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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.
06-03-2004
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