No, more than a human rights crime. It is “one of the greatest human rights crimes now existing on Earth” says Carter. Think the Myanmar junta, the Sudanese government, and now the Israeli/US/EU (Blair) coalition, and yes, that would be us.
Following up on his first expose of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the deadly siege, blockade, and collective punishment Israel has imposed on the Hamas controlled territory and its 1.5 million residents, Jimmy Carter spoke out again, this time in Wales, essentially turning up the volume on his previous Cairo message and more.
This report came through the French news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP), and was picked up by Yahoo News.
LONDON (AFP)
Sun May 25, 2008
In a speech at a literary festival in Hay-on-Wye, in Wales, the 83-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said: “There is no reason to treat these people this way,” referring to the blockade, in place since the Islamist Hamas movement seized Gaza in June 2007.
According to Carter, the failure of the European Union to support the Palestinian cause was “embarrassing.” He said European countries should be “encouraging the formation of a unity government,” including Hamas and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s rival Fatah movement. “They should be encouraging Hamas to have a ceasefire in Gaza alone, as a first step,” he told the invited guests. “They should be encouraging Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement in prisoner exchange and, as a second step, Israel should agree to a ceasefire in the West Bank, which is Palestinian territory.”
Carter also said the United States had to begin holding direct talks with Iran over the Islamic Republic’s controversial nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at developing a nuclear bomb, despite Tehran’s denials. “We need to talk to Iran now, and continue our discussions with Iran, to let Iran know the benefits, and the detrimental side, of continuing with their nuclear programme,” he said.
The big question is this: why can’t Carter make these statements in the US and why isn’t the mainstream media reporting them from wherever they originate? And how did Americans get pulled into this human rights crime as an accessory in the first place? Think Cheney-Bush.