CURRENT AFFAIRS
April 2002
(Comments: Tony.Papard@bt.internet.com)
ISRAEL/OT:
The current situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories has gotten completely out of hand. Terrible stories are coming out of Jenin about massacres of innocent civilians and of whole families being buried alive in the rubble when the bulldozers moved in. Is this a repeat of what happened under Sharon’s command in the Beirut Palestinian refugee camps many years ago, when many civilians were massacred by Israel’s proxy, the South Lebanese Army?
The recent horrific carnage caused by Palestinian suicide bombers must also be condemned, and these atrocities are what immediately prompted this latest brutal and barbaric invasion of Palestinian Authority territory by the Israeli army, but killing of unarmed civilians will only make matters worse. This policy will just create more potential suicide bombers, just as George W. Bush’s policies are creating more hatred of the USA and more potential suicidal Islamic terrorists. These two leaders, Sharon and Bush, are totally incapable of handling the current dangerous Middle East and world situation. You can’t fight terrorism with terrorism.
An international UN peace-keeping force needs to move into Israel and the Occupied Territories, and there also needs to be an investigation into alleged war crimes by both sides, and why there have been three times as many Palestinian fatalities as Israeli ones since Sharon stirred up the current trouble by his deliberately provocative visit to East Jerusalem in the Fall of 2000. The issue of the illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories needs to be dealt with at a peace conference, and perhaps the recently proposed Saudi plan can form the basis for negotiations. But first the Israeli army must pull back from the Palestinian Authority areas they have occupied, end the siege on Chairman Arafat, restore his authority and that of the Palestinian security forces, and allow the UN to move in as peacekeepers. Only then can the problem of the suicide bombers be tackled effectively.
The USA must stop favoring Israel as a client state; virtually a US colony in the Middle East. The dual standards by which USA judges Iraq and Israel must stop at once. It is this kind of hypocrisy which causes the feelings of impotence amongst Arabs and Palestinians, and which lead extremists to the indefensible suicide attacks such as occurred in Israel, New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.. These acts of terrorism must be condemned and must cease immediately, but it is much more difficult to control individuals and organizations committing terrorist acts when governments themselves use the same methods and show such scant regard for innocent human lives.
Palestinians and Israelis must learn to live with the two-State solution, i.e. two viable independent States in the area now known as Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. There is no other practical solution, and until a peace agreement is finalized a UN security force must keep the peace as it has in Cyprus and elsewhere.
Death of the Queen Mother
Of course this event has been carefully anticipated for years, and elaborate plans were drawn up. Indeed the Queen Mother herself contributed to the plans for her funeral. Of course Diana, dying so young and unexpectedly, rather pipped the old lady to the post and won widespread public sympathy. Even some republicans like myself lamented the loss of Diana who, unlike many royals, wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and who seemed to have a real social conscience. Can you imagine the Queen Mother campaigning against landmines, or teaching the young princes that they were no better than anybody else by making them line up to pay for their purchases in Marks and Spencer?
The Queen Mother’s death was something of an anti-climax, for when an old lady dies peacefully in her bed at the age of 101 it is hardly unexpected or a national tragedy. It is indeed upsetting for her immediate family, but what did this pampered old lady mean to the rest of us? She never did a stroke of real work in her life – I read that she even had someone to squeeze toothpaste on to her toothbrush and probably to brush her teeth as well. Was there a Royal Arsewiper so she never soiled her delicate hands, so important for waving to her admiring public, one wonders?
Of course the hoary old myth of her being able to face bombed-out East Enders after Buckingham Palace was bombed was trotted out. What a load of bollocks! If an East End family had been in their house when a German bomb landed on it they would not have survived, probably not even if they were in their garden shelter as they were never designed to take a direct hit. Only one small part of one wing of Buckingham Palace was bomb-damaged. I can imagine the then Queen Elizabeth saying to her husband afterwards: ‘Oh George, how tiresome. A bomb has fallen on the West Wing and now the menials are saying breakfast may be delayed. Do get on to your German relatives and tell them to avoid this sort of thing in future as it is most inconvenient!’
Of course the King and Queen made full use of the propaganda that they were ‘sitting out the Blitz in London along with the brave East Enders.’ The East Enders had no other place to go, unlike the Royal Family who have palaces, castles and other residences all over the UK. One wonders how much time they did actually spend in London during the War. In any case there are huge secret bunkers and tunnels under Buckingham Palace, why else was the Victoria Line forced to make a huge detour between Green Park and Victoria stations? There is even a rumor of a tunnel from Buck House to Kensington Gardens so the Broad Walk can be used as an emergency runway to allow the Royal Family to escape the capital in a private plane should nuclear war threaten.
So the Queen Mother has been laid to rest in Windsor alongside her husband and the ashes of her daughter, Margaret. Perhaps by the time Queen Elizabeth II has been laid to rest the outdated monarchy can be buried along with her. Prince Charles and Queen Camilla are not very popular as candidates to succeed her, but of course that is the problem with monarchy; it is undemocratic and you are stuck with people there by birthright and marriage. If they do try to prolong the monarchy by skipping a generation with any luck Prince William may have blotted his copybook by then and much of his youthful charm will have worn off.
I’ve no objection to any of this ‘royal’ shower becoming Head of State provided they put themselves up for election to the office and win fair and square by majority democratic vote, rather than slip into the position by ‘divine birthright’, an outdated concept which has no place in the 21st century.