By Ayesha Jhetam, Tshwane
(source: BusinessDay, Pg10 & Citizen Pg13 – Tuesday, 25/10/2011)
I am absolutely revolted watching the brutal slaying of Muammar Gaddafi televised ad nauseam. The manner in which a wounded and dying man was lynched and ripped apart jarred my soul. There is no doubt that this tyrant and despot deserved to be ousted, but the savagery on display was simply appalling. Surely the civilized way was to capture him and put him on trial.
Can one imagine any leader from the Western world, Sarkozy, Cameron, Obama,Merkel or Netanyahu, being hunted and torn apart in this way? Is the media not sending us a not so subtle message-that Muslims lack honor, decency, are barbaric and sub- human?
Is this, then, the legacy of the “war on terror”? Drones controlled from thousands of miles away let loose missiles decimating mud houses in remote villages killing women and children, and the media unquestioningly regurgitates the official military communique that “militants” were wiped out! It is sickening!
Where is the rule of law that the West continuously trumpets? After the heinous crimes of World War 2, the culprits were captured and put on trial.Not so today. The USA, Israel and NATO have set a precedent where the human rights of the non-combatants have been sacrificed on the altar of demonstrating brute and vulgar force. But, it is not only the White Western world that is guilty of such brutality, preying like ravenous beasts on their brown and Black brethren.
The daily massacre of civilian protesters in Yemen and Syria, Somalia, Kashmir and Bahrain is horrifying. It is characteristic for these dictators,like their democratic counterparts, to brand demonstrators with legitimate grievances, as “terrorists”, justifying their slaughter. Their lust for power and insatiable greed for wealth is deplorable. The supply of destructive weapons to yield massive profits is the only consideration for Western multi- national corporations.
The United Nations has lost all credibility. It is a tool for the West to cover and legitimize it’s crimes against humanity. The permanent members will veto any resolution to protect it’s client state, allowing any vicious regime to violate international law with impunity. The cries of the innocent fall on deaf ears.
Other world bodies are also pawns for the big powers. The financial institutions, IMF and the World Bank, will rapaciously exploit and devour the resources of the poor countries crippling them for the benefit of the richer ones. The International Criminal Court prosecutes African heads of states for alleged crimes, whilst ignoring the crimes of the Western surrogates.
We are living in a topsy-turvy era where invaders and occupiers are paraded as liberators; where freedom fighters are condemned as terrorists; where looters and robbers are regarded as saviors; and rapists and murderers glorified as heroes. It is imperative that civil society reclaim the moral high ground andre-establish the value of human life. Not to do so will result in a chaoticworld order where honour and ubuntu will be unknown, and death and destruction the norm.
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