What is Wrong with the Palestinian Movement?
Sam Ghandchi
http://www.ghandchi.com/147-Palestinians.htm
The point is that Palestinians are still stuck with bunch of leftist and Islamist groups
leading them. They are the same groups that have been in the Palestinian scene 30 years
ago. Iranians, thanks to IRI, came to the understanding of the hell reality of the leftist
programs without experiencing creating an Iranian Cambodia or Vietnam. Basically the
reality of IRI showed Iranians what the leftist program amounts to with mostazafin
substituted for proletariat.
Iranians are the most conscious in the whole of middle east about what Islamism is.
Iranians *inside* Iran are the only people who do not fall for the pseudo-independence and
anti-imperialist rhetoric of Islamists and leftists. Unfortunately the Iranians outside
Iran and the progressive forces in Europe and US are not as much aware about the reality of
Islamism and Leftism. What the Middle East needs is to reach an understanding of the
reality of Islamism and Leftism, the same way the people of South East Asia have reached
such an outlook and countries like Singapore did not choose such failing paths. Whenever I
hear from those who think the solution for Iran's problems is the unity of the Left, I
think they are going mad. The schism of the Left is the consequence of its demise and the
unity of a reactionary outlook is not going to make it any more viable. The call for
EtehAd-e chap is very much like the calls for Islamic unity and Christian unity by the
fundamentalists to save their dying systems. If one sees this in the Iranian movement
outside Iran, at least inside the people basically do not care for such views and are in a
pro-Democracy movement which is very much Western, contrary to the anti-Western programs of
Islamists and Leftists who try to interpret that movement from their view.
The Palestinians still after these many years do not have a real pro-Democracy movement
with real democratic and modern organizations. In contrast to Palestinians, all the
countries that liberated from the Soviet Communism, were very aware that their freedom
means that they cannot reach it thru any leftist or other fundamentalist organizations.
Look at the Czechs, Poles, Germans, Albanians, Romanians, etc and the forces that led their
freedom from Communism.. Even Russians and the Chinese pro-Democracy movement, etc.
Russians neither went for another leftist alternative or for Russian Orthodox and Tsarism.
Czechs voted for Vacalv Havel and not Dubchek.
The problem is that Palestinians have not reached the understanding that Islamist and
Leftist organizations have not brought democracy and modernism for them and will never do
and are trying the same failed path of Vietnam.. In contrast, inside Israel, there are even
pro-Democracy individuals and groups that are pro-Palestinian and a lot more advanced than
PLO. Even one outspoken one of them Azmi Bishara is in the Knesset. Can one see anything
like this in the Arab countries? No. For sure. But the point is that there are myriad of
Palestinian semi-legal and legal organizations in Syria and other places. PFLP, DPFLP,
Hamas, Hizbollah, and so many others. All of them are Leftist or Islamist. PLO at best
has been an umbrella for Islamist and Leftist organizations. It cannot be otherwise when
it wants to be the united front of all the Palestinian groups and all there is are the
Islamist and Leftist organizations. Palestinians need to go for a modern pro-Democracy
movement.
Perhaps Palestinians can learn from Iranian pro-Democracy movement and align themselves
with Iran's pro-Democracy movement rather than still working with IRI and the Iranian
leftist groups. They can learn from the pro-Democracy movement in former Eastern Block and
start creating new organizations that are based on fundamentals of modern democracy rather
than being leftist and Islamist but use the word democracy to hide their true identity. A
democratic and modern organization supports constitutions like that of US Constitution and
Bill of Rights. Democratic organization does not mean speaking nice and acting as
underdog. If that was the criteria, then Ayatollah Khatami would be the symbol of
pro-Democracy movement not Foruhar.
The reality is that the Leftists have nothing to offer and their only political position
has become defending the underdog. Sometimes underdog may be right. But those who just
have picked the support of underdog from Marxism, after the end of Marxism, and have turn
it into an ideology are even a comedy than the tragedy of failed Marxism of Khmer Rouge and
are another meaningless version of Leftism. For example those called rahe kArgar (path of
workers), even the term they call themselves is a stupid word. In today's world, smart
kArgars (workers) want their children to go for "rah-e scientist" (path of scientists) and
rah-e professional (path of professionals) to better their life, not like the leftists
making a saint out of poverty and be proud of it, rather than raising the life of the poor
to the world standards. The left has nothing to offer and this is why their response to my
theoretical writings has been personal attacks. The reality is that recreating the
obsolete Left as "rah-e kArgar" (path of workers) is just like Khomeini's recreating Islam
in out times as "rah-e mostazafin". Underdog'ism is not a solution for humanity in our
times and it is only a game of magic to fool people, when these leftists and Islamist have
*no* solution for the social, economic, and political problems of our time.
The leftists themselves live in the West and enjoy democracy and modern life and do not go
and live in North Korea and Vietnam, but advocate those models of life for Iran and
Iranians. They do not even have the decency to say they are leftist in open forums and
come in as democratic participants because they know people are tired of giving sacrifices
to create another Khmer Rouge and Vietnam. The Leftism and Islamism are not the way for
Iran or Palestine. Iranians *inside* Iran, thanks to IRI and its atrocities for 23 years,
are more aware about the reality of such programs and they do not have the freedom to
express it on the media but that is what every one speaks of in their homes, just like the
people in former Soviet Republics and Eastern Europe before the fall of the Soviet Empire.
They did not need any theory to know they have no interest in any modified version of the
Left.
The one who supports the Leftist programs for Palestine better come out and speak sincerely
about their stand rather than keep talking of poor Palestinians the same way Khomeini kept
talking of poor mostazafin but just brought more suffering for the poor and disadvantaged.
If these people are proud of their stand, let's hear their political stands than their
labeling. Let's see how they justify the support of Edward Said and Noam Chomsky for IRI,
when they both do not have a state position and are simply leftist intellectuals who are
not in any diplomatic roles and their Edward Said's trip to Iran last year was not by any
sociology dept and was by the state of Islamic Republic.
I have posted a lot of research in refutation of the Left and all they have done has been
personal attacks than discussing topics because the left is fossilized and is sterile.
They are neither the friends of Palestinian people nor the Iranians people. They are a
cult stuck in a moribund ideology which is hard for them to drop. Leftists, just like the
Islamists, only do personal bash of their critics rather than having answers for the topics
raised. I believe the leftists just like the Islamists have nothing to offer and have been
reduced to a position of long live mostazafin. Iranians have had one version of underdog
mostazafins and will not take another MKO/Leftist Baathi version to replace IRI with it.
As I wrote in another article, we do not need to be the cannon powder for replacing Omavids
with the Abbasids.
Finally I hope the Palestinian movement to learn from the pro-Democracy movement in the
former Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, and the pro-Democracy movement in China and Iran, to
find an alternative to its failing Islamist and Leftist organizations. I hope to see
Palestine to become another Singapore and not another Vietnam.
Sam Ghandchi, Publisher
IRANSCOPE
http://www.IRANSCOPE.com
May 1, 2002
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Peacock
leadership and political agenda/ideology, they will not be able to climb out
of their hole.
"Sam Ghandchi" <ghan...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:HKWz8.200402$CH1.139474@sccrnsc02...
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