The Harper Government is Complicit With Israeli Crimes

A week after the Israeli commando raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla the government of Stephen Harper has still not condemned the crime. Its deafening silence speaks louder than words, confirming the fact that it is complicit with Israeli crimes against humanity, not only in this specific case, but in Israel’s ongoing genocidal policy towards the people of Gaza. The Harper government was one of the first in the world to impose sanctions against the people of Gaza following the installation of the democratically-elected Hamas government. It refused to lift that embargo following Israel’s military assault against Gaza last year and it was conspicuously silent in regard to Israel’s deliberate targeting of schools and hospitals and its use of prohibited weapons, such as white phosphorous. It is now silent about Israel’s hijacking of ships on the highs seas and the murder and kidnapping of peace activists.

It is interesting that the Harper government wasted no time condemning North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship, an act which increasingly appears to have been carried out by the Americans. However, it is supposedly waiting for all of the facts about an Israeli act about which there is absolutely no doubt as to either the perpetrators or the fact that it is a clear violation of international laws.

When leaders of national governments treat international law as a mere political consideration, to be enforced or not depending on whether the criminals are friends or foes, then the entire principle of international law goes down the drain. If international law can be so easily ignored, then we are reduced to the law of the jungle.