that Clinton, and not John Major (who vehemently opposed the Adams visa), made the right call.
The media, and the world, quickly took notice.
Here was a legendarily intractable conflict that seemed to be moving in the right direction - with the active support of the most powerful politician on earth.
Fast forward to 2009 - beyond the Good Friday and St Andrews agreements, beyond the 'Chuckle Brothers' roadshow and full IRA decommissioning - and both Bill and Hillary Clinton remain personally involved in the goings on in Northern Ireland.
And consider what both have on their plates at the moment.
Bill, the head of his own foundation which employs 800 staff and aims to tackle (mostly in the developing world) such pressing issues as AIDS-HIV, poverty, global warming, and education, was last week hosting his annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York.
The four-day gathering drew some of the most wealthy, powerful, famous and influential people on the planet to brainstorm on how to make things 'better' in various corners of the globe.
However, last week, on short notice, he pencilled in a one-hour showcase event where Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, with the energetic assistance of Clinton himself, got to make a pitch for investment in Northern Ireland to hundreds of people with deep pockets and long track records of bank-rolling worthy causes. And then there is H illary. As America's top diplomat, she's in the thick of juggling escalating tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, North Korea's erratic behaviour, percolating power-plays with Russia and China and a myriad of issues from Asia to Africa and Europe to South America.
Yet she also found time for a private meeting with Robinson and McGuinness to discuss the policing and justice devolution impasse in Northern Ireland.
How lucky has Northern Ireland been that the Clintons - who'll someday rank amongst the most important figures in US politics in late 20th and early 21st century - have such a personal interest in the peace process?
"Lucky is an understatement," Bruce Morrison, in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, said.
"And they are the kind of people - and they've demonstrated this - that this isn't a passing fancy.
"At one point, it had a political payback for them. But for neither of them does it now.
"Both of them are committing themselves substantially to playing a role and to trying to be helpful.
"It is huge good fortune for Northern Ireland."
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/clintons-have-played-key-role-in-the-quest-for-peace-in-ulster-14521796.html#ixzz0TuYnl0Rk
Jim Dee (Belfast Telegraph)
5 October 2009
Northern Ireland is fortunate to enjoy Bill and Hillary Clinton's two-decade-long concern for its future, writes US Correspondent Jim Dee
Of all the life-changing events Northern Ireland has witnessed over the past two decades, among the most fortuitous was the decision of a little-known governor from the US state of Arkansas to seek America's highest office.
Like all ambitious politicians, Bill Clinton set out to win the keys to the Oval Office in the early 1990s by seeking any and all political advantages available.
Enter Bruce Morrison - a buddy of both Bill and Hillary since being a fellow classmate of the pair at Yale Law School during the 1970s.
Morrison, who'd just wrapped up a eight-year stint as a congressman from Connecticut, helped convince the presidential wannabe to take an interest in Northern Ireland arguing that the issue resonated strongly with Irish-Americans particularly in key states like New York.
At the time, Northern Ireland was synonymous with conflict - as in the most intractable, bloody, and vicious variety on the planet.
Aside from places like Boston, New York, Chicago and San Francisco - cities with significant Irish and Irish-American populations - mainstream media outlets in America cared little for reporting the steady stream of 'bad news' from Belfast.
That all changed with Bill Clinton. A year after taking up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he ditched past deference to Downing Street and decided to grant Gerry Adams a temporary visa to the US in early 1994.
Given that the IRA's first peace process ceasefire followed six months later, there is little doubt that Clinton, and not John Major (who vehemently opposed the Adams visa), made the right call.
The media, and the world, quickly took notice.
Here was a legendarily intractable conflict that seemed to be moving in the right direction - with the active support of the most powerful politician on earth.
Fast forward to 2009 - beyond the Good Friday and St Andrews agreements, beyond the 'Chuckle Brothers' roadshow and full IRA decommissioning - and both Bill and Hillary Clinton remain personally involved in the goings on in Northern Ireland.
And consider what both have on their plates at the moment.
Bill, the head of his own foundation which employs 800 staff and aims to tackle (mostly in the developing world) such pressing issues as AIDS-HIV, poverty, global warming, and education, was last week hosting his annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York.
The four-day gathering drew some of the most wealthy, powerful, famous and influential people on the planet to brainstorm on how to make things 'better' in various corners of the globe.
However, last week, on short notice, he pencilled in a one-hour showcase event where Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, with the energetic assistance of Clinton himself, got to make a pitch for investment in Northern Ireland to hundreds of people with deep pockets and long track records of bank-rolling worthy causes. And then there is H illary. As America's top diplomat, she's in the thick of juggling escalating tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, North Korea's erratic behaviour, percolating power-plays with Russia and China and a myriad of issues from Asia to Africa and Europe to South America.
Yet she also found time for a private meeting with Robinson and McGuinness to discuss the policing and justice devolution impasse in Northern Ireland.
How lucky has Northern Ireland been that the Clintons - who'll someday rank amongst the most important figures in US politics in late 20th and early 21st century - have such a personal interest in the peace process?
"Lucky is an understatement," Bruce Morrison, in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, said.
"And they are the kind of people - and they've demonstrated this - that this isn't a passing fancy.
"At one point, it had a political payback for them. But for neither of them does it now.
"Both of them are committing themselves substantially to playing a role and to trying to be helpful.
"It is huge good fortune for Northern Ireland."
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/clintons-have-played-key-role-in-the-quest-for-peace-in-ulster-14521796.html#ixzz0TuYnl0Rk
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