The UN Precedent

United Nations Emblem 

To support or not to support, that is the question. 

The Palestinian UN Statehood recognition bid is set for the 20th of September. I wish all the best to the new Palestinian State: the Gaza Strip.

However we are not here to discuss the success of the incoming UN recognition request. Instead, we are here to think about the doors the Palestinian UN bid opens to other prospective nations.

To support or not to support, that is the question...Spain & France support.

The Basque Country is a region located in North of Spain and Southwest of France. Its culture and language, euskara, in nothing are similar to the Spanish and French. Basques already existed prior to the establishment of both nations (history has it that Basque tribes exist since the Palaeolithic). Successive wars and occupation generated a Basque nationalism, toward the end of the 19th century. Since then, the Basques seek independence (ETA – a terrorist group – was born from that endeavour, in 1959). This year, ETA renounced violence in order to seek independence and recognition through democratic ways. It invited Spain to hold talks – so far, Spain refused. Does this behaviour ring a bell? The occupier refuses to sit with the rightful owners of the land to discuss a peaceful solution. Perhaps that is why the Spanish Government supports the incoming UN recognition of another occupier. As for France: no comments, just yet...
The Basque Country should organise itself properly and eventually seek unilateral statehood recognition near the UN.

To support or not to support...China supports.

It is well known that Tibet is an occupied nation, although China claims that the occupation is “nothing but a fiction of the imperialists who committed aggression against China in modern history”. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA, an institution, based in India, with the goal of “rehabilitating Tibetan refugees and restoring freedom and happiness in Tibet”) claims that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has actively overwhelmed Tibet with migrants in order to change Tibet’s “demographic makeup” – what does this strategy remind you of?

China clings to Tibet because the Tibetan plateau is rich in mineral deposits (estimated at $128Bn), making thus China independent of foreign mineral imports. Still, in the words of CTA “China’s administration [of Tibet] is an illegitimate military occupation”.

The Dalai Lama has removed his position as authority within the institution and now Tibetans-in-exile can democratically elect their Kalon Tripa (equivalent to a PM). This move suggests that the Tibetan Spiritual Leader wishes to exercise some sort of separation of Church and State, so that the CTA can better address the Tibetan problem before the international community. Upon completion of its organisation and strategy, the CTA should seek unilateral statehood recognition at the UN.

Indeed, the incoming Palestinian UN bid opens so many gates to other nations-in-waiting. The precedent Fatah is opening will eventually lead us to see a free Tibet and Basque Country: thank you, Palestine!