There is an institution which boasted about representing Arab sentiments. But unfortunately, we discovered now that it is nothing but another name of failure and defeat. This institution has made us live a long time of illusions as it failed in solving every single Arab problem among its members.
It is the League of Arab States or Arab League, which is said to have been a British idea to attract public opinion and push the Arabs to stand with it in World War II against Germany. Anthony Eden was the first to put forward the idea of establishing the League of Arab States, in a speech in May 1941. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs on December 23, 1940.
The Arab League did not carry the idea of one Arab nation or the Arab homeland or even one people. Its name suggested that there were multiple peoples united only by coordination and cooperation. The irony is that any of the decisions of the Arab League are not binding on the member states.
The validity of this League of Arab States has already expired. Therefore, a new league must be established, as happened in the case of the United Nations on the remnants of the League of Nations. The League of Arab States became clinically dead when it declared its failure in solving problems. It is time for you to look for an alternative. It is said that former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat had proposed converting the Arab League building in Cairo into a hotel.
[by Samir Hannoush in Al-Arab, London]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque
