Middle East Policy

When the resolution 1757 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council adopting the establishing of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try those found responsible for several attacks and political assassinations of pro-independence and democracy activists in Lebanon, we celebrated the resolution as a turning point for the Middle East that it would be for the first time in the Middle East's history an international accountability for political and against-humanity crimes. A history that knows plenty of such crimes in a region has an international reputation of such violations and brutality, especially while this region is still serving as the authoritarianism's haven even after the dismantling of the Soviet Union and its brutal totalitarian system. Therefore, eventually, this would be a breach of the impunity norm and tradition for those who kill people in the Middle East in the political and ruling context. Given the long history of the leading international powers in pro...

Reporters Without Borders has issued its annual report about press freedom in the world, Press Freedom Index 2008 . The results came as usual in terms of the Middle East region. The report supports my suggestion that the Middle East is one of the worst regions, if not the worse, in the world as regards freedom of expression, in general, and freedom of the press in particular. As I always say, this region still lives the era of the eastern campaign of former Soviet Union under the totalitarian system or the authoritarian system at best. Although the world has significantly changed after the Cold War, this change has stopped at the Middle East's borders. This situation becomes persistent, I am afraid. It is time now to declare the failure of various attempts to change the situation of repression as regards freedom of expression in the Middle East. Europeans tried in 1990s through Barcelona Process and completely failed. Americans tried in 2000s and achieved minor improvements while ...