Praising humanity, Canadian style!

 Genocidal tragedy in the self-proclaimed bastion of human rights

TEHRAN - The heart-wrenching discovery of the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation children’s remains has sparked a heated debate over the gross violation of human rights in the recent history of Canada and how to heal the wounds of history that continue to fester even as Canada brags about its track record in respecting human dignity.

The world awoke on Saturday to the heart-breaking news that the remains of 215 indigenous children have been found on the land of a former boarding school that was Canada’s largest Indigenous residential school.

The remains of the indigenous children, some as young as three, were found buried in a mass grave at the site of the former Kamloops Residential School located some 220 miles or 354 kilometers northeast of Vancouver. These remains were found with the help of ground-penetrating radar and local officials have not ruled out that more bodies may be found because some areas on the school grounds have not been searched yet. 

The Kamloops Indian Residential School was created to forcibly assimilate indigenous children of First Nations origin into Canadian culture.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 First Nations children were required to attend state-funded Christian schools as part of a program to assimilate them into white Canadian society. They were forced to convert to Christianity and not allowed to speak their native languages. Many were beaten and verbally abused, and up to 6,000 are said to have died, according to the Associated Press. 

The Canadian government apologized in Parliament in 2008 and admitted that physical and sexual abuse in the schools was rampant. Many students recall being beaten for speaking their native languages; they also lost touch with their parents and customs.

The mass grave has renewed calls for the Roman Catholic Church to apologize for its role in Canada's policy of the 19th and 20th centuries that saw Indigenous children removed from families to attend state-funded residential schools.

Tk'emlups te Secwépemc First Nation Chief Rosanne Casimir put out a statement confirming the discovery of the previously undocumented deaths of indigenous people of Canada. 

“It is with a heavy heart that Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir confirms an unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented by the Kamloops Indian Residential School. This past weekend, with the help of a ground penetrating radar specialist, the stark truth of the preliminary findings came to light – the confirmation of the remains of 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School,” the statement said. 

Facing the anger of the indigenous people, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed all federal buildings to fly flags at half-mast. 

“To honor the 215 children whose lives were taken at the former Kamloops residential school and all Indigenous children who never made it home, the survivors, and their families, I have asked that the Peace Tower flag and flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast,” he said on Twitter. 

Also, Carolyn Bennet, Canada’s Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, highlighted the need for Canadians to be educated about the dark side of their history. “The devastating discovery of the remains of 215 children at the former Kamloops residential school underscores importance of educating Canadians about this shameful part of our history,” she said on Twitter. 

Earlier, she shed light on the dark history of residential schools in Canada, saying these schools were a colonial policy that stole Indigenous children from their communities. “Thousands of children were sent to these schools and never returned to their families. The loss of children who attended these schools is unthinkable,” she continued. 

The episode reveals how cautious Canada should be in its approach toward human rights. While having several historical unhealed wounds in its society, Canada has been lecturing other countries such as Iran on the need to avoid violating human rights. 

“This is a huge human tragedy in Canadian history that can only be called genocide. It is unfortunate that a country that tries to hide behind a humanitarian mask has such tragedies in its history,” Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said at his weekly press conference on Monday. 

The spokesman also expressed sympathy with the indigenous people of Canada and called on the North American country to make up for its dark days.

“While expressing my condolences to Indigenous Canadians, the government of Canada must always remember to reflect on the dark days of the past whenever it wants to make human rights gestures, and to try to make up for those dark days at home,” Khatibzadeh pointed out.

TAGS

• Canada
 
• remains of 215 indigenous children
 
• Kamloops Indian Residential School
 
• Saeed Khatibzadeh

EU Pledges Aid to Anti-Damascus Region in Name Sovereignty but Sanctions Assad Govt. for Being Sovereign

The EU’s aid pledge to an anti-Damascus Syrian breakaway region and its renewal of sanctions against Bashar Assad reveal a contradictory policy that ramps up humanitarian aid, while worsening the hardships that require such aid.

Right after pledging a humanitarian-aid package of some 26 million euro on Wednesday to the Kurdish-controlled breakaway region of Northeastern Syria (NES), EU authorities on Thursday renewed punitive sanctions against the Syrian government of Bashar Assad. That same day, the Syrian leader won re-election as president in a landslide victory, with 78.6% voter turnout.

The pair of EU decisions is impractical: aid-delivery routes to NES through Iraq and Jordan have been closed, and the only current approaches, via Turkey, are fraught with tension as Ankara, having invaded NES in 2019, regards the region’s Kurdish Autonomous Administration of Rojava as a terrorist entity. President Assad’s forces, meanwhile, have regained sovereignty over much of Syrian territory and have made a point of consolidating control over all foreign-aid inflows, including those intended for NES.

True, the rest of the EU’s 130-million euro Syrian-aid allotment for 2021 is allocated for other parts of the country, but earmarking such a large chunk of that aid to a region under an anti-regime, secessionist authority undermines Syrian territorial integrity. This fragmentation, combined with EU sanctions’ suppression of Syria’s economic recovery, are the real causes of the “collapsing economy affecting the country” which EU aid is explicitly supposed to mitigate.

The official EU Council statement on the sanctions’ extension has claimed they “are designed to avoid any impact on humanitarian assistance.” However, in reality, the EU’s partisan aid and sanctions policies have made the humanitarian crisis in Syria significantly worse – and hence more expensive – by exacerbating the problems its policies are meant to address.

The sanctions ban Syrian oil imports by the EU, impose prohibitions on doing business with many Syrian corporations, and freeze the EU bank accounts of the Syrian Central Bank – all of which hamper the government’s ability to generate revenues and procure equipment for alleviating the disastrous effects of foreign-funded war that include economic and social dislocation, food insecurity, and damaged infrastructure. So too have these dire effects of European sanctions impeded European aid workers in Syria from effectively delivering the humanitarian services paid-for by their governments.

A source in the European Commission has stated the aid intended for the Rojava-controlled region, which does not have official international recognition, has been pledged according to “the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as enshrined in EU and international law.” Yet in extending EU punitive sanctions against Assad’s Damascus-based Syrian government, the Council has justified its measure due to the supposedly “continued repression of the civilian population in the country,” a statement that casts away neutrality and implicitly blames Assad for Syria’s mess.

Much of the repression in Syria decried by the EU has come from Western-backed anti-regime activists, among them Rojava. European governments have often cloaked their support for violent Syrian oppositional elements under the guise of humanitarian aid. For years, a cabal including Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands reportedly funneled millions in cash infusions through the Mayday Rescue Foundation, which allegedly served as the paymaster for the Western-trained Syrian White Helmets – a group branded by supportive Western governments as a philanthropic organization but one that actually ran civil and medical infrastructure for breakaway Syrian regions under jihadist control.

The Rojava administration has its own checkered past in the realms of democratic transparency and human rights, further illuminating the brand of glaring, politicized inconsistency in Syrian aid of which the EU is guilty. In 2020, Rojava signed an agreement with US-based Delta Crescent Energy for exploitation of NES’s oil resources, ridiculed by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as blatantly partisan imperialism, in a statement calling it “an integrated and aggravated theft [that] can only be described as a deal between thieves who are stealing and thieves who are buying, constituting an assault against Syria’s sovereignty.”

Back in 2017, Kurdish-led militias known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), conducted a brutal campaign to take control of Raqqa from Islamic State (IS) fighters with US support, almost completely destroying the city and killing over 1,600 civilians. There were indicators that in the course of hostilities the SDF coalition deliberately targeted Arab civilians in Arab-majority Raqqa, so as to kill or evict Arab-Syrian citizens who would be most likely to oppose a Kurdish-dominated enclave that would infringe on their rights. One of the most-alarming indicators was that during the fighting the SDF attackers made a deal with their avowed IS enemies, who left the approaches open to Raqqa while the SDF continued to pummel Raqqa’s civilian inhabitants.

Meanwhile, rampant child recruitment is a continuing problem in several Kurdish militias that are part of the SDF.

Such is the type of government the announced EU aid tranche apparently purports to fund. The policy being implemented is not one of humanitarian rescue. Sending money to Rojava would just channel EU largesse to anti-Damascus forces under the flimsy guise of human rights, as the SDF commits human-rights abuses to suit its aim of fragmenting Syria.

By severely curtailing Syria’s international commercial relations through sanctions, the EU is worsening the humanitarian crisis its aid is supposed to alleviate. Continued sanctions prevent the Assad government from fully leveraging the economic gains from its resources – including its national oil wealth – to rebuild a country wracked by civil war largely funded and abetted by foreign powers. Pledges to assist a region controlled by Rojava, with its history of IS collaboration and civilian murder, show Damascus that Brussels cares neither for “impartiality” nor “independence” in this matter, but instead is likely seeking to entrench the region as a partisan, separatist enclave dependent on foreign funding.

Source: RT

From Karachi to Sheikh Jarrah: The Why and Why Not of Palestine Solidarity in Pakistan

By Sonia Qadir & Junaid S. Ahmad

Massive pro-Palestine protest in Pakistan. (Photo: via Karachi Union of Journalists)

As part of the ongoing Nakba, Israel has once again unleashed its latest reign of terror on Palestine over the past two weeks, in response to resistance by Palestinians against ethnic cleansing of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem (meant to eviscerate both Palestinian social and cultural life from the city). During this time, Israel has razed Gaza’s residential buildings to the ground, bombed its refugee camps and demolished its already crumbling infrastructure.

Israeli tanks and artillery also launched a ground offensive, supposedly “fighting” a civilian population in northern Gaza, which has little ammunition other than pebbles and stones to defend itself with. Within 48’ Palestine (what are now Israeli cities), armed right-wing Israeli mobs, supported by Israeli police, forced their way into Palestinian homes, terrorizing families, and lynched Palestinians on live television. Palestinian businesses have been ransacked. The infamous “administrative detentions” of Palestinians (indefinite imprisonment without a charge or a trial) also began with renewed vigor.

Mainstream Western, and surprisingly at times even Al-Jazeera, have referred to these events as “clashes”, “a conflict” and “a civil-war”. Meanwhile, Palestinians, and those in solidarity with them, have pointed out that this terminology is grotesquely false, and an attempt to create absurd equivalences between an occupied population and its occupiers. Palestinian Australian scholar Lana Tatour, for instance, has argued that the use of the term “civil war” to describe what is taking place within 48’ Palestine obfuscates the racist, settler-colonial nature of the Israeli state and Israeli “citizenship”.

For a majority of ordinary Pakistanis, Palestine has always been an issue close to their hearts. There is a buried history of Pakistanis going to fight alongside the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and of Pakistani writers and poets penning hundreds of songs of lament against Israeli occupation and its powerful supporters, and in solidarity with Palestinian freedom fighters. One of Yasser Arafat’s closest bodyguards and confidantes was a Pakistani. Large numbers of Palestinian students came to study in Pakistan. In addition, one of Pakistan’s greatest intellectuals, the late Eqbal Ahmad, was one of the closest friends of the most powerful intellectual voice of the Palestinian struggle – the late Edward W. Said. Eqbal was respected not only by Said but also by Yasser Arafat (and the entire leadership of the PLO), so much so that they actively insisted that he become one of their leading advisors, from the first Palestinian intifada onwards.

At the flip end of this coin, is the darker history of Black September. i.e. the 1970 massacre of Palestinians, in which Pakistan’s erstwhile General Zia-ul-Haq (who in 1977 launched a coup in Pakistan and become the military dictator for ten years) collaborated with the Jordanian monarchy in killing Palestinians. As Pakistanis, it is important to acknowledge and condemn this history – to see the face of significant elements of state institutions that would sell-out the oppressed the first opportunity they get, even as they wax lyrical about their commitment to the latter’s liberation.

At the same time, this incident does not undo the commitment that many ordinary Pakistanis have historically expressed, and often practiced, to the Palestinian cause. Unfortunately, the deep connections that were cultivated over decades, slowly died out as the era of third world decolonization and international solidarity withered away. Today, Pakistani ‘civil society’ and popular media have little recollection of involvement in global anti-colonial struggles.

Another important critique that has been made about Pakistan’s politics of solidarity with Palestine, is that here, much like in many other Muslim countries, the commitment to Palestine is due in large part to the issue being framed not only as something of concern for the Muslim ummah, but also as simply emanating from religious differences – or more bluntly, religious animosities. To some, this simply proves the “inherently” anti-Semitic nature of Muslim societies. The often casual anti-Semitism that characterizes public sentiment, commentary by certain analysts and politicians, as well as statements made by right-wing religious groups and parties in Pakistan, is indeed absolutely despicable. It is imperative that we combat it on every level.

Yet recent scholarship has demonstrated that the ‘religionization’ of Zionist colonization of Palestine really only picked up with an avalanche of anti-Semitic sentiments being exported to the Islamicate world from the deeply anti-Semitic Western world itself – in many ways tracing its origins to 1492. It is also worsened by the Israeli State’s own rabid racism and Islamophobia, most glaringly displayed by the military infiltration of the Al Aqsa compound during the month of Ramadan just two weeks ago (and once again at the Friday prayers right after the declaration of the ceasefire).

The scholar Gilbert Achcar, in his book The Arabs and the Holocaust, documents that the orientalist cliché of some inveterate Muslim anti-Semitism is erroneous. Indeed, it was largely in Muslim lands that Jews had felt safe to live for many centuries. It was primarily with the modern settler-colonial and secular nationalist ideology (and praxis) of ethnic cleansing of Arabs embedded in Zionism, as well as the thoroughly developed anti-Semitic ideology of Europe arriving in Muslim lands in the twentieth century; that we begin to see many Muslims join their European counterparts in anti-Jewish racism. A renewed investment in anti-colonial and decolonial struggles then is crucial for us to not only support Palestinian liberation, but also to struggle against anti-Semitism in our own communities.

To this end, it heartening to see the birth of a Palestine Solidarity campaign comprised of many progressive activists, public intellectuals, students and people from all walks of life in Pakistan. Many large and small protests for Palestine have been organized in Pakistan over the last week, and Pakistani mainstream media has reported on the bombardment of Gaza, and the larger issue of Palestinian liberation, with zeal.

Yet one cannot ignore the broader geopolitical juncture at which we stand, or forget that it was only last year that a somewhat different picture seemed to be at play within Pakistan. A number of Arab Muslim countries, most notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE), chose to normalize relations with Israel (finally revealing the open secret of the cozy relationship of the two countries), blatantly ignoring Palestinians’ call for “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” of Apartheid Israel. In turn, international pressure grew from the ‘brotherly Muslim countries of the Gulf’ on Pakistan to do the same. This included insidious threats to Islamabad from Riyadh, which under Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS) was very much at the forefront of the push for cementing ties with the Zionist regime.

The threats from MBS to deport Pakistani laborers, to halt oil supplies to Pakistan, to renege on its promised loans, and probably a whole bucket list of other antics that the rather sadistic Saudi Crown Prince could come up with – are in fact regurgitated every time that Islamabad does not prostrate itself completely to Saudi demands. MBS believed he could create enough wedges between Prime Minister Imran Khan who opposed normalizing relations with Israel on the one hand, and the Pakistani military high command on the other, which was keen on the idea, to achieve his goal. This back-dealing between MBS and some of his favored, pliant Pakistani generals also reignited interest on social media in Middle East Eye’s report from back in 2018 (around the same time that Israeli delegations were visiting the UAE and Jordan) of an Israeli plane (or more specifically a private plane that flew from Israel) landing in a Pakistani airbase – claims that were categorically denied by the Pakistani Government.

As the absurd theatrics intensified – obviously funded by the Zionist regimes of the Gulf – it was perhaps no surprise that out of the blue, a number of Pakistani journalists, including prominent establishment-cozy ones such as Kamran Khan of Dunya News and Mubashar Luqman of 24 News HD began discussing the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel. Kamran Khan’s tweet, for instance, declared that, “Nations don’t have permanent friends or enemies, only interests,” and therefore, “Pakistan must also revisit its Israel policy.” Similarly, Moeed Pirzada, a TV anchor and a putative ‘strategic analyst,’ stated on his Youtube channel that Pakistan’s refusal to have any relationship with Israel had depended on (i) Pakistan historically following the lead of Arab countries in order to show its solidarity with the larger Muslim world, (ii) “Israel”, “yahoodi (Jewish)” etc. were “trigger words” in Pakistan akin to Qadiani/Ahmedi and simply played on “emotions.”

Even as he explained that historically Jews and Muslims had amicable relations living side-by-side, he chose to make no distinction between Zionist and Jewish, and between a racist sentiment of Anti-Semitism and a politics of boycotting a brutal, warmongering Israeli settler-colonial state. Now that Arab countries had themselves changed their position, Pirzada argued, it was high time that Pakistan, too, makes a rational calculation and reconsiders its policy towards recognition of Israel.

Perhaps the more shocking, and least remarked upon contribution in this regard came from none other than Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa. A political scientist with a focus on security studies, and the famous author of “Military Inc: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy,” Dr. Siddiqa is best known for her scathing criticism of the Pakistani military, its interference in politics, and its commercial and economic interests. Importantly, she is not just another International Relations (IR) and Security Studies academic: she identifies as a feminist and has written on the topic; and has a close relationship with many in progressive circles in Pakistan. She has no doubt earned her badge of honor for speaking against human rights abuses in Pakistan, especially where the military in involved – as in when it had engaged in wholesale internal colonization and displacement ventures such as in the Military Farms in Okara. On these matters, Dr. Siddiqa’s work has been laudable.

Yet in an article published in January 2021 on the Indian news site, The Print, Dr. Siddiqa appears to agree that it was in Pakistan’s best interests to recognize Israel. She starts by noting that Saudi Arabia wanted Pakistan to take this step, and that Pakistan’s military was willing to oblige. It was only Prime Minister Imran Khan who had refused, simply because “it would prove politically costly” for him.

The possibility that perhaps there could also be a principled reason for opposing normalizing ties with the Apartheid racist state of Israel seems to have eluded her. She then explains at length what Pakistan could gain from recognizing Israel both in terms of monetary and military aid directly from Israel; as well as diplomatic dividends vis-a-vis India (and a better ability to negotiate with the IMF) through a closer relationship with Israel and the “Jewish” (progressives are of course required to overlook our human rights-loving intellectual’s anti-Semitic language and pretend she simply meant Israeli or Zionist) lobby within the US. She elaborates that Pakistan should have taken this step when it was “more challenging,” i.e., under Trump’s regime when no reciprocal benefits for Palestinians could be negotiated and hence its significance for Israel, and therefore the diplomatic gains for Pakistan, would have been more. Instead, she laments, “Pakistan has certainly missed the moment, yet again.”

She then concludes, in an ever more direct voice, that PM Imran Khan and his party should take ownership of this policy (and ease the country into it); otherwise, if the military goes ahead with it anyway without prior warning, it would “have unpleasant consequences”. This was because Pakistanis have been “educated” that “Zionist-Jews” were Pakistan’s “worst enemies and a major source of all security threats to the country.” Not once does she speak of the lives and horrendous conditions of the Palestinians living under a brutal military occupation, but instead constantly centers the desires and wheeling and dealing of the Gulf states, Israel, the Pakistani PM and Pakistani military high command – all on the backs of the blood, suffering, and dead bodies of Palestinians whose existence she treats here as utterly irrelevant.

Anyone remotely involved in any form of solidarity with Palestinians would be appalled by such a take. The principal cover that Dr. Siddiqa wanted to employ in her defense of the article it seems, is of being an objective IR/Security Studies academic, simply analyzing things as they are. This is perhaps the last refuge of academics beholden to power but masquerading as impartial commentators. One is reminded here of the great American historian Howard Zinn, who, speaking of ostensible scholarly ‘neutrality’ and ‘objectivity,’ had this to say: “Objectivity is neither possible, nor desirable,” and that “You cannot be neutral on a moving train.”

No one should know this better than Dr. Siddiqa herself. One cannot help but wonder whether her commendable passion for exposing injustices was only reserved for the human rights abuses and excesses of the military-industrial complex within Pakistan? Now settled in an academic setting in the UK, does she feel the need to assuage the anxieties of the neoliberal, Eurocentric academy with writings that dare not challenge Zionism?

Over the last two weeks, as even a mainstream American news channel like CNN has been forced to cover the reality of Israeli occupation, it is not surprising perhaps that Dr. Siddiqa and most other analysts, journalists and Pakistani liberals (perhaps finding it untenable not to do so anymore) in addition to more principled progressives, are currently tweeting in support of Palestine. While this is a welcome move, it needs to be noted that Pakistani liberal (as well as conservative) elites failed to show solidarity with Palestine when it was needed most within a Pakistani context, i.e. when the State was close to deciding to build friendly diplomatic relations with Israel – without any commitment to the liberation of Palestine and a fair and just resolution for all Palestinians (as originally promised by Pakistan). Despite her valid penchant for critiquing Pakistan’s military, on the issue of normalizing relations with Israel, Dr. Siddiqa did not have a single word of admonishment for the institution, and instead chose to agree with it.

But why should solidarity with Palestine matter for Pakistanis? Is it simply a cause for bourgeois urbanites with some global awareness, or for the religious right? People from minority communities and those who are engaged in their own struggles of survival and liberation in Pakistan often ask: why invest our energies into solidarity with Palestine and not closer to home? Who will speak of the atrocities being wrought by a twenty-year war in Afghanistan or Waziristan, the internal colonization of Balochistan, the evictions and land theft in Karachi or the cultural and material marginalization of the Seraiki belt?

To answer this, it is imperative to recognize that the struggle for Palestinian liberation is linked to struggles for justice, self-determination and liberation across the world, from Kashmir to Waziristan to Balochistan. While there is an obvious moral imperative here, there is also a significant material reason, one Dr. Siddiqa inadvertently hints at in her article. That is, a crucial reason why certain factions within Pakistan’s military have been keen to normalize relations with Israel is to gain access to Israeli weapons and military technology! Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems for instance sells all kinds of military and surveillance equipment, “field-tested on Palestinians,” to any willing buyer.

Israeli military and police are also infamous for providing training to other militaries and police departments in “counter-terrorism” and “crowd-control” – and have already done this for the US, UK, and countries in Latin America. In plain language, the Zionist state is willing to train security personnel of all fellow repressive states in police and security tactics meant for what Israel knows best: military occupation.

If Pakistan’s military and security forces receive this additional training and equipment, on top of what they already receive from the Unites States and other European countries, where does one reckon it would be used, if not to further suppress the struggles of various communities and social movements within Pakistan itself? It is not hard to see then that the struggle of progressive and liberatory movements in Pakistan have everything to gain and nothing to lose from taking a principled stance against the racist, apartheid, settler-colonial state that is Israel.

In the latest round of the Zionist festival of slaughter in Palestine, it is appreciable that PM Imran Khan bluntly tweeted about the carnage being perpetrated against the Palestinians, especially when most world leaders, including Arab stooges, made tepid statements about de-escalation (and which led Pakistani mainstream media to hail the PM as “the voice of Palestinians internationally” in a rather self-congratulatory manner).

It is also an encouraging development that there has been a powerful display of demonstrations in various cities of Pakistan against Zionist settler colonialism. But it is vital to note that the outpouring of support for Palestine the world over this time, including in Pakistan, has everything to do with how Palestinians have refused to back down in the harshest and most vicious of circumstances, and how they have worked tirelessly to form solidarities with anti-racist movements like Black Lives Matter in the US and Aboriginal rights struggles in Australia.

As the narrative and the sentiment on the ground in a number of Western countries has shifted, and it is no longer “cool” to ignore Palestine, it has also affected opinion among the young and old, progressive and ordinary people in Pakistan. A buried sentiment that always existed, has now returned with renewed anger, disgust, and demonstrations of solidarity.

But ultimately, we must remember: the real voice of Palestine, and the real heroes of this story, are the Palestinians themselves. And we must commit to centering their voices, learning from their struggle, and showing up for them – now and always.

– Sonia Qadir is from Lahore, Pakistan and is a PhD Candidate in Law at the University of New South Wales, Sydney.

– Junaid S. Ahmad teaches Religion and Global Politics and is the Director of the Center for Islam and Decoloniality in Islamabad, Pakistan. Both are on the Steering Committee of the Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG) – Pakistan. They contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle

Iran Condemns Genocide in Canada

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Monday strongly deplored the genocide against Indigenous children in Canada, blasting Ottawa for lies about advocating human rights.

 “There is a big human tragedy in Canada’s record that cannot be called anything but genocide, genocide against its inhabitants and natives,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters at a press conference in Tehran.

He expressed regret that a country like Canada which attempts to hide behind a human rights mask has had such disgraceful days in its history.

“All of this is a historic shame for Canada. I express my condolences to Indigenous Canadians, and the government of Canada should remember that whenever it wants to make a human rights gesture, it should recall what it has done in its own land,” Khatibzadeh said.

The remains of 215 children were found buried at a Canadian residential school, an Indigenous band confirmed Thursday.

The bodies – the discovery was called “unthinkable” by the chief of the First Nations Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc band – were found with the aid of a ground-penetrating radar specialist.

The area has been closed while the search continues for more bodies.

Chief Roseanne Casimir said the band had a “knowing” there were children – some as young as three-years-old – buried at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

“We sought out a way to confirm that knowing out of deepest respect and love for those lost children and their families, understanding that Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc is the final resting place of these children,” said Casimir in a news release.

“With access to the latest technology, the true accounting of the missing students will hopefully bring some peace and closure to those lives lost and their home communities,” Casimir added.

It is not yet known how the children died.

The Kamloops facility was one of the largest of 130 residential schools in Canada.

The schools began in the 1830s and as many as 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their parents – sometimes by force – and sent to the schools in a bid to eradicate their culture.

The schools were run by various religious bodies, including Roman Catholic and Anglican, and later taken over by the Canadian government.

It is well documented that many of the children were sexually and physically abused, including being seated in electric chairs and forced to eat their own vomit, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The last school was closed in 1997.

A Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2008 and toured the country hearing testimony from residential school survivors and families.

The commission labelled the schools as a form of culture genocide, a term Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed with. More than 3 billion Canadian dollars has been paid to victims by the government.

Israel minister leads settler raid of Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, addresses the annual health conference in Tel Aviv on 27 March 2018. [JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images]

Yaakov Litzman, Israel's housing minister and former health minister, led a settler raid of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, entering through Al-Magharbeh Gate, Quds Press reported.

Tens of extremist Israeli Jewish settlers along with Litzman raided Al-Aqsa Mosque and toured its sanctuary yards, entering through Al-Magharbeh Gate and leaving through Al-Silsila Gate.

Israeli occupation troops closed Al-Magharbeh Gate following the entrance of the Jewish settlers accompanied by the extremist minister.

The raid came at a time when the Chief of Egyptian Intelligence Brigadier General Abbas Kamel is carrying out marathon meetings with Israeli officials and Palestinians, in order to stabilise the ceasefire between the two sides.

Meanwhile, it also coincided with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi's visit to Cairo to meet with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, also as part of the ongoing talks to stabilise the ceasefire.

Israeli occupation authorities continue their violence and escalation policies, including permitting extremist settlers to raid Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest place for Muslims on earth.

What’s Behind Calls for International Supervision of Iraqi Elections?

Alwaght- Over the past weeks, there have been proposals in Iraq to delay the early parliamentary election and hold it under the international supervision. The election is scheduled for October 10, and according to Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), so far 29 coalitions have registered to take part, with 25 of them having the experience to participate in the 2018 election. The commission said that so far, 283 parties have been granted foundation permits and 68 parties are about to be formed. Seventy-seven others have expressed readiness to join the vote. 

However, in a controversial move, Iraqi Foreign Ministry and IHEC officials have called on foreign forces to monitor the election process. For example, on February 11, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein wrote a letter calling for international monitoring of the Iraqi elections. Also, the IHEC sent 75 invitations to the embassies of Arab and foreign countries and international organizations to join the monitoring process. This approach, however, has been challenged by various political parties, triggering explanation from the foreign ministry. 

Ahmad al-Sahaf, the spokesman to the foreign ministry, on Saturday in a statement held that there has so far been no foreign supervision of the Iraqi election. This year, for the first time, a UN team at the invitation of the Iraqi government will supervise the election with full commitment to the Iraqi sovereignty. According to al-Sahaf, Iraq seeks to arrange for a "strong delegation" in association with the UN office to support efforts to ensure the success of the election process and to hold it at its time by launching a comprehensive strategy to inform the public about the importance of elections. 

Foreign supervision a step to play in Western field 

So far, the advocates of the election delay justified their demand with what they called lack of a ground for international supervision. For example, when on January 20, the cabinet postponed the elections to October 10 from June 6, one of the justifications of the IHEC was giving the UN supervisors the opportunity to play a role for highest transparency rates possible. 

This excuse and such arguments are coming at a time the Iraqi political society and people demand cutting the foreign interference in their affairs. What is certain is that after 18 years, the Iraqi executive apparatus is now capable of holding a healthy election and that the UN monitoring is not a technically good reason to delay the election. More importantly, in the last four rounds of Iraqi parliamentary elections in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018, there have been no serious allegations of electoral fraud. In fact, the Iraqi government and people have left a successful record in all the last elections, and so any foreign monitoring demand not only makes no sense but also is in line with the interests of foreign actors. 

Bias in favor of specific political groups 

The request to such international bodies as the UN and foreign countries to monitor the Iraqi elections in no way reflects the true will of the Iraqi people. In fact, many political factions believe that any foreign supervision violates Iraq's sovereignty and national will and cannot serve the Iraqi interests. 

Foreign interference and negative role in the Iraqi developments in the years following the Saddam rule collapse have always been a target of public and political criticism. Many political observers and the Iraqi public also believe that the most important cause of insecurity and instability in this country are the destructive policies and role played by the foreign actors. Some specific groups are seeking to drag the foreign interference in the election process under the excuse of lack of transparency. Such a push by no means serves the national Iraqi interests but interests of specific groups or political parties. 

West's new trick to influence the Iraqi elections 

The election monitoring demand, from a different angle, can serve the US and Britain-led Western camp to impact the Iraqi parliamentary election process. Failed in their push for delay, the Western countries are now raising the necessity for international monitoring. Recently, the British ambassador to Iraq Stephen Hickey in an interview with a Saudi-funded news network questioned the health of the Iraqi vote and called for postponing the elections process. 

The comments were met by strong-toned reactions from a majority of the Iraqi parties, with them labeled "foreign dictate" and parties condemning what they called "unacceptable meddling" in the Iraqi affairs. With first plan foiled and election date remaining October 10, the West seems to have moved to plan B, which is the so-called need for monitoring by foreign observers.  

Given the American and British sway over the international organizations especially the UN, raising the election supervision triggers speculations about their plans to manipulate the polling process to their interests in Iraq. In other words, if the favorable results are not an outcome—this is highly likely because the people are now more than any time before support the pro-resistance and anti-American political agenda— it is possible that the Westerners first raise allegations about manipulation of the election and should this plan fails too, they question legitimacy of the results all to sow division among the political factions.

Spain and the issue of Western Sahara

Hussein Majdoubi

The Spanish army and the Red Cross work on the Ceuta border after migrants crossed the Spanish border on 19 May 2021 [Diego Radames/Anadolu Agency]

Relations between Morocco and Spain over the issue of Western Sahara are tense to the point of technical estrangement. A political rift may follow which could last for months.

This prompts questions about the prevailing political positions among the politicians and intellectuals, and the deep state in Spain, towards Western Sahara, an issue that has once again become a determining factor in the relationship between Rabat and Madrid. By extension, this also affects Morocco's relationship with the European Union.

The 1992 treaty between Spain and Morocco on the movement of people did not provide a framework for the issue, nor did it establish mechanisms to make any progress in such relations. Statements of praise issued by Madrid or Rabat remain baseless, prompting ridicule at the first real hiccup in the relationship, which we are seeing now.

Western Sahara triggered the current crisis last December, and it also affects related matters such as immigration and terrorism. Emphasis is placed on Spain's reception of Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front, which is fighting Morocco over sovereignty of Western Sahara. This is one of the factors contributing to the tension, but the deep state in Madrid and Rabat have another view of this dispute.

Official statements and comments by media close to the authorities in Rabat have raised the Ghali visit as a concern. The deeper view also asked whether or not Spain is a "reliable" neighbour. Is it interested in Morocco's stability, and does it contribute to this stability? Or is Rabat simply a security guard for the Spanish border against terrorism and immigration?

In the wake of the then US President Donald Trump's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara on 10 December, Rabat was surprised at how quick Madrid was to oppose such recognition. Spain even coordinated with European countries, including Germany, to prevent the EU from following the US move.

This left France unable to take any initiative, although it had always worked to support the autonomy proposal. Morocco believes that the end of the Western Sahara conflict, through autonomy, is the end of the problems not only within its own borders but also across North Africa. Morocco's vision is reflected in the view that Spain is a country that obstructs development in its southern neighbour, due to its role in the perpetuation of this conflict. This discourse has developed culturally, politically and historically in Moroccan circles, which will make improved relations with Madrid harder to come by, and more volatile.

Spain is also asking questions beyond the Ghali visit. Does Morocco want a solution to the Western Sahara conflict without involving Spain in the search? Does Morocco wish to take advantage of the current situation in order to demand the restoration of [the Spanish enclaves of] Ceuta and Melilla? These are raised in ministerial statements, by Defence Minister Margarita Robles, for example, or former ministers and even former army officers transmitting the government's intentions to the public. "Morocco sending its immigrants to Ceuta is not in protest against Ghali's reception," said former Defence Minister Federico Trillo recently, "but as a prelude to the restoration of Ceuta and Melilla [to Morocco]."

There are three perceptions prevailing in Spain about the future of Western Sahara and the position of the Spanish establishment, represented in all branches of the military, diplomatic corps, political parties, intelligence agencies and the business community. They are framed within intellectual and political propositions that date back centuries, and the only thing that changes are the issues; today it's Western Sahara, tomorrow it'll be Ceuta and Melilla, and in the past, it was the entire north of Morocco, and so on.

The first perception is an extremist approach calling for Morocco to be excluded from Western Sahara, Ceuta and Melilla. It is a historical approach that stems from the idea that Morocco is Spain's historical enemy and so must be weakened. Its intellectual roots lie in the history of Spanish political thought, through Queen Isabella and developed by the founder of modern Spanish national thought, especially regarding Morocco, Prime Minister Antonio Canovas del Castillo in the second half of the nineteenth century. Former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar (1996-2004) is a supporter of this trend.

Then there is a central approach that sees Morocco as a partner that must be helped to restore Western Sahara to its sovereignty, provided that it is silent on Ceuta and Melilla forever. This approach believes in supporting self-rule making Western Sahara a state within the Kingdom of Morocco, which will help to democratise Morocco and boost relations. The intellectual roots of this approach date back to the second half of the nineteenth century. Its most prominent supporter was Angel Ganivet (1865-98), who defended the need to help Morocco, provided it is kept under control.

The other approach calls for helping Morocco to extend its sovereignty over Western Sahara and recognising it internationally on condition that the demand to restore Ceuta and Melilla be postponed until an agreement is also reached by Spain and Britain regarding Gibraltar. This approach sees Morocco as a major partner, and stems from the idea that an advanced Morocco, strong and connected closely with Europe will help to give priority to dialogue. Spain will always remain its main political and trade partner, as it was before the 1959 Battle of Tetouan. This position developed during the mid-1970s amid right wing trends in the military establishment, especially when Spain withdrew from Western Sahara in 1975, and Morocco pledged not to bring up the Ceuta and Melilla file for a decade, until Spain ended its democratic transition.

That is why, in 1987, King Hassan II launched a think-tank about the future of Ceuta and Melilla, after the success of that democratic transition. Madrid responded indirectly by establishing the Ibn Rushd Centre in the early 1990s, and the Spanish right wing completely undermined it. The intellectual roots of those belonging to this approach date back to the 19th century, with the likes of Joaquin Costa, and during the twentieth century with people such as Blas Infante, who called for unity between Morocco and Spain, especially Andalusia and northern Morocco. As for politicians who adopted this approach in the 21st century, we find former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and former Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. In 2006, Zapatero tried to find a regional solution to the Western Sahara conflict, on the sidelines of the UN, and therefore pressured Morocco to develop self-governance.

A Unified Palestine, the Occupier’s Greatest Defeat

By Faisal al-Ashmar

The Zionist enemy worked for decades to separate the West Bank from Gaza, and when it withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it thought that it had given the Palestinians freedom and the territory that would make them forget about the rest of the occupied Palestinian cities. Since in Gaza, they can form a State they want, they can exercise whatever sovereignty they want, and may God protect the Gazans from fighting.

While in the West Bank, Palestinians have a State and authority, a Government and a flag, and it is okay to exercise all means to create disputes between the West Bank and Gaza, so the more the Palestinians are divided, the better and more beneficial it is.

Throughout the military confrontations between the Palestinians and the enemy, the battlefield was only in Gaza and the surrounding Zionist settlements, and the enemy has always been the initiator of the war, under or without a pretext, and Gaza has been defending itself by its men and weapons.

In the recent confrontation in which hostilities ceased at dawn on Friday, Gaza crossed into all of Palestine, and it was the first time when Palestinians decides to start the fight. The first missiles launched from Gaza were a gift from the Gazans to their Maqdessis, who celebrated watching them fill their sky as if they were carrying Gaza's longing for al-Quds and Gaza's decisive decision that the resistance is for all Palestine and that the men of Gaza were ready to start a war - for the first time - for the sake of al-Quds and its people.

We also saw the people of the occupied Palestinian cities and villages since 1948, rising up a major intifada, striking the biggest strikes, linking between East Palestine [the West Bank] and West Palestine [Gaza] indifferent to the enemy's arms and threats, participating in the confrontation and the war in their own way and as far as they can, and confirming once again, to the enemy and the entire world, that they are Palestinians above all and Palestinians after all.

It is true that it was the enemy’s military defeat, but the greatest defeat was by this great Palestinian unity, and by the strong interdependence of all members of the unified Palestine. So if the enemy attacks even a small member such as the Sheikh Jarrah's neighborhood, the rest will be there for it with jihad and resistance.

Syria’s Victory Stuns NATO Enemies

By Finian Cunningham

" Sputnik"- Syria’s presidential elections this week were a resounding success against a backdrop of 10 years of brutal, relentless war imposed on the Arab country by the United States and its NATO partners.

After a decade-long torment from terrorist mercenaries deployed covertly by the Western powers, as well as overt aggression from NATO military forces illegally attacking the country and from cruel economic sanctions warfare, the people of Syria remain defiant and independent. 

President Bashar al-Assad was re-elected for a fourth seven-year term after winning 95 percent of votes cast. The achievement is stunning. It completely refutes – indeed makes a mockery of – the Western narrative depicting Assad as a “tyrant”. 

Despite all the grueling hardships, the Syrian people turned out in droves to vote on Thursday. The turnout was over 78 percent with more than 14 million votes cast out of an eligible 18 million electorate. 

There is no way the Western governments and their servile corporate media can spin this epic demonstration of popular defiance to their nefarious intrigues for regime change in Syria. Hence, the total silence among Western media about the election result. That silence is at once hilarious and damning of Western guilt over the real nature of the war in Syria. 

It was always a foreign war of criminal aggression. If there was any justice prevailing in this world, Western politicians by the dozens should be tried for war crimes. 

Before the election this week, the United States, Britain, France, and other NATO powers tried to smear the Syrian democratic will, labeling the ballot as neither fair nor free. 

Well, the sheer numbers of people turning out to vote and the subsequent scenes of jubilation across Syria tell another story, one that confounds the Western propaganda and exposes the criminality of the NATO powers and their toxic media. 

The Syrian nation has refused to bow after years of NATO-backed terrorism in their country. They have chosen their president – again. 

The same kind of shameful silence in Western media has been seen numerous times before when the Syrian army liberated towns and villages from Western-backed terrorists. When people came out to greet their Syrian army liberators, the Western media simply ignored the reality despite having told their consumers beforehand that the Syrian army and their Russian allies were committing slaughter against “rebels” and civilian populations.

Not one Western mainstream media outlet has followed up to report on how Syrians feel about being liberated and of having their peaceful lives restored. That’s because Syrians would praise the leadership of Assad, the courage of the army, and the crucial help of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. In other words, the West’s lies would be demolished by the truth, and so their media are compelled to ignore and keep silent. 

For everyone around the world who desires justice and peace and the defeat of imperialism, the victory from Syria’s election is a glorious day to celebrate. Congratulations are due to President Assad. But more so to the people of Syria who showed that it is possible to stand up to the real tyranny, that of the United States and its lawless NATO rogue allies who wanted to destroy Syria in order to install their own puppet regime. Despite unspeakable barbarities inflicted on the peace-loving people of Syria, they have remained steadfast in their unity and determination for independence, regardless of their different religions.  The NATO ploy of trying to incite a sectarian war among Syrians failed because they knew all along who their real enemy was. 

For those willing to see reality, Syria exposes the forces of evil in this world. The Western lying media tell us that Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, and so on, are “bad” and are threatening global peace. The Americans and their NATO partners lecture and pontificate about “rules and order”. When it is they who are caught in the headlights of truth: they tried to destroy a country just like they have countless others. But that country – Syria – just showed its spectacular strength to overcome the evil designs of the United States and its minions in NATO. 

Lamentably, Syria faces more trials and challenges from the continuing economic warfare being waged by US and European sanctions. Reconstruction from a decade of NATO aggression will not be easy. But with the help of Russia, China, Iran, and others, the Syrian people will win finally. They have just shown their invincible resilience beyond any doubt. 

Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Master’s graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent.