Few will regret the passing of 2004, writes Ibrahim Nafie In a day 2004 will be gone and the world will celebrate the start of a new year. For many it will be with a weary heart. 2004 was a year of violence and blood, of suffering mostly man-made, though topped with an earthquake that sent a tidal wave to devastate vast swathes of Asian shores, leaving 70,000 dead and a million others rendered homeless. In 2004 we witnessed the unfolding horror in Iraq and Palestine. US-UK occupation forces continued to wreak havoc in Iraq, destroying Falluja, wrecking the homes of ordinary people while pretending to fight terrorists. The retaliation was equally random. Civilians were bombed, innocent people taken into captivity and hostages murdered. And this is the tip of the iceberg. The horror on the ground surpasses that reported. The occupation of Iraq was not a quest for liberation, or a campaign for democracy. It was a catastrophic operation for which the innocent, both Iraqis and non-Iraqis, were made to pay. With the fall of Saddam's regime the US president announced the cessation of major military operations in Iraq. Ironically, his announcement marked the beginning of an atrocious phase of violence. In Palestine the picture was equally grim. Israel continued its aggression against the Palestinians, against a people who fight for the liberation of their occupied land. The Israeli occupation forces committed acts of unspeakable violence and perpetrated crimes that amount to ethnic cleansing. The occupation forces waged a disgraceful campaign against the Palestinians and the late President Yasser Arafat. During operations codenamed for maximum intimidation -- Days of Penitence was one among many -- war crimes were committed that should be tried by international tribunes. Buildings were demolished with inhabitants still inside. A Palestinian child was killed while going to school. An Israeli officer sprayed her with bullets, firing even after she was dead. In North Ossetia, on 3 September, a terrorist group stormed a school in Beslan, holding over 1,000 students and staff hostage. The operation ended in carnage when 350 people were killed, including 170 children. The perpetrators and their backers may claim to be seeking legitimate goals yet they committed a crime of unspeakable horror, an atrocity that cannot be sufficiently condemned and one that no punishment can redress. Such acts are a disgrace to the cause in whose name they are committed. Ends cannot justify the means, not when the means are so despicable. In Sudan the picture was hardly better. Janjaweed marauders visited unspeakable horrors on innocent victims. The government in Khartoum promised to cooperate in full with the international community to stop the transgressions. What followed was extraordinary. Instead of the international community cooperating with the government to protect civilians sanctions -- the favourite weapon of "selective" foreign intervention -- were introduced in the form of Resolution 1556 of 30 July. Sanctions can only amplify the human tragedy in western Sudan. The task at hand was to stop the aggression and protect civilians. Instead, we saw sanctions imposed and denunciations made for purely political purposes. Terror operations took the world by storm, in Spain, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Egypt was not spared. Bombers targeted Taba on 7 October. The bombings in south Sinai were horrendous, regardless of the excuses given by the perpetrators. Again, the cycle of horror dominated a spiral of violence and counter- violence. Amid all the despair are signs of hope, of valiant efforts to end the mayhem. Many spoke out exposing crimes, calling for freedom, justice, and fairness. Opinion polls held in various countries, including Western nations, showed a preference for John Kerry over George Bush. The polls were a sign that the world had had enough with destruction and bloodshed. Perhaps the new Bush administration would take note. It was a US journalist, Seymour Hersh of The New Yorker, who disclosed the horror of Abu Ghraib. People of conscience remain willing to disclose the scandals and crimes in which their countries are embroiled. Many US officials have spoken candidly about the true motives for the invasion of Iraq and their testimonies have provided ammunition to those who oppose the war and the continued occupation. Cairo exerted immense efforts to pave the way for an independent Iraq. The Sharm El- Sheikh conference was held on 23 November 2003 and, regardless of what the sceptics say, the conference was an attempt to end the cycle of violence and destruction and get the occupation forces to abide by international law. The International Court of Justice last July passed a historic decision opposing the building of the separation wall in the heart of the occupied West Bank. The court called for the wall to be removed and for damages to be paid to Palestinians who have suffered because of it. The unilateral disengagement plan by which Israel is to withdraw from Gaza has gained momentum. Egypt strove to ensure the plan would be linked with the roadmap. Meanwhile the Palestinians are trying to consolidate their institutions through local and presidential elections. We are at the end of a year of man-made mayhem, engineered by the mighty, magnified by the weak and finally helped along by nature. And yet we cannot afford to lose heart. Perhaps 2005 will bring the world to its senses. It may, for a change, get its priorities right.
