Lakhdar Brahimi: aiding repression at home and conflict fighting abroad
Lakhdar Brahimi's daughter Reem (also spelled Rym), who was a CNN Correspondent in Baghdad during the 2003 Iraq american-israeli invasion, is married to Prince Ali of Jordan, brother of the Anglo-Sefardim king, put in place by the mossad in Amman.
By Zakaria Lamine,
With his debonair look, soft-spoken manner and avuncular smile, Lakhdar Brahimi seems to exude wisdom, innocence and deep concern for the wretched of this earth. His mediating skills in finding solutions to the problems that had affected Lebanon, Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq are acclaimed worldwide. His record may indeed be outstanding. We leave the assessment of the outcome of his mediation efforts to the Lebanese, the Haitian, the Afghan and the Iraqi. In the same manner we cannot judge the record of Kofi Annan in the light of his failure to make progress in the resolution of the Syrian crisis. We leave the assessment of the man and his record of achievements to the Ghanaians, who undoubtedly know more about him than non-Ghanaians. We will follow this truism and look at Lakhdar Brahimi from an Algerian perspective and find out whether the Elder, hailed by the international community as a skilful conflict fighter, is fit for purpose. His appointment as UN and Arab League envoy to Syria may have dire consequences for the appalling suffering of the Syrians who are heavily bleeding and whose towns and village are being systematically destroyed.
Algeria can be said to have been there first when it comes to the Arab Spring. In December 1991, the Algerians voted in the first free and fair elections ever to be held in Algeria for an opposition party to signify their rejection of the corrupt security system, called the Algerian state, woven in place by successive military coups and an inflation of security services vying with each for the subjugation of the Algerians. The security system cancelled the elections, dismissed the elected president of the country and imposed its will on the people. A High Security Council was created to fill the vacuum left by the dismissal of the president. The members of this institution were selected from the most loyal and illustrious members of the Algerian establishment. The roll call goes like this: Sid Ahmed Ghozali (Prime Minister), Lakhdar Brahimi (Foreign Affairs Minister), Hamdani Benkhelli (Justice Minister), Khaled Nezzar (Defence Minister), Larbi Belkheir (Interior Minister) and Abdelmalek Guenaizia (Chief of Staff). The Council took decisions which were to open the gates of hell on Algerian society. As for the presence of Lakhdar Brahimi in this Council, we leave it to Lounis Aggoun and Jean-Baptiste Rivoire to explain it away (1): “As for foreign affairs, a seasoned diplomat like Lakhdar Brahimi is required to convince international opinion of the so-called “legality” of the change of government.” Our Elder shuttled the world and spared no effort in selling the policies of the murderous Algerian junta to all and sundry. He had fulfilled this task to the best of his abilities until February 1993.
Digging the past of Lakhdar Brahimi is no joy to Algerians. If he had simply faded away to ruminate his achievements and sleep on the laurels he had collected for his achievements in international diplomacy we would not have had the urge to remind ourselves of his past actions in the service of oppression and the apology of crimes against humanity. It pains many Algerians to see these relics, who had served and aided oppression at home, displaying on the world stage contrived wisdom and concern for the wretched. His sight reminds us of the hundreds of thousands of Algerians killed by the Algerian junta which Lakhdar Brahimi had served as foreign minister from 1992 to 1993. His appearance on television screens resurrects in us painful memories of thousands of disappeared whose relatives cannot find the closure required because of the absence of a grave to visit. Is the task of elucidating the fate of 20 000 disappeared in Algeria beneath the qualifications of the Elder Lakhdar Brahimi? Can he not use his international aura to help those mothers who keep weekly vigils in the squares of Algiers, undeterred by barrages of aggressive and scornful baton-wielding and heavily armed police officers, in search of answers to disappeared loved ones? Can he not remind the president of Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika that it is not decent to shrug off the plight of these mothers by telling them that their sons were not in his pocket? Can he not find some inner strength to apologise to the Algerians for his association with mass murderers and torturers?
The yearning for natural justice is a universal feeling. Natural justice dictates that actors and apologists of oppression and human rights abuses should not be entrusted to resolve conflicts because their instinct is not on the side of justice and human rights. Lakhdar Brahimi had aided and abetted a murderous regime in his home country. How can he be trusted by the Syrians to deliver them from the murderous and sectarian regime of Bashar al-Assad who is killing his people with the connivance of Russia, China, Hezbollah, Iran and others like Algeria? Bashar al-Assad is waging a war with heavy weapons and warplanes against the cities of Syria, the cradle of human civilisation. He claims to fight fundamentalists and armed gangs. How similar is this rhetoric to that deployed by the Algerian junta when it trampled on the will of the Algerians in January 1992 with the then blessing of our Elder Lakhdar Brahimi.
Lamine Zakaria
23 August 2012
Note de référence :
1. Lounis Aggoun et Jean-Baptiste Rivoire, in Françalgérie, crimes et mensonges d'États. Histoire secrète, de la guerre d'indépendance à la « troisième guerre » d'Algérie , La Découverte, Paris, 2004, http://www.algeria-watch.org
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