Rodrigo Fonseca, editor of International Analyst, has been good enough to allow me contribute to his blog. My first article was a short one on the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip. Tis here.
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Category Archives: Politics
Heads in the sand
A group of 100 Japanese politicians have got together to say the Nanking Massacre never happened.
In 1937, the city (which is now more properly known as Nanjing) was subjected to a frenzy of violence by Japanese soldiers which has gone down in history as “the Rape of Nanking”. China says about 300,000 people were killed, although the most commonly-cited figure is between 150,000 and 200,000.
That’s not to say it happened all in one go. The city, which was capital of China at the time, fell to the Japanese army in December 1937 and the violence lasted about six weeks. Atrocities committed included rape, looting, arson and the execution of prisoners and civilians.
The members of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party say only 20,000 people were killed and there was “no violation of international law”.
Excuse me, but how do the extinguishing of 20,000 lives at the hands of an occupying army not count as a violation of international law? And how can this group seriously say the massacre was fabricated when they admit to 20,000 deaths?
And yet group member Toru Toida said: “We are absolutely positive that there was no massacre in Nanking.”
And I, my dear Toida, am absolutely positive you are talking complete bullshit.
The politicians base their claim on a study commissioned to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the incident.
While apparently referring to the Japanese government’s archives it seems to ignore years of historical research, the most successful of which is probably Iris Chang’s The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II.
There is also considerable graphic evidence of the various atrocities, some of which can be found on this Wikipedia entry (not for those of a sensitive nature).
Damn you Dick Roche
This post may be a couple of days late but fuck it. I need to get this off my chest.
For readers unfamiliar with Irish politics, Roche was Ireland’s Environment Minister until last week when he was demoted to a junior ministry following a general election.
He’s now my least favourite politician because his last act as a Cabinet minister was to give the green light to build a motorway through one of Ireland’s richest archaeological regions.
Before we go any further here he is, the focus of my bile:
The motorway will pass less than a mile from the Hill of Tara, a site of enormous historical and mythological importance. In folk tales it was the home of the high kings of Ireland, and it is believed to have been a major ceremonial site for various royal families in the north of the country.
Tara was put on the World Monument Fund’s crisis list only a couple of weeks ago.
I could live with it were that the limit of Roche’s actions.
However, earlier this year a vast site was discovered. This henge, which dates back to the late Bronze Age, was a site of outdoor worship. The Lismullen site was declared a national monument shortly after it was found and Roche ordered work on the M3 to be stopped.
But last week Roche, who says he consulted with the director the national museum, Dr Pat Wallace, decided this national monument should be “preserved by record” and the motorway built on top of it. “Preservation by record” involves archaeological sites or monuments being removed and photographic and written records made before construction begins.
I can appreciate the need for the roadworks. The nation’s infrastructure needs it. But to obliterate so much history is too high a price to pay. Imagine removing a couple of pyramids to make way for a highway across the Giza Plateau (and before I’m accused of exaggerating, many of the monuments in the Tara region are contemporaneous with the Egyptian sites).
Roche’s actions were a blatant attempt to undermine his successor as Environment Minister, John Gormley of the Green Party.
What really got to me though was Roche’s smugness. He said it would have been “mean-spirited” to leave such a “thorny decision” to an incoming minister.
I think in fact any minister sitting in my office in Custom House making the decision on the basis of that file would have made the decision I have made. I did the man some service by not passing the buck to him.
Dick, how can you breathe when your head is that far up your asshole?
Gormley, who had campaigned against the motorway, says he may be unable to reverse his predecessor’s decision. However, the Labour Party has claimed Gormley does indeed have the power.
So Dick — or Cock Roache as one graffiti artist rechristened you on an election poster — I hope you’re happy. I take some satisfaction that you’re back on the junior benches, but it doesn’t really take the sting out of the incalculable damage you’ve done to the nation’s heritage.
Damn you Dick Roche.
Palestine update
I’ve just seen a news flash on Sky News that Israel says it considers Hamas-ruled Gaza a “terror entity” and the West Bank “an area of opportunity”. There are also reports of Israeli troops being sent to the Gaza-Egypt border.
This bodes not well. I have a horrible feeling we are looking at the prelude to an invasion of the Gaza Strip. I hope that is simply my brain drawing conclusions from quotes taken out of context.
Palestinian politics
Mahmoud Abbas has set up an emergency government, a move which should relax the Western embargo against the Palestinian Authority.
It comes as gunmen loyal to his Fatah movement capture Hamas bases in the West Bank.
This, in turn, is making a mockery of claims that the Palestinians will remain as one principality. Hamas says it does not intend to set up a state in Gaza, but that is the reality. Fatah’s offensive in the West Bank only consolidates the split.
The US is backing Abbas. This makes sense in the context of American foreign policy; the US is an ally of Israel and of the two main Palestinian groups Fatah is the only one which recognises Israel’s right to exist.
Hamas, on the other hand, wishes to destroy the nation.
The relaxation of sanctions could be an a major PR boost for Fatah and Abbas in particular. His party is largely responsible for its own downfall, but most Palestinians are willing to back whoever will get them food and the basic necessities. Thus, if Abbas is seen to have brought much-needed aid to his people his stock among them will rise.
However, he also exposes himself to claims of being a US puppet. This would be valuable propaganda from a Hamas perspective, but would not be of great significance among his citizens.
Gaza now seems fairly calm. But its future is uncertain; it is not a viable state by itself. The Gazan economy has been in freefall in the last six years, most of its industry is small-scale family operations and it depends on Israel for electricity.
An idealistic solution would be the disarmament of both Hamas and Fatah fighters by a strong international force under UN leadership. However, this is highly unlikely.
The political will just isn’t there for countries to send their troops to Palestine. The Gazans may only accept soldiers from Muslim nations, but this is a situation Israel would not tolerate.
This is not a scenario with an easy resolution on the horizon. Such a UN force would be stationed there for years; and given the difficulty the world body has had in forming a mission to Lebanon I can’t see it getting the numbers and resources it would need for a Gazan force.
Dialogue between the Palestinian groups is another possibility, although it may be some time for the situation to calm enough for this to take place. Even before the civil war numerous truces were called between the sides only to be broken hours later.
Do you think the crisis can be resolved?
Abandon hope
The Palestinian civil war has put paid to hopes for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict.
The more moderate Fatah movement has been over-run in the Gaza Strip, with the Islamist Hamas taking key security posts all across the region. It has now captured Fatah headquarters in Gaza.
The image of the green Hamas flag flying above the building is possibly the most defining of the day.
All too late, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has ordered his presidential guard to strike back. Yesterday, Fatah officials said there had been confusion: were they allowed to fight back or not?
Their resistance has crumbled; I have a feeling the claims of confusion were a desperate attempt to explain away just how easily Hamas has crushed its rivals.
“We are telling our people that the past era has ended and will not return, ” Islam Shahawan, a spokesman for Hamas’ militia, told Hamas radio. “The era of justice and Islamic rule have arrived.” (AP)
Given that Hamas is apparently executing Fatah policemen the definition of “justice” seems rather elastic, wouldn’t you say?
There is no hope for a negotiated solution between Hamas and Israel. Fatah’s decline, which began with an election drubbing fueled by a widespread perception of corruption and inefficiency, is complete (at least in the Gaza Strip).
The ambition had been for a two-state solution in the Middle East. The Palestinian state would consist of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, both of which are fenced off from Israel.
The only viable way for such a split Palestinian state would be a highway crossing Israel; this was planned but there is no way Israel will allow militants such easy access to its territory.
And it must be pointed out that not all Palestinians back either Hamas or Fatah. One wrote to al-Jazeera earlier today: “Hamas and Fatah should go to hell and leave the Palestinian people alone.”
Hamas is unlikely to repeat its success in the larger and more populous West Bank, where Fatah is taking the initiative. I actually laughed when I read an AP report saying Abbas was considering withdrawing from the ruling coalition with Hamas. Strikes me as the first thing he should have done this morning.
The likelihood of an Israeli incursion into Gaza, which it evacuated in 2005, has soared. Hamas are not going to sit back on their Gazan victory, they will press an attack on Israel. It does not recognise the nation’s right to exist and has been firing rockets over the border for some time.
We now face the possibility of separate Hamas and Fatah states. EU humanitarian aid has been suspended. The UN can not distribute the aid which so many Palestinian people rely on. Egypt should be bracing itself for a flood of refugees and the formation of an Islamist nation on its northeastern border.
The dream of peace which was fostered by the 1993 Oslo Accords is shattered. All hope is lost.