Jim Miles
If Canada is against terror, it needs to be equally against Israeli and American
terror, the latter being the greatest originator of terror in the world.
Previously I had looked at several factors that tend to
indicate that Canada’s actions with foreign policy
and with domestic policy are increasingly following
American policies. One of the areas that receives
very little local media attention is the official policy
towards the Israeli/Palestine question – seldom do
the issues on Israel/Palestine surface in any of the
media, and what little does generally follows the lines
of Palestinian terrorists, the undemocratic Hamas
takeover of Gaza, and the hardships of the Israeli
population. The official Canadian policy found on
the Federal Government website presents an
interesting read that struggles to sound neutral
and non-judgmental but taken in consideration
with government actions, or more importantly,
government inaction, a definite bias can be seen.
What at first tries to be balanced and neutral
becomes simply more rhetoric and dissimulation
while maintaining the status quo of
Israeli occupation and dominance.
International Law
While reading the series of statements on the Canadian
government website [1] one of the significantly
repeated statements is a variation on international
law, either in accordance with or in violation of. A
very noble sentiment, except that Canada’s stature
on international law itself has been rather diminished
lately. In Afghanistan, Canada has been criticized for
handing over prisoners of war to the Afghan police/
military, organizations accused of torture, without
further supervision. While this issue has been
addressed minimally with an agreement that
follow up visits will be pursued to ensure the
prisoners safety, the lack of information and
follow up on the issue, and the lack of information
coming from the government still leaves the hint
of complicity in torture with the Canadian
government.
The government of course will deny that, but their
own internal affairs and complicity with the
Americans in the rendition of Maher Arar to
Syria signals that, as with the American government,
a little torture is all right. It should be quite unnerving
to Canadians to know that their own agencies will
deliver a Canadian citizen into the hands of
Americans who in turn send him to a defined
terrorist state for torture.
More directly, the government website says it
“recognizes Israel’s right to assure its own security,
and to take proportionate measures in accordance
with international law.” The only proportionate measure
allowed by international law is the UN right to self-defence
in the case of attack. The Israeli attack into Lebanon
in 2006, in response to a border raid by Hezbollah,
resulted in Stephen Harper’s disclaimer that the
attack was “proportionate”, that the bombing of
civilian infrastructure (against international law),
the bombing of civilians (with over a thousand
deaths, including a second devastating attack in
Qana), carpet bombing with treacherous cluster
bombs, were all a proportionate response to the
death of three dead and two kidnapped border
guards. As there have been ongoing border
skirmishes over the years, and continual Israeli
air space incursions into Lebanese territories, this
response hardly seems “proportionate” by any definition.
As seen in the previous article, Canada’s recognition of
international law has also diminished with the refusal
to follow the signature on the Kyoto accord and the
refusal to sign onto the UN Indigenous Rights Treaty.
The issuance of ‘security certificates’ which align with
American laws, allows detention of people suspected of
being a “danger to national security” - a rather loose
term that could lead to our own violation of human
rights, in particular the right to representation
before the law - again against international human
rights standards.
Palestinian refugees
In a fine sounding rhetorically expressive section,
Canada argues that the Palestinian refugee problem
“should respect the rights of the refugees, in
accordance with international law.” Sounds great,
except that the argument says we continue “to
focus international attention on the situation of the
more than four million Palestinian refugees, and to
promote preparations for the eventual resumption
of negotiations.” This is all news to me, and as a
hopefully well-informed Canadian, following most
media news on a daily basis, I see absolutely no
evidence of this. I hear nothing about the plight
of these millions of Palestinians and how, under
international law, they have the right to return
to their occupied homelands. So what is Canada’s
role? We are the “Gavel Holder of the multilateral
Refugee Working Group…formally in abeyance
since 1996.” Way to go Canada, hang on to that
gavel for another dozen inactive years, great way
to promote the Palestinian right of return under
international law.
Occupation, settlements, the
“barrier, and terrorism.
In the four related areas of occupation, settlements,
terrorism and the “barrier”, international law again
comes to the forefront, with great rhetoric followed
by no substance. In reference to the Fourth Geneva
Conventions, Canada recognizes it as applying “in the
occupied territories and establishes Israel’s
obligations as an occupying power, in particular with
respect to the humane treatment of the inhabitants
of the occupied territories.” Well written, sounds
great – but exactly what is Canada doing about it?
Nothing that I can find. No speeches by Harper or
any member of his caucus about the land grabs, the
fake ‘military zones’, the killing of protesters, the
hundreds of checkpoints that strangle the communities,
separating farmers from farms and business,
children from schools, families from families,
everyone from whatever some IDF person feels
like blocking on the spur of the moment.
These checkpoints are there to control the
Palestinian population at the same time enabling
the peace, security, and expansion of the many
settlements in the occupied territories, again
recognized by Canada – on paper at least – as
being a violation of the Fourth Geneva Conventions.
The settlements are “a serious obstacle to achieving
a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.” Great,
more well written rhetoric, but again absolutely
useless as Canada does nothing about it other than
passively – and therefore implicitly – following
the Bush doctrine towards Palestine. Perhaps
Stephen Harper should test his own motorcade
and see if he has any trouble getting through
Israeli checkpoints in order to visit Bethlehem?
The “barrier” – the wall - is recognized as legitimate by
Canada if Israel builds it on its own territory, which
under the lack of any kind of settled border
definition also leaves the wall undefined and
therefore illegitimate. Again, its current location
is “contrary to international law,” and is opposed
for reasons of “expropriations and demolition of
houses and economic infrastructure carried out
for this purpose.”[emphasis added] This implies
that maybe expropriations and demolitions of
houses and infrastructure are okay for other
reasons, such as expanding the settlements
and terrorizing and controlling the Palestinians?
Finally, it is nice to see that terrorism should be
prosecuted in accordance with international law.
Canada lists, among others, Hamas and Hezbollah
as terrorist groups, no doubt of which there are
elements involved, mostly as a result of the
asymmetrical military pressure applied to them.
What Canadian government officials and Members
of Parliament appear to be ignorant of is that both
Hamas and Hezbollah originated from the illegal
invasion and occupation of Palestine and Lebanon
respectively. They also seem ignorant of the
knowledge that both groups provided (and still
provide) civic infrastructure when none other
was available to the people. To fill out the ignorance,
they do not seem to understand that both groups
participated in democratic votes and succeeded
well beyond American – and Canadian – acceptance
of their concept of limited democracy, limited to
those who agree with America. To allow democracy
to arrive in Israel/Palestine, Hezbollah and Hamas
need to brought into government and dealt with as
a strong popular contingent of the areas population.
Obversely, nothing is ever said of Israeli terror:
the daily shootings and killings of innocent
Palestinians; the use of torture in Israeli prisons;
the destruction of homes by bombing or bulldozers;
the ongoing psychological terror of checkpoints,
aerial incursions, and attacks on peaceful
protesters; the proliferation of nuclear weapons
outside the NPT. Bringing it back closer to home,
nothing is ever said of American terrorism: the
torture of prisoners in American detention
centres or their rendition overseas; the murder
of civilians; the destruction of civilian infrastructure;
the subversive activities used to promote dissent
and destruction against legally elected
representative governments; the threats of force
against other countries, let alone the invasion of
other countries, of which there is a large listing
over the past century. If Canada is against terror,
it needs to be equally against Israeli and American
terror, the latter being the greatest originator of
terror in the world.
The website is so repetitive in its references to
international law it becomes nothing but a stream of
self-conscious apologetics trying to give the impression
of wisdom and action.
So many words, so little action. So much rhetoric,
but never anything ever said in Parliament, or the press,
or any other media, against Israel’s occupation and
actual violation of international law. Instead, Canada
accepts the “appropriate” response Israel applied in
the 2006 Hezbollah war; Canada denies the fully
democratic vote that gave Hamas a majority within
the Palestinian Authority elections; Canada has
designated aid assistance to Abbas following the
futility and Pythonesque silliness of Annapolis,
but denies Hamas any validity in Gaza.
Canada says nothing in a truly open and
oppositional framework that tells Israel to
withdraw from its illegal occupation, to allow
the return of the four million displaced Palestinians,
to stop imprisoning the one and a half million
Palestinians in Gaza, to remove the settlements
(or better yet, turn them over to the evicted
Palestinians) and eliminate the bantustan nature
of Palestine, to remove the roadblocks and
checkpoints that are used to terrorize the
Palestinian people, to stop the military destruction
of houses and farms and the military annexation of
Palestinian territory. Canada, through its
overwhelming silence and lack of action,
remains a pawn of the United States in its
relations with Israel, similarly held in thrall
by the Canadian Jewish Congress, a pro-Zionist
lobby group that meets a sympathetic voice
within the Harper government’s right-wing
fundamentalist Christian views.
Indigenous ignorance
On a web page titled “Aboriginal Planet”[2]
I found an interesting twist in this whole
argument. According to this government
site, in an article titled “Inuit solidarity
visit to Israel” twenty-three indigenous
Inuit (think of the common moniker ‘Eskimo’)
“arrived in Israel to show support and solidarity
with the people of Israel. The visit was a huge
success” and “demonstrated a strong love of
and a commitment to the State of Israel based on
their Christian beliefs.” Israel’s reaction was to
be expected:
“The Israelis continuously repeated their
appreciation of the support extended by the
Inuit in these difficult days. The group received
radio, television and newspaper coverage. This
visit was made possible by the Halbert Centre
for Canadian Studies, the Israel Association for
Canadian Studies and the Canadian Embassy in
Israel.”
On an indigenous website from the Assembly of
First Nations (AFN)[3], a similar program can be found:
In the largest-ever mission to Israel by a North
American First Nation group, First Nation leaders
from across Canada will learn how their Israeli
counterparts preserve their historic languages and culture
“We share values and similar historical experiences
with our First Nations friends,” said Morgan [4].
“This trip presents an exceptional challenge and
opportunity to learn about what each of our
communities holds most dear – our culture and our history.”
The AFN group visited
numerous sites of cultural, religious and historical
significance, including the Yad Vashem Holocaust
memorial in Jerusalem. They will meet with
Canada’s ambassador to Israel, Donald Sinclair,
and will have the opportunity to explore kibbutz,
or collective farm, life.
This is just too bizarre. Canadian indigenous groups
identifying with the Israelis. I can understand some
empathy there for the Jewish survival of the holocaust,
but I have to fault them fully for their apparent lack of
understanding for the Palestinian situation.
Canada’s aboriginal people, while not as miserably
treated as their American counterparts, still suffered:
from the importation of European culture and diseases;
from ethnic cleansing and removal to reservations
(bantustans? hostile territories?); from acculturation
through the removal of their children who were forced
to go to Christian schools where many, apart from the
cultural and psychological abuse imposed on all, suffered
physical and sexual abuse; from treaties and treaty
processes that truly gave the white man a ‘forked
tongue’ (Oslo? Camp David? Annapolis?) and removed
them from their natural resources and denied them
access to the better quality lands.
Did the AFN and the Inuit groups visit with their
true counterparts, the Palestinians, who are on
their own reservations, are suffering their own
ethnic cleansing, who are being denied their own
land and resources, whose own children are
enduring psychological trauma as a result of
the many deprivations and terrors of living in
an occupied homeland?
That the Canadian government supports these
actions is obvious. That the CJC supports them is
entirely self-evident. That the First Nations peoples
of Canada are ignorant of the Palestinians situation
is only obvious by implication –what is not said is
revealing of a great ignorance and cultural brain-
washing on the part of our own indigenous populations.
Instead of just visiting the kibbutz, they could have
visited some of the Palestinian refugee camps, or the
Gaza strip to see what a large reservation style
prison really looks like. Palestinian history and
culture is being eradicated, at least in the Israeli
and American mind, in a manner very reminiscent
of the eradication of indigenous cultures in North America.
Subnation, substandard.
Canada “aspires” to be a great nation, and truthfully
that is the fault of many of its policies. Stephen
Harper says he is placing Canada where it should
be in the world…that unfortunately is as the American
sidekick. Canada seeks “an aspirational document
which would advance indigenous rights.[5]” It seeks
“aspirational targets” for climate control. Unfortunately,
all these aspirations are “pronounced with a breathing
…a desire for[6]” something undefined, amorphous.
It is neither inspirational nor functional or successful,
but as with much aspiration, becomes a lot of hot air.
By following the policies of the United States,
Canada’s current conservative government
(although it is not solely to blame for this as their
Liberal counterparts tend this way as well) Canada
has reached a new substandard as a subnation, a
compliant follower of most that is ‘great’ in America.
The potential is there, as it is with all nations and
governments. Only by choosing multi-lateral actions,
by truly supporting international law in all areas
equally, by becoming a nation of trade and peace
and not following the idiocy of the American war
on terror, by actually leading and accomplishing
something rather than all this heavy breathing
about aspirations, only then can Canada establish
itself as an independent voice and actor in the world.
Notes:
[1] http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/middle_
east/can_policy-en.asp#01
[2] “Inuit solidarity visit to Israel.”
http://www.maeci.gc.ca/aboriginalplanet/75
0/archives/march2004/art2_main-en.asp
[3] “Canadian Jewish Congress, Assembly of First
Nations travel to Israel for educational mission,”
February 17, 2006.
http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=2276
[4] Canadian Jewish Council National President.
The CJC originated from Jewish Zionist groups,
although it claims to represent all Jewish groups
in Canada today.
[5] Statement by Ambassador John McNee, Permanent
Representative of Canada to the United Nations to the
61st Session of the General Assembly on the Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, New York,
September 13, 2007. http://www.maeci.gc.ca/
foreign_policy/CIIA/idfp-en.asp
[6] The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current
English. 1976. Oxford University Press.
-###-
January 18, 2008 Jim Miles is a Canadian
educator and a regular contributor/columnist
of opinion pieces and book reviews for The
Palestine Chronicle. His interest in this topic
stems originally from an environmental
perspective, which encompasses the militarization
and economic subjugation of the global community
and its commodification by corporate governance
and by the American government. Miles’ work is
also presented globally through other alternative
websites and news publications.
www.jim.secretcove.ca/index.Publications.html
0 Have Your Say!:
Post a Comment