Sabra and Shatilla

Israeli advocates find themselves once again confronting a thesis that runs from "ridiculous ad absurdum", reaching its apex in a kind of surrealistic scenario, where nu-speak and trendy politically correct language combine to distort any semblance of the truth. The equation to resolve this lose-lose game does exist, and the essential aims are to expose the unjust basis of the allegations against Ariel Sharon and other figures, by providing context, while also turning this around and exposing the clear political motives behind the Belgian litigation as a highly sophisticated con of the public and the legal world.

Firstly, one needs to replace the media spin environment with historical facts and evidence, or remain at psychological disadvantage. There is no basis to any allegations of "war crimes" against Ariel Sharon - the most meticulous examination of the extensive evidence by the Kahan Commission - an independent judicial Commission of Inquiry - points in another direction, entirely. We bring the main findings of the Inquiry: they are searching and indisputable.

Secondly, it is vital to demonstrate that this is no innocent or altruistic move, but a trumped up case for political and media puropses. Moreover, Belgium grants itself total immunity from its own laws, having rejected litigation on cases such as Belgian atrocities in Rwanda and not initiated any litigation on its earlier history, or other international cases.

The background to the Belgian ruling is thus doubly a "web of deceipt" of the most predatory kind, biased in every way - and there is a great deal that must be said on this deliberate distorsion of the truth and perversion of justice.

Up-Front Facts

Israel established the Kahan Commission of Inquiry less than two weeks after the Sabra and Shatilla massacres occurred and the Commission dedicated itself to reconstructing the sequence of events from every possible angle, in order to draw comrehensive and comprehensible conclusions.

The Commission's investigations is all the more exemplary, since there have been numerous other inter-ethnic and inter-religious massacres in Lebanon, especially since 1975, none of which were investigated at any level, nor were any indictments brought in any court, or on any instance.

There were no allegations that Israel was involved or implicated in the Sabra & Shatilla massacres and the Kahan Commission established unequivocally that none of the witnesses was directly responsible or an accomplice to these atrocities; it did attribute "indirect responsibility" and "chain of command" accountability at a "personal" level.

Those deemed to have been personally, albeit indirectly, accountable through "chain of command" were singled out with recommendations that they be relieved of their positions, without benefit of referral to judicial instances, and these recommendations were fully implemented.

The fact that Belgium has awarded itself supra-national and retrospective jurisdiction, deliberately extending this to "unconnected" cases for this purpose is more than a legal anomaly. It is highly irregular and should be brought to international deliberation as an infringement of human rights by states with territorial sovereignty, because it allows states to engage the law against anyone for political purposes

The proposed Belgian litigation is both unsound in terms of substance (Israel's responsibility) and the causal contention that Israel did not undertake judicial investigation of the events.

FAQ on Sabra & Shatilla, the Kahan Commission and Belgium

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions

Best of the Web

Trying to Try Sharon

Linda A. Malone
October 11, 2001
Middle East Report Online
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero101101.html

Belgium's Dangerous Interference

by dignitary Nagi N: Najjar:
http://www.free-lebanon.com/LFPNews/Belgium/belgium.html

Petition to King Albert II of Belgium and the Belgian Government

http://www.petitiononline.com/FRAN002H/petition.html

Postscript: Storm in a Teacup?

For some or all of the reasons given, but primarily due to potential diplomatic implications for Belgium in its relations with the United States, the Belgian legislation on the prosecution of international war criminals has been amended.

To recap, the law passed in 1993 allowed prosecutions of any war criminals in the Belgian courts (and not in a special, or international court). Its first ruling in June 1991 was on Rwandan war criminals and this led immediately to a case being brought against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, which went back and forth in terms of its powers of jurisdiction, with serious implications for a number of Israeli figures. Other pertinent cases were not brought to the court's attention, which added to the impressions of partiality, or worse.

However, on the eve of the US-led war on Iraq, seven relatives of Iraqis killed in the 1991 Gulf War brought a case against Colin Powell and former President George Bush (senior), for alleged war crimes in that war. Lawyer Jean-Maire Dermagne was highly specific about the political message of the case he filed. The world drew in its breath...

At this point, the Belgians appear to have opted for international discretion, with Senator Destexhe saying that these provisions were only intended to provide justice for crimes committed in countries without "democratic credentials", or provisions for "fair trial" - and the amendment covers this item, while referring all allegations of war crimes elsewhere back to the countries concerned. As it has now been passed both by the Belgian House of Representatives and the Senate, it has become law.

Senator Destexhe claims that the law was the outcome of a humanitarian campaign, to target "mass murderers", "not democratic countries" and that it was "abused and perverted ...", being used "as a political tool, rather than as a judicial instrument." The development of the scenarios as they took place, however, tells a different story: the intentions of the legislation were clear, while the implications were overlooked, at best. Had the crisis pertained only to Israeli figures, it might have continued indefinitely.

Reference
The Jerusalem Post/AP, Brussels
Apr. 2, 2003
Belgium's war crime law set to be curtailed following US, Israeli criticism
By The Associated Press, Brussels, Belgium

Written by Gila Ansell-Brauner

Thursday 08 January, 2009

יום חמישי י"ב טבת תשס"ט