Journalist, Ed O’Keefe Asks: "How Many More Charred Corpses Does the President Need to See" to Change Gaza War Policy

Journalist, Ed O’Keefe Asks: "How Many More Charred Corpses Does the President Need to See" to Change Gaza War Policy

    Thursday, May 30, 2024   No comments

 Journalist, Ed O’Keefe Asks: How Many More Charred Corpses Does the President, Joe Biden, Need to See to Change Gaza War Policy?

Spanish Defense Minister: What is happening in Gaza is a real genocide... something that cannot be ignored

Spanish Defense Minister: What is happening in Gaza is a real genocide... something that cannot be ignored

    Saturday, May 25, 2024   No comments

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed today, Saturday, that the war on the Gaza Strip is a “true genocide,” in light of the deterioration of relations between “Israel” and Spain, after Madrid’s decision to recognize the Palestinian state.

“We cannot ignore what is happening in Gaza, which is a true genocide,” Robles said during an interview with the official TVE television, pointing out that Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state aims to help “end the violence in Gaza.”

Robles' statements came after similar statements from Yolanda Diaz, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister yesterday, who also confirmed that the war on Gaza is genocide.

Diaz pledged to continue pressing, from her position in the government, to defend human rights and put an end to the genocide committed against the Palestinian people.

Diaz's pledge came in a video clip circulated by activists on social media, in which she expressed her welcome of Spain's recognition of the State of Palestine, and stressed that her country's move towards recognizing the Palestinian state, on May 28, is "just the beginning, and we cannot stop at this point."

“We are living in a moment where doing the bare minimum is heroic, but it is not enough at the same time,” added Díaz, who also serves as Minister of Labor and Economy.

She said, "Palestine will be liberated from the river to the sea," referring to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, between which Palestine lies.

In a related context, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albarez, said in a post on the “X” platform that “the precautionary measures taken by the International Court of Justice, which included the decision to stop the Israeli attack in Rafah, are mandatory,” calling for their implementation. The ICC, too, has moved to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders accusing them of crimes against humanity and other war crimes.

Yesterday, the International Court of Justice ordered the Israeli occupation to stop the military attack on Rafah, stressing that any additional military action will lead to partial or total destruction in the region, in accordance with the Genocide Convention, without urging a comprehensive ceasefire in the Strip.

It is noteworthy that Spain, Norway, and Ireland announced, two days ago, officially recognizing the State of Palestine as of May 28, amid Arab welcome and Israeli anger.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday, "If more countries recognize the Palestinian state, this will increase international pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip."

Before this development, European Union member countries had previously recognized the State of Palestine, including Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Sweden.

US House Republicans want to send Americans to Gaza; Americans should take the offer

US House Republicans want to send Americans to Gaza; Americans should take the offer

    Wednesday, May 08, 2024   No comments

The US Republicans, who would otherwise support freedom of speech to continue to spew hate and racism, found the limits of freedom of speech and expression not to extend to those who speak up against genocide.

Fox News reports that a new House Republican bill would send student protesters to serve a minimum six-month community service sentence in Gaza.

"I am going to bet that these pro-Hamas supporters wouldn’t last a day, but let’s give them the opportunity", said Rep. Randy Weber, who introduced the bill along with other Reps.

White American students, and all those who benefit from the power that comes with an American or British passport should call their bluff: they should all buy a ticket and head to the Egyptian border with Rafah, Gaza, and to the Jordanian border with West Bank, Wadi Araba Crossing, and cross en mass into Gaza and West Bank; a million white people, peacefully walking across into West Bank that is under daily attacks by settlers and Gaza that is bombed every day with American weapons, to witness the daily struggles of Palestinians first hand.

When Israeli troops use violence against American white citizens, who are attempting to enter into Palestine, not Israel, these so-called elected leaders will be put to the test: stand to protect the rights of Americans or throw them under the tank. This also will be also a quick way to stop the genocide, or see it happen with their own eyes.  

Students should thank these House Republicans for the idea of them heading to Gaza, and act on it, instead of them being forced to be sent there.

Anti-Genocide student protests go global

Anti-Genocide student protests go global

    Saturday, May 04, 2024   No comments

By mid-April, students attending wealthy private universities that have tens of billions of dollars in endowments invested in all forms of economic activities wanted their universities to be selective in their investments and divest from companies that produce anything tied to the Gaza Genocide. This happened after the International Court of Justice found that Israel is committing a plausible genocide and ordered it to take specificactions to stop the genocide. Since then protests spread to almost all Western countries, and there are signs that it will spread to poor countries though universities in such countries have no large investments in weapon manufacturing enterprises.

 Universities in France, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and Mexico are witnessing sit-ins and movements demanding an end to the war that broke out seven months ago on the besieged Gaza Strip. In America, the police, who attended in large numbers, broke up the camps set up by pro-Palestinian students at various universities, the most recent of which was the University of California - Los Angeles, where dozens were arrested.

 As the uprising of American university students continues to escalate in intensity, student mobilization is expanding in a number of countries in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, the day after US President Joe Biden called for order to prevail in American universities, while the French police evacuated the building of the Institute of Political Sciences in Paris of unarmed demonstrators. accidents.

 

On April 18, students who rejected the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip began a sit-in on the campus of Columbia University in New York, demanding that its administration stop its academic cooperation with Israeli universities and withdraw its investments in companies that support the occupation of Palestinian territories.

 With the intervention of police forces and the arrest of dozens of students, the state of anger expanded, and the demonstrations extended to dozens of American universities, including leading universities such as Harvard, George Washington, New York, Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and North Carolina.

 Later, the unprecedented student movement in support of Palestine in the United States expanded to universities in countries such as France, Britain, Germany, Canada and India, all of which witnessed demonstrations in support of their American counterparts and demands to stop the war on Gaza and boycott the companies that supply weapons to Israel.

 CNN reported that the administration of the University of California, Riverside reached an agreement with its students to ensure the end of their sit-in camp, after the university pledged transparency and disclosure of investments and academic cooperation programs with external institutions.

 CNN reported that the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University in Georgia will vote in favor of no confidence in the university president, against the backdrop of his calling the police against the protesting students.

 The administration of the University of Chicago in the United States said that there was information “about the presence of physical altercations” on campus, indicating in a statement that in the absence of an agreement with the protesters, the time had come to disperse the crowd.

Students seem to know the consequences of their actions but act, why?

A report in the Times newspaper reviewed the story of Jewish student Iris Hsiang, who was among more than 100 people arrested, in television scenes that credited her with inspiring similar acts of protests on college campuses across the United States.

Hsiang was arrested along with dozens of students at Columbia University for refusing to leave the campus during protests in support of the Palestinians and rejecting the Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The student who was suspended from her studies and did not know whether the university would allow her to continue her studies - explained to the newspaper, in a report written by Josie Ensor - the reason for her participation in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations and what prompted her to do so. She said that she was arrested, her hands were tied with ties, and she was placed in a detention cell at the police headquarters all night. .

Hsiang - according to the British newspaper - is now standing outside the gates of the Columbia University campus during the afternoon, because she was prevented from attending classes and accessing the library, dining halls and any other buildings on campus, and was only allowed to remain in her residence as part of the terms of her suspension.

Hsiang has been charged by Columbia University, based on a police indictment, with trespassing, vandalism and “disruptive behavior.” The climate science and human rights student has been suspended from her studies, but she asks indignantly, “How can I trespass on my property at my university?”

Hsiang, who wears a black-and-white keffiyeh as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, faces a court hearing later this month and is awaiting the university's decision on whether she will be allowed to continue her studies.

She says that her parents (the mother is Jewish and the father is Asian) are worried about her like all parents, and they support her. She adds, “I grew up in a house where we stood up to injustice, so I formulated the matter to them as follows: What do we want people to do if we were in Gaza and this happened?” Happening to us?

However, the threat of a criminal record and permanent expulsion worries the outstanding student, especially since tuition fees at Columbia University cost $66,000 annually, and she will have to pay another year’s fees if she is forced to repeat her studies after missing crucial classes and exams during the demonstration.

Although a number of professors have reached out to students to offer their support, particularly criticizing the university's handling of the demonstrations, and at least 10 faculty members wearing orange jackets standing hugging each other in Central Park on Monday when the evacuation order was issued, Hsiang is disappointed. “I can't believe it has come to this.”

The newspaper reported that New York City officials ran out of patience due to the protests, and its Mayor Eric Adams called on the parents of the students who entered Hamilton Hall to “come pick up their children” and said that the campus must be a safe place for all students.

But Hsiang rejected the idea that Columbia had become an unsafe place for Jewish students. “I am Jewish and I am afraid to enter campus, but for a different reason. I was arrested for my peaceful protest,” she said. “There is a history of using Jewish identity as a weapon. Because I am Jewish, I support the Palestinians against persecution.” .

The newspaper concluded that Hsiang, even if she was not expelled, would have to repeat the academic year because she missed most of her final exams, although it is up to the individual professor to accept or reject the course work of the arrested protesting students, according to the university.

Hsiang concluded her interview with the newspaper by saying, “I am thinking about my future, but at the same time I am thinking about the students of Gaza, as there are no longer established universities. This will definitely change the course of my life, but I went into it knowing that it was a possibility. If Columbia University continues in this situation "There's not much this university can teach me."

Media Review: US Navy pilot burned himself in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington: "I will no longer be complicit in genocide"

Media Review: US Navy pilot burned himself in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington: "I will no longer be complicit in genocide"

    Monday, February 26, 2024   No comments

Aljazeera reported that the Pentagon confirmed on Monday the death of a US Navy pilot who burned himself in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington to protest the war in Gaza.

Pilot Aaron Bushnell (25 years old) died of the serious burns he sustained yesterday, Sunday. This incident comes amid mounting protests in the United States against the ongoing war in Gaza, a war the ICJ and UN experts found it to be a  genocide.

 The New York Times had previously quoted a US Air Force spokeswoman as saying that Bushnell set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Sunday afternoon in an "apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza."

 The newspaper also quoted a fire department spokesman as saying that members of the US Secret Service were able to put out the fire, and the man was taken to the hospital with serious burns.

 In a video broadcast live over the Internet, Bushnell, wearing military uniform, said he would no longer be complicit in genocide genocide, before setting himself on fire while shouting, “Free Palestine.”

 The New York Times reported that the pilot repeatedly shouted, "Free Palestine," and said before setting himself on fire, "I will no longer be complicit in genocide."

German government officials accused of complicity in the Gaza Genocide

German government officials accused of complicity in the Gaza Genocide

    Friday, February 23, 2024   No comments

Victims of months of Israel's attacks on Gaza are filing a criminal complaint against top German government officials for supporting Israel's war crimes and "genocide" against Palestinians.

“We're filing a criminal complaint against German government officials for the crime of aiding and abetting genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza by providing Israel with weapons and issuing related export permissions,” lawyers for the Gaza victims told a press conference in Berlin on Friday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, and Economy Minister Robert Habeck all stand accused of “complicity in the genocide in Gaza” by supporting Israel's military offensive, and authorizing the export of €326 million ($350 million) worth of weapons to Israel.

Nadija Samour, one of the lawyers who filed the criminal complaint with federal prosecutors in Karlsruhe, southwestern Germany, said: “Our governments in Europe have a legal obligation not to provide Israel any support in perpetrating the current genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. This has to stop and this is what we hope to achieve by going to court. This lawsuit sends a clear message to German officials: you cannot continue to remain accomplices of such crime without consequences. We want accountability.”

Samour said German law requires a ground for initial suspicion to start investigations on a potential crime being committed.

“The International Court of Justice's interim ruling clearly showed that there is such ground for initial suspicion when it comes to the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” she stressed, referring to a Jan. 26 ruling ordering Israel's government to stop genocidal acts and take steps to ensure that civilians in Gaza get humanitarian assistance.

The case against several members of the country's Federal Security Council, which directs national security policy and authorises weapons exports, was announced on Friday (23 February).

In addition to Scholz, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Economics Minister Robert Habeck, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and others were accused.

Lula da Silva: What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war, but rather annihilation... and “Israel” is behaving like Hitler

Lula da Silva: What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war, but rather annihilation... and “Israel” is behaving like Hitler

    Sunday, February 18, 2024   No comments

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel of committing "genocide" against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, likening what it was doing to the Holocaust during World War II.

Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he attended an African Union summit, that “what is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war, it is genocide,” adding that it is “a war between a highly prepared army, and women and children.”

He continued, "What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has not happened at any other stage in history. In fact, it had already happened when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."

These are among the harshest statements made by the leftist Brazilian president regarding the Israeli aggression against Gaza and the Hamas movement since its outbreak on October 7, and since then he has strongly criticized the retaliatory military campaign launched by Israel against the besieged Gaza Strip.

As a result, the Foreign Minister of Israel, Israel Katz, decided today, Sunday, to summon the Brazilian ambassador to “Israel” to rebuke him in the wake of the Brazilian president’s statements, which he described as shameful against “Israel,” according to the Israeli media.

For his part, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, described Lula da Silva's statements as "shameful and dangerous."

He said that comparing "Israel" to the Nazi Holocaust and Hitler is crossing a red line, noting that "Israel" is fighting to defend itself and ensure its future until complete victory.

Previously, the Brazilian President denounced the provocative actions carried out by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, stressing that they had “reached an unacceptable extent.”

He stressed the need to "pressure Israel to comply with United Nations resolutions," stressing that he came to deliver a message of support to the Palestinian people, and that Brazil is against the war, pledging to provide financial aid to UNRWA.

US Central Command Statement: "U.S. Forces, Allies Conduct Joint Strikes in Yemen; Houthis respond

US Central Command Statement: "U.S. Forces, Allies Conduct Joint Strikes in Yemen; Houthis respond

    Monday, January 22, 2024   No comments

After re-listing Houthis as a terrorist entity, US government has signaled that its strikes in Yemen are going to gain some permanence, coining a new name for the operation:  “Operation Poseidon Archer”. Afterwards, the  US Central Command issued a statement, announcing that the "U.S. Forces, Allies Conduct Joint Strikes in Yemen."

The full statement from US Central Command:

As part of ongoing international efforts to respond to increased Houthi destabilizing and illegal activities in the region, on Jan. 22 at approximately 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa / Yemen time), U.S. Central Command forces alongside UK Armed Forces, and with the support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, conducted strikes on 8 Houthi targets in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen. 

These strikes from this multilateral coalition targeted areas in Houthi-controlled Yemen used to attack international merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region. The targets included missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities. 

These strikes are intended to degrade Houthi capability to continue their reckless and unlawful attacks on U.S. and U.K. ships as well as international commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. These strikes are separate and distinct from the multinational freedom of navigation actions performed under Operation Prosperity Guardian."

The UK followed with its own statement:

UK Defense Security statement. Four British Eurofighter Typhoon fighters conducted strikes against Ansar Allah this evening.

____

Meanwhile, the Yemen government in Sanaa, responded to the new strikes with this statement, posted by Mohammed Albukhaiti. 

This reaction follows a detailed responce issued by the same Yemini official reacting to EU intent to join the US and UK in their war on Sanaa government. The full text of the statement is below.

A message from Mohammed Albukhaiti, senior member and spokesperson of Ansar Allah

My message to the European Union countries regarding their possible participation in a military mission in the Red Sea.

The exceptional state of stability and security that Europe experienced after World War II is a result of the moral values   that prevailed in its societies at the internal level.  However, this moral system began to weaken as a result of the participation of some European countries in the immoral wars that America fought outside its borders.  We are now seeing its effects in the rise of the extreme right and the war in Ukraine.

European societies must realize that moral and human values   are fixed and do not change according to the nationality and religion of a person, and their treatment of them with extreme selectivity that amounts to schizophrenia will expand the scope of wars in the world, which will expand to Europe.

There are genocidal crimes committed every day in Gaza, the majority of whose victims are women and children, in full view of the world, and all countries must take serious action to stop them.

Unfortunately, the movement of some countries with their fleets in support of the perpetrators of genocide and the silence of others is what prompted us to take unilateral military action to stop it, because we had no choice but to do so.

We only target ships linked to Israel, not with the aim of seizing them or sinking them, but with the aim of changing their course to increase the economic cost to Israel as a pressure card to stop its crimes in Gaza and allow the entry of food, medicine and fuel to its besieged residents. This is a legitimate act, especially since we are in a state of war with it.  If the crews of those ships had responded to the instructions of our naval forces, they would not have been detained or bombed.

The steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the military operations of Yemen and Hezbollah against Israel were sufficient to pressure it to stop its crimes, but the American and British support for it, which reached the point of launching an aggression against Yemen, created the conditions for it to continue committing more crimes and expanded the scope of the conflict.

Today there is a war between Yemen, which is struggling to stop the crimes of genocide, and America and Britain, which are fighting to support and protect the perpetrators. It is also clear that the Palestinian people are not ready to surrender, which means that the situation is heading towards escalation.

Instead of European Union countries moving to add more fuel to the fire, they should move seriously to stop the crimes of genocide in Gaza, and then we will stop all our military operations immediately and automatically.

The Palestinian people are being subjected to great injustice to the point of being deprived of the right to live on their land by force of arms. If another human group had been subjected to the injustice that the Palestinians are being subjected to, we would have moved to help them, regardless of their religion or color.

We are not advocates of war, but rather advocates of peace, and it is America and Britain that attacked us, whether in 2015 indirectly or today directly, and we advise the European Union countries not to participate in any aggression against Yemen.

Our keenness to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that guarantees the safety and dignity of all countries and peoples does not mean abandoning our duty to defend the oppressed, nor abandoning our right to self-defense, no matter the sacrifices it costs us. We are prepared to fight until the Day of Resurrection even if the whole world comes together against us."

 

Egypt denies Israel's allegations of preventing aid from entering Gaza

Egypt denies Israel's allegations of preventing aid from entering Gaza

    Friday, January 12, 2024   No comments

As reported in international media outlets, Dia Rashwan, head of the Egyptian Information Service, categorically denied the allegations and lies of the Israeli defense team before the International Court of Justice, that Egypt is responsible for preventing the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.

Rashwan explained in a statement today, Friday, that the inconsistency and lies of the Israeli allegations are evident in the following points:

All Israeli officials, especially the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister of Energy, have confirmed dozens of times in public statements since the start of the aggression on Gaza that they will not allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip, especially fuel, because this is part of the war that their state is waging against the Strip.

  After all these statements, which did not consider this prevention and siege to be war crimes and genocide under international law, and when the occupying state found itself before the International Court of Justice accused with documented evidence of these crimes, it resorted to throwing accusations against Egypt in an attempt to escape its likely condemnation by the court. .

He said that it is known that Egypt's sovereignty extends only to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, while the other side of it in Gaza is subject to the actual occupation authority, which was actually demonstrated in the mechanism for the entry of aid from the Egyptian side to the Kerem Shalom crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to Israeli territory, where She is inspected by the Israeli army, before being allowed to enter the Gaza Strip.

He said that Egypt has announced dozens of times in official statements, starting with the President of the Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and all concerned parties, that the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side is open without interruption, calling on the Israeli side not to prevent the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip and to stop deliberately obstructing or delaying the entry of aid under the pretext of inspecting it.

He said that many of the world's senior officials, led by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, had visited the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side, and none of them were able to cross it into the Gaza Strip, due to the Israeli army preventing them from doing so, or fearing for their lives due to the ongoing Israeli bombing of the Strip.

He said that the negotiations that took place over the humanitarian truces, which lasted for a week in the Gaza Strip, in which Egypt, Qatar, and the United States were parties, witnessed extreme intransigence on the part of the Israeli side in determining the amount of aid that the occupation forces would allow to enter the Strip, given that they control it militarily, which resulted in The end of the entry of quantities announced at the time.

Rashwan said that in light of the continued Israeli intention to obstruct the entry of aid at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Egypt has resorted to assigning Egyptian trucks with Egyptian drivers to enter, after inspection, directly into the territory of the Gaza Strip to distribute aid to its residents, instead of transferring it to Palestinian trucks to do this.

He said that what confirms the Israeli occupation army’s control over the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip and its deliberate obstruction of it is what US President Joe Biden asked it to open the Kerem Shalom crossing to facilitate its entry, which was announced by his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on December 13, as good news.

Rashwan concluded his statement by saying: “If the Israeli authorities really want food, medical supplies, and fuel to enter the Gaza Strip, they have six (6) crossings from their lands with the Gaza Strip, and they must open them immediately for trade and not for the entry of aid, especially since this trade with the Gaza Strip has reached Gaza in 2022, more than $4.7 billion for the benefit of the Israeli commercial and industrial sector.”

A memorandum now signed by 100s of State Department employees and the US Agency for Development accuses Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in Gaza

A memorandum now signed by 100s of State Department employees and the US Agency for Development accuses Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in Gaza

    Wednesday, November 15, 2023   No comments

The American website Axios leaked a memorandum signed by 100 (today NYT reported 500) employees of the State Department and the US Agency for Development, accusing President Joe Biden of spreading misleading information about the war in the Gaza Strip, and also accusing Israel of committing war crimes in the besieged Strip.

The memorandum, signed by 100 employees of the State Department and USAID, urges the American leadership to reconsider its policy towards Israel and demand a ceasefire in Gaza, where the number of Palestinians martyred in this war has reached more than 11,000 according to Palestinian Health.

The five-page memorandum also shows clear divisions and disagreements within the Biden administration regarding the Israeli war on Gaza, and is characterized by sharp language, as one of the signatories of the memorandum indicated that Biden’s support for Israel made him a “partner in genocide” in Gaza, which is a rare allegation within The corridors of American diplomacy.

The memo explicitly accuses Biden of spreading incorrect information in his October 10 speech in support of Israel, and calls for pressure from the United States to release hostages by Hamas and Israel, referring to the thousands of Palestinians detained in Israel.

The memorandum reviews the events of the Hamas attack on October 7, but focuses on the Israeli response, considering that the Israeli actions constitute “war crimes and/or crimes against humanity in accordance with international law.”

The memorandum refutes these measures, explaining that they included cutting off electricity, reducing aid, and carrying out attacks that led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

She pointed out that "we failed to re-evaluate our position towards Israel," adding: "We have firmly adhered to our consistent military assistance to the government of Israel without clear red lines or implementable measures."

The memo also monitors broader criticism of US policy in the Middle East and its failure to provide a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and points to White House members’ disdain for the lives of Palestinians and a lack of strategic foresight.

This leak reveals new challenges facing Biden's 2024 presidential campaign, in light of escalating anger and protests within the Democratic Party.

27 years later, an apology for the Srebrenica Genocide

27 years later, an apology for the Srebrenica Genocide

    Tuesday, July 12, 2022   No comments

The Netherlands on Monday offered its "deepest apologies" for the role played by Dutch peacekeepers in the Srebrenica genocide.

Roughly 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were brutally murdered by attacking Bosnian Serb forces 27 years ago.

For the first time since the 1995 massacre, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren apologized to survivors for the Dutch peacekeepers' failure to prevent the killings.

"The international community failed to offer adequate protection to the people of Srebrenica. The Dutch government shares responsibility for the situation in which that failure occurred. And for this, we offer our deepest apologies," Ollongren said during a ceremony in Potocari.

Sourse of the News Story: https://www.dw.com/en/srebrenica-massacre-netherlands-apologizes-after-27-years/a-62434446

The Rohingya Genocide

The Rohingya Genocide

    Saturday, September 09, 2017   No comments

Nobel laureate issues heartfelt letter to fellow peace prize winner calling for her to speak up for Rohingya in Myanmar
  
  The Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has called on Aung San Suu Kyi to end military-led operations against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority that have driven 270,000 refugees from the country in the past fortnight.
 
The 85-year old archbishop said the “unfolding horror” and “ethnic cleansing” in the country’s Rahkine region had forced him to speak out against the woman he admired and considered “a dearly beloved sister”.
...

On Tuesday, the United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said the government clearance operations in Rakhine “risked” ethnic cleansing. A Change.org petition to revoke Aung San Suu Kyi’s Nobel peace prize had reached 377,332 signatures by Friday. source

...

Myanmar's security forces have been attacking the Rohingya Muslims and torching their villages since October 2016 in a bid to push them out of the western state of Rakhine.

The attacks have intensified since August 25, following alleged armed attacks on police and military posts in Rakhine.

Prior to that, the Muslims were frequent targets of Buddhist mobs. Tens of thousands of Rohingya were driven from their homes in another wave of violence in 2012.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, confirmed Thursday that some 164,000 Rohingya Muslims had fled Myanmar’s Rakhine to seek refuge in camps in Bangladesh since the harsh crackdown against them.

The UNHCR spokeswoman, Vivian Tan, said the figure could go up further as thousands were still crossing the border.

...

World's largest stateless community

The Rohingya are the world's largest stateless community and one of its most persecuted minorities.

Using a dialect similar to that spoken in Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh, the Sunni Muslims are loathed by many in majority-Buddhist Myanmar who see them as illegal immigrants and call them "Bengali" - even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

They are not officially recognised as an ethnic group, partly due to a 1982 law stipulating that minorities must prove they lived in Myanmar prior to 1823 - before the first Anglo-Burmese war - to obtain nationality.

Most live in the impoverished western state of Rakhine but are denied citizenship and harassed by restrictions on movement and work.

More than half a million also live in Bangladeshi camps, although Dhaka only recognises a small portion as refugees.

Rohingya refugees from Myanmar's Rakhine state set up shelters at a refugee camp at Unchiprang near the Bangladeshi border town of Teknaf. (AFP Photo)

    Over 250,000 refugees enter Bangladesh from Myanmar

Sectarian violence between the Rohingya and local Buddhist communities broke out in 2012, leaving more than 100 dead and the state segregated along religious lines.

Then last October things got much worse.

...
Who are the Rohingya?

Described as the world’s most persecuted people, 1.1 million Rohingya people live in Myanmar. They live predominately in Rakhine state, where they have co-existed uneasily alongside Buddhists for decades.

Rohingya people say they are descendants of Muslims, perhaps Persian and Arab traders, who came to Myanmar generations ago. Unlike the Buddhist community, they speak a language similar to the Bengali dialect of Chittagong in Bangladesh.

The Rohingya are reviled by many in Myanmar as illegal immigrants and they suffer from systematic discrimination. The Myanmar government treats them as stateless people, denying them citizenship. Stringent restrictions have been placed on Rohingya people’s freedom of movement, access to medical assistance, education and other basic services.

After centuries in Myanmar, it's estimated that half their population has fled to Bangladesh with horror stories of rapes, killings and house burnings.
 ...


Read also, Who are the Rohingya and why are they fleeing Myanmar?




Desmond Tutu condemns Aung San Suu Kyi: 'Silence is too high a price'