In a recent Al-Jazeera TV debate on colonialism and the Arab regimes, Dr. Hadi Shalouf, an expatriate Libyan and a member of the International Criminal Court at The Hague, said that the Arab regimes, which "destroyed our countries and sent us back to the Middle Ages," are worse than the colonialists.
Responding to statements by his counterpart, Muhammad Jahid Younesi, secretary-general of the Algerian Al-Islah movement, that colonialism had perpetrated genocide in Algeria, Shalouf said: "Arabs are fleeing their countries on a daily basis... 80% of Algerians want to flee to France." Shalouf called "to liberate these countries from these criminals, these traitors, these dictators, these occupiers," saying that he himself was "ready to go to the Arab world and liberate it, like Iraq was liberated."
The debate, which aired on February 16, 2010, on Al-Jazeera TV's polemic "Ittijah Mu'akis" ("Opposite Direction") talk show, was titled: "The Arab Demand for an Apology from the Colonialists."
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2402.htm.
The Arab Rulers – "A Gang of Criminals... Worse Than the Colonialists"
Faysal Al-Qassem, moderator: "Who is more merciful towards the Arab peoples: the Arab regimes or colonialism?" [Citing the results of a viewer poll:] The Arab regimes: 31.7%. Colonialism: 68.3%.
"Dr. Shalouf, this is really amusing... 68% is a high figure. More than 4,000 people voted. 69% prefer colonialism over the Arab regimes. Amusing."
Hadi Shalouf: "It is not funny. It clearly shows... Those who voted are the grandchildren of the mujahideen, who made sacrifices in order to liberate these countries. Unfortunately, as you said in your introduction, these countries were handed over to a gang of criminals, who have proven themselves over history to be worse than the colonialists.
[...]
"The Arab citizens – in Algeria, Morocco, Syria, or Lebanon – always knew that this foreigner, who came from across the ocean, is a colonialist and that they should resist him. But when our sons and brothers took power, what did they do? They destroyed our countries and sent us back to the Middle Ages..."
[...]
Faysal Al-Qassem: "Some countries are demanding an apology from the Western colonialists."
Hadi Shalouf: "On the contrary. I say that we should apologize to colonialism. If our martyrs and mujahideen were here today, they would revolt. If the 1.5 million Algerian martyrs, and all the martyrs of Libya, of Syria, and of all the Arab countries were here, they would cry and maybe even regret all the bullets they fired at the colonialists."
[...]
Muhammad Jahid Younesi: "The population of Algeria in 1830, when colonialism began, almost equaled the population of Egypt. Today, the Algerian people numbers 35 million, while the Egyptian population numbers 80 million. There was genocide."
Hadi Shalouf: "How many people did the Algerian regime annihilate after reaching power? How much money did the Algerian military regime steal after the independence?" [...]
"Arabs Are Fleeing Their Countries on a Daily Basis"
Hadi Shalouf: "Arabs are fleeing their countries on a daily basis. I have seen Algerians crying in French courts, saying that they would rather remain in a French prison than return to their country. A scientific study has shown that 80% of Algerians want to flee to France." [...]
The Current Arab Rulers – Greater Occupiers than the Colonialists
Hadi Shalouf: "I am ready to go to the Arab world and liberate it, like Iraq was liberated. We have to liberate these countries from these criminals, these traitors, these dictators, these occupiers. I view the current Arab rulers as greater occupiers than the colonialists."
