"The Australian Government strongly condemns the suicide bombing in Dimona in Southern Israel on 4 February, in which three people have been reported killed and 11 wounded. Australia condemns such violence against innocent civilians."I have not really seen much about this terrorist act in the Australian press, however I have seen some reports from the Palestinian Authority, including the official Al-Hayat al-Jadida which is apparently controlled by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
Of course Hamas, the organisation that was elected in Gaza as the government of that territory, has claimed responsibility for the operation which apparently was launched from Hebron.
"The perpetrators of the operation died as shahids ... an Israeli was killed and eleven were wounded in the Dimona operation."The Palestinian dailies Al-Iyam and Al-Quds also defined the bombers as glorious martyrs, or shahids.
Apparently, according to Islam, a shahid is a person who dies a "holy death" for Allah and is conceived of as a hero and role model in Palestinian society, specifically for Palestinian youths.
The Israeli who was killed in the "operation," as it is referred to in some media reports I have seen, appears to have been Lyubov Razdolskaya, 73. She was shopping with her husband Eduard Gedalin, 74, who is in critical condition due to injuries suffered in the attack.
What a glorious outcome for this "operation."
Two elderly people who had survived the second world war and the fanatical hatred of all things Jewish under the Nazi regime, as well as all of the constraints and ravages of living under the Soviet regime, finally murdered as they shopped.
Apparently there is not the same sense of outrage for these "innocent civilians" as there appears to be for the people in Gaza who seem to support those who have claimed responsibility for this horrific attack.
I made some comments on this blog about similar issues in relation to the restrictions of electricity supply to the Palestinians in Gaza being condemned, while nothing is said about the denial of electricity to the whole of Mozambique and Zambia and Zimbabwe by the South African electricity supplier or the 25% reduction of electricity to the people in the Ukraine by the Russian supplier.
No condemnation is made of those who with to maintain the profits of their shareholders, but there is always criticism of a government that is seeking to maintain the security and well being of its citizens.
At what point will some of these double standards become obvious to people?
Or am I simply missing something in my reading of the news?
3 comments:
Point of correction: Zambia does not import electricity from South Africa neither does Mozambique! All these three countries are net exporters within the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Unfortunately the region is facing a power deficit due to unprecedented economic growth. Thus the net exporters have more or less cut down on power exports to other countries in the region. Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe are the countrie that are most affected by the cut in power exports. This scenario is quite different from what is happening in the middle east. Please cite another example!
I added a response earlier to the comment from anonymous and I realised on re-reading the comment and my response that I had erred - at least in part, both in my article and in my first response to the comment.
I have since corrected my errors by removing my first comment and correcting my article by adding the name of the country of Zimbabwe to the story.
While Zambia may well have been a net exporter of electricity in the recent past, it has in fact been denied supply by South Africa and in its turn has denied supply to Zimbabwe.
I have no problem with accepting critique from others and welcome the opportunity to correct my stories if I have been misinformed.
I publish for the information of all - including my anonymous commentator, the citations on which I have relied for the content of my story.
First - from the ABC
"South Africa cuts electricity supply to neighbours
By Africa correspondent Andrew Geoghegan
Posted Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:05am AEDT
South Africa's state-owned electricity company has stopped supplying power to neighbouring countries, triggering a major energy crisis.
South Africa has been suffering rolling blackouts for the past two weeks.
The country's power supplier Eskom can no longer keep up with demand from the growing economy and is cutting electricity to businesses and households for hours each day.
The drastic action has caused chaos around the country and there are fears that it will have a major impact on the economy.
Neighbouring countries are now being affected.
Eskom has pulled the plug on the power it feeds into Zimbabwe and Mozambique, where people already make do with limited electricity.
The South African Government is being held responsible for the crisis for failing to invest in power generation."
Then the BBC in an article published on Wednesday 23rd January 2008 at 11:21 GMT
"Zambia cuts Zimbabwe power supply"
Zambia has said it will no longer share power with Zimbabwe, as electricity problems spread across southern Africa.
Zambia made the move to safeguard its supply after suffering severe power disruptions over the past few days.
It comes after South Africa reduced its energy exports to its neighbours, including Zambia.
I hope that these comments and corrections will satisfy my readers about both my integrity and sincere desire not to mislead them.
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