Desert Pundit

Hamas in Power !

First of all, it must be said, the choice of the people must be respected, regardless of if we like it or not, Hamas has appearantly won a democratic election, we have no choice but to acknowledge the people's vote.

Second, I am sad today, in my tiny hotel room in Kyoto, not because Fatah lost, they deserve to, but because in protest at Fatah corruption and mismanagement, the Palestinian people (in West Bank and Gaza only, the majority of Palestinians did not get to vote as they are refugees outside of Palestine) chose a faction with very narrow minded ideological (even dogmatic) direction, and socially (and probably politically), this is a step backward, not forward.

I don't claim to represent the majority of Palestinians (the vote today clearly shown that), but I am really concerned about further conservative shift in the Palestinian society, which will make us more insular, less accepting, more fearful of the outside world and its influences. Unfortunately, if the clamp down on individual freedoms that I see coming does happen, most of the people who could pick up and leave will simply do that, rather than to stand up to it. On that count, I don't think that Hamas actually has a majority, but that no longer matters.

I hope that I am wrong on this, but this event has finally solved dilemma for me, when I get back to Dubai, I will start the application process for immigration, which I long resisted. I have no tolerance of ever living under a theological regime ala Iran, even if it was made of my own people. Pitty the people who don't have that choice.

posted by Desert Pundit @ 5:57 AM