SPEAKING
FREELY Rights and regime
change By Shahnaz Durrani
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times
Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say. Please
click hereif you are interested in
contributing.
The dawn of
twenty-first century has brought a new phenomenon
in its wake, which unfortunately has been little
questioned or debated: the right of the mightiest
to regime change. Where earlier the pretext of
communism's displacement reigned, followed by
orthodox theocracy, now is the age of supplanting
assertive regimes, even though they may be
progressive and their ouster may mean the power of
the religious orthodoxy.
How long can the
"enlightened" allow this game to go on and how
could the genuine "revolutionaries" be the ones
calling for a change and not the fifth-column of
an outside power? As long as the foreign meddling
in domestic affairs of a country is not
stopped and the people
seeking the change do not rise to the occasion and
disallow the use of armed-force, using only
peaceful means until a settlement is reached
through negotiations, the whole movement would
remain hijacked.
Regime change can be
brought about peacefully as shown by the
Egyptians, Tunisians and Yemenis, even though
their successes are being tempered with by the
foreign powers in the aftermath. Nevertheless,
their achievements showed us how it can be done
without fire-power. Those that infiltrate such a
movement and bring in armaments need to be
isolated and distanced from, so that the genuine
demands are not suspect or undermined and the
movement remains homegrown.
History has
shown how war benefits the dwindling might. It is
not only the economic crisis of the ex-colonial
powers and the dire financial straits in which the
United States finds itself in that is reverting
them to these age-old tactics, but also the threat
to US currency that is being dispensed with
through regional currencies. Indeed, the world is
culprit in having allowed a currency like the US
dollars to have taken over without any checks and
balances, which in turn has allowed the US Federal
Reserve to print-out as much to support its
armaments' machinery.
The potential of
development shown by the emerging economies is
seen as a danger that the only way to counter is
through regime change, with mayhem in its tracks.
The slogan of democracy is thrown to the winds, as
long as the autocrats are at the beck and call of
one's agenda, no matter the uprisings there.
Irrespective of the slurs to the double
veto at the United Nations by Russia and China,
forgetting the dozens of solo vetos by the United
States in the past 30-plus years, it is good to
see finally a check to the hegemonism of the US
policies, especially in the Middle East, whose oil
and gas resources it wants to sit on to control
the world.
Indeed, any might is only as
strong as it is given the leash. The Arab
populations are relieved, despite the Western
media and its cohorts' full-drive at distortions,
that the hidden agenda of the US & co has been
halted and no aerial bombardment such as what took
place in Libya has been allowed.
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online
feature that allows guest writers to have their
say.Please
click hereif you are interested in
contributing. Articles submitted for this section
allow our readers to express their opinions and do
not necessarily meet the same editorial standards
of Asia Times Online's regular contributors.
Shahnaz Durrani
majors in international relations and is a
researcher in Germany.
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
