|
Haytham Manna
In a strong
reaction to current actions to sue Israeli war criminals, Azmi Bishara
wrote ideas around the crimes and the trial which are a part of the
classic literature critics of international criminal law.
Only covering this aspect, I wished
he had followed up with us the intellectual and judicial dynamism
spawned by the aggression on Lebanon but obstructed by Lebanese Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora who refused at that time to accept the competency
of the International Criminal Court (forming a Pre-trial Chamber unless
ICC prosecutor initiates investigations
proprio motu).
The decision of the Palestinian
authorities (Justice Minister in the ousted government in Gaza, Justice
Minister in the caretaker government in Ramallah Dr Ali Khashan, the
acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council and key
Palestinian factions), helped prop up more than 460 organizations NGOs
representing more than six million members, to sue Israeli war
criminals, making it not only an acceptable idea in the Western public
consciousness but a necessary condition to bring international justice
out of the shameful western glories (i.e. Nurnberg as an exceptional
court-martial fabricated by the triumphant) to saving this meaning
through the principle of "one justice for all".
Due to the obstructions, points of
weakness and restrictions detailed by Azmi Bishara and others, this
principle will remain a wish not a fact on the ground at the time being,
although we should remind that when we struggled for a special tribunal
ad hoc in Rwanda, we were counted on figures on one hand.
I even remember- when I talked
about accountability that doesn't rule out France or the Vatican- that
the French delegate in the Human Rights Commission approaching me and
saying:" Has it ever happened that a political syrian refugee in the
republic of human rights tires to hold accountable the human rights
country"?. that is still scandal-hunted by the genocide committed in
Rwanda, despite the parliamentary fact-finding committees formed at that
time by Chirac and Jospin.
Like the French parliament's
condemnation to Turkey for the crimes committed against the Armenians,
France is nowadays convicted by a number of African parliaments for its
conniving in Rwanda massacres. We are still at the beginning while
following up is actually the only point of intersection between taking
revenge and reaching justice.
Regardless of the history of the
special and permanent criminal courts and regardless of the ability to
use universal jurisdiction in more than one country, I always believe in
a key fact that right is not just a text but a conflictive and dynamic
movement between several parties in which opposition or the non-
governmental sphere play a key and effective role on the international
level.
This element constitutes- may be as
much as personal experience and method of thinking of international
justice are concerned- a point of difference between the writer of this
article and intellectual Azmi Bishara whom the international public
opinion recognized when he was elected in the Knesset, i.e. the
legislative body of a country that usurped his physical, moral and human
existence. Though surprising to us, the cunning of history opens up a
way out of the bitter reality of the international justice, after sixty
years of absence of accountability for the Hebrew State.
Since Rome conference on the
International Criminal Court, the Arab Commission for Human Rights said
in a statement "While 20th century was a century of human
rights charters, covenants and condemnations, the 21st
century will be a century of accountability and the end of impunity".
In spite of all of the obstacles
spawned by 9/11 and the war on terror, we have defended this in an
inclusive international book "Future of Human Rights, impunity and
International Law".
The experience of Islamic charities
and relief agencies turned all these issues into a daily legal conflict
to lift names of innocent agencies from the terrorism blacklist or to
defend the reputation of these NGOs.
The experience of a key figure of
savvy lawyers led to launching a concerted action that took the shape of
Single Justice Organization that was forced by Gaza aggression to start
working before completing building up its structuring. It moved with the
Arab Commission for Human Rights and several other international
organizations in a concerted effort to make a broad international
coalition to stop the impunity of Israeli war criminals.
Since work started, there was a
clear agenda in the mind of the founding members, an agenda that
realizes that the Palestinian cause does not suffer only on the
international level but it suffers also on the inter-Palestinian level.
The suffering includes first the
war on terror and seconds the western fierce war against political
Islamic movements that stoked an inter-Palestinian conflict, and finally
Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas' control over Gaza Strip.
In spite of the criminal blockade
that targeted Gaza Strip, we did not manage as human rights movements to
organize demonstrations of several thousand participants in any European
city. The Hebrew State was even rewarded for its crimes when the
European Union forged an agreement of upgrading and promoting the
relations on Dec, 8th, 2008.
During these conditions, the
Israeli army carried out a criminal attacks against the 1 1/2 year long
besieged Gaza strip in an aggression in which all violations to laws and
war rules were committed. This brutality was accompanied by a state of
general disgust from a reckless US administration that destroyed in
eight years what the humanity built in centuries. An international
peaceful call of "Enough" was shunned by the US administration that
unleashed its security agencies and tightened the grip on main freedoms
and spawned an unprecedented economic crisis. Tens of initiatives were
issued from small cities sometimes and from emigrant communities and
academics, artists and intellectuals spoke out against mercenary writers
of the newspapers mockingly dubbed "the Pro Israeli Pravda".
Well-reputed lawyers abandoned
their offices to seek legal methods that may bring to a halt ignoring
holding accountable the Hebrew State which bred by the Western political
culture.
In this context, we have laid down
key points for our action:
-Stirring up the International
Criminal Court that lost some of its credibility in issues of Iraq and
Lebanon, but without repeating the mistakes committed by human rights
defenders. Therefore, we moved among the Palestinian political community
including all factions and several countries which are a ratify to Rome
Statute on the International Criminal Court, Bolivia, Venezuela, South
Africa and Costa Rica, to demand the ICC Prosecutor initiate
proprio motu
an investigation into Israeli war crimes.
Maintaining documentation and
mobilization will undoubtedly restrict the ICC prosecutor's options: to
either continue a passivity that has so far relied on initiatives of the
signatory countries or on the Security Council or to get out of the
weak-strong formula through possible and available methods.
Thus, the International Coalition
for Trying Israeli War Criminals will not spare any legal argument
specially that its leaders are experienced with Criminal Courts.
-National courts that have
universal jurisdiction. A big number of lawyers operate in more than
ten countries to make them prisons for Israeli officers who may come to
summer destinations and weapon fairs.
-Individual lawsuits of those with
dual nationality: Families of some victim families have dual nationality
which allows that to submit lawsuits in several European countries.
There are also Israeli politicians and military leaders who have
European nationalities allowing European courts to sue them.
- Filing lawsuits on aggressions on
European property: As a mere example, there are human rights and
civilian demands in Norway calling for accountability and damages. When
Norway builds a facility for and in a state under occupation, it
maintains its ownership until this state declares independence. The
damaged Norwegian aid is considered an aggression on kingdom of Norway.
- Political and judicial demands
for rescinding Israel-EU Dec, 8th agreement and stopping
Israeli European partnership agreements.
- Intervention at the Swiss state
that sponsors Geneva conventions. "One Justice" organization did this
and received a reply demanding more information, and adopting the Human
Rights Council's decision of forming a fact-finding delegation and
forming other independent fact-finding delegations.
- Filing a lawsuit in front of the
European tribunals against the European Commission's anti-terrorism
committee on obstructing peaceful methods of dialogue and cooperation
with the Palestinian people and its elected institutions, by listing
Palestinian factions that does not recognize Israel on the terrorism
blacklist, whereas it did not do the same against the Likud party that
does not recognize Palestinian state idea or Lieberman's party that
promotes Transfer.
Thus, struggling has started for
building a big international coalition that brings Rome Statute on the
International Criminal Court from its restricted narrow meaning that the
Security Council, and Russian, Chinese and US attitude wanted to put it
in, i.e. the war on terror.
This mobility spawned a new
foundation for propping up the Palestinian cause in the world, i.e
opening the door for civil societies to launch an offensive dynamism. A
dynamism that capitalizes on the defeat Bush's experience to restore
values of human rights and justice in international organizations-
specially judicial institution- after sixty years of serious violations
for the Palestinian human rights.
After several meetings of studying
international law, some conservative Western international organizations
left the coalition (in a farcical repetition of 2001 Durban scenario).
However, this attitude constituted a condemnation to those who withdrew
and did not have any effect on the momentum.
Concerted efforts of several
initiatives in Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Britain and France
interacted with Arab initiatives to close ranks and exchange experience.
These actions recruited a constellation of trade unions, public rallies
and a big number of southern NGOs, only 86 NGOs and federations in the
international coalition are from Arab world while the others are from
outside it.
Take for example the Arab Medical
Union, it is a union that lacks material resources but is rich in human
resources. It takes part in this war in rational and organized methods
that beat 80 year old western federations and unions. We talk about
injecting new blood and, strongly restoring central volunteering in any
civil structure and civil resistance and young new faces that entered
public life to defend Palestinian rights.
Due to not following up this new
international dynamism, many Arab intellectuals do not capitalize on
what is taking place, especially when they see around them a group of
demagogues who write a paper that doesn't deserve to be an article in a
bad newspaper and send it to Mr. Ocampo to submit a complaint against
Israeli war criminals.
It is worth noting that the
International Criminal Court received more than 220 fax of complaints of
such a kind.
In brief, the International
Coalition against Israeli War Criminals managed to recruit tens, nay
hundreds of thousands all over the world for the Palestinian legitimate
rights, after the pro Israeli lobby managed to manipulate the
inter-Palestinian conflict to the utmost limit, and managed to create a
state of confusion among supporters of the Palestinian cause before the
aggression.
The International Coalition against
Israeli War Criminals focuses on the idea that the inter-Palestinian
conflict is a natural phenomenon in any democratic society, and is still
a domestic issue. As for us, our duty is to defend the violations
against Palestinian people's rights, not interfere in Palestinian
domestic file.
Due to the fact that aggression is
a crime and resistance is a right, the coalition tries to coordinate
with a number of countries whose policies are in line with the
coalition's principle, i.e. "Justice as a response to violence and
aggression".
We have undoubtedly focused on
working more and talking less, but the fierceness and continuity of the
fight are the ones mapping out fate of this challenge.
We need all civil powers to close
ranks, not to split or mistrust.
I hope that since we moved the
focus from merely defending Palestinian children to suing Israeli
officers, we have entered a new civil epoch.
We also hope that the world will
remember one day at the end of this journey that thanks to Palestinian
suffering and resistance, the first breakthrough to move international
justice out of the Middle Ages rational has been achieved; that the
justice rationale has had the upper hand over injustice away from narrow
individual and international interests, for the sake of a better future
that we may trust as peoples who defend their right to exist.
*
www.aljazeera.net |