U.N. : International Day of Democracy - Excuse Me??

By Sharique Naeem

15th September, is the date declared by UN as International Day of Democracy. The UN invites all Member States, organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals to commemorate this day in an appropriate manner that contributes to raising public awareness.

So let us do our part for some real awareness.

Irony at its best: The UN seeks to promote democracy, where as in structure as well as operational procedures, it fundamentally eschews the very notion it prides to preach. With the veto power residing in the handful of - imperial – members of the Security Council, the UN continues to prove to be a well crafted tool serving as an extension to the foreign policy of the western capitalist states.

It was used to consolidate Israel’s existence, yet when it comes to the brutal oppression unleashed on the Palestinians, it has only token condemnations resolutions of Israel to offer, which too get vetoed. It was quick to assist independence of East Timor, but when it comes to the plight of Kashmiris, it only has to offer a paper statement calling for right to self-determination, which on the ground has no effect; little wonder, that in the recent demonstrations held in Kashmir, one huge banner read, “Ban Ki-moon where are you?”

The UN gave a green signal to colonial powers, to conduct a rampage in Afghanistan, thereby shattering the lives of millions in one of the world’s poorest countries. And to add salt to the injury, it every now and then shows its abstract benevolence, by condemning civilian casualties.

For years, the UN sanctions devastated the lives of countless people in Iraq. And while the UN apparently extended its so called support through oil-for-food program, millions of Iraqi children died due to malnutrition and disease. The program itself later turned out to be a mere lucrative business venture for some in the seats at this international institution. Further UN was effectively utilized to undermine Iraq’s military strength, which subsequently paved the way for a swift US occupation of the oil rich region.

Today the evolving geopolitics has proven that when vested interests of powerful states contradict international laws, the former leads the way. In effect, global institutions, the likes of United Nations, are used to further hegemony of capitalist powers, and if they at any point act as a barrier, the rules are simply broken.Given such a track record of the UN, it’s of pinnacle importance for the Muslim world, to realize that placing its eggs in the UN-basket, will neither help them hatch nor boil. If the Muslim world genuinely seeks to solve the plethora of problems it faces - from Kashmir to Palestine - the only viable option for it is to reestablish a Caliphate.

The Caliphate, will serve as the much needed ‘Core-state’ of the Muslim civilization, the absence of which was highlighted as a significant drawback for the Muslim world, by Samuel P. Huntington in “Clash of Civilizations”. It will swiftly seek to unify Muslim lands, in order to effectively and collectively utilize its resources: minerals, human capital and military. And in pursuit of implementing, and projecting an alternative better model of governance, economics, and foreign policy etc, as emanating from the Islamic ideology, it will seek to dismantle both the influence and status of imperial capitalist tools like the UN, IMF and World bank etc. This will need both defiance and resilience; coupled with a focused campaign to expose the hypocritical nature of these international institutions towards the weak countries, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. This in turn will help muster support from other countries, such as those in Latin America, who share the same grievances against such imperial institutions.

Radically challenging to the current international status quo, the coming of such a state, and its unique political maneuvers is not idealistic romanticism; belittling it, however, is myopic generality akin to Francis Fukuyama's “End of History and the Last Man”(1992).The recent developments in the Russian conflict, gives an indicator towards the fault lines in alliance of developed countries as well as the limitness of the UN in the face of vested interests of powerful states. As retaliation to US backed Georgian aerial bombardment of Tskhinvali in South Ossetia, Russia aggressively responded. As the armed conflict subdued, Russia has made move towards official recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway regions of Georgia. At the recent emergency summit in Brussels, although the 27 EU governments agreed to support Georgia. However political opinion remained divided on the issue of sanctions, as UK, advocated sanctions, where as Spain, Italy, and Germany opposed it; due to their own commercial and energy interests with Russia. The bottom line is, that only the pursuit of independent policies, ensures that any state achieves the fulfillment of its interests.

The reemergence of the Caliphate state, in the international theater, is the only way by which the Muslim world, can break free from the strings of the puppeteers that manipulate it; and hence, once again begin to write its own script , just as it once did for centuries.