OIC’s call for ceasefire

The POST, Sun, August,6, 2006.

Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema

At last an international organization deemed fit to give a call for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. Fully cognizant of the dangerous implications of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the international community including the OIC waited for almost three weeks in which Israel was allowed to destroy the Lebanese infrastructure and kill the innocents civilians on the Israeli projected excuse that Hizbullah is employing the cover the civilian population. The delay in efforts to secure ceasefire when it is proven that the wrath of Israeli forces is manifesting in the form of killing of the civilian is indeed not condonable.

The great powers and more specifically the permanent members of the United Nations are expected to initiate immediate action to prevent the killings of innocent but in this case the world has witnessed not only hesitation but a contrived policy of paralyzing the UN in order to give Israelis more time to secure their objectives. Such a delay is only fast eroding the trust in the efficacy of an international body like the UN which was designed to maintain international peace and security. Some regard the undesired delay on the part of UN in order to prevent the killings of so many innocent civilian as somewhat criminal and totally unacceptable.

A strong resolution by the OIC Executive Committee is not only welcomed by many but is reflective of deep concerns that members of OIC felt at the sufferings of the people of Lebanon. Besides, being first to issue a call for immediate ceasefire also indicates that OIC is awakening to the existing realities and moving towards becoming an active player in international politics. Since the adoption Mecca Declaration of Dec.2005, the Muslims all over the world began to shed their doubts about the efficacy of the OIC and began to attach some hopes that it would rise up to the occasion.

Almost all Muslims agree that united Muslim front could present a formidable force on the world scene. It could not only effectively promote Muslim countries interests but could also further the cause of civilization everywhere. It is also well known that the Muslim world is divided and ridden with strife. At time one gets the impression that many within the Muslim world are pulling towards opposite direction. Some are rich while others are poor. Some are moving towards modernity while others appear to be pulling backward. In some Muslim countries women have even enjoyed the status of head of government but simultaneously there are other Muslim countries where the women hardly play any significant role in the administration.

Despite all the problems the Muslim countries were able to established a loosely knit  organization called the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference).  The organization is the product of a collective response to an unwarranted arson attack on Masjid-i-Aqsa in 1969.  Admittedly the name itself suggests that the organization is meant to arrange meetings of Islamic countries periodically. Nevertheless over the years the organization has managed to evolve some form of a rudimentary structure.

Many among the Muslim world regard that the OIC has not lived up to the expectations since its birth in 1969.  It was not able to fulfill the dreams of Muslims whose unbridled yearning for unity and one voice reflecting desire of the members often experienced rebuffs after rebuffs. At times it demonstrated total chaos and disunity generating the impression that OIC is nothing more than a debating club. While the problems confronting the Islamic world continued mounting, the efforts to deal with them satisfactorily by this collective Muslim body remained extremely disappointing.

The post 9/11 period has given birth to many new problems and also complicated the existing difficulties.  Among new dangerous developments that need to be carefully assessed include terrorism and the concerted efforts to promote a distorted image of Islam. There exists no satisfactory definition of terrorism. Everybody seems to be engaged in defining terrorism in such way that it excludes the adverse trends and developments in one’s own country but can be applied to other specifically the adversaries.

The need for restructuring in order to make it an effective collective body of the Islamic world was never so acutely felt than after the tragedy of 9/11 and consequent war against terror which was mostly equated in many western countries as war against Islamic terrorists. A concerted campaign was undertaken by many interested parties to project the freedom struggles that are being waged by the Muslims in Kashmir, Palestine and Chechnya as terrorist movements. The irony of situation is that many of these freedom struggles are already recognized as legitimate freedom movement.

Cognizant of the ground realities, challenges confronting Islamic world and emergent heavily loaded atmosphere influenced rather effectively the leadership in many Muslim countries to revamp the OIC with a view to make it more effective. In this connection many leaders made significant contributions. The contributions of the former Prime Minister Mahatir of Malaysia and President of Pakistan had injected the requisite impetus to transform the organization in to an active player. Consequently a call for the  extraordinary session was given at the summit in Malaysia which eventually resulted the signing of Mecca Declaration. The extraordinary summit at Mecca not only rejected extremism and urged the members to fight terrorism in every possible manner but also adopted ten years action plan.

The recent meeting of the Executive Committee of the OIC in Malaysia has not only condemned the relentless Israeli aggression and demanded immediate ceasefire in Lebanon but also asked for UN investigation of Israeli human rights violations in both Lebanon and Palestine. Almost all member felt that Israel was guilty of blatant and flagrant violations of human rights. The Qana carnage has not only impacted upon the Muslim world but has also managed to invoke strong sympathetic reactions among the people of many non-Muslim communities. Nobody condones the killing of innocent on any grounds. Even those who extend silent encouragement to Israeli aggression must indeed be feeling uneasiness following the killing of so many children at Qana.

Almost all participants of the recent meeting appeared to be very realistic in their assessments of the current situations in both Palestine and Lebanon and offered practical and feasible recipes to defuse the situations.  The Pakistani Prime Minister gave an eight point plan to defuse the crisis which enormously facilitated the final draft.  Demanding from the United Nations Security Council to fulfill its obligations without any further delay, the final declaration condemned the Israeli aggression in both Palestine and Lebanon, demanded immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, asked for release of all prisoners and suggested to station a UN mandated force with the consent of all parties.

Many leaders at the meeting clearly pointed that the continuation of war is likely to radicalize the Muslims in many parts of the world and therefore it must stop immediately. Some even warned that the boiling anger over the Israeli aggression in Lebanon could make the ongoing war against terrorism rather complicated and difficult but could also launch a new wave of terrorism.

A quick ceasefire could  not only put an end to the sufferings of the Lebanese but could also retrieve little bit the fast eroding prestige of the UNSC. The failure of the UNSC to inject a ceasefire not only reflected it inability to prevent war and maintain peace but also revealed the hidden interests of the parties involved. There is no doubt that the interests of countries are well known but what was not very clear is how far they are willing to go in order to attain their objectives and how great is the importance attached to high and mighty principles of international peace and security.

The writer works for Islamabad Policy Research Institute.