World should support Palestinian statehood
The UN Charter states: "We the peoples of the United Nations stand determined to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small."
I wholeheartedly endorse the long overdue Palestinian statehood bid, asking for international recognition to establish an independent sovereign state in the West Bank based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem its capital.
Populism has taken root throughout the Middle East, a troubled region where citizens have long been denied fair and equal representation, instead forced to endure bullyrag oppression and brutal crackdowns. Arab leaders - the recently elevated, those clinging to power and those facing an uncertain future - need to attentively listen to common sense suggestions in order to implement change, in which imposed double standards must yield to righting tyrannical wrongs and challenging mindless abusive violence. So, too, must intransigent Israeli extremists and their intimidated lobbyist-influenced allies choose negotiated compromise rather than confrontation, to avoid isolation and settle for peaceful co-existence.
Spontaneous expressions of public outrage that governments are morally corrupt, that average citizens remain powerless to do anything about it, that living standards aren't rising and that nothing ever changes demand progressive reform and self-determination that leads to legitimate status for Palestine and secures safe borders and free and fair elections. Pax vobiscum!
Charles Frederickson
Bangkok
