of Canada, and most of it is sick, and true. He
has managed to rule over a disengaged and shocked
populace, creating fake terrorist attacks and in
the process abrogating some of the best rights
laws in the world.
Now, it's stated policy has been to support a
particularly violent, apartheid Middle-Eastern
country, to the point that it will pick verbal
fights with anybody who questions that
most evil of countries.
Well, a Palestinian representative used the
biggest Canadian newspaper through which
to castigate Harper and Co. for saying
Palestinians should apologise for dying in
such great numbers, thus embarrassing Canada's
new favourite apartheid state.
Checkit: Globe and Mail
It is
John Baird who needs to apologize to the Palestinian people
Contributed
to The Globe and Mail (includes correction)
Published
Friday, Jan. 16 2015, 12:26 PM EST
Last
updated Monday, Jan. 19 2015, 1:42 PM EST
Dr.
Saeb Erekat is Palestinian chief negotiator and a member of the Palestine
Liberation Organization Executive Committee.
A
spokesman for Canadian foreign minister John Baird asked me to apologize to the
Israeli government, citing the equivalency I drew between the terror of the
self-styled “Islamic State” and that of Israeli settlers who under the banner
of a “Jewish State,” and with the backing of their government, have been in a
campaign of terror that include the burning of mosques and churches, the
destruction of olive groves and the brutal murder of Palestinian civilians.
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allies over Palestine recognition
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rebuilding and statehood aims
After spending the past few
years listening to Mr. Baird going out of his way to legitimize the banality
and brutality of a 50-year-old Israeli occupation, I tell Mr. Baird: enough. If
there is anyone that has to apologize, it is Mr. Baird himself. He should first
apologize to his own citizenry, many of whom are God-loving Jews, Christians
and Muslims who would never condone nor cheer for an Israeli government that
stretches support to Israeli settlers who attack churches and mosques.
Mr.
Baird should apologize for his active encouragement of Israel’s brute and ugly
occupation and its apartheid policies. He should apologize for failing to
promote those things Canadians hold dear such as freedom, dignity and human
rights and for replacing those ideals with an outspoken support of Israel’s
clear and undisputed violations of international law.
Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Minister Baird were elected at a time when
the most right-wing extremist government in the history of Israel was elected.
Instead of using their sympathies and working relations with Israel to promote
peace, they decided to side with those policies which the entire world –
including the United States of America – have rejected. Its outspoken support
of Israel’s policies has placed Canada in an awkward position within the United
Nations system and has radically altered its standing and image in the Arab and
Muslim worlds.
The
Palestinian leadership has been engaged in a diplomatic effort to obtain those
very same ideals Canadians hold dear – to achieve freedom and dignity. We have
been working tirelessly to exercise our right to self-determination and
establish a state of our own – a state that lives in peace and security with
its neighbours, including Israel. But we repeatedly face a stumbling block in
the form of an Israeli government more interested in the consolidation of its
illegal settlement build-up, rather than in achieving peace with its
neighbours.
Against
this background, we have tried to widen our political horizon, not through
violence, nor through terror, but by employing the tools available to us under
international law. Instead of rewarding the Palestinians for their insistence
on pursuing peace and for their deep commitment to the stability and security
of the region, Mr. Baird has chosen to deride and stand against Palestinians at
every corner.
When
the UN in 2012 upgraded Palestine’s status from an observer entity to an
observer state, it was not the Israeli Foreign Minister who travelled to New
York in order to defend Israel’s position; unfortunately, it was Mr. Baird.
Though his efforts were and remain largely ineffective (the resolution passed
with an overwhelming majority of 138, with only 9 voting against), they came as
a slap in the face to Palestinian efforts. Canada also lobbied against our
UNESCO membership, a move aimed at protecting and preserving sites of universal
value, such as the Nativity Church and the Roman terraces of the village of
Battir. Last November, Canada was one of six countries voting against several
UN resolutions requesting an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestine, and
reaffirming the illegality of Israeli policies including the annexation of
Occupied East Jerusalem. The six were Canada, the United States, Micronesia,
Palau, the Marshall Islands and Israel.
As a
matter of fact, while the whole of the international community condemns Israel
for its systematic policy of demolishing Palestinian homes and forcibly
displacing Palestinians in Occupied East Jerusalem, Mr. Baird has decided to legitimize
Israel’s illegal, de facto annexation of the city by meeting an Israeli
minister in Occupied East Jerusalem.
While
more than a thousand Palestinian civilians were being slaughtered in Gaza, Canada was among the very few countries
that encouraged Israel to continue its attack on the besieged territory.
Amnesty International had to remind Mr. Baird that “Canadian policy must
reflect unwavering commitment to the fundamental international legal principle
of civilian protection and must demonstrate equal concern for both Israeli and
Palestinian civilians.” Mr. Baird has utterly failed to shape his policy in
this way.
But
Palestinian lives evidently do not concern Mr. Baird. Yes, those Israeli
terrorists who burned alive 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir in Jerusalem are no
different from those Islamic State terrorists who beheaded Steven Sotloff in
Syria. Those who actively burn mosques and churches in Palestine, and campaign
to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque, are no less terrorists than those who kicked the
Christians out of Mosul. But Canada, instead of supporting the application of
international law, has decided to encourage Israel to continue with its crimes.
As I stated in a letter to Mr. Baird after his meeting in Occupied East
Jerusalem: “Canada’s actions are tantamount to complicity in ongoing Israeli
violations of the international laws of war.”
We
know that the majority of Canadian citizens disagree with their current
leadership’s position vis-à-vis Palestine. Some are silent, but others have
made their opinions clear, including the thousands who took to the streets of
Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec calling for a just and lasting peace.
…
