West Endorses Ethnic Cleansing in Mali
Arabs and ethnic Tuaregs flee to refugee camps
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Brutal dictators supported by NATO are waging a global campaign of violence against democracy groups, protestors, innocent civilians and ethnic minorities. The goal of this wave of repression is to crush dissent. The latest entrant is the Government of Mali whose army and paramilitary forces are undertaking violent reprisals in the “liberated” Azawad region of Mali. Arabs and ethic Tuareg tribesmen are reportedly fleeing in large numbers to refugee camps in Algeria and Mauritania. In the face of this ethnic cleansing, Western governments remain silent, quietly endorsing these war crimes.
One of the most sinister events occurred on February 14, 2013 in the Malian city of Timbuktu. Government security forces arrested a 70-year old man named Ali Ould Mohammed Kalbali after he spoke to a foreign relief worker. As he was being hauled away in handcuffs, Mr. Kalbali was seen to be trembling. Neighbors attempted to intervene but were threatened with death by the secret police. Mr. Kalbali was last seen being violently shoved into the back of a truck. His son Ibrahim Ould Ali told reporters that he feared for this father’s life. This is a country that the United States, France and Britain openly support? Mali’s government is corrupt, brutal and inept. The West should be supporting rebel forces against this government. As with Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan and a long list of other countries, the West is on the wrong side.
Mali is simply the latest in a long line of governments that can commit human rights abuses with impunity because they have Western backing. Thousands of Iraqis disappeared in the night due to raids by U.S. and British forces. Frantic relatives then attempted in vain to locate those seized but they disappeared inside a maze of secret prisons. This dark practice has been repeated over and over again in Afghanistan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Algeria, and now in Mali.
This past week the world witnessed protesters being killed in Yemen by the U.S.-backed dictatorship there. It saw a teenage protestor killed in Bahrain, by security forces loyal to dictator Hamad al-Khalifa. In Burma, now a U.S. Government favorite, secret police reportedly used horrific white phosphorus against civilian protesters, a clear violation of the rules of war. In Egypt, numerous protestors were wounded in clashes with security forces. In Tunisia, the government seems paralyzed over allegations that it was involved in the assassination of opposition politician Chokri Belaid; while in Syria, the formally U.S.-backed government of Bashir al-Assad, lost control of a key dam and the city of al-Shaddada, both were apparently lost to Islamic forces, including the al-Nusra Front.
This week also saw ten Afghan civilians killed (including five children) and five additional children injured in a NATO air strike on a home in the Sultan Valley area of Kunar Province. This despite a NATO promise that it would cease bombing Afghan residential centers. NATO troops then moved in and arrested ten local villagers. NATO spokesperson Major Gary Allen stated, “I cannot even confirm the raid or air strike.”
Where is America’s new Secretary of State, John Kerry? Why is there a deafening silence from European capitals and the Obama Administration regarding this wave of violence being orchestrated by NATO and its allies? To its discredit, the West also said and did nothing last month when Saudi Arabian officials beheaded a young Sri Lankan woman named Rizana Nafeek for an alleged murder, the details of which appear dubious. Ms. Nafeek arrived at age 17 in Saudi Arabia to work as a servant in a wealthy Saudi home. A few weeks later a child in the house reportedly choked on some food and died. Ms. Nafeek was charged with strangling the child. There are reports that Ms. Nafeek was denied access to a lawyer for her sham trial.
There has also been silence from the Obama Administration over the continuing slaughter of Hazara people in Pakistan. The U.S. Embassy issued no press release condemning the murder of 92 Hazara and the wounding of over 100 more in Quetta on January 10, 2013. This was repeated on February 16, 2013 with the Embassy once again silent as 65 more Hazara were killed in Quetta with another 180 wounded. Casualty figures continue to rise due to this latest terrorist attack. Instead of a visible and vocal U.S. condemnation, the U.S. Embassy is highlighting Ambassador Richard Olson’s efforts to promote trade in the Punjab. Once again, this inexplicable silence will be interpreted by many as tacit support for the killings.
For too many peoples of the world, the West does not bring progress, only violence, repression and death. Every day al-Qaeda and its affiliates get stronger. They get stronger because support for brutal Western-backed governments continues to diminish. This decline is solely due to abhorrent practices by those governments. With growing human rights violations by NATO-supported countries, the world may soon do the unthinkable. It might clothe al-Qaeda with legitimacy as it is the primary organization willing to challenge Western oppression. It takes colossal Western blunders to transform al-Qaeda’s leaders into heroes, yet that is what is occurring.
Barack Obama, David Cameron and Francois Hollande should take up the cause of Mr. Kalbali and insist on his immediate release. That would at least be a start. Evil needs to be confronted wherever it arises.
