Check It Out for Wednesday, June 17th
Check It Out on a rainy, cloudy third Wednesday in June offers the following excerpts:
Phyllis Bennis writes at CommonDreams that the Israel-Palestinian ball remains in Obama's court after Netanyahu's speech.
"Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu threw a rhetorical bone to President Obama in his much anticipated speech on June 14, when he used the term "Palestinian state." But he conceded nothing of substance, reiterating Israel's continuing rejection of real Palestinian statehood, independence, sovereignty, and self-determination. He demanded that the Palestinians recognize and accept Israel as the "national homeland of the Jewish People," not a state of all its citizens, thus requiring Palestinians to accept the legitimacy of Israel's discriminatory practices. And his speech continued Israel's escalation of threats against Iran.
"Now the Israeli-Palestinian ball remains squarely in President Obama's court — and the results will be determined largely by his administration's decision on whether or not to use real (i.e., financial or diplomatic) pressure, rather than relying solely on public or private urging, for Israel to comply with U.S. wishes. Without concrete consequences for Tel Aviv's noncompliance —such as withholding all or part of the $3 billion annual U.S. military aid to Israel, or withdrawing the U.S. diplomatic protection that keeps Israel from being held accountable in the UN Security Council — Obama's demands for a settlement freeze or anything else will have little impact.
"It was no surprise that Netanyahu acceded to Obama's demand that he utter the words "Palestinian state." Despite outrage among his far-right backers, words are relatively cheap: he never even said the word "Palestine," nor did he refer to a "two-state solution" or two states in any form. Instead, Netanyahu described "two free peoples," each with a flag and an anthem. What's missing is anything remotely resembling equality or justice.
"Netanyahu completely rejected Obama's call for a settlement freeze. "We have no intention to build new settlements or set aside land for new settlements," Netanyahu said. So all expansion of existing settlements — not only for the so-called "natural growth" which Netanyahu and President Obama openly tussled over — will continue. Palestinian land, therefore, will continue to be "set aside" — a polite euphemism for "stolen" — to expand any or all of the existing Jewish settlements as far as any nationalist or religious extremists (or, for that matter, any of the yuppie settlers who make up the majority of the settler population) may wish to build them.
"Questions remain.
Angel Paez writes at IPS News that the Peruvian Congress at the initiative of oppostion parties, "approved the creation of a committee to investigate the clash early this month between indigenous protesters and the police near the town of Bagua in the northern province of Amazonas, which according to official reports left a death toll of 34."
"Among other things, the committee is to determine whether the police acted on their own or under orders from Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas, and if so, if she received the order from President Alan García.
"In addition, Prime Minister Yehude Simon said Tuesday that he would step down in the next few weeks, once the situation has calmed down, and that the government would ask Congress to overturn the controversial decrees that opened up the rainforest to oil, mining and other interests and triggered the indigenous protests.
"At a Jun. 3 cabinet meeting, two days before the tragic Jun. 5 incident, the president allegedly issued an order for the security forces to break up the roadblock that native demonstrators had held for 50 days along the Fernando Belaunde Terry highway, an important artery in the Amazon jungle.
"Sources with the national police directorate told IPS that Cabanillas called together the police general staff that same day, Jun. 3, to begin planning the operation, which was to involve the use of force.
"General Muguruza travelled to Bagua the next day to take command of the operation, which began at dawn on Jun. 5 at the spot on the highway known as the Curva del Diablo (Devil’s Curve), near the town of Bagua, where the protesters were manning the roadblock.
"According to the sources at the national police directorate, the operation was carried out despite the fact that two local police chiefs had signed non-aggression pacts with the leaders of the protests.
"General Javier Uribe, the police chief in the district where Bagua is located, and Miguel Montenegro, the head of the security forces guarding the Petroperu oil pumping station No. 6 had signed agreements with the native demonstrators so that in case the national government ordered the security forces to break up the traffic blockade, the protesters would be given time to peacefully pull out.
"The leader of the protest, Awajún Indian Salomón Aguanash, told the reporter sent by IPS to Bagua that on Thursday, Jun. 4, General Uribe gave the demonstrators until 10:00 AM the next morning to clear out, which they were planning to do at 8:00 or 9:00 AM on Friday.
"Nevertheless, Muguruza launched the attack at around 5:30 AM against the thousands of indigenous people who had flocked to Bagua from their remote jungle villages to demand that the García administration repeal the so-called "jungle laws" – decrees that open up native territories in the Amazon jungle to oil, mining, logging and agribusiness corporations."
Haider Rizvi reports at IPS News about how the massacre in Peru is impacting the US government.
"The United States government is coming under intense pressure from rights organisations and environmental groups to redefine its trade pact with Peru, a tool that they charge the government in Lima is using to justify oppression against the indigenous population.
" 'Whether or not the U.S. intended it, the reality is that the U.S.-Peru Trade Agreement gave license to the [Alan] Garcia administration to roll back indigenous rights and has contributed to increasing social conflict and human rights abuses in Peru,' said Andrew Miller of Amazon Watch.
"On Monday, Miller’s group joined a broad coalition of 14 other organisations in sending a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other high-level officials calling for immediate U.S. action regarding the ongoing political conflict in Peru between the state authorities and indigenous rights movement.
"Last year the Garcia administration issued several decrees to implement the U.S.-Peru free trade agreement. The decrees are controversial because they are designed to regulate investment in the Amazon, which is a source of concern for environmental organisations as well as the indigenous population.
"On Jun. 5, the police opened fire on indigenous activists at a roadblock near the northern Peruvian town of Bagua. The demonstrators were blockading traffic to protest the government’s policy to let foreign investors use indigenous lands in the Amazon. In the clashes, an as yet uncertain number of protesters were killed, along with a number of police.
"Analysts of U.S. policy towards Latin America describe the bloody incident in Bagua as the latest rendition of the discord that exists between the United States, Latin American governments and the indigenous people of the region.
" 'The increase in foreign direct investment since the 1980s has ignited countless humanitarian and environmental crises throughout Latin America as the leaders of developing world are being forced to choose between the perceived economic benefits of free trade,' note researchers Arienna Grody and Lincoln Wheeler.
"In a report for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a Washington-based think tank, they describe Garcia as 'a robust ally of foreign investors and multinational corporations' who has strongly defended Peru’s development initiatives by claiming that it was in the benefit of the poor.
But, to Grody and Wheeler, such an assertion is highly questionable.
" 'This grand scheme to uplift the poor, cynical it may seem, has significantly increased the disenfranchisement of the already underrepresented native people who have now seen themselves [of having been] stripped of basic ownership rights of their traditional lands,' they wrote.
"The ownership rights to traditional lands are fully recognised by the majority of the international community. The U.N. General Assembly endorsed that principle in a resolution approving the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The resolution was passed in September 2007."
Phyllis Bennis writes at CommonDreams that the Israel-Palestinian ball remains in Obama's court after Netanyahu's speech.
"Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu threw a rhetorical bone to President Obama in his much anticipated speech on June 14, when he used the term "Palestinian state." But he conceded nothing of substance, reiterating Israel's continuing rejection of real Palestinian statehood, independence, sovereignty, and self-determination. He demanded that the Palestinians recognize and accept Israel as the "national homeland of the Jewish People," not a state of all its citizens, thus requiring Palestinians to accept the legitimacy of Israel's discriminatory practices. And his speech continued Israel's escalation of threats against Iran.
"Now the Israeli-Palestinian ball remains squarely in President Obama's court — and the results will be determined largely by his administration's decision on whether or not to use real (i.e., financial or diplomatic) pressure, rather than relying solely on public or private urging, for Israel to comply with U.S. wishes. Without concrete consequences for Tel Aviv's noncompliance —such as withholding all or part of the $3 billion annual U.S. military aid to Israel, or withdrawing the U.S. diplomatic protection that keeps Israel from being held accountable in the UN Security Council — Obama's demands for a settlement freeze or anything else will have little impact.
"It was no surprise that Netanyahu acceded to Obama's demand that he utter the words "Palestinian state." Despite outrage among his far-right backers, words are relatively cheap: he never even said the word "Palestine," nor did he refer to a "two-state solution" or two states in any form. Instead, Netanyahu described "two free peoples," each with a flag and an anthem. What's missing is anything remotely resembling equality or justice.
"Netanyahu completely rejected Obama's call for a settlement freeze. "We have no intention to build new settlements or set aside land for new settlements," Netanyahu said. So all expansion of existing settlements — not only for the so-called "natural growth" which Netanyahu and President Obama openly tussled over — will continue. Palestinian land, therefore, will continue to be "set aside" — a polite euphemism for "stolen" — to expand any or all of the existing Jewish settlements as far as any nationalist or religious extremists (or, for that matter, any of the yuppie settlers who make up the majority of the settler population) may wish to build them.
"Questions remain.
- Will Obama accept Netanyahu's rhetorical use of the words "Palestinian state" as a major concession, sufficient to demand new concessions from the Palestinians?
- If Netanyahu moves one step further and calls for some kind of settlement freeze (whether or not it is actually imposed on the ground), will that be greeted as an important new concession with no response to the continuing illegality of the existing settlements?
- Will the Obama administration's regional strategy focus on building an Israeli-Arab alliance against Iran despite Obama's stated commitment to new negotiations with Iran "without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect"?
- How will Obama respond if there are a few more rhetorical concessions from Netanyahu, even if there is no actual motion on the ground on Palestinian rights?
"Or, looking forward…
- Will Obama send his envoy, former Senator George Mitchell, to inform the Israeli government that Washington's next step will be the withholding of this year's $3 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel until there is evidence on the ground, not only in words, of a complete halt in building, selling, recruiting residents, or any other activity in any of the settlements?
Angel Paez writes at IPS News that the Peruvian Congress at the initiative of oppostion parties, "approved the creation of a committee to investigate the clash early this month between indigenous protesters and the police near the town of Bagua in the northern province of Amazonas, which according to official reports left a death toll of 34."
"Among other things, the committee is to determine whether the police acted on their own or under orders from Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas, and if so, if she received the order from President Alan García.
"In addition, Prime Minister Yehude Simon said Tuesday that he would step down in the next few weeks, once the situation has calmed down, and that the government would ask Congress to overturn the controversial decrees that opened up the rainforest to oil, mining and other interests and triggered the indigenous protests.
"At a Jun. 3 cabinet meeting, two days before the tragic Jun. 5 incident, the president allegedly issued an order for the security forces to break up the roadblock that native demonstrators had held for 50 days along the Fernando Belaunde Terry highway, an important artery in the Amazon jungle.
"Sources with the national police directorate told IPS that Cabanillas called together the police general staff that same day, Jun. 3, to begin planning the operation, which was to involve the use of force.
"General Muguruza travelled to Bagua the next day to take command of the operation, which began at dawn on Jun. 5 at the spot on the highway known as the Curva del Diablo (Devil’s Curve), near the town of Bagua, where the protesters were manning the roadblock.
"According to the sources at the national police directorate, the operation was carried out despite the fact that two local police chiefs had signed non-aggression pacts with the leaders of the protests.
"General Javier Uribe, the police chief in the district where Bagua is located, and Miguel Montenegro, the head of the security forces guarding the Petroperu oil pumping station No. 6 had signed agreements with the native demonstrators so that in case the national government ordered the security forces to break up the traffic blockade, the protesters would be given time to peacefully pull out.
"The leader of the protest, Awajún Indian Salomón Aguanash, told the reporter sent by IPS to Bagua that on Thursday, Jun. 4, General Uribe gave the demonstrators until 10:00 AM the next morning to clear out, which they were planning to do at 8:00 or 9:00 AM on Friday.
"Nevertheless, Muguruza launched the attack at around 5:30 AM against the thousands of indigenous people who had flocked to Bagua from their remote jungle villages to demand that the García administration repeal the so-called "jungle laws" – decrees that open up native territories in the Amazon jungle to oil, mining, logging and agribusiness corporations."
Haider Rizvi reports at IPS News about how the massacre in Peru is impacting the US government.
"The United States government is coming under intense pressure from rights organisations and environmental groups to redefine its trade pact with Peru, a tool that they charge the government in Lima is using to justify oppression against the indigenous population.
" 'Whether or not the U.S. intended it, the reality is that the U.S.-Peru Trade Agreement gave license to the [Alan] Garcia administration to roll back indigenous rights and has contributed to increasing social conflict and human rights abuses in Peru,' said Andrew Miller of Amazon Watch.
"On Monday, Miller’s group joined a broad coalition of 14 other organisations in sending a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other high-level officials calling for immediate U.S. action regarding the ongoing political conflict in Peru between the state authorities and indigenous rights movement.
"Last year the Garcia administration issued several decrees to implement the U.S.-Peru free trade agreement. The decrees are controversial because they are designed to regulate investment in the Amazon, which is a source of concern for environmental organisations as well as the indigenous population.
"On Jun. 5, the police opened fire on indigenous activists at a roadblock near the northern Peruvian town of Bagua. The demonstrators were blockading traffic to protest the government’s policy to let foreign investors use indigenous lands in the Amazon. In the clashes, an as yet uncertain number of protesters were killed, along with a number of police.
"Analysts of U.S. policy towards Latin America describe the bloody incident in Bagua as the latest rendition of the discord that exists between the United States, Latin American governments and the indigenous people of the region.
" 'The increase in foreign direct investment since the 1980s has ignited countless humanitarian and environmental crises throughout Latin America as the leaders of developing world are being forced to choose between the perceived economic benefits of free trade,' note researchers Arienna Grody and Lincoln Wheeler.
"In a report for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a Washington-based think tank, they describe Garcia as 'a robust ally of foreign investors and multinational corporations' who has strongly defended Peru’s development initiatives by claiming that it was in the benefit of the poor.
But, to Grody and Wheeler, such an assertion is highly questionable.
" 'This grand scheme to uplift the poor, cynical it may seem, has significantly increased the disenfranchisement of the already underrepresented native people who have now seen themselves [of having been] stripped of basic ownership rights of their traditional lands,' they wrote.
"The ownership rights to traditional lands are fully recognised by the majority of the international community. The U.N. General Assembly endorsed that principle in a resolution approving the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The resolution was passed in September 2007."
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