TEHRAN – Former Afghan Foreign Minister Najibullah Lafraie tells the Mehr News Agency that “the hidden hands of foreign interests are a real source of worry” in Arab states in which dictatorial regimes have been toppled. 

 

 

Following is the text of the interview:

 

Q: What is your prediction of governmental systems in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya in the future?

 

A: In the Arab countries where the old regimes are removed by people power, numerous forces are at work to shape the future form of their governments: various trends within the revolutionaries, elements of the old regimes, and hidden hands of foreign (Western) interests. "Democracy" is, and will continue to be, the catch phrase; but how much the governments will really represent the people will depend on the level of the leadership and organization provided by the parties that have emerged from within the people. I'm not worried much about the elements of the old regime--despite Egyptian military's insistence to retain power. The hidden hands of foreign interests are a real source of worry, though.

 

Q: What is the role of Islam in shaping the future form of governments in these countries?

 

A:  As evident in Tunisia and Egypt, the Islamic parties are, and will be, the dominant forces in the initial stage for understandable reasons. Not only the majority of the people are committed Muslims and the Islamic parties have worked in these countries for a very long time; equally important is the fact that all other forms of governing have been tested and failed. Whether Islam will continue to play in an important role in five or ten years will depend on how the Islamic parties function in the first phase.

 

It seems to me that the foreign interests are keeping hands off and not opposing the emergence of the Islamists too much with the hope that they will fail to match people's expectations and solve their socioeconomic problems. That would mean people's disillusionment and loss of power for the Islamists. However, if they can repeat AKP's experience in Turkey, the prospect of Islam playing an important role for a long time in the future is bright.

 

Q: Can we see the friendly relationship between the West and these countries in the future?

 

A: Whether there will be friendly relations between these countries and the West again depends on what emerges within those counties and what kind of policies the Western countries adopt. In the first phase the relationship is, and will continue to be, friendly. If the Islamists consolidate their power, however, they will certainly have certain demands from the West. Unfortunately, if we go by the past experience, there is not much hope that the West would respond to those demands positively.

 

Najibullah Lafraie was the foreign minister of Afghanistan between 1992 and 1996. He is now a lecturer in political studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.

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