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A new secretary-general and a new map

By ESSA BIN MOHAMMED AL ZEDJALI Weeks of Arab diplomacy ended on a successful note last Sunday when Nabil Al Arabi, Egyptian foreign minister, was elected to the office of the secretary-general of the Arab League , succeeding the long-serving Amr Moussa.

It may be noted that Qatar set a good example to the Arab world by withdrawing its candidate Abdulrahman Al Attiya from the race to the high-profile office when Egypt decided to nominate Nabil Al Arabi for the post instead of Mustafa Al Faqih.

The Arab foreign ministers unanimously opted for Al Arabi as the new Arab League chief, proving that Arab solidarity had been at work throughout the diplomatic parleys. They expressed their appreciation and thanks to Amr Moussa for the splendid role he played during his tenure as the Arab League secretary-general. He is now limbering up to plunge into Egyptian politics, aiming for the nation's highest post, after Hosni Mubarak was put to flight by the young revolutionaries.

The unanimous election of the new secretary-general has drawn Arab and international acclaim and we earnestly hope that this spirit of unity and camaraderie would continue to be the fountainhead of all future stances that would be adopted by the Arab countries.

There are no two opinions that the Arab League is in dire need of a root-and-branch change, especially at a time when winds of change are sweeping across the Arab world. There are countries known to be mired in disputes and protests over the way their presidents or rulers run the affairs of the state. We wonder how the Arab League is going to deal with such issues, not least the popular revolutions that have fired the imagination of the common people.

The fact is that the Arab nation is in for a step-change. A whole host of factors pop up from time to time to help accelerate the pace of progress and even overthrow the anti-people tyrants, no matter how forcefully and cruelly they would attempt to suppress the forces of change to remain glued to power, limpet-like. Risibly enough, certain ruling powers have asserted that they will not jettison power and quit the countries that they claim to have inherited from their forebears, for if they decide to leave, deluge would follow and chaos would overrun their countries, blighting everything in its wake!

However, there are leaders who have ruled for a long time but still enjoy the affection of their people for the simple reason that they have served their respective nations with total dedication and worked relentlessly for the welfare and prosperity of the people and not for their own personal interests. Those rulers who are disliked by the people have to step down in short order lest they degenerate further and drive the Arab nation into rack and ruin. Such leaders think that they alone are capable of ruling their countries, as expressed by one of them when he reportedly said "me or chaos'. They seem to think that the world is created exclusively for them to satiate their whims and fancies.

We can only warn such megalomaniacs that history will script their ignominious exits thanks to popular revolutions and the will-power of the people that is capable of changing the map of the Arab world in quick time.

The Arab League represents the entire people of the Arab world. There are countries whose people are disappointed with their rulers and have to resort to demonstrations demanding reform and the rulers reply by suppressing them with an iron hand. Such self-centered and egotistical despots are forewarned that people power will ultimately overthrow them regardless of their ruthlessness that often ends in torture and bloodshed.

Currently, the Arab League has no power to take any decision in the interest of the Arab country it represents. We need to have a whole new mechanism for the efficient functioning of the Arab organization. We are still employing outdated methods even as a tsunami of radical changes is sweeping across the Arab countries.

We all know that the Arab League , in its capacity as the comprehensive representative of the Arab people, hosts meeting after meeting but nothing beneficial to the people would come out of such talking shops. The postponement of the Arab summit scheduled to take place in Baghdad sends out an ominous signal.

It means that the League is still riddled with disputes and differences. We have to acknowledge this state of affairs and decide to shape a new organization that gives priority to the interests of the Arab citizens and that represents the people in the full sense of the word and not just the governments. It is high time we established an organization that is capable of bringing all the Arab nations under one umbrella.

© Arab News 2011