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Ahsan Qazi, Eurasia Review

Atrocities Of Past Two Decades And Zero Accountability For Its Culprits – OpEd



Major global events, committed in the name of freedom and democracy, have occurred in the past two decades that cannot be categorized as anything but global atrocities, Looking back from the year 2000 to the present, the invasion of the Middle East and Afghanistan, the Rohingya Genocide, Israel’s continuous occupation of Palestine, India’s oppression of Kashmiris, and Uyghur Muslims’ imprisonment in Chinese concentration camps resulted in severe oppression, massive loss of life, total annihilation of social and governmental systems, and absolute economic collapse. While the world is reminded repeatedly of the Holocaust and the 9/11 tragedy with slogans like “Never Forget,” the noted global events in the last two decades have gone by ignored and the culprits behind such atrocities roam the world free. No mention or accountability of the architects behind these noted events exists in the media. No international entity exists that calls for the accountability of these individuals or groups that led the invasion of the Middle East and Afghanistan, the Rohingya Genocide, Israel’s continuous occupation of Palestine, India’s occupation of Kashmir, and Uyghur Muslims’ imprisonment.


Invasion of the Middle East and Afghanistan

The tragedy of 9/11 provided an opportunity for the United States and other Western nations to invade the Middle East and Afghanistan. Strangely, from the objective of capturing the perpetrators of 9/11 and dismantling groups like Al-Qaida, ISIS, and evil groups as such, the United States mission transformed to nation-building, and It invited all the major Western powers to unite under the banner of ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’, two terms repeated in the media like a magic spell as if freedom and democracy had been championed at home.


Explaining the problems of Western democracy in his book, The Sacred Freedom, Haneef Oliver quotes Ian Bell from The Herald, “Judging on how it works at home,” Bell quoted Oborne as saying, “We should all be very afraid.” The world was led to believe that “freedom” and “democracy” were missing and only wars could change the trajectory of the Middle Eastern nations and Afghanistan, but behind the facade of freedom and democracy, a darker reality for Middle Eastern nations and Afghanistan was engineered. Oliver further mentions that “Making false promises and lying is encouraged in the democratic political system to achieve authority. How then could it ever be considered a truthful, correct, or morally superior ideology, never mind one that everyone in the world must apply- or else face war?” This is exactly what happened in the Middle East and Afghanistan. What kind of democracy is it where a government administration decided to invade two different regions of the world by engineering lies, falsely eliciting the support of masses through lies?


By just examining the statements of the architects of the wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, one understands that the lies in the past two decades and the sinister campaign against the Middle Eastern nations and Afghanistan cannot be termed anything but atrocities. Oliver points out in The Sacred Freedom, “In an article entitled ‘Cheney: Nations Must Join in Terror Fight,’ The Associated Press’ Deb Riechman quoted Dick Cheney, the United States Vice President, as saying: ‘Ideologies of violence must be confronted at the source by nurturing democracy throughout the Middle East and beyond.’”


In the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium, Condoleezza Rice supported her decision for invading Iraq by proclaiming “I would have overthrown Saddam Hussein again.” This was in 2013, and by 2013, the world knew well that Saddam Hussain never had weapons of mass destruction nor was he planning to invade any country; yet, Rice showed no remorse or regret about the decision she took, keeping her statement in mind. Fast forward to 2017, an article appears in Newsweek by Tom O’Conner who highlighted Rice’s statement, “We didn’t go to Iraq to bring democracy to Iraq, we went to Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein, who we thought was reconstituting his weapons of mass destruction and who we knew had been a threat in the region. It was a security problem.” Such contradictory statements from the architects of the war in the Middle East and Afghanistan evoke disgust in anyone who examines their statements.


President Bush and Vice President Cheney aimed to use democracy as a pretext to invade the Middle East and Afghanistan while his own Secretary of State, Rice stated that importing democracy was not the objective but stopping Saddam Hussain, who did not have any weapons of mass destruction nor was he a proven threat in the Middle East. Such kind of deliberate lies and deception resulted in destroying the culture, traditions, economy, and political structure of the Middle Eastern nation-states and Afghanistan where its citizens have no hope left. How could the world then stay silent and allow the perpetrators to get away after committing such crimes that resulted in the mass death of innocent civilians? Why is it that individuals who hold political positions, small or major, are usually protected through some sort of justification while an ordinary man is held liable for minor misconducts? If justice is to be preached and taught to the world and forced upon nations, then it must be served to all in every political position in a straightforward and swift manner.


What is the result of Bush and his administration’s lies and deceitful decision-making? The World Bank Group provides the statistics, “In 2016, about 87 million people from four MENA countries directly affected by war—Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen—represented about one-third of the region’s population. Every aspect of people’s lives has been affected by the intensity of the fighting in these separate conflicts.” Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs reported that “At least 929,000 people have been killed by direct war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan.”


Additionally, “The number of people who have been wounded or have fallen ill as a result of the conflicts is far higher, as is the number of civilians who have died indirectly as a result of the destruction of hospitals and infrastructure and environmental contamination, among other war-related problems.” This result of wars based on deceit caused major loss of life and destruction of nation-states that were fully functional. The death toll and total crippling of economies are major crimes against humanity, and no legal action is taken against the ones who have ruined the Middle East and Afghanistan by depriving people of future opportunities in their own homelands.


The Rohingya Genocide

Who is behind the Rohingya genocide and mass displacement of the Rohingya Muslims, and why are the culprits not behind the bars yet? BBC’s article, “Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know about the crisis” reported that “At least 6,700 Rohingya, including at least 730 children under the age of five, were killed in the month after the violence broke out, according to medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Additionally, Amnesty International research concluded that the Myanmar military also raped and abused Rohingya women and girls. Where is the slogan “Never Forget?” Where is the outrage over the genocide that Rohingya faced? Where is the outrage over the rights and freedom of Rohingya girls and women? Did the Burmese state not have elements of fascism that required the injection of Western democracy? While evoking outrage is not the objective of what has been recorded in worldwide media, the severest form of punishment should be served to those who used their political and military power to rape and commit Rohingya genocide.


A report published by UN investigators in August 2018 accused Myanmar’s military of carrying out mass killings and rapes with “genocidal intent”. Is the United Nations’ purpose only to publish reports and conclude what is apparent or does the United Nations serve a greater purpose? Is an international body of nation-states that came together to solve the problems of human race only attentive and swift in action when it comes to major global powers like the United States or European nations?


Aung San Suu Kyi, as noted in BBC’s report, rejected any allegations of genocide during her appearance at the ICJ court in December 2019. BBC article mentions, “While the ICJ only rules on disputes between states, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has the authority to try individuals accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity. The body approved a full investigation into the case of the Rohingya in Myanmar in November. BBC’s Roland Hughes reported in his article “Myanmar Rohingya: How a ‘genocide’ was investigated” that “Indiscriminate killing; villages burned to the ground; children assaulted; women gang-raped – these are the findings of United Nations investigators who allege that “the gravest crimes under international law” were committed in Myanmar last August.” Hughes, moreover, mentions that the UN report “says that the six military officials should face trial. It also condemns Myanmar’s de facto leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to intervene to stop attacks, and the UN’s outgoing rights chief this week said she should have resigned as a result.” The evidence that the UN collected is more than sufficient to put Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese military generals in jail yet the political noise and lack of action against the criminals seems to just halt as a result of political noise.


Furthermore, how ironic, and absurd it is that a Burmese military that carried out the genocide against the Rohingya Muslims turned against its own leader Aung San Suu Kyi who did nothing to stop the Rohingya genocide. In an article by Amy Gunia, “How Myanmar’s Fragile Push for Democracy Collapsed in a Military Coup,” Gunia writes that “The move came after Myanmar’s generals complained of fraud in the Nov. 8 election—citing evidence that is, at best, disputed.” While Aung San Suu Kyi’s failure to protect Rohingya went unquestioned or unchecked, nor any international swift action was taken to protect the Rohingya from the brutality and animalistic behavior of the Burmese military, ousting Aung San Suu Kyi based upon the charges of “corruption” shows deprivation of morality in all its forms.


Two sets of groups, the Burmese military and Aung San Suu Kyi who were accomplices in their crimes against the Rohingya fell into a legal battle with each other over “corruption.” How could a Burmese military find corruption wrong but not the genocide of Rohingya? This shows that both parties are morally bankrupt. The absurdity of this is best for mockery. Gunia also points in her article, “But more recently, she has faced international scorn for her response to a violent crackdown by security forces against the Rohingya, a mostly Muslim ethnic minority. U.N. investigators determined that the violent campaign of arson, rape, and murder was carried out with genocidal intent.” Though proven that there was a genocidal intent, Aung San Suu Kyi whom the Burmese military discarded from her political position still protected the military. Gunia writes, “But Suu Kyi has publicly rejected accusations that the military waged a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya.”


Israel’s continuous occupation of Palestine

It has been 55 years since Israel occupied Palestine by forced expulsion of Palestinians that has been well documented by major international organizations such as the United Nations and Amnesty International. No culprits have been arrested or held accountable for dehumanizing and displacing the Palestinians from homes they were once settled in. Mohammed Haddad’s points out in his article, “Mapping Israeli occupation,” in Al Jazeera that “From 1947 to 1950, during the Nakba or “catastrophe”, Zionist military forces expelled at least 750,000 Palestinians and captured 78 percent of historic Palestine.” Furthermore, Israeli forces ended up expelling 300,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1967. This form of oppression has been well documented, yet no action has been taken to assist the Palestinians in their struggle for dignity. Haddad highlights in his article, “According to Human Rights Watch, Israel is “committing crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution” against the Palestinians.” Despite the overwhelming evidence of Israel’s transgression, no legal action or sanctions have been placed against Israel. How much evidence and how many investigations are needed to prove what the world has been witnessing for the past 55 years?


Amnesty International’s article “Israel’s Occupation: 50 years of Dispossession” points out, “Israel’s policy of constructing and expanding illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land is one of the main driving forces behind the mass human rights violations resulting from the occupation.” Israel has settled over 600,000 settlers in the occupied West Bank. As the Palestinians are stripped of their land and Israeli settlement has doubled down, the Western powers that are so concerned about democracy in the Muslim world deliberately neglect the brutal mass occupation of land where Palestinians are settled. Amnesty International notes “This “settlement enterprise” relies on unlawfully appropriated Palestinian resources, including land, water, and minerals, to produce goods that are exported and sold for private profit. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of settlement goods are exported internationally each year.” Not only Palestinians are removed from their homes, but the land also has been used for enterprise where local and international businesses have moved in to cater to the needs of Israeli settlers.


Why is Israel’s government not put on trial by the ICJ? Why are the IDF heads and its members who have caged Palestinians like animals not put on trial for atrocities that have been carried out for the past 55 years? Who is to hold Israel’s government responsible for its severe oppression where Israel’s government places “hundreds of Israeli military closures across the West Bank such as checkpoints, roadblocks