Saturday 11 April 2009

On Arab Nationalism


On Arab Nationalism

Posted on April 11, 2009 by marcy/مارسي newman/نيومان

The other night sayyed hassan nasrallah gave a televised speech in response to charges from the egyptian regime and arrests of palestinians and lebanese in egypt. the speech is an important one as it reminds us a a key ideology that has its roots in egypt–that of arab nationalism–but one that the united states and the zionist killed with their puppet regimes following the death of gamal abdel nasser. nasser wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but what he stood for and what he preached–arab nationalism, challenging imperialism–has been lost for decades, not among the people so much as their leaders who are controlled by american-zionist imperialism that nasser fought against. nasrallah’s words are worth reading for they remind us of how arabs should be speaking and acting if they want to stand for morality and justice. his words are a reminder of why he is the only leader in the region who is worth listening to:

Sayyed Nasrallah then began the first axis of his speech by recalling of the main facts related to the whole case. According to his eminence, the Egyptian authorities have detained on November 19, 2008, a Lebanese citizen and accused him alongside other people of attempting to smuggle arms and equipment to Gaza.

“One month later, the Zionist entity launched its deadly aggression against Gaza,” Sayyed Nasrallah noted, recalling that Hezbollah’s position during the offensive was transparent and public. His eminence recalled that he has personally urged the Egyptian regime to open crossing with Gaza. “Then, it was our duty to denounce the Egyptian regime for its refusal to open the crossings,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “Right after this stance, a political and commercial huge campaign was launched in Egypt against me and Hezbollah, under the instructions of the Egyptian authorities and intelligence. Yet, we considered the campaign as a reaction and a natural price for our stance and we were ready to pay it.”

Hezbollah Secretary General noted that the volume of the campaign launched by the Egyptian regime against his party was remarkable, recalling that some Sunni scholars also condemned the Egyptian President and even accused him of betrayal. “Yet, the Egyptian authorities didn’t condemn those scholars as they did with Hezbollah,” his eminence pointed out to conclude that their position with Hezbollah was different “because Hezbollah was a Resistance.” Sayyed Nasrallah went on to say that there are parties in the Arab world that are offensive against the Resistance and are very close to their American and Israeli masters in dealing with this issue.

Turning into facts, Sayyed Nasrallah recalled that Hezbollah is clear in its positions and has nothing to hide in whatever circumstances. Hence, his eminence declared that the Lebanese citizen Sami Chehab, who was detained in Egypt, was actually a member of Hezbollah. “Our brother Sami, is a member of Hezbollah, we don’t deny this,” Sayyed Nasrallah announced. “He was providing logistic help to the Palestinian resistance at the Egyptian-Palestinian borders,” his eminence added, noting that this was the only right thing that actually didn’t figure in the Egyptian claims. “All other charges against him are false.”

“If aiding the Palestinians is a crime, then I am proud of it,” Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized. His eminence noted “that the aim here is to agitate the Egyptian people and to defame Hezbollah’s pure and bright image. This aims to only please the Americans and Israelis for the Egyptian regime has failed by all means.”

Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized that the one who should be charged and condemned over this case was not Sami or his friends but the Egyptian regime. “The Egyptian regime should be charged and condemned for besieging Gaza,” his eminence said, noting that the mentioned regime is working day and night on destroying Gaza tunnels.

The Resistance leader expressed regret because the Egyptian regime was escalating its aggression against the resistance movements in the region instead of backing and supporting them. “We were expecting the Egyptian regime to take the initiative and invite the Arabs to discuss how to face the Israeli threats, but unfortunately we saw that the Egyptian regime decided instead to increase his conflict with the Resistance.”

To conclude on the topic, Sayyed Nasrallah fully rejected and denied all charges that Hezbollah was intending to launch an act of aggression in Egypt or at any part of the world. His eminence stressed that his party does not intend to enter into any form of enmity and conflict with any Arab, Islamic or international regime in the world, confirming that its sole enemy remains the Zionist entity.

“The charge of attempting to spread the Shiite way of thinking and practices is baseless,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that no single individual can do so in Egypt. “To accuse us of being agents working for others is also meaningless,” his eminence emphasized.

Sayyed Nasrallah, meanwhile, expressed regret over the attempts of some Arabs to present Hezbollah as Al-Qaeda, confirming that Hezbollah does not have extensions abroad and is not involved in any conflict in other Arab countries.

“Hezbollah is a purely Lebanese party from its leadership to its base and it has no branches anywhere else,” the Resistance leader asserted. “Hebzollah’s mission is to protect Lebanon from the Zionist danger,” his eminence recalled, stressing that the party doesn’t actually interfere in any internal conflict of any state in the world. “However, in facing the Zionist criminality, it’s our duty to help the Palestinians, just as it’s their duty to help us in the same circumstances.”

Sayyed Nasrallah also stressed that his party had nothing to do with what is going on in Yemen and Bahrain. “Al-Hayat newspaper reported that Hezbollah members have helped the Huthies (a rebel group in Yemen) behind the back of their leadership,” Sayyed Nasrallah recalled. His eminence stressed that Hezbollah is a well disciplined party and there are no Hezbollah members who operate alone but stressed his party has nothing to do with the whole issue. His eminence also emphasized the claims in some Gulf dailies over backing opposition figures in Bahrain. “No one in Bahrain has asked anything from us, and even if there was such request, we can’t respond favorably.”

Sayyed Nasrallah then addressed the Arab regimes and leaders, urging them to leave Hezbollah alone. “Don’t put on Hezbollah’s back more than it can bear,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “We’re clear and transparent and whenever we do something wrong we have the necessary courage to admit it,” Sayyed Nasrallah said.

His eminence called on the media to verify of all their news stories, and examine all what the intelligence branches are doing and making up. His eminence concluded by stressing that his party was not engaging into a battle with the Egyptian regime. “We disagreed with them over the Gaza aggression and we’re still in disagreement with them over this issue, and that’s it.”

for those who want some context on arab nationalism, al jazeera did a documentary about arab nationalism that is worth watching. it reminds us of the core value that desperately needs to be resuscitated:

Nasserism had taken Arabism a step further. He believed Arabs would be stronger if united, that they shared a common struggle against colonial powers and that the liberation of Palestine should be an Arab duty.

Nasser’s vision extended far beyond Egypt. He believed that the lessons of the revolution should be applied in other Arab countries.

His charisma and influence were so great that he inspired Arabs elsewhere to dream of a unified Arab nation. His defiant attitude towards Egypt’s former colonial masters made him even more popular. Nasserism swept the region.

here is the rather long, but important, documentary:

why unity?









unity betrayed













trials & tribulations











a cause for unity








unity experiment








disillusion







the jewish factor







disunity









Flashback:

Both Arab nationalism and Islam have failed, and failed badly.


Thus Said the Anal-ysist at PP

2 comments:

fatima said...

Arab Unity :I did not see any of the videos , simply because the Arabs are not capable of unity . most just talk nonsense , talk unity and stab each other in the back .
I used to believe in the unity when i was a teenager full of dreams and ideals .. Now i had to face reality .

uprooted Palestinian said...

Fatima

I understand tour anger, those who are stabing the backs of each other are not th people, they are the leaders who shall lose their chairs with the unity.

Your anger, the anger of people who took the streets to support Lebanon, and Gaza prove Arab people are united