29.3.06

The silent massacres of arab civilians

''This last Sunday, March 26, another American massacre of Iraqis was reported in the Guardian. The Iraqi Security Minister, no less, described it as follows:

"At evening prayers, American soldiers accompanied by Iraqi troops raided the Mustafa mosque and killed 37 people. They [the victims] were unarmed. [US soldiers] went in, tied up the people and shot them all. They did not leave any wounded."
Calling the mosque massacre a "raid," the Guardian quoted U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson saying: "In our observation of the place and the activities that were going on, it's difficult for us to consider this a place of prayer," adding, "It was not identified by us as a mosque... I think this is a matter of perception." Accordingly, the U.S. army concluded that "no mosques were entered or damaged." Of course! No humans were massacred either, it would seem, as they were mere Iraqis. It is, after all, a "matter of perception."

The Independent, which is typically more courageous in covering Iraq, reported the same incident as such: "US forces killed 22 people and wounded eight at a mosque in east Baghdad." Though it did call the mosque by its name, the Independent still failed to call the "incident" a massacre. "The shooting," "the killings," but not a massacre.
To many Arabs, these massacres in Iraq evoke the memory of the Jenin refugee camp atrocities in 2002, when Israeli occupation forces bulldozed many homes and indiscriminately shot at any Palestinian who moved, leading to the death of tens and the injury of hundreds. The fact that the Palestinian armed resistance in the camp was exceptionally fierce -- and heroic, one might add, causing the death of more than 20 occupation soldiers, was used as a pretext to justify the brutal killing of innocent civilians.

A BBC report on the initial findings of an Amnesty International investigation team -- that visited the Jenin refugee camp right after the Israeli withdrawal from it -- stated:
"A British forensic expert who has gained access to the West Bank city of Jenin says evidence points to a massacre by Israeli forces. Prof Derrick Pounder, who is part of an Amnesty International team granted access to Jenin, said he has seen bodies lying in the streets and received eyewitness accounts of civilian deaths."
Then Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, who initially told Ha'aretz that a "massacre" had taken place in Jenin, later retracting his statement, categorically stated that under no circumstances Israel should allow UN investigators access to the Camp. Indeed, Israel, supported by the U.S. and appeased by the UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan, refused to allow the UN to investigate the Israeli atrocities in Jenin. Whether the indiscriminate killings it committed in Jenin constituted a massacre or not was never allowed to be examined impartially by the UN. But what was abundantly clear by all objective accounts was the fact that Israel committed ... war crimes in Jenin.''

1 comment:

Cosmic Duck said...

What is so sad about these incidents of war, "massacres", or whatever they should be called, is that it is so difficult to find out what has actually happened because the occupation forces use a "cover up" technique with the press. It's difficult for independent media to research it. About Jenin, I think I can remember that the Israelis claimed that a whole weapons factory was hidden in the place. But no factual evidence of this was produced. Even if it is true, it is not sufficient motivation for a massacre.

In the Iraqi case, I think the Americans will make an investigation. But the military investigating the military is seldom satisfactory.

 
Since March 29th 2006