Ksenia Svetlova
It seems that recently the Middle East is being overwhelmed with a
flow of various peace initiatives of different kinds. There are so many that
it is becoming hard to keep track of them. It is likely that even right now,
somewhere in the world, another prospective peace plan is being presented.
And they just keep on coming; apparently because the Middle East is
blessed with so many people eager to achieve a just peace between the two
nations and care enough to invest their hearts and minds into forging new
variations of a future peace agreement.
Here are some examples of existing initiatives that are being offered
today to both sides (not in alphabetical order).
There is, of course, the master plan of all
– the Road Map, whose time of death
has already been declared once or twice, but luckily enough the kind
American doctor has insisted on resuscitating it time after time.
There are the Geneva Accords – a
somewhat controversial plan that was signed just a few months ago, but since
then, forgotten by many. The architects are talking about presenting it at
the Arab League summit next month –
maybe then will it remind the world of its existence.
But then again the engineers of the Geneva Accords, Yossi Beilin and
Yasser Abed Rabbo, will have to compete for attention from participants with
the author of yet another overall peace plan
– the Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah.
After two years of silence, he has also decided to revive his plan, known
as the Saudi initiative, which is going to be the main subject at the
gathering in Tunisia.
Along with Beilin-Abed Rabbo initiative there is of course the
Ayalon-Nuseibeh peace plan--practically its twin brother. These guys have
succeeded in gathering about 100,000 supporters for the plan, and that was
the last we heard from them. Either the two are just getting ready for their
big move (just a thought) or it’s just being put on shelf with all the peace
initiatives.
Not long ago the Syrian president, deeply concerned with the future of
the region, pulled from his sleeve a plan of his own. It made some flashy
headlines in newspapers…and was forgotten before long to clear the way for
new, bright, shiny and prosperous peace plans, like the Naif Hawatme’s plan
– the hottest offer in town.
Each of the plans mentioned here have their good points and bad points.
Each one has its supporters and opponents. But eventually the ultimate
goal of all of them is peace in the region. Ironically, instead of joining
hands and trying to reach some common ground, the architects of these plans
are too busy pulling the blanket for only themselves and slamming each
other.
Maybe this over-production of peace plans results in apathy from the
public. Peace plans are being advertised and promoted as if they were
designer clothes. And they are treated as such by the public: if it doesn’t
fit you – throw it away!
This is how it goes these days: a new plan is initiated; there is huge
public relations company to promote it, then there is the presentation, the
dinner, and sometimes even guests of honor from all over the world. But what
happens after the glamorous party is over when the lights go out and it is
time to get to the dirty work on the ground? The plan is just thrown away as
“unrealistic”, “too difficult”, or “doesn’t fit reality”. And then it goes
to the recycling bin with the rest of the half-used products of a consumer
society.
So instead of wasting time and money on new plans, which are very similar
anyway, one should think of uniting the existing ones and evolving them into
an ultimate product, which will unify the peace camp, rather than dividing
it. Stopping the crazy bloodshed in the region should be the highest
priority, not competing for publicity and glamour. Take peace out of the
recycling bin!
