The Largest Minority

July 22nd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

No, not by the fashion police. The UN War crimes tribunal announced Monday that Former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadžić is in custody after being on the lam for more than a decade. He is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the law of war.

When Bosnia and Herzegovina seceded from Yugoslavia in 1992, Karadžić declared himself president of a Bosnian Serb republic. The Bosnian Serbs were backed by Yugoslavian military and paramilitary forces, and quickly seized control of most of the country. During the conflict, Serb forces ethnically cleansed the territories they seized with forced displacements and killings of Muslims and Croats.

One crime in particular, which Karadžić is accused of overseeing, is the massacre at Srebrenica. The area was a UN “safe area” until it was overrun by Serbian troops who killed almost 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys. It was the largest massacre in Europe since World War II.

It’s believed that added pressure lead to Karadzic’s arrest. In December, the European Union warned Serbia that it would have to cooperate with the war crimes tribunal if it wanted to join the organization. Serge Brammertz of the Tribunal said, “It is also an important day for international justice, because it clearly demonstrates that nobody is beyond the reach of the law and that sooner or later all fugitives will be brought to justice.”

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June 4th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

By tossing out the possibility of having direct diplomacy with Iran, John McCain has shown that he is in favor of more of the same failed strategies which lead nations to war. War is not the last option to the US and AIPAC, it’s the only option. The US and Israel are committing “crimes against peace” under the UN Charter and Nuremberg Principles with rhetoric that prepares the groundwork for moving against Iran militarily. Outright lies and “what if” scenarios are irresponsibly catapulted into the public to validate imperialist dreams of nuclear annihilation.

Part 2 of this video can be found here

Outside the Western corporate media bubble, it is clear that the US and Israel have been the true threats to peace in the region by making conflict unavoidable. Despite the glaring historical failure of their policies, both countries remain in denial - consistently patting each other on the back to affirm that they’re sane while the rest of the world is unreasonable. And this intentional ignorance is not confined to just the ultra-right wing of both nations. Listen to the following excerpt from Barack Obama to AIPAC and tell me it doesn’t sound like it was lifted from John McCain’s speech.

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May 2nd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The new strategy of the occupiers is to wall-in a section of Sadr City and bomb it. Even if the corporate media does report these deaths, they will never correctly label these atrocities as what they are - war crimes. Plus, reporting actual news takes time away from crucifying Obama’s former pastor, who is their latest distraction.

Speaking of Jeremiah Wright, is it not insane that the news media has the audacity to denounce a man for being outspoken about the very events the media doesn’t even cover? This occupation is what real terrorism looks like. God damn America for its campaign of genocide, and God damn Obama and Hillary for speaking out against Wright rather than the US.

March 16th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

What is not commonly discussed is that the Vietnam War came to an end, not because of civilians protesting, but because of active soldiers protesting. Though civilian protests were undeniably essential in creating the atmosphere of dissent, the government had little to fear from them and everything to fear from a military mutiny. When opposition to leadership takes hold from within, it spreads quickly. Groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War are important for this reason. With their help, returning veterans are not only finding the courage to speak out, but hopefully more soldiers in operational capacity will begin to cross that line from dissenting to resisting.

Donate a copy of Sir! No Sir!, a movie about the anti-war GI movement, to an active American GI.

March 3rd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Just before Condoleezza Rice is due to visit, Israel has pulled back its troops from occupied Gaza after its illegal attacks left over 100 dead in 6 days. An IDF spokesperson told media sources that “almost all our forces have already returned to Israel.” However, Israel does not intend to cease military operations against the occupied territory, threatening to intensify its ground and air campaign. PM Olmert told a parliamentary panel: “We are in the midst of a combat action. What happened in recent days was not a one-time event.”

As Gazans mourned the dead, clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops erupted on Sunday in the Shufat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, Hebron, and Belin as well as other areas across the West Bank.

More than 40 Palestinians were injured, three of them seriously, as the demonstrators clashed with Israeli troops.

Hundreds of West Bank residents holding Hamas and Fatah flags staged rallies and appealed for national unity in an atmosphere that is being compared to the situation at the start of the second intifada in 2000.

In Lebanon, up to 1,000 people waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags rallied near the Israeli border against the continuing attacks on Gaza.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president in the West Bank, had suspended all contact with Israel over its assault that left at least 116 Palestinians dead in Gaza, including 22 children and 12 women. Israel applied its collective punishment on Gaza from the air, land, and sea, with even naval ships shelling the territory. The EU, UN, and the Pope joined Abbas on Sunday in demanding an immediate halt to the violence. Abbas designated Sunday as a day of mourning and ordered “the suspension of negotiations … until [Israeli] aggression is stopped.”

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March 2nd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

The European Union has condemned the Zionist regime in a strongly worded statement after 54 Gazans were killed in the highest death toll of a single day since the year 2000. The EU joined the UN Secretary General in stating that Israel’s attacks were excessive and “contrary to international law”. Of course, as with all condemnations of Israeli ethnic cleansing, the EU also felt it necessary condemn Palestinian rocket fire as well, which is a legitimate act of resistance against an occupying force. The EU “reiterates condemnation of continued firing of rockets into Israeli territory and calls for its immediate end.”

“The (EU) Presidency condemns the recent disproportionate use of force by the Israeli defense forces against (the) Palestinian population in Gaza and urges Israel to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from all activities that endanger civilians. Such activities are contrary to international law,” said the statement. “The Presidency rejects collective punishment of the people of Gaza. We are deeply worried about the suffering of the civilian population on (the) Israeli and Palestinian side,” the EU added. “We have stated too many times that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace and security.”

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March 2nd, 2008 by Manila Ryce

A fourth day of aerial bombardment by Israeli aircraft is now being backed by ground forces making their deepest incursion into Gaza since 2005.

The chief negotiator for the Palestinians says any hope for the peace talks now lies buried in the rubble of Gaza.

More than 80 people - women and children among them - have been killed over the past four days, and international condemnation remains muted.

Update: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has finally called the Israeli attacks on occupied Gaza an “excessive” use of force and called for a cessation as the death toll rises to over 100 in 5 days. Addressing an emergency session of the security council today, Ban said: “While recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself, I condemn the disproportionate and excessive use of force that has killed and injured so many civilians, including children … I call on Israel to cease such attacks”. Since Israel is deliberately blocking the transfer of medical aid into the Gaza Strip as a form of collective punishment, Egypt has reportedly reopened the Rafah border crossing to allow for medical treatment of injured Palestinians.

There is currently no sign that Israel is willing to cease its Palestinian Holocaust. Members of the UN security council will not pass a resolution condemning the military might of the Israeli army being used against civilians unless the resolution also equally condemns unguided homemade rockets fired from Gaza which have only killed one person in 9 months. Language suggesting Israel is guilty of terrorism has also been dropped. So far, the only denunciation is from Ban Ki-moon. His statement will either be completely ignored, or it will spark more cries from Israel that the UN is anti-Semitic. I hope for the latter because it’s the only way Israel’s war against Gaza civilians will get any American media coverage.

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March 1st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Fatah leader and Palestinian President in the West Bank Mahmoud Abbas, who has engaged in the Annapolis “peace talks” with President Bush and Israeli PM Olmert, has sharply criticized Israel’s assault on Gaza. This escalated violence against civilians comes at a time when Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai has openly called for a Palestinian Holocaust as the only “choice” for Israel.

Abbas said that the Israeli bombings constitute “more than a holocaust”. More than 88 people have been killed in 4 days, and at least one third of them have been children. Saturday’s raids alone have killed 54 people. “Children who are barely five-months old are being bombed by the Israeli army,” Abbas said. “We tell the world to see with its own eyes and judge for itself what is happening and who is carrying out international terrorism.”

The Israeli operation began early Saturday as Israeli tanks and helicopters pushed into the town and refugee camp of Jabaliya in northern occupied Gaza. At least 16 Palestinian resistance fighters were killed and more than 150 people were wounded. The Israeli army reported that two Israeli soldiers were killed and five wounded in their illegal invasion. One Palestinian resident trapped inside his house reported to the media that “the Israeli army opens fire at everything in our area, including children and houses. There are injured children bleeding inside their houses.”

Rana el-Hindi from Save the Children, speaking from inside the Gaza Strip, told Al Jazeera that children were suffering greatly from the Israeli bombardment.

“In the last three days at least 19 children have been killed … it’s a real concern for all organisations here,” she said.

“Most of the time, when we go into the field and talk to the children about their fears and concerns, they are always afraid of a new [Israeli] invasion to the Gaza Strip - and obviously the current situation is just … what they fear.”

She said the number of children being hospitalised was increasing “day after day”.

Eissam Younis, director of the Al Mizan Centre for Human Rights in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army was “intentionally and systematically targeting civilians” and criticised world powers for their muted response.

“Israel puts itself above the law because the international community is always silent,” he said.

President Abbas requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation, hoping to get a Security Council resolution condemning the ethnic cleansing. Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said of Abbas’ attempt: “Israel has ignored tens of UN Security Council resolutions over the last 40 years and hundreds of UN assembly resolutions - so this is going to be more talk and probably not much will come out of it in the end.”

The Israeli government has threatened that a full-scale invasion of occupied Gaza is “real and tangible”, and remarked that the threat of a Palestinian withdrawal from the Annapolis “peace talks” would not deter Israel’s decision to invade and bomb Gaza. Israel claims its Palestinian Holocaust is in response to homemade Qassam rockets which rarely cause injury.

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