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Blair's support for Destruction Of Lebanon: Worse Than Iraq
British Muslims are furious at Blair's failure to stand up for victims of war crimes in Lebanon
Sadiq Khan
Saturday July 29, 2006
The Guardian
As I speak to my constituents in Tooting and people elsewhere in London, of all faiths, races and backgrounds, I hear views that are almost identical: "This is worse than Iraq." It is not easy for Muslims to watch, every night, TV pictures of the destruction that Israel has wreaked in Lebanon. We find it difficult to understand why our government has steadfastly supported the US in giving a green light to Israel, allowing the killing to continue.
I recently took part in a televised appeal for donations to help victims of the attacks. Callers found it difficult to understand why we couldn't avert this man-made humanitarian crisis, and even more difficult to argue against those who bundle Iraq and Lebanon together to denounce British foreign policy in the Middle East. It is also difficult to understand why Tony Blair, who led the way on Africa last year, appears to have lost his way on the Middle East. British foreign policy is not anti-Muslim, but that is, increasingly, a challenging argument to make.
In the past two weeks Hizbullah has killed dozens of innocent civilians in Israel. At the same time Israel has killed around 10 times as many in Lebanon, and forced a fifth of its population to flee their homes.
One principle separates a sensible and humane response to terror from a policy that simply feeds a cycle of violence. That principle is that military attacks, whatever their justified purpose, should never cause disproportionate harm to civilians. That is what the Geneva conventions and international humanitarian law are all about.
On Tuesday, the 14th day of this dreadful conflict, I attended a meeting in the House of Commons with a number of international lawyers. They had no doubt that Israel's attacks, on such a huge scale, were a clear violation of international law. The UN has said the same. They also suggested that the UK's tacit support for Israel's campaign raised painful questions about the legality of Britain's own policy. And we have since learned that Prestwick airport has been used as a stopover for aircraft carrying bombs to Israel.
More
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1832936,00.html
Saturday July 29, 2006
The Guardian
As I speak to my constituents in Tooting and people elsewhere in London, of all faiths, races and backgrounds, I hear views that are almost identical: "This is worse than Iraq." It is not easy for Muslims to watch, every night, TV pictures of the destruction that Israel has wreaked in Lebanon. We find it difficult to understand why our government has steadfastly supported the US in giving a green light to Israel, allowing the killing to continue.
I recently took part in a televised appeal for donations to help victims of the attacks. Callers found it difficult to understand why we couldn't avert this man-made humanitarian crisis, and even more difficult to argue against those who bundle Iraq and Lebanon together to denounce British foreign policy in the Middle East. It is also difficult to understand why Tony Blair, who led the way on Africa last year, appears to have lost his way on the Middle East. British foreign policy is not anti-Muslim, but that is, increasingly, a challenging argument to make.
In the past two weeks Hizbullah has killed dozens of innocent civilians in Israel. At the same time Israel has killed around 10 times as many in Lebanon, and forced a fifth of its population to flee their homes.
One principle separates a sensible and humane response to terror from a policy that simply feeds a cycle of violence. That principle is that military attacks, whatever their justified purpose, should never cause disproportionate harm to civilians. That is what the Geneva conventions and international humanitarian law are all about.
On Tuesday, the 14th day of this dreadful conflict, I attended a meeting in the House of Commons with a number of international lawyers. They had no doubt that Israel's attacks, on such a huge scale, were a clear violation of international law. The UN has said the same. They also suggested that the UK's tacit support for Israel's campaign raised painful questions about the legality of Britain's own policy. And we have since learned that Prestwick airport has been used as a stopover for aircraft carrying bombs to Israel.
More
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1832936,00.html
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