Karl Marx said of Louis Bonarparte (September 2, 1778 – July 25, 1846) that “men are makers of their own history but they do not make it as they please, they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves but under circumstances directly found, given and transmitted from the past”. This statement represents the political and socio-cultural reality of the Middle East and its long but protracted violent conflict. The fact that the social groups involved tend to define themselves by their history sets them apart from each other. In this situation, unless plurality of differences is recognized as a positive aspect of today’s geopolitical realm - as opposed to a Westernised attitude of colonialism and conquest - the struggle for racial and socio-cultural equality will continue taking a militarized form.

Western civilization and economic imperialism expansionists should come to terms with the fact that social fragmentation is a way of giving voice to the exclusion. In this instance, Middle East people and their counterparts in other developing countries are fighting against racial domination, militarized economic imperialism and cultural annihilation. It is a people united to recapture and occupy their rightful space to speak for themselves in their own voice and have that voice accepted as authentic and legitimate. The rationale advanced here is that pluralism and assertion of difference helps to undermine the grip of the dominant groups over political and social discourse.

Contemporary South Africa was negotiated and built on this reality even though there does still exist severe socio-economic structural disparities. Apartheid, which became official policy in 1948, was the product of the fear of a small privileged group. Ironically, just as is happening in the Middle East, the same Western capitals that condemned apartheid facilitated the trading of multinational companies with the apartheid regime.

The Middle East conflict is becoming increasingly dangerous and inflammatory, jeopardizing and endangering regional peace and security. It is significant to note here that America and its Western allies can easily use the so-called Iran link with the Hezbollah and Hamas movements to launch a reckless and ill-advised attack against Iran over Iran’s uranium enrichment programme.

The answer to the Middle East crisis is a political justice based on recognition of the plurality and identity of various groups in the region. Racial dominance, denial of political and economic rights and social degradation exercised by Israel and her Western allies are all measures to safeguard the exploitation of oil wealth by Western capitals and minority interests in the region. The message and response coming out of the G8 Summit and United Nations are just desperate attempts to try to keep the lid on the crisis in the hope that it might somehow go away on its own.

The search for ‘peace’ by Western diplomacy in the Middle East and other flash points has achieved little other than to ensure the continuation of underlying instability. The reality is that none of the so-called super powers currently has the capacity to get control of the conflict in the Middle East. Further, none between Israel and her Arab neighbours can win a straight all out war.

The Iraq and Afghanistan disasters engineered by Western capitals are unraveling case studies of attempts by Western colonial imperialism to disintegrate states for purpose of re-colonization and exploitation. It is the same as in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Western countries after facilitating genocide for over 45 years, are now busy actively stage managing “democratic” elections to ensure smooth but well controlled political transition.

It is incumbent on the international community to pressurize parties to the conflict to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, to refrain from violence against the civilian population and to treat under all circumstances all detained combatants and civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

* Ndung’u Wainain is a Programme Officer, NCEC and Director, International Center for Policy and Conflict. P.O. Box 11996-00400 Nairobi. Tel: 4445974, 4446313; email: [email][email protected]