Almost ten
years after a continuous stable one-sided policy of the Government of Canada
under the leadership of Stephen Harper, the Justin era started with promises of
drastic changes on the international scene beginning with a return to a much
peace oriented role of the Canadian involvement in the world and specifically
in the Middle East.
Is this
doable?
Many argue
that it is, especially that Canada seems to have lost lots of its previous
prestige in the world due to the Harper international politics.
While this
might be true in a way, it is also true that Harper's policy did shed light on
Canada's capabilities in participating in different regions in the World and
especially in the Middle East. Hence, since 2006 "rescue mission" in
Lebanon that would have not taken place had Paul Martin's government
acknowledged the importance growing Canadian community outside Canada and
increased the Canadian embassy's preparedness in an unstable country, and until
the F-18 active participation against ISIL, the Canadian forces have tested
their capacities in new rapid deployment methods and their effectiveness.
Is
Trudeau's government capable of attaining the announced objective?
Certainly
not and for a reason, there is no clear plan neither from Canada nor from the
entire allied forces against ISIL. Worse, in different areas where the US and
Canadian forces worked and helped rebuild a certain peace in Iraq and in
Afghanistan, things seem to worsen after their withdrawal due to a perfect
ignorance of the degree of corruption of those who were left behind after the
training...
No Clear
Plan for Peace
Today,
Canada needs to think differently and away from any speculation. None of the
allied countries advanced a clear vision towards finding a real peaceful
solution to the crisis in Syria and Iraq. None of the previous and current US
allies saw an interest to explain to the US that their policy in taking down a
dictator with the total absence of alternative could bring the country to its
divide and civil war. None of these allies seem to understand that we,
Westerners, cannot impose our democracy in a land where this term is unknown
and where no opposition can stand a single chance. None of them understood that
the victims of yesterday would become today's executioners and avenge their owns
in different ways instead of recuperating and assimilating the others to build
a new peaceful relationship...
Today, there
is still a possibility that Canada can use to distinguish itself from all other
allied countries and gain back its prestigious peace oriented policies. Indeed,
a few days ago, Foreign Affairs Minister, the Honourable Stephane Dion was
asked if the Trudeau promises will be fulfilled in Iraq. His answer was
unclear. According to him this "withdrawal" process can take some
time to find what other allied government think about the role Canada should
play, and that Canada awaits to decide upon certain proposals and suggestions
that were offered to it after Trudeau stated that Canada will stop its active
bombardment mission against ISIL.
Canada's
New Role...
Why should
we wait for other countries to decide for us what we can do when we can play a
major peaceful role? Did anyone suggested a comprehensive plan that could be
discussed by all concerned Syrian parties in the current peace talks in Geneva?
It is no secret that Middle Eastern countries are multiethnic and
multi-religions ones and therefore everyone among them aims at taking power and
oppressing the other in return of previous prosecutions it lived under that
other.
Well, I argue that this could be the major point upon which Canada
should focus to convince all parties to accept each other as a full member of a
new nation to be built today before any further step.
The second step would be
asking all parties representing all communities to sit around a table and
decide whether they want to live together once and for all or create their own,
and that issue concerns Kurds, Arabs Sunnis and Shiites, as well as the
Christians. None can be forced to live with the other unless convinced.
For
this to happen, each party should be guaranteed access to power and to wealth
in a new vision based on a bicameral stable representation capable of defending
the rights of all in a rule of law system. As for the last step, sharing the
power can be accessible to all via the musical chair formula where each of the
major institutions of the country can switch its president at the same time so
all can assume all political tasks for the common good.
Of course
reaching this idealistic formula, would take some time to convince all parties
to accept each other and this is where Canada's role should start and the focus
put on. Needless to say if this succeeds, this new Constitutional model can be
adapted and exported to different countries of the region , such as Iraq,
Lebanon, and also in Libya and other African countries.
Alain-Michel Ayache
Researcher
Center for Contemporary Religious
Studies
University of Sherbrooke
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