Here at Lerterland we take a dim view of Israeli human rights abuses, and are annoyed by those who excuse them. We’re equally miffed by the tendency on the left to excuse Hamas’s antisemitism and vicious terror attacks, and to ignore altogether its clear record of violence against Palestinians themselves. The indispensable Human Rights Watch, all too often attacked for anti-Israel bias, has published a report [pdf], “Under Cover of War: Hamas Political Violence in Gaza.” Thought I’d draw your attention to it (via Z Word).
On a related note, there is a terrible humanitarian crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka, an outgrowth of savage fighting between the majority-Sinhalese government and the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers are, like Hamas, a supposed liberation group that isn’t receiving enough tough scrutiny at the moment. The government is clearly guilty of disregard for civilian life in the war zone. But the Tigers are also preventing those civilians from leaving, and even opening fire on those who try. This morning BBC radio interviewed a Tamil activist in DC trying to get the U.S. government to take more action. She conceded that the Tigers have “made mistakes” and “both sides have blood on their hands,” but the point I’d make is that the Tigers have Tamil blood on their hands, not just Sinhalese blood. And this is not a “mistake.” It’s a part of their program, and it’s how they came to be the dominant independence force in Sri Lanka — by mercilessly attacking other Tamil contenders. This is revealed in Robert Pape’s book Dying to Win. The DC Tamil activist suggested that early in the conflict, peaceful Tamil protest went unanswered, and hence the Tigers. But that is only part of the story, and a tendentious way to frame it to say the least.
I am horrified that Sri Lanka’s war on the Tigers is ending in the way that it is. But I am not sorry to see the Tigers destroyed. Our DC Tamil activist went so far as to say that if not for the Tigers, Sri Lanka’s Tamils would all be dead. On the contrary, I’d hazard to say that more Tamils would be alive today if not for the Tigers’ long reign of violence.
On a less important note: The Brit-based pop singer M.I.A., whose father is a senior Tiger commander, avoids taking a clear stand on Tiger violence, though she traffics in symbology that one critic has dubbed “terrorist chic” (and not as a put-down). I love her music, but current events in Sri Lanka are making me more wary than ever of her politics.
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