The Boycott Sri Lanka movement is gathering steam globally. Unsurprisingly, the US ambassador to the country, based in Colombo, is opposed to this action against the nation but told the country’s Sunday Times newspaper: We continue to look very seriously at the issues of possible war crimes and human rights violations in general, as do…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
The nuclear threat lives in the 21st century
An intriguing life that spans the generations. This caught my eye because of the lessons it teaches us today: Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only official survivor of both atomic blasts to hit Japan in World War II, died Monday in Nagasaki, Japan. He was 93. The cause was stomach cancer, his family said. Mr. Yamaguchi, as…
Torture and mayhem in Sri Lanka
CNN’s Becky Anderson talks with the UN Special investigator investigating war crimes in Sri Lanka and discusses the lack of justice and transparency of Colombo’s government:
How do Jews and Palestinians speak to each other?
An intriguing Israeli episode that reveals the deep divide between Jews and the rest and the ways in which Zionist chauvanism is never far from the surface: Two days after he was removed from a Channel 1 studio at the behest of Erev Hadash host Dan Margalit, MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad) fanned the flames on…
In a war with few witnesses, the global community is challenged
How do we prosecute war crimes in a country such as Sri Lanka when the state deliberately obscures the truth and prevents independent observers to investigate?
The dangers of living in today’s Sri Lanka
I’ve written extensively about the gross human rights abuses taking place in Sri Lanka, a brutal war backed by various world powers for their own interests. This statement from Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka is timely: 8th January marks the first anniversary of the assassination of Lasantha Wikrematunge, the senior journalist and founding editor…
War crimes can’t be hidden through smoother talking points
Is Israel half-acknowledging its legal failings while at the same time trying to convince the world that its “war on terror” is justified? IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has issued an order requiring the Israel Defense Forces to consult with the army’s legal advisers while military operations are underway and not just when they…
Israelis may have to avoid their favourite luxury spots
The recent story of Tzipi Livni and her possible arrest in Britain over war crimes continues to play out: Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Tuesday met Tuesday with British Attorney General Baroness Patricia Janet Scotland to protest the slew of arrest warrants issued against senior Israeli officials in the United Kingdom. A delegation of…
Guitars for terrorism
The latest edition of the Gaza Gateway blog: Two months ago we wrote that Israel had prohibited the transfer of musical instruments into the Gaza Strip. In that post we quoted Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai’s response to a query submitted by Israeli parliamentarian Dov Khenin last July regarding the ban: “According to the information…
Gaza’s suffering is Israel’s shame
My following article is published today by the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age: The 85-year-old Jewish, anti-Zionist, Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein is a sturdy looking woman. Her slightly hunched frame hides the determination to continue a life-long dedication to social justice. This week in Cairo she joined close to 1400 international delegates on the Gaza Freedom…