[R-G] Canadian Human Rights Hypocrisy

[Anthony Fenton]

Canadian Human Rights Hypocrisy: Keeping Up the Good Fight to Keep  
Human Rights Away from Those Considered Less than Human
http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/commentaries/3445
March, 30 2008
By Spannos, Chris

How ironic is it when a national entity priding itself that its  
foreign policy is based on humanitarian motives and diplomatic  
benevolence consistently denies the rights of a people internationally  
recognized as occupied, inflicts further human suffering and  
collective punishment on those people, and tries to silence those  
within its own national boundaries struggling to help realize basic  
human rights for those occupied? Such is the character and consistency  
with which Canada has approached Israel's illegal occupation of  
Palestinian territories and those seeking justice.
When democratic elections carried Hamas to parliamentary power in  
January 2006, Canada was the very first country to exercise its  
commitment to democracy by freezing financial aid to the Palestinian  
Authority (PA), in what became a general financial boycott of the PA  
by Western nations. In November 2006 the UN Relief and Works Agency  
found that 1 million Palestinians---or one in four inhabitants of the  
Occupied Territories---had been pushed into "deep poverty." At the  
time, UNRWA spokesman Matthias Burchard said "the morality of the  
sanctions against the Palestinian Authority had to be questioned."

Today, over two years later, there remains in Gaza an unfolding  
humanitarian catastrophe which Canada actively seeks to sustain. This  
humanitarian state renewed its commitment to collective punishment of  
Palestinians, in violation of international humanitarian law, in  
January 2008, being the only country to vote against a United Nations  
Human Rights Council statement calling for "immediate international  
action to force Israel [an ‘occupying Power'] to allow fuel, food,  
medicine and other essential items to be sent to the Gaza Strip, to  
reopen the border crossings and to end its ‘grave violations' in the  
occupied Palestinian territory." The statement was passed by a vote of  
30 countries in favor, 15 abstaining---Canada being the single country  
actively voting against.

Just in case there was any doubt about Canada's commitment to human  
rights, Canada used its seat on the UN Human Rights Council to  
question the "impartiality and objectivity" of the distinguished U.S.  
academic, Prof. Richard Falk, who was appointed last week as the next  
Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories. Steven Edwards of  
Canwest News Service quotes Falk, a supposed example of his "anti- 
Israel writing," from a June 2007 essay "Slouching toward a  
Palestinian Holocaust": "...it is especially painful for me, as an  
American Jew, to feel compelled to portray the ongoing and  
intensifying abuse of the Palestinian people by Israel through a  
reliance on such an inflammatory metaphor as ‘holocaust.'"

But Falk in fact carefully presented the terrible facts that led him  
to use such language. The real lack of objectivity comes from Canada's  
silence in the face of the horrors suffered by Palestinians on a daily  
basis.

Falk continues a tradition of sharp criticism of Israel. The outgoing  
Rapporteur John Dugard, who had extensively studied apartheid in South  
Africa, said Israel's laws and practices "certainly resemble aspects  
of apartheid." The BBC quotes him describing the "‘unashamed  
discrimination' against Palestinians in favor of Israeli settlers."  
Additionally, the 47 nation member U.N. Human Rights Council cast 40  
of its votes in favor of electing Jean Ziegler to the council's  
advisory committee. Ziegler has publicly accused Israel of "state  
terror" and "war crimes."

Closer to home, Canada showed its own "impartiality and objectivity"  
on human rights when it was one of just four countries voting against  
a non-binding United Nations declaration on aboriginal rights. Among  
Canada's other objections to the declaration was the section stating  
aboriginals "have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct  
political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions." Of  
course Canada's stance is consistent with those whose power, wealth,  
and privilege is fortified by the nation state.

Canadian style "Impartiality and objectivity" towards Israel/Palestine  
characterize the nation's dominant media institutions too. Canwest,  
the largest media conglomerate in Canada, with an estimated weekly  
readership of 4.8 million people, is owned by the Asper family of  
Winnipeg. Canwest papers included the National Post, the Vancouver  
Sun, ten major-market dailies, and several community newspapers. They  
also have shares in various media outlets across all mediums. In  
Vancouver alone, "they own about seventy percent of the news outlets-  
from dailies to weeklies to television." In the Jerusalem Post of  
August of 2003, the late Izzy Asper stated: "In all our  
newspapers...we have a very pro-Israel position...we are the strongest  
supporter of Israel in Canada." It's no surprise then that Canwest has  
recently instituted a lawsuit against seven defendants, naming only  
one; and while framing the suit as a commercial violation of trade  
mark, accuse the defendants of "anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian media  
activities," having written or spoken "harshly critical of the State  
of Israel and of the plaintiff and anyone who publishes articles or  
views which the defendants perceive to be contrary to their own views."

A "Seriously Free Speech Committee" has been organized to help defend  
those accused, and in particular, the only defendant named so far,  
Mordecai Briemberg. Among those who have joined the committee as  
"honorary members" are Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, Omar Barghouti, and Ed  
Herman. The committee's statement provides context for the charges:

"Mordecai Briemberg attended a meeting at the Vancouver Public Library  
to commemorate the event and to oppose the continuing occupation of  
the West Bank and Gaza. At the end of the meeting, on a table, was a  
pile of tabloid sheets-one sheet, four sides, which parodied The  
Vancouver Sun---Vancouver's leading daily and a Canwest publication."

"The banner at the top of the front page dates the issue as  
‘Occupation Day, June 2007.' In place of the usual ‘Seriously  
Westcoast since 1912' appears ‘Seriously Zionist since 2001,' the  
first full year of Canwest ownership. The parody has a lead article by  
‘P. Rupa Ghanda' titled ‘Celebrating 40 Years of Civilizing The West  
Bank.' Another article by ‘Cyn Sorsheep' is titled ‘Study Shows Truth  
Biased Against Israel.' In these and other articles, including mock  
ads, there are criticisms of Israeli policies in occupied Palestine  
and a critique of the Canwest media's pro Israel policies. On the  
inside page there is a box with the headline---‘Who Produced This  
Vancouver Sun Parody and Why?' It attributes the authorship of the  
tabloid to the ‘Palestine Media Collective,' a group of direct action  
media critics concerned about mainstream media coverage of the  
situation in the Middle East."


The committee statement goes on reporting that the Canwest lawyer has  
"confirmed in writing that they have no documents whatsoever showing  
Mordecai Briemberg's involvement in any of the allegations made  
against him," and that Canwest still refuses to drop their suit.

Mordecai is actually a good friend of mine who I have known for almost  
a decade through various organizing capacities. His dedication, focus,  
and commitment have always been an inspiration and guide. He is among  
a small handful of people who I consider responsible for my, not only  
becoming Left, but for my "sticking" to the Left. But beyond these  
personal connections he has his own outstanding history that can speak  
for itself. Summarizing his bio, he is a long time activist in peace  
and social justice causes. He is part of the international campaign to  
free the Israeli nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu and  
contributed to the creation of a professional theatrical production  
about him. He long worked combating racism in Canada against first  
nations peoples and immigrants, and internationally against apartheid  
in South Africa. Mordecai has been a prominent, vocal, and effective  
voice in the intense debate about how to achieve peace and justice for  
Palestinians and Jews in historic Palestine, and as the committee  
statement in his defense notes, "That is why they are going after him!"

When asked to make a statement about the Canwest lawsuit, Omar  
Barghouti, "honorary member" of the "Seriously Free Speech Committee,"  
and also founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic  
and Cultural Boycott of Israel, said:

"If Mordecai Briemberg is accused by Canwest of being involved in  
‘anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian media activities' and of expressing  
views that are ‘harshly critical of the State of Israel,' then he is  
‘guilty' as charged. So are millions of conscientious activists and  
intellectuals in Canada, the US, Europe and the rest of the world.  
They are as ‘guilty' as everyone who stood up against apartheid in  
South Africa in the past."

"Mr. Briemberg should be highly praised for his moral courage in  
supporting the struggle for a just peace in Palestine and in  
challenging the world's only surviving apartheid regime: Israel."


Compared to most of the world, Canada seems a throwback to the Stone  
Age when it comes to human rights in the Middle East. If you'd like to  
help civilize a nation, and stop a lawsuit that violates basic  
freedoms as well as threatens to do short and long-term damage to the  
kind of organizing and activism for peace and justice that Briemberg  
and many others in Canada are committed to, go here to sign the  
petition against the Canwest lawsuit: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/dont-let-canwest-slapp-briemberg-and-you

Go here to find out more about the case: http://www.seriouslyfreespeech.ca


Chris Spannos was born in the U.S. but spent 13 years living in  
Canada, "the belly of the lap dog of the beast," before moving, for  
political/work purposes, back into "the belly of the beast" itself. As  
a U.S. citizen he believes this is simply a more efficient and  
responsible route for the task of changing the world.