テロ後１０年の中東―和平と繁栄の春につなげ

2011/09/21
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 20
EDITORIAL: U.S. must play role of fair mediator in the Middle East.
テロ後１０年の中東―和平と繁栄の春につなげ

Violence begets violence.
　暴力は暴力を生む。

A series of wars, conflicts and other acts of violence that have occurred during the 10 years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks against the United States in 2001 have forced all of us to confront this grim truth.
　米同時多発テロから１０年間で起きた数々の暴力を目の当たりにして、誰もがその思いを強めたことだろう。

The United States responded to the terror attacks by launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. During that time, the Palestinian conflict intensified while strife among religious sects in Iraq deepened.
　多発テロを受けて米国が始めたアフガニスタン戦争とイラク戦争、それに並行してパレスチナ紛争の激化、イラクの宗派間抗争。

Terrorists staged large-scale attacks in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
中東、欧州、アジアで大規模なテロが続いた。

After the bloodshed of the past decade, the revolutions that unfolded in Tunisia and Egypt, where peaceful demonstrations by citizens toppled dictatorships, were all the more striking and amazing events.
　それだけに、チュニジアとエジプトで民衆の平和的なデモが独裁を倒した革命は、鮮烈だった。

The wave of democratization in the Middle East, which has come to be called the "Arab Spring," has brought a ray of hope to the region by showing that the cycle of destruction can now be replaced by the process of construction.
「アラブの春」と呼ばれる中東民主化の波は、破壊から建設に向かう希望の光である。

The former U.S. administration of President George W. Bush started the war in Iraq, saying it was determined to advance the cause of democratization of the Middle East.
　「中東民主化」はイラク戦争後、ブッシュ米前政権が強力に提案した。

As a result, elections went ahead in various parts of the region, including Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian territory.
イラクやエジプト、パレスチナなど中東各地で選挙が実施された。

Saudi Arabia held its first local assembly votes.
サウジアラビアも初の地方議会選挙をした。

But no real progress toward democracy was achieved.
　しかし、民主化は定着しなかった。

The elections resulted in increased political strength and influence of anti-America, anti-Israel groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and Hamas of the Palestinian Authority. After these developments, the United States stopped talking about democratization of the region.
選挙の結果、エジプトのムスリム同胞団やパレスチナ自治政府のハマスなど、反米・反イスラエルのイスラム勢力が軒並み選挙で伸び、米国は民主化を言わなくなった。

--People standing up--
■立ち上がった民衆

Autocratic governments in the Middle East took advantage of America's silence to roll back the movement toward democracy.
　米国の沈黙をいいことに、中東の民主化は後退した。

During Egypt's parliamentary elections last November, the authorities manipulated the vote to eliminate opposition forces.
昨年末のエジプト議会選挙は当局の圧力で、野党勢力は排除された。

As their authoritarian governments refused to embrace change, people in the Arab world became aware of their power to move their nations toward democracy and stood up against the dictatorships.
変わらぬ政治に、アラブ民衆は民主化の主体として目覚め、強権に向かって立ち上がった。

Libya, where protests against the regime boiled over into civil war, has started moving toward establishing an interim government.
　内戦になったリビアもやっと暫定政府に向けて動き出した。

The people are gaining political power not only in the countries where the old autocratic governments have already collapsed, but also elsewhere in the region.
すでに強権体制が倒れた国だけでなく、すべての国々で民衆の声は力を持ち始めている。

Syria has been caught up in protests for the past seven months despite a ferocious government crackdown.
　シリアでは弾圧にもかかわらず、７カ月にわたってデモが続く。

In another sign of the sea change occurring in the region, a growing number of women in Saudi Arabia are beginning to drive cars in open defiance of an official ban on female drivers. And women have been posting images and videos of themselves behind the wheel on the Internet.
女性の運転を禁じるサウジで女性たちが次々と運転し、その映像をネットで公開する動きも、同じ流れの中にある。

There are also some troubling moves.
　憂慮すべき動きもある。

In Egypt, angry protests provoked by the recent killing of Egyptian soldiers by Israeli forces led to the storming of a building housing the Israeli Embassy in Cairo.
エジプトではイスラエル軍の銃撃でエジプト人兵士が死亡した事件をきっかけにイスラエル大使館への抗議デモが始まり、ビルに押し入る過激な行動になった。

There is strong criticism among Egyptians against such violent actions.
　エジプトの国民にも過激な動きには批判が強い。

Demonstrations, when they spiral out of control, can lead to xenophobia, upsetting the balance of peace.
デモの暴走は排外主義となり、地域の平和を乱す。

The country is susceptible to disturbances partly because elections have been delayed and there is not yet a legitimate parliament or government in place.
混乱に押さえがきかないのは、選挙の実施が遅れ、正統な議会や政府が発足していないためでもある。

It is clearly necessary to quicken the process of democratization.
民主化プロセスを急ぐ必要がある。

If elections are held, it is certain that Islamic groups will sharply increase their parliamentary strength.
　選挙となれば、イスラム勢力が躍進することは確実である。

We hope these groups will transform themselves from the opposing forces that they have been until now into responsible political entities that can play constructive roles in nation-building.
これまでのような批判勢力ではなく、国造りで責任ある政治勢力として脱皮を期待したい。

Egypt is facing a raft of formidable challenges, such as administrative reform to stamp out the corruption and cronyism that infested the authoritarian government. It must also tackle serious unemployment and housing problems among young people, who account for more than half of the population.
　強権時代の腐敗や縁故主義を一掃する行政改革、人口の半分以上を占める若者の深刻な失業や住宅問題。

The Islamic groups need to grapple with these tough challenges by proposing specific plans to promote economic and social development.
難題に、経済振興や社会開発の具体的な政策を示して取り組んでほしい。

There are concerns in the United States and Europe about the implications of increased political influence and power of Islamic groups.
　イスラム化が進むことを懸念する声が米欧にはある。

But leaders in the West should regard the Arab Spring as an opportunity to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between their countries and Islamic forces.
They need to support the Arab people's efforts to establish democracy and build new nations.
　しかしアラブの春は、米欧にとっても、中東の民主化の実施や国造りを支援するなかで、イスラム勢力と理解や協力関係を深めていく契機ととらえたい。

--Despite anti-American sentiment, U.S. must serve as a fair mediator--
■嫌米甘受し、仲介を

In May, U.S. President Barack Obama declared, "It will be the policy of the United States to promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy."
　オバマ大統領は５月に「中東の民主化を支持する」と明言した。

That being the case, the United States needs to brace itself for likely manifestations through elections of the antagonism and hatred toward Americans that have grown among people in the Middle East over the past 10 years.
しかし、米国はこの１０年間で中東の民衆に高まった反米・嫌米意識が、選挙を通して政治の表に出てくることへの覚悟が必要である。

People across the Islamic world saw the Iraq War, which Washington cast as a fight for "liberalization," as an act of "invasion."
　米国が「解放」と唱えたイラク戦争を、アラブ・イスラム世界の民衆は「侵略」と見た。

While the Bush administration claimed it was fighting a "war against terrorism," many Arab people supported attacks against the United States as "jihad."
ブッシュ政権は「対テロ戦争」と主張したが、アラブ民衆の間では反米攻撃を「対米聖戦」と支持する声が強かった。

Under pro-American dictatorships in the region, anti-American feelings among people were suppressed for decades.
　これまで、親米の強権体制の下で民衆の間の反米的な世論は抑えられていた。

But such public sentiment can no longer be kept in check.
これからはそうはいかない。

It is vital for the United States to start serious efforts to build from scratch relations based on mutual trust with people in the Middle East.
The country's ties with the region have been seriously damaged through the flawed war against terror.
米国は、１０年間の対テロ戦争の迷走によって損なわれた中東の民衆との信頼関係を一から築くことが重要だ。

Washington should insist that Persian Gulf states which still maintain iron-fisted rule to start moving toward democracy.
　強権体制を今も続ける湾岸アラブ諸国に対して、米国は真剣に民主化の実施を求めなければならない。

It should also make all-out efforts to solve the Palestinian problem, which is at the heart of the caldron of violence in the Middle East.
さらに、中東の暴力の根源であるパレスチナ問題の解決に全力で取り組むべきだ。

The U.S. administration's Middle East policy will face an important test soon when the Palestine Liberation Organization submits an application for recognition of Palestinian statehood to the U.N. Security Council.
国連総会でパレスチナ解放機構（ＰＬＯ）が求める国家承認申請で米国の対応が試される。

The Obama administration has vowed to veto the request for Palestinian statehood.
　米国は拒否権を行使すると警告している。

But it must remember that Obama, in a speech delivered in September last year to the U.N. General Assembly, said, "When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that can lead to a new member of the United Nations--an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel."
しかし、オバマ大統領が昨年の国連総会で１年以内の和平合意を目指し、「来年の総会では、パレスチナ主権国家を迎えるだろう」と語ったことを忘れてはいまい。

The Middle East peace process was disrupted mainly by Israel's move to restart settlement construction.
　中東和平交渉が中断したのはイスラエルが入植地建設を再開したことが主な原因である。

Washington could trigger a fresh wave of anti-American protests in the region if it only vetoes the Palestinian bid to become a member state of the United Nations without making any effort to urge Israel to take positive steps to revive peace talks.
イスラエルにさらに働きかけをしないで、パレスチナに対する拒否権だけでは、民衆の反米抗議につながりかねない。

The United States needs to convince people in the Middle East of its commitment to playing the role of fair peace mediator. This can only be achieved through explanations and actions.
米国は公平な仲介者として、中東の民衆を納得させる説明と行動が必要になっている。

Its role is vital for the future of the peace process.
役割は重い。

--Opening a new era in the Middle East--
■中東新時代を開く

The "Arab Spring" also requires Japan to start building new relations with those in the Middle East who have become the leading power in politics.
　「アラブの春」は私たちにとっても、政治の主役となった中東の民衆との関係構築の始まりである。

The region's efforts to seek cooperative ties with the United States, Europe and Japan and receive intellectual and technological support from these countries for their nation-building will help lay the foundations of democracy in the region.
中東が米欧や日本と協調する道を探り、国造りの知恵や技術の支援を得ることは民主化の土台づくりともなる。

We hope mutual understanding between the Middle East and the industrialized world will open up a new era of peace and prosperity in the region.
互いの理解が平和と繁栄の中東新時代を開くことを期待したい。