obmar
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Chavez of Arabia? Winning Arab Hearts and MindsChavez of Arabia? Winning Arab Hearts and Minds
Monday, Aug 21, 2006
By: Dima Khatib - Al Jazeera
Billions of dollars spent, tens of thousands of lives lost, hundreds
of hours of televised speeches and press conferences, extensive diplomatic
efforts, political and military plans, years in Iraq, and much more.
None of this helped the US to achieve its president's announced goal of
"winning the hearts and minds of the Arab people". Instead, George Bush
seems to have lost the hearts and minds of many who had been supportive of
US plans for the Middle East.
Someone else in the Americas seems to have the secret formula for
achieving that goal; much more quickly and cheaply.
Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, found himself at the centre of
Middle Eastern politics when he announced that he was withdrawing his most
senior diplomat from Israel, the Venezuelan charge d'affaires in Tel Aviv.
Not for something Israel did to his country, but for what it does to
Palestinians and Lebanese thousands of miles away.
The action was preceded by Chavez's repeated condemnation of what he
describes as Israel's "aggression" against Lebanese land and its "genocide"
against the Lebanese people. He was the first head of state to say such
harsh words towards Israel after violence broke out on the Israeli Lebanese
border last month, even before that of any Arab or Muslim country.
"I don't want to be an Arab. From now on I shall be Venezuelan"
Today on many Arabic internet sites one can read comments such as: "I am
Palestinian but my president is Chavez, not Abu Mazen." Or: "I don't want
to be an Arab. From now on I shall be Venezuelan."
In Gaza and Ramallah in the Palestinian Territories I am told that next
to Arafat's and Che Guevara's posters, a new poster of Chavez is being
added.
On world television channels one could even see Venezuelan flags in
demonstrations in Beirut, next to Lebanese and Palestinian flags, and in
many prominent newspapers across the Arab World, columnists wondered: why
can't Arab leaders do what a Latin American non-Arab non-Muslim leader
dared do?
Naturally, some anti-Chavez Venezuelans would rush to warn their
president's Arab fans of what they say is the real Chavez: an authoritarian
who is ruining their country.
But that would still not change much for his Middle Eastern supporters.
When one internet user wrote saying that Chavez was a "dictator like Fidel
Castro", the replies flooded the website one after the other defending
Chavez and insulting the person who had criticised him.
Chavez's opponents see his position as a mere political manoeuvre to
support his ally, Iran, and to attack his traditional enemy: the US, or the
"empire" as he calls it. They also think that he wants to increase his
popularity worldwide.
That could be true. But what is undoubtedly true is that Chavez's
affinity with Arabs is nothing new. He often mentions them in his speeches
and tells stories of his adventures with Arab leaders in their faraway
lands. He admires the desert. He says he is a Nasserite (referring to the
late nationalist president of Egypt, Gamal Abdul Nasser). He mentions Iraq
more than Arab leaders do and never misses an opportunity to "salute the
Iraqi resistance against imperialist forces".
This solidarity with Arab causes is widely shared by most Venezuelans,
and also by most Latin Americans, especially the poor.
Many marched in the streets of Caracas and other cities in Venezuela -
as well as in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and elsewhere - to show
solidarity with the Lebanese and Palestinians in their plight.
Israel reacted slowly and rather indifferently to Chavez's decision to
withdraw his diplomat, as though it was of little importance. Only after
several days did it call its ambassador to Caracas for consultation.
Then Chavez went further, to say that he was probably going to break
diplomatic relations altogether with Israel, a state with which he is not
interested in sharing any business, offices or anything else.
The state of relations between the two countries at the moment is
unclear. Nobody knows how long the Venezuelan charge d'affaires will stay
away from Tel Aviv. Nor does anyone really know whether or when the Israeli
ambassador is due back in Venezuela. The Israeli embassy still operates
normally in Caracas.
But none of those details matters any more. What has been said and done
will not be forgotten by any of the parties involved.
Accusations
Jewish people in Venezuela say they have received threats and feel
uneasy about the whole thing. Security was tightened around all Jewish
facilities in Caracas and nobody there was willing to give a comment to Al
Jazeera. Some prominent Jewish figures spoke on local media and accused
Chavez of being an anti-Semite.
At the same time, Chavez may well be accused of harbouring Hezbollah
units. Last week there was talk on Western and Israeli media about such
units abroad.
Whatever the consequence of Chavez's uncompromising position with
Israel, it is evident that it embarrassed Arab leaders, as none of them cut
or even downgraded ties with Israel despite all the massacres its army has
committed in Lebanon and Palestine.
Those leaders whom he always praised and considered as his "brothers"
might not like him as much as they did when he summoned them in Caracas in
2000 to put the oil prices up within Opec.
They surely do not like his closeness to Iran, which is seen by many as
trying to spread its influence over the Middle East. And they probably feel
that his continuous, provocative anti-Bush statements are too compromising.
Chavez probably realises all of that. For years he strove to forge
alliances with Arab governments and share projects to break the current
world economic order in which, as he sees it, third-world countries are all
tied to the big powers and not to each other.
But he has seemingly given up on his Arab counterparts, or most of them
at least, now that he has come to realise that they are not
anti-imperialist - not even anti-Israeli - and that some strongly dislike
his ally, Iran.
He and the whole world saw how close and obedient Arab leaders are to
the US and how far and detached from their people they have grown. If what
happened in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon is not enough to make them speak
out and stand up to defend Arab dignity, then nothing will.
That is where Chavez's talent to communicate with the man on the street
comes in to fill the gap and make him more popular than Arab leaders in
their own countries.
One internet user writes: "I wish there were elections to elect the
leader of the Arab Umma [Islamic Nation] and I am sure 100 per cent that
Chavez will win the elections although he is Venezuelan."
Legendary
It will be interesting to see what course official Venezuelan-Arab
relations will take.
The sure thing is that in the mind of millions of Arabs, Chavez is now
in the same league as Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, and other
"heroic" Arab figures.
At a time when nationalism in the Arab world is linked to Islamic
movements such as Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both branded
as terrorist movements by Washington, Chavez represents a very different
trend.
He does not belong to or lead a religious movement; he is not - yet -
classified by Washington as terrorist; he is, unlike Arab leaders, a
democratically elected president and an anti-imperialist socialist who has
no equal at the moment in the Arab world.
No wonder some Arab internet users call for cloning him to make sure
they get a copy to replace their own leader.
Would there be a "Chavez of Arabia" just like the legendary "Lawrence of
Arabia", the Englishman who won the trust and sympathy of Arabs in the
desert when they were under English mandate?
History will decide. But for now, to many Arabs online he is "an
honourable man in a world of few men" that many declare they are "ready to
die for".
Aljazeera By Dima Khatib, Latin America Correspondent
Original source / relevant link:
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The Inquisitor
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obmar,
Chavez is an extraordinary person. I once interpreted for his delegation when they came to Los Angeles. It was on behalf of the Bolivarian Circles. I sure hope he survives, because I know the US is now spending millions to get rid of him.
He does have one advantage. The US is bogged down in two wars (well, one and a half) and has its hands full with Israel. Venezuela is off the radar for now.
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obmar
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I understand why the US dont like him at all...
...............
Chavez tells Malaysia to bypass West
Reuters
Tuesday, August 29, 2006 21:15 IST
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KUALA LUMPUR: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday urged Malaysia to bypass Western powers as it expands its global business links, and offered Caracas as an ideal destination to develop its palm oil and petroleum technology.
“The solution for our countries is not the North,” said Chavez. “The solution is between us ... We have to have our own model, not the model the countries of the North want to impose upon us,” said Chavez.
Chavez was on his second official visit to the Southeast Asian nation. He leaves later on Tuesday for Syria and then Angola in a trip likely to rankle Washington, which charges the Arab nation with sponsoring terrorism.
The Bush administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair accuse Syria of backing militant groups in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon and of stoking recent violence in the Middle East.
State oil companies from both countries were in discussions with agreements scheduled to be inked when Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reciprocates his visit in December. Chavez toured a palm oil production facility on the outskirts of Malaysia’s largest city, Kuala Lumpur. “Palm oil is very important to us. If Malaysia doesn’t have the land to plant anymore, Venezuela has it,” Chavez added. He also dangled a Venezuelan oil carrot before the gathering of about 150 businessmen and government officials.
“Don’t worry Malaysia. As a brother, we can help you explore and find oil. If you don’t have oil (anymore) ...it will be provided for by Venezuela,” he added. Venezuela, he said, had even larger proven reserves than Saudi Arabia — the reason America was out to oust him. “My friend Fidel Castro says ... Washington is looking for you,” added Chavez, without elaborating. He had earlier said Abdullah’s administration was backing its bid for one of the rotating seats on the UN Security Council.
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The Inquisitor
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Absolutely.
Chavez is quickly gathering treaties with other countries that exclude the US in its entirety. He's doing a great job. If you have any way of urging support for his country, please do so.
Do you have Citgo gas stations in your area?
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