Important reminder

His Majesty King Abdullah attended the ceremony to change and raise the flag of the Great Arab Revolt in Aqaba, on Saturday, an event that marks the revolt’s centenary.

Led by the Sharif Hussein Bin Ali against the Ottoman rule, the successful revolt was soon confronted by the designs of the colonial powers of Britain and France, which wreaked havoc on the future of the entire region. The outcome of these schemes is still being felt by the peoples of the region.

Syria fell then under French rule and Palestine and Iraq under British colonial rule.

The dream of a united Arab world was frustrated by the splitting of the Middle East into British and French spheres of influence and hegemony under the infamous Sykes-Picot scheme, whose results continue to overshadow all efforts to bring peace and stability to the region.

Palestine, Syria and Iraq continue till this very day to be sources and scenes of instability and armed conflicts, a sorry colonial legacy for the region.

The 100th anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt is thus a sweet bitter celebration.

It shows the determination of a great leader to lead his people to freedom from the yoke of a foreign power, but it is also a reminder of failed promises and frustrated dreams of Arab unity, stability and progress.

What we witness now are major conflicts in Palestine, Syria and Iraq, and growing radicalism and terrorism that threaten not only the peoples and countries of the region, but mankind everywhere.

It should never be too late to rectify the schemes and designs of the past and the region should never stop reminding the international community of the sources of the current crises in the region, hopefully making it redress past grievances.

One clear issue that can be addressed is a state for Palestinians. The UN resolutions are there, the case is clear, all that is needed is to push Israel to listen to reason and behave like a civilised state of the 21st century.