I first picked up on Sri Lanka war crimes because Antony Loewenstein told me how they outweighed Israel’s actions in Gaza. Here’s his piece condeming the reports that Australia may grant asylum to the former head of the Sri Lankan army, Sarath Fonseka:
I have spoken to several individuals who were in the combat zone in the final months of last year’s war and they have detailed the government’s deliberate shelling and bombing of civilians and infrastructure, including hospitals. Human Rights Watch has demanded international accountability for countless violations.
Jake Lynch, director of Sydney University’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, has documented Canberra’s “official hand-wringing … accompanied by a notable pusillanimity” when faced with Sri Lanka’s crimes. Trade has trumped human rights time and time again….
Of course, the issue of investigating war crimes should not be solely directed at leaders and officials in developing countries. The international legal system remains fundamentally deficient due to the highly selective nature of its usual mandate. Why, for example, aren’t there serious questions asked when senior Israeli ministers visit Australia, some of whom are accused by the UN Goldstone Report of committing war crimes in Gaza?
The aftermath of Sri Lanka’s recently disputed election puts even more pressure on Canberra to take its global responsibilities seriously. Failing to do so would simply add another chapter in the already dismal history of Australia allowing sanctuary to killers, brutes and generals.
So this is #4 – Everything sucks. Of the 4 part technique for dissembling Hasbara – yes?
…or am I missing the point Phil?
By the way – any thoughts on countering the ‘Israel is the only democracy in the middle east?’ argument? Much obliged.
How much foreign aid, and how many memos of understanding does Sri Lanka get from
us?
There’s a lot going on here, including human rights abuses, but the problem in Israel – Palestine is one of racist settler colonialism – just as in South Africa – which is what distinguishes it from other human rights situations around the world.
For any those of you who missed seeing the Gaza ‘War’ on American TV, here is a little update:
Gaza in Plain Language
link to youtube.com
Warning: You may have to go through various obstacles before you view this. Youtube has put it in a censored category. I had to ‘join’ Youtube before I could view it.
Thanks for that Youtube video, RP. It was exactly as titled–Imagine if that video had been shown across TVLand during Superbowl half-time last night in the USA. Things would change
very quickly.
The Sri Lankan Sinhala/Buddhist religious government campaign against Tamils has closely followed the Israelis’ campaign against the Palestinians, but has already reached a very bloody conclusion, while Israel has not yet dared to do the same thing. The cost of the final revenge taken on the Tamils was, perhaps, twenty times as much as the corpse count in Gaza, and almost totally unknown in the West
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/781/40252
Anthony may believe that these crimes outweigh the Gaza crimes, but no government anywhere consistently and continuously conducts air raids and guided missile attacks against its own captive population for more than half a century. You may well find instances of more abhorrent atrocities, but Israel takes some beating in the evil empire stakes.
This post is pregnant with the reflexive Hasbara that emits from the Zionist superlight dialogue you engage in, as you try to tippy toe your way through the hideous reality maze that is the Jewish occupied discourse you inhabit.
I would hope that the Sri Lankan officials that were responsible for the massacre of the Tamils will be indicted and brought to justice. There is a chance that this could happen but the facts in this case are only now becoming known. But what does this have to do with Israeli crimes?
If Israel has its way, as is probable, the rules governing war crimes against “terrorists” and “assymetric warfare” will be rewritten to allow such massacres anywhere.
Israel has stated that it wants to lead the way in changing what is considered allowable.
Look back in nostalgia to the outrage generated by Picasso’s “Guernica.” How far we have come in what is tolerated. What is criminal now will become normal.