FOREIGN POLICY: CLINTON FOR RECONCILIATION AMONG PALESTINIANS, IF…
Marc Lynch of Foreign Policy magazine wrote about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech at the Sharm al-Sheikh conference for the reconstruction of Gaza. At this conference, Clinton emphasized that she supported the reconciliation process between Hamas and Fatah but, in the opinion of Marc Lynch, she spoils the dialogue that might lead to a unity government of the Palestinian people by insisting that such a government would only be acceptable if it met the pre-existing Quartet conditions. Hamas has said it will block aid from entering Gaza if it is required to go through the Palestinian Authority to get there, which the US insists it must be.
Question to the Blogosphere: How do you think the United States should approach the “Hamas Challenge”? What kind of policy to do you think would be more useful in this situation? Is the United States a spoiler in these negotiations between Hamas and Fatah? If it is, is this a bad thing?
GLOBAL VOICES ONLINE: TECHNOLOGY HELPS RALLY HUNDREDS IN HONG KONG
According to Oiwan Lam of Global Voices Online, On February 15, 2009, more than 800 people participatedin a demonstration against the Christian Right Wing in Hong Kong. The rally had no traditional NGO back up and it was mainly mobilized via Facebook groups.
Question to the Blogosphere: Does the Internet help people in places like Hong Kong connect and form common ground on more than just passing incidents? In other words, can Facebook, Twitter, and those like it help strangers establish relationships based on discovered common ground? Can you think of other incidents like this in which technology organized people who otherwise would not have come together because of censorship laws? What is the role of censorship in helping or hurting peoples’ abilities to search for common ground?
BBC NEWS: BROWN ENCOURAGES THE RENEWAL OF “SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP”
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke to both houses of the US Congress today about the need for the US and the UK to cooperate on issues concerning the global financial crisis. To do this, there would need to be agreed-upon rules and standards for accountability, transparency and reward in banking between the two countries. Addressing the historical “special relationship” that has existed between the United States and her former colonizer, Brown also asked leaders of the United States to think differently about Europe: “There is no old Europe, no new Europe. There is only your friend Europe.”
Question to the Blogosphere: Is it necessary to create common ground and build friendship between Great Britain and the US in order to attack the financial crisis? Are issues so interlinked within the problem of the financial crisis that cooperative negotiations on economic policy across countries arenecessary? Does the fact that the US and the UK have similar histories, national cultures, and historical friendships help this search for common ground? What is the difference between the relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Brown and that between President Bush and Prime Minister Blair?
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE: JEWISH AND ARAB TALENTS JOIN FORCES TO COMPETE FOR ISRAEL IN EUROVISION
The Israelis have nominated two women to represent them at the Eurovision song contest in Moscow in May. These two women may create beautiful music together, but they represent clashing sides of the conflict between Israel and Palestine–one is Jewish and one is Arab. Together they will sing a song about peace at the contest. The choice of an Arab to represent Israel at the contest stirred controversy in January during the Gaza crisis. Ahinoam Nini is a Jewish songstress of Yemeni descent and her partner, Mira Awad, is a Christian Arab talent from Galilee.
Question to the Blogosphere: Do you believe that this gesture is a symbol of increasing efforts at reconciliation between the Jews of Israel and the non-Jews who live among them? Do you think the employment of a Christian Arab instead of a Muslim Arab is a significant detail on which we should focus? What image does Israel want to send to the world with this gesture and what do you think the world actually thinks of this? Is this really a sign of building common ground?
This article was originally posted in the Washington Post on Monday.
Muslim Sent Home: A Legal Visa Holder Meets Unreason at Dulles
By John Marks
Monday, March 2, 2009
On Jan. 26, my office received a call from an immigration agent at Dulles International Airport, who said that my colleague Rashad Bukhari had been refused entry to the United States. He was not charged with anything, the agent said, and would be eligible for a future visa.
In fact, when Rashad arrived at Dulles, his Pakistani passport contained a valid, multi-entry visa, issued less than two years before by the U.S. State Department in Islamabad. He used this visa in 2007 to enter the United States without difficulty. Rashad is 36, and he worked for two American organizations, including the U.S. Institute of Peace, before he joined us at Search for Common Ground in 2007. He is Urdu-language editor of our Common Ground News Service, whose goal is to build bridges between the Muslim world and the West.
Immigration officials at Dulles could have easily verified all of this if Rashad had been allowed to make a phone call or if they themselves had chosen to check. Rather, they detained him for 15 hours, temporarily took away his cellphone and laptop, and eventually put him on a plane back to Pakistan. They prepared a transcript of the encounter in which an official justifies the United States not honoring Rashad’s visa by saying, “You appear to be an intending [sic] immigrant.”
Rashad answered that he has a wife and three children in Pakistan, that his job is based there, that he had a return ticket and that he had no intention of remaining in the United States.
Rashad later told us that the agent said — in words that do not appear in the transcript — that if he “voluntarily” withdrew and did not try appealing to more senior immigration officials, he would have a chance to return to the United States after getting a new visa; otherwise, he would face a five-year ban. In either case, Rashad was told, he would have to leave.
Faced with this Hobson’s choice, Rashad “voluntarily” left the country. Rashad noted afterward, “The immigration officer was actually very polite and remained nice to me. We chatted a little about my work and about international politics. He said, as an individual, he regretted the decision, saying he saw me as a good man. He repeatedly suggested that I should come back again with a new visa. He told me that he had studied history and politics and said that the work I am doing is more important than any military action.”
Since Sept. 11, 2001, I have heard of many incidents similar to this one. My first reaction when I was told about Rashad’s treatment was: In dealing with immigration and visa issues, nothing can be done.
And no, I do not believe that what happened to Rashad, who is Muslim, would have occurred to, say, a white Englishman of the same age.
I travel frequently to Muslim countries, and I know there is a widely held perception that the United States is not a welcoming place for Muslims. This has done serious damage to our national reputation at a time when improving the U.S. image in Pakistan and other Muslim countries and rallying support against extremism are major American foreign policy objectives.
I also know that, only days before this incident, Barack Obama declared in his inaugural address, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”
I hope that means the Obama administration will carry out a full review of policies and procedures regarding how immigration officers deal with Muslims from other countries. There need not be a contradiction between securing our borders and providing equitable treatment to all those who wish to enter the United States legally.
And, on the human level, it would be wonderful if the federal government apologized to Rashad and to others who have been badly treated at our airports and borders.
Rashad later told me, “My friends in Pakistan, as well as in [the] U.S., are equally disturbed and upset. I prefer to go where I am welcome. Please understand how many layers of impact such incidents create. At a personal level, it puts a stain on my record and a question mark over my future international travel; at a more general level, it reinforces the negative reality that we at Search for Common Ground are trying to shift. I understand that security agencies need to protect their country from harm. And I support them. But unnecessary screening and overreacting because of distant fears and suspicions do not get us anywhere.”
Rashad concluded his message with the hope that what happened to him will be a “catalyst for positive change.” Would that this will be the case.
The writer is president and founder of Search for Common Ground, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that works to find peaceful solutions to conflict around the world.
