Memoirs of Arab Diplomacy Offer Context for Present Conflicts
The Arab Spring might seem disappointing at the moment, but we should not let ourselves be disillusioned, writes Clovis Maksoud.
While I am involved in writing my memoirs which go back more than 60 years, what is simultaneously being unraveled in the Arab Nation is a sorrowful fragmentation in which non-Arab countries and superpowers compete and confront each other. At this moment this can especially be seen in Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen and Somalia.
It is a sad sight. In my memoirs I have recorded some of the criticisms I have had of some regimes at different times, my dealing with issues in the United Nations, and other memories. The conflicts back then, even though they hurt, are nothing compared with the tragic events that are taking place at this moment in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, the break of South Sudan from Sudan and the ongoing tragedy of the Somali people.
The Arab Spring expressed the commitment of the people to ask for freedom and democracy and social justice. Needless to say, in light of this, the sad developments on all levels should only momentarily result in deep disappointment. We cannot, however, be under any circumstances disillusioned.
The impetus for the Arab Renaissance should remain our collective point of reference and the guide to the Arab present and future.
