{Goldstone} by Naser Al Ja'fari-Al Arabs today newspaper-Jordan
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- November 29, 2009
PHOTO: AAP Image/Alan Porritt, Canberra, 26 November 2009
by Sonja Karkar - Australians for Palestine - 29 November 2009
The news that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was in Australia and was welcomed by the honourable members of our parliament came as somewhat of a shock. It is one thing to have allowed a man on corruption charges as well as facing war crimes indictments into Australia at all; it is another thing that he was listed as a distinguished guest in Hansard – the official record of parliamentary proceedings – and received a resounding “hear, hear” from our elected representatives.
This is, after all, the man who approved the genocidal attack on the 1.5 million imprisoned and defenceless Palestinians in Gaza less than a year ago. This is the same attack that was the subject of numerous enquiries, not least the UN fact-finding mission led by Justice Richard Goldstone, which found that “the operations were carefully planned . . . and designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population . . . [and] that the serious violations of International Humanitarian Law recounted in this report fall within the subject-matter jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC).” With further investigations, these violations may well amount to “war crimes and “crimes against humanity”. Read More…
ACTION AGAINST ISRAELI WAR CRIMINALSNovember 29, 2009
EDITOR’S COMMENT: Former Israeli Prime Minister and war criminal Ehud Olmert arrived in Australia unnoticed until his presence was noted in the House on Thursday, the last sitting day of parliament for the year. Columnist and propagandist for Israel, Greg Sheridan wrote about him two days later in The Australian and gloated about his long interview with this “giant of contemporary Middle East politics”. That interview resulted in two articles (see first; see second) in the same newspaper on the same day by the same author. I suppose a “giant” needs that much verbiage. Indeed, Sheridan seems to have a penchant for giants: Ariel Sharon was mighty amongst other giants of Israel’s past and even our own John Howard grew into one.
Aside from the casual mention of corruption charges against Olmert, there is nothing to suggest that Olmert is anything but a man of peace whose extensive “generous” offer to the Palestinians seems to have replaced the myth of Barak’s long-touted most generous offer foolishly rejected by the Palestinians. Jonathan Cook exposes that myth here.
Olmert’s war on Gaza is fleetingly described as brutal, but Olmert regrets the innocent Palestinians killed and rejects the Goldstone report accusing Israel of war crimes as “a moral indignity”. Sheridan maintains, however, that he is “best remembered for the extensive negotiations and final peace offer that he undertook with Abbas.” If Barak’s offer did not include the lands Israel has expropriated for settlements and security zones, especially in the Jerusalem area nor that area where Israel has created Canada Park on razed villages, then what area did Omert consider to be 94% of the West Bank when he offered it and all of Gaza including a tunnel “under Palestinian control” linking the West Bank to the Gaza Strip? In the 8 years since Barak’s offer, Israel has furiously increased its settlement building and there is no sign of it stopping despite talk of freezes and partial freezes.
All this talk of peace from a man of war is just more of the same bluff and spin that the media insults us with when it needs to bolster Israel’s image. The indicted war criminal Ariel Sharon was also described as a man of peace before his brain collapsed. Israel churns out these peacemakers made-to-order and the world it seems cannot get enough of these split personalities. But truth, justice and the law is catching up with them.
According to J-wire – Jewish Online News from Australia and New Zealand, Olmert is in Australia attending the Australia-Israel Leadership Forum in Melbourne this coming week. We have no other details. Also arriving in Australia next week is the Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom who will be attending a gala dinner in Melbourne on 6 December hosted by the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange (AICA). Australia’s prime minister Kevin Rudd will be there as well. For more information about Silvan Shalom and the protest being organised see here.
Don’t let Australia become a safe haven for war criminals. We ask you to write to your local member, the ministers listed below and the media protesting visits and immunity given to suspected war criminals and demand that Australia honours its obligations under international human rights conventions by detaining anyone deemed to be war criminals until court proceedings under universal jurisdiction can be brought against them.
PLEASE PROTEST BY WRITING TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE AND MEDIA OUTLETS
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister of Australia
Fax: (07) 3899 5755 Email
The Hon Stephen Smith MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Fax: 08 9272 3477 Email
The Hon Robert McLelland MP, Attorney-General
Fax: (02) 9585 9200 Email
Media outlets:
THE AGE
THE AUSTRALIAN
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
THE CANBERRA TIMES
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