Hamas victory
Humayun Hyder, Zigatola, Dhaka
Hamas' stunning victory in Palestinian polls not only shocked the long ruling strong Fatah section but it also put the United States and European Union in an uneasy situation. The victory is also shrouded by the fear that the US brokered road-map to peace process initiated by Mahmud Abbas and Ariel Sharon could face a major setback as Israeli acting prime minister Ehud Olmart has strongly ruled out any dialogue with Abbas as long as Hamas does not give up its anti-Israeli stance. The United States has already warned president Abbas of sanctions if Hamas does not renounce the path of terrorism. European Union in harmony with the United States also cautioned that it would not tolerate any situation that may endanger the integrity of Israel. The burning question at the moment is that if American diplomacy can convince and bring both Abbas and Sharon administration to the negotiation table for peace, then why can't Bush administration do the same thing with Hamas. Now that Hamas has emerged as a victorious party knowing fully well the responsibilities that they have to shoulder; isn't it too early to assert that Hamas may continue their act of violence against Israel in the course of administration of Palestine Authority? However, in this regard one thing that may serve as an eye-opener to us is that Hamas' landslide victory in the Palestinian polls was solely based on one of their many important election pledges that is to 'Root out Corruption' which plagued the Fatah authority for long. In the perspective of our country's present scenario where rampant corruption has gripped the whole nation and made the people's life miserable, can't we have at least one party whose main election slogan would be to rid the country of corruption? However, the pledge of election should be truly based on the establishment of secular, progressive and true democratic form of government. * * *Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary election with a margin not even expected by themselves-with participation of 78% voters, they won 76 seats out of 132 In the occupied Palestine, Hamas steadily gained popularity amid despair, and became the leading force in second Intifada. Hamas believes in regaining the original Palestinian state in what is now Israel. That means a right of return for all the 4 million Palestinians to the land they were driven away from in 1948. During the Intifada, they showed unwavering resolve in facing Israeli terror. But resistance is not all that made people vote for them. They undertook educational and social programmes in the occupied area, and were known for their honesty. All these in contrast with Fatah party, who were taken for a ride by the US and Israel in the endless maze of dead ends in the so called "roadmap" for peace and statehood, became known for corruption and incompetence, and whose infighting descended the state further into lawlessness. Hamas hasn't solely banked on their stored reputation however. They moved a forward-looking campaign focusing on education, welfare, and law and order. Israel's efforts to limit Hamas by threats, mass arrest of candidates, targeted killing, and attempts to prevent East Jerusalem from voting all backfired. So did America's threat to suspend funds. This win puts America in a fix. Now that they have a declared agenda of promoting democracy, Hamas government is a test of whether they really mean it. But America, and Europe consider Hamas a terrorist organisation because of their suicide bombings. Though it is not clear how else they expect them to fight American made tanks and planes of occupation force. Will peace be possible with Hamas? So far there are good signs. About their charter that calls for Israel's destruction, Hamas leader Mohammed Ghazel told the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz "The charter is not the Koran." Hamas has steadily honoured the truce that President Mahmoud Abbas brokered in February. Despite Israel's continued arrest of its members, Hamas did little to retaliate. But more immediate tasks for Hamas are to restore law and order, rebuild the infrastructure, ensure education for Palestinian children, and provide livelihood. They face two major problems in doing that. One is funding. America made it clear before election that they won't fund a Hamas government. Europe is also reluctant. Another is Israel controls almost all the resources. But just closing gates, they can instantly deprive Palestinians of everything from work to vegetable. Whether Hamas can show the same discipline in ruling that they showed in resistance is something to see. Ashish Ahsan, Uttara, Dhaka * * *Hamas, a popular political party to the Palestinians and a radical, terrorist organisation to the US & its allies, won the recent election with a huge support of the people. The democracy loving people view it as the victory of the people. Many western countries count this poll result in terms of their own policies. The US and the reactionary Israel take it as a negative development. But, the civil societies, humanitarian groups and peace-loving organisations welcome this result. Israel and the US are screaming over people's verdict. After the establishment of this Jewish country in the post-second world war era, they have violated all the international laws and conventions indiscriminately. They do not even respect the UN conventions. Anyway, I would like to conclude saying that Israel should respect the people's verdict. Moreover, the US should not patronise the anti-democratic activities. The US should play a more constructive role for making this world a better place to live in. M A H Nazim, DU
| 
