HRW needs to look at its biased commentary

Israel's move to cut energy supplies to the Gaza Strip violates the laws of war, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report published on Thursday 7th February 2007

"Israel's cuts of fuel and electricity to Gaza, set to escalate today, amount to collective punishment of the civilian population, and violate Israel's obligations under the laws of war," the New York-based group said.

Israel began reducing the amount of fuel it supplied to Gaza in late October after declaring the coastal strip a "hostile entity" following its takeover by Hamas, an Islamist movement pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state.

"Israel views restricting fuel and electricity to Gaza as a way to pressure Palestinian armed groups to stop their rocket and suicide attacks," HRW's Middle East director Joe Stork said in the statement.

"But the cuts are seriously affecting civilians who have nothing to do with these armed groups, and that violates a fundamental principle of the laws of war," he said."

Whenever I read stories like this one I have an immediate and visceral reaction to the hypocrisy of the groups that make such comments and their lack of focus on the rest of the world where similar acts take place, but because they are are not in the Middle East; they do not involve Palestinians and Israelis, they are ignored and pass without any comment at all.

Recently the South African electricity producer cut off supplies to the whole of Zambia and Mozambique, because those countries did not pay their bills.

While not an 'act of war' perhaps, is this action by a private company less deserving of criticism?

Is such an act not going to provide "collective punishment" of the civilian population because the governments of those countries are simply not paying their bills?

Is this act any less deserving of comment from organisations such as Human Rights Watch?

Are ordinary people, their hospitals etc not affected by all this?

Is there a lack of criticism because the people who make up the Human Rights Watch simply have different views about the actions of companies that protect their shareholders interests and about governments that take action to try and protect the safety and security of their citizens from rocket attacks and bombings by terrorist groups that are pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state.

Taking heart it seems from such commentary, other companies elsewhere in the world are now putting their commercial profits (and/or the interests of their shareholders) above the interests of the civilian population.

This from the BBC today:

"Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has warned Ukraine it will reduce its gas supplies from next Monday if a $1.5bn (£772m) gas debt is not paid off.

Gazprom said only gas piped from Russia would be affected which would make up around 25% of Ukraine's total supply."

Gazprom spokesman Ilya Kochevrin said:

"We're a commercial company: our investors won't understand if our profits fall."

And this in the middle of winter!

Is such an act not going to provide 'collective punishment of the civilian population' because the governments of those countries are simply not paying their bills?

Is this act any less deserving of comment from organisations such as Human Rights Watch?

Are ordinary people, their hospitals etc. not affected by all this?

Is there a lack of criticism because the people who make up the Human Rights Watch simply have different views about the actions of companies that protect their shareholders interests and about governments that take action to try and protect the safety and security of their citizens from rocket attacks and bombings by terrorist groups that are "pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state"?

At what point is the Human Rights Watch going to make some comment about actions like this?

Or is it all different?

The rights of shareholders to their profits is obviously more "deserving" than the right of the citizens of Israel to simply live their lives in peace without being continually attacked by terrorist rockets and suicide bombers from a pseudo government that is pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state.

Wake up HRW, your bias appears to be showing, as does your lack of concern for the 'civilians'; who have nothing to do with these things that are happening in THEIR countries.