95th vigil well attended. Nearly 66,000 dead in Gaza
Video added 28th.
Over 45 came to the 95th vigil and a number of passers-by stopped to ask what it was about or take photos. It has been a momentous week with speeches in the UN General Assembly. Mahmoud Abbas was not allowed to attend in person because the US would not give him a visa. President Trump berated the UN in all manner of ways. Perhaps the most surprising event was the almost complete walk out by delegates when Benjamin Netanyahu arrived to speak. The UK and the US did not leave.
Netanyahu condemned the recent decision by Britain and others to recognise a Palestinian state as ‘sheer madness, it’s insane and we won’t do it’ adding that recognition by several other countries is “disgraceful. The speech was transmitted to residents of Gaza through massive loudspeakers.
An Istanbul news outlet reports that at least 65,926 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. A ministry statement said that 77 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 265 people were injured, taking the number of injuries to 167,783 in the Israeli onslaught. “Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
The BBC has reported that the Allenby Bridge between the West Bank and Jordan has been closed with no reason given. It is the only crossing which leaves Palestinians stranded.
Journalists bannedfrom Gaza.
Israel does not want the world to report on the events in Gaza and has banned international journalists from going there. Only Palestinian journalists can report and more of them have been killed or murdered there than in any other conflict. Three news organisations [BBC, Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France Presse] have produced a short video, narrated by David Dimbleby, arguing for access by the world’s press. Israel is wont to claim that footage and reporting of their activities and claims of genocide and starvation are ‘Hamas lies’ and similar remarks. Allowing journalists to report would allow the world to see for themselves.This 2 minute video is recommended.
No sign of the local MP, Mr John Glen nor any mention in his weekly column in the Salisbury Journal of the previous 94 vigils held in his constituency. He is reported to be a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel group, thought to be the largest lobby group in Parliament.
Today, 21 September, the UK government announces that it is to recognise the state of Palestine. It has joined the majority of countries around the world and joins Canada and Australia who did the same today. The decision has come after months of hesitation and was delayed until after the visit to the UK by President Trump who does not agree with it. To an extent, the government’s hand was forced. The disproportionate response to the horrific attack by Hamas on October 7th with the destruction of huge parts of Gaza, a death toll now over 65,000 many or whom are women and children and the deliberate introduction of siege conditions leading to more deaths by starvation, has left the government little option but to take action. Public opinion has also been a factor and the images of emaciated children have horrified many.
Britain’s decision is more than symbolic since the 1917 Balfour Declaration was instrumental in the creation of the state of Israel. The declaration was vague however since although it recognised that Arabs and Palestinians already lived there and said ‘nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine‘ it made no provision for protecting their claims or rights.
Some argue this is symbolic since with American support and ever increasing violence by settlers in the West Bank, the prospects of an actual state on the ground are receding. Some suggest that this means the conditions for statehood as set out in the 1933 Montevideo convention are not achievable. The Israeli government has rejected the decision saying ‘it categorically rejects the one-sided declaration of a Palestinian state by the UK and some other countries.’ It claims the decision does not promote peace. A spokesman for the British Board of Deputies interviewed on the BBC was critical of the decision and said it would cause deep dismay across the Jewish community in the UK. It says it is a reward for Hamas violence.
Implications
What are the implications? It will take some while for the implications to percolate through the claims and counter claims of the various political interests. It will enable the Palestinians to open an Embassy in the UK which will improve their status. It will enjoy diplomatic rights which will be significant. Up until recently, the Israelis have enjoyed almost uncritical support from governments but its continued violence in the West Bank and Gaza is seeing that support melt away.
It is unlikely to bring a peace deal any closer. Wars end because a kind of exhaustion sets in and the population goes weary of war-time restrictions and the loss of soldiers. This shows no sign of applying in Israel. Seemingly limitless weapons supplies from America and a huge military advantage in weapons and materiel mean any exhaustion is a long way off. IDF deaths are modest 464 [Jewish News Syndicate, 18 September]. The far right members of the Knesset such as Bezalel Smotrich see Gaza as a ‘property bonanza’ and claim the ‘demolition phase is over’.
Recognition will make it harder for the UK government to continue its support of Israel – open and covert – with RAF overflights for example, and ignore the plight of the Palestinians. It may even see some more robust reporting from the BBC whose lamentable performance has slowly begun to change.
Amnesty has said it is a ‘hollow gesture’ and without meaningful action to end the genocide, end violence in the West Bank and ending the Apartheid system against the Palestinian people. Real action needs to be taken to end arms sales and divest from companies which continue to sell arms to Israel. A report by CAAT sets out the details of arms export to Israel.
The latest vigil attracted around 25 attendees, lower than recently but passer-by interest was encouraging. Only one person in a car blasting his horn and made a disobliging gesture. Over 65,200 are now dead as a result of IDF bombing but the recently launched ground offensive in Gaza City is likely to see a rise in that number.
Tomorrow (Sunday) may see the British government come out with its long awaited support for a Palestinian state the subject of discussion with President Trump at his recent 2 day visit to the UK last week. We may amend this post tomorrow in the light of that.
Al Jazeera report that starvation deaths are now at 440 including 147 children.
Report by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee accuses China of genocide towards the Uyghurs in Xinjiang province. The report is entitled: Never Again: the UK’s Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinxiang and Beyond. It does not pull its punches. It is perhaps one of several events which are leading to a reappraisal of our relations with China. The previous Conservative administration was keen to see an improvement in our relations and with it, increases in trade and development. The treatment of the Uyghurs, the repression in Hong Kong, threats to the integrity of Taiwan and the poor behaviour in the early months of the Covid pandemic, is slowly forcing countries to think again.
The crimes being committed against the Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) are truly horrifying. The Chinese government is responsible for the mass detention of more than a million Uyghurs, for forcing them into industrial-scale forced labour programmes, and for attempting to wipe out Uyghur and Islamic culture in the region through forced sterilisation of women, destruction of cultural sites, and separation of children from families. It is altogether a gruesome picture and shocking behaviour from on the UN’s Security Council members.
The Committee heard that under the guise of counter-terrorism, the Chinese government is committing mass atrocities and human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Reports include the use of forced labour programmes, arbitrary detention in internment camps, cultural erasure, systematic rape, forced sterilisations, separation of children from their families, and a high-technology surveillance system – all endorsed by the Chinese government’s central leadership. Thousands of mosques have been demolished.
One element of the report relates to cotton. It is estimated that some 570,000 people are forced to work picking cotton 84% of which comes from Xinjiang. Satellite imagery shows the use of surveillance equipment, factories surrounded by barbed wire and watch towers. The report notes that ‘virtually the entire’ UK textile and clothing is linked to the abuses.
Virtually the entire UK textile and clothing industry is linked to the abuses in Xinjiang
The UK government has adopted a low profile in this matter although there are signs of a stiffening of attitudes. The Committee argues that guidance is insufficient and that ‘stricter methods’ are needed.
The problem for the public, many of whom are horrified by the stories emerging from Xinjiang, is that action is difficult. How does one know, when buying a cotton T shirt or blouse, whether it has Chinese cotton in it produced by Uyghur slaves? We have to rely on firms applying due diligence in their supply chains. Undoubtedly, some retailers will take this seriously – not just as a matter of morals but because of the risk of reputational damage – whereas others may not do so. A representative of the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) thought that voluntary action would not be enough for some retailers. We rely therefore on government to take the lead.
The government is financially supporting the Australian Strategic Policy Institute ASPI, which produces analysis of Chinese actions. A report on the Uyghurs is available here.
To see in more detail what the Ethical Trade Initiative says about the Chinese situation follow this link.
January 27th was International Holocaust Day where we remember the terrible events of the Second World War. That war and the appalling treatment of gypsies, gay people and Jews by the Nazi regime, led to the creation of the crime of genocide to recognise the intention to get rid of an entire race of people. People said ‘never again’ and shortly after the war the UN Declaration of Human Rights was declared as a common standard on how states should behave towards their citizens.
Regrettably, it has not seen an end to massacres and genocide. Since the war, we have seen massacres in Cambodia, Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia and Uganda. The total annihilated in these and other similar events exceeds the death toll in WWII.
In our last post we reported on a talk given at Southampton University on the latest example of genocide currently taking place in Burma/Myanmar. The UN Human rights Chef describes this as a ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing’ which has been taking place since 1978. It is ethnic in origin. He draws a parallel between the events in Burma and those in Nazi occupied Europe in the ’30s and ’40s. An Amnesty article on the situation there can be found here.
The latest post by Rights Info discusses these issues and goes into a lot more detail. The Holocaust is remembered and we are, rightly, reminded of it on 27th. There is however a sense in which we have become used to these events and our powerlessness to prevent them. We do not have specific memorial days for the more recent genocides although these are included in the Holocaust memorial.
In a recent debate in the House of Commons, Mark Field a Foreign and Colonial Office Minister said:
[…] In my role as FCO Minister for Asia, I remain persistent in our lobbying the Government of Burma to allow the Rohingya back to their homeland with sufficient guarantees on security and, importantly, on citizenship that they will be able to rebuild their lives. As I have said before, that can begin only when conditions allow for a safe, voluntary and dignified return. My hon. Friend the Member for St Albans [Anne Main] spoke passionately about the importance of Rohingya representation in that process. If the returns are to be genuinely voluntary, there must a consultative process to establish the refugees’ intentions and concerns. 24 January 2018
At the event in Southampton, in answer to a question, one of the problems the Rohingya have is a lack of representation. This is partly because they do not have a leader able to speak for them which in turn is because of the lack of spoken English.
We must not forget the genocides which are taking place now when we remember the events of 80 or so years ago. Although the Holocaust was an historical event, genocide is still being practised today.
Genocide in Burma was the title of a fascinating lecture by Prof. Penny Green of Queen Mary University, London given in Southampton University organised by our Amnesty colleagues in that city. We tend to think that genocide is something that doesn’t happen today yet instances of it occur in places as diverse as the Balkans and Rwanda. It is in fact quite a recent crime and was identified as such during the Second World War by Raphael Lemkin who coined the word itself. While a lot of attention is rightly paid to the Holocaust – the genocidal act that prompted the identification – modern examples seem to get overlooked.
Prof Penny started her talk by tracing the history of the genocide in Burma. It concerns the Rohingya people who live in the north-west of the country. The first the west became aware of it was went a boat full of refugees were found floating in the Andaman Sea in 2015. This prompted some international protests at the time. Subsequently, there has been considerable research by Penny and her team and a large number of interviews were conducted, a total of 176 in all, to try to find out what has been happening. There is no doubt from all the evidence and testimonies that we are in the final stages of a genocidal act in Burma. Further details can be found on the Burma Campaign Website.
Following Lemkin’s work in getting genocide recognised as a crime, others have added further details. One such is the Argentinian Daniel Feierestein and another is Claudia Card. All in their various ways are keen to stress that genocide is not a single act but involves a series of stages. Nor does it have to involve just death but is about the destruction of social relationships and the denial of identity. It also involves a series of stages. That is, it is not a single event but a process.
The systematic, planned and targeted weakening of the Rohingya through mass violence and other measures, as well as the regime’s successive implementation of discriminatory and persecutory policies against them, amounts to a process of genocide. This process emerged in the 1970s, and has accelerated during Myanmar’s faltering transition to democracy Countdown to Annihilation (link below)
The stages of genocide
The substance of Prof. Penny’s talk was working through the six stages of genocide as they applied to the Rohingya.
Stage 1: This involves stigmatisation and dehumanisation. In Burma this involved refusing to give birth certificates to the new-born. The Rohingya were not included in the census. Civil rights were removed and movement restrictions applied. The use of language is important and the people were described as ‘Kalar’ which is equivalent in its derogatory meaning to ‘nigger’.
The role of Buddhist monks was also important and shocking. We tend to have a view of Buddhists as a pious and peaceful and we conjure up pictures of men praying in saffron robes. By contrast, Ashin Wirathu is a racist monk who has a fine line in anti-Muslim hatred. He and other racist monks play an important role in the demonization of the Rohingya. One particular campaign – labelled the 969 Movement – was designed to crush all Muslim businesses. Its origins are not altogether clear but it is based on the notion that Muslims are ‘breeding’ faster than native Burmese and so there is a risk of them overrunning the country. The campaigns bear some similarity to the Nazis she said.
Stage 2: This stage involves harassment. This really got underway in 2012 when there were 200 murders and 38 mosques were destroyed. An important part of the story is that in some cases the police are present when murders take place but they do nothing and there are no investigations. Reports of violence are censored and the UN rapporteur was attacked. Nazi memorabilia is present and many are sent to concentration camps.
Stage 3: It is now important to isolate and segregate the Rohingya and this comprises the third stage. Food aid is denied and the people live in squalid conditions. Hunger is prevalent.
Stage 4: Systematic weakening.A series of actions are involved here: no food aid; medical help is denied; freedom of movement is denied; there is no education and no access to livelihoods. MSF were expelled for reporting on the situation. Other charities such as Oxfam are attacked and this creates a problem for them. If they speak out and report on the brutality, they are banned from the country, if they stay silent they can continue to help. They become ‘inadvertently complicit’ she said.
Stage 5: This is annihilation and seriously got underway in 2016/17 when 354 villages were destroyed. Thousands are killed and 800,000 are forced to flee. It was at this stage that the world began to notice and we saw some news footage of burning villages and distressing scenes of fleeing Rohingya. There was mass rape by uniformed Myanmar men. The result is nearly one million Rohingya – almost the entire population – are now living in Bangladesh.
Current issue of Without Borders, the house magazine of Médecins Sans Frontières, leads on the Rohingya crisis and has a description of a camp in Bangladesh:
Some patients are literally struck dumb by the horror of what they have witnessed or what has been done to them. What really sticks in my mind are the drawing the children do in the clinic’s mental health unit. Helicopters firing on people, homes on fire, people being killed.
What these children must have witnessed is horrendous. One young boy has deformed feet. He couldn’t run away from the soldiers because of this. He told me a soldier shot him in the foot. Why would anyone do such a thing?
People’s living conditions are unbelievably squalid. Filthy streams, polluted by human waste, are crossed by rickety bamboo bridges. […] when it rains it becomes a quagmire. Dr Ian Cross working with MSF
This brings us to the final stage of the genocidal process:
Stage 6: This is termed ‘symbolic enactment’ which is where we are now with Burma. This final stage involves the total destruction of buildings and the eradication of the Rohingya from history. The state discourse is one of denial: it didn’t happen; the victims were responsible i.e. they set fire to their own villages, or that it was a matter of self-defence. Any other account is a conspiracy by international human rights groups. It cannot be long before they will be claiming it is ‘fake news’.
A fuller account of what is happening in Burma and the treatment of the Rohingya can be found in penny Green’s report Countdown to Annihilation (pdf).
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
There can be few in world who have fallen from grace so far as Aung San Suu Kyi. She received a Nobel prize for her heroic resistance to the military and endured many years of house arrest. Yet now she stands passively by while genocide is committed in her country. She declines to engage in discussions about the topic. It seems the very stubbornness which stood her in good stead all those years is now preventing her seeing or accepting the horror which is going on in the Rakhine.
This was a fascinating talk made particularly interesting because it was anchored both in evidence and photographs from the areas affected but also because it emphasised that genocide is a process not just an event. If there is a tiny crumb of comfort from the events described it is that if the process is interdicted at an early enough stage then it can be prevented. Waiting until it reaches the end stage is too late. Not only has enormous suffering been endured by the victims of the oppression, but attitudes have become hardened and state actions have become institutionalised.
Courtlye Musick are presenting a concert of vocal and instrumental music from Tudor and Elizabethan times performed in costume on Saturday 10 March at 7:30 at Christ church, Waterloo Rd, Freemantle SO15 3BT. Tickets are £8 at the door and the concert is in aid of Amnesty International
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 