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DEMOCRACY, POWER AND JUSTICE
The war in the Middle East increasingly justifies the action of the powerful against the weak, argues Dayo Sobowale
Global reaction has been one of unbelievable shock to the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, 50 years after 1973 October war in very similar circumstances when Egypt and Syria surprised Israel with unexpected speed and fury of their attack at the start of the Yom Kippur war .That reaction to the horrors inflicted on Israel this October and the retaliatory bombing of Gaza by Israel has however crystallised into an unbelievable fiasco that brings to mind the old theory of ‘ might is right’ , the Hobbesian theory that glorifies violence and justifies the action of the powerful, merciless and victorious at the expense of the weak, truth and justice into sharp focus.
I will illustrate this observation with the reactions of the EU president Ursula von der Leyen, the Irish president Michael Higgins, and the American president Joe Biden to the invasion and bombings. I will seize the opportunity to compare the state of democracy and diplomacy in the three global powers namely the US, China and Russia as the Israeli bombings continue with the planning in place by Israel for a ground invasion of Gaza. Just as China is hosting the 10th anniversary of its Belt and Road Initiative in China with the Russian president Vladmir Putin very much in attendance. Both leaders seemingly oblivious, at least diplomatically, of the ongoing carnage and human tragedy in Gaza
Let me start with some specific observation. Both the EU and the American president blamed Hamas for its invasion without any thought on what motivated or incensed Hamas for its horrible action in terms of human cost of lives. The EU president condemned Hamas roundly but was called to order by the President of Ireland who said she did not have the mandate of Ireland for what she had said . The Irish president said he had listened to debate on the crisis in the Irish Parliament and what the EU president said did not reflect Irish opinion and thinking on the matter . He even accused the EU president of violating international law and diplomacy on her utterances on the Gaza imbroglio .
Whilst this was going on, the lawmaking body in the US the House of Representatives was literally headless without a Speaker in the best example ever that portrays democracy , especially in a presidential system of government as the next thing to anarchy . Showing the inability of the majority to have its way when the minority has had its say and is now laughing at a majority that is groping in the dark to have its way and elect a Speaker. Such is the pathetic situation in the US House of Representatives today between the Republican Party which has the majority , albeit a slim one in the House , and the Democrats , the minority who are watching the saga of the incapability of the majority to elect a Speaker as expected in the House . I doubt if the world has ever seen such a mockery of the concept of majority rule as the saga of an unelectable candidate for the office of Speaker in the one going debacle in the Republican Party of the US right now .
On the Gaza saga it is clear that in America’s eyes Israel can do no wrong in its dealing with the Palestinians . The American president visited Israel in the midst of the Hamas rockets and pledged American help to fortify the Iron Dome against rockets and gave orders for powerful American war ships to move towards Israel to protect it . On its part Israel meekly asked for a 10 billion dollar aid. Obviously the Palestinians are like orphans in their quarrel with Israel and Hamas intervention and invasion has brought untold hardship and violent deaths to this people , who biblically and historically, are kith and kin with the Israelis now bombing them .
Yet, the Palestinians could have had a godfather at least diplomatically if China and Russia had not been preoccupied with showing solidarity at the Belt and Road Initiative conference in China . Both nations are at odds with US on many issues . Russia more particularly because of the US support for Ukraine over its invasion of that nation about a year ago . China is trying at the Belt celebration to showcase its rivalry with the US globally in providing loans and infrastructure for developing nations who historically have been tied to the apron strings of the IMF and World Bank in getting funds for economic growth and development . Nigeria is eating and smiling from both sides of the mouth in taking advantage of this global rivalry between the US and China in their solidarity to dominate the world politically and economically .Nigeria was led by the Minister of Finance to the recent World Economic Summit and the Vice President has led another delegation to the Belt Conference in Beijing, China .
However, what is important in all these is judicious and accountable use of the loans from both sides with affordable repayment arrangements that do not lead to inhuman social conditions which can spark human suffering or generate social anger and provoke avoidable political instability.
Meanwhile on the Gaza bombings, Iran has boldly spoken up for the Palestinians in Gaza even though the world knows it is a staunch ally of Hamas . The Ayatollah has warned that Iran cannot fold its arms in the face of Israel’s relentless bombing of Hamas positions in Gaza . But Iran is literally shouting foul from a safe distance and is wary of American power when invoked to protect Israel and Israeli fury when provoked. Especially with a leader it considers crazy like Benjamin Netanyahu who has vowed that Iran will never be allowed to acquire the nuclear arsenal, still in power and now in charge of Israel’s new war in Gaza. In a bizarre development though , former US president Donald Trump has been vilified for saying that Hamas was smart . Which some have condemned as praising Hamas but which was no more than a grudging respect for Hamas as the little biblical David and Israel as the Goliath in the ancient biblical fight between the two in which the Hobbesian theory and its practice of ‘might is right ‘ has been playing out since the state of Israel was created in Palestine in 1948 by the victorious Allies of the Second World War .
Sobowale is a News Analyst with Arise News
