We Are All Paris, Of Course, But!
By Imran Khan
26 November, 2015
Countercurrents.org
No one on earth can defend the killings of innocents, be it east or west. The killing of innocents is an act of terrorism, full stop. We must condemn such killings irrespective of caste, colour, religion, ethnicity and above all regional belongingness. Whether it is a white, a black, an afghan, an Arab or anyone, lives of human being matter equally. Unfortunately however this is not the case. World is selective with regard to terrorists and terrorism. Some are considered as good terrorists and some as bad, certain inhumane acts are considered as terrorism and while as others are regarded as acts of self defence. On certain occasions loss of the lives of innocents in certain parts of the world is collectively mourned while as the same incidents elsewhere in the world are considered as somewhat normal.
Yes we are all Paris, of course, but we must also be Beirut, Baghdad, Egypt, Syria, Sana, Afghanistan, Palestine, and North Waziristan etc. A day before the Paris attacks, suicide bombings in Beirut left 43 dead and 239 wounded. But we were not Beirut, unfortunately. Such events of terrorism went largely unnoticed in the world media particularly western media. So no one seems to care when a marriage party in Yemen is bombed, or when a bomb goes off at a funeral at Baghdad or when the only working hospital in Kunduz (Afghanistan) is reduced to rubble. Even social networking sites like Facebook don’t have a ‘safety check’ for the victims of terrorism in such countries.
Unfortunately neither the world leaders rise in condemnation when people are killed elsewhere in the world as a result of the policies of west nor is any special media coverage given to such losses of innocent lives. Neither any statements is issued expressing sympathy with the people killed in Beirut, Afghanistan, Syria, Sana, Lebanon, Iraq etc, nor is there any global outrage like the one we witnessed after Paris attack. This in no way means that we should not condemn the killing of innocents in the west but it means that we should also condemn the killings of innocents elsewhere in the world in the same breath. While mourning the inhumane act of terrorism in Paris we should also try to feel the pain suffered by innocent people in the villages of North Waziristan (Pakistan), Afghanistan and Syria where US drones are wreaking havoc. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where a victim of terrorism is blamed for terrorism, where a refugee crisis is considered as the cause of terrorism, where Islam (the religion of peace) is considered as the cause of terrorism.
One thing is for sure that we cannot defeat terrorism with dual policies, by creating and supporting it on certain occasions for strategic gains or by bombing certain countries in the name of war against terror and thus creating a cycle of terrorism. World particularly West needs to reconsider it’s policies before giving long sermons on terrorism. It is believed that the air strikes by US and its allies have killed more innocent civilians then terrorists. So war against terror seems a myth and is simply counterproductive. America and its allies went to Afghanistan with full force to uproot Taliban and Al- Quaeda but even after a decade of war extremism and terrorism has not only increased but started to engulf the entire world.
We need to understand the phenomenon of terrorism and its contributing factors before waging a war against it. Russian President Vladimir Putin in his landmark speech at United Nations General Assembly made it somewhat clear by referring to the chain of events precipitated by the west in the Middle East that led to the emergence of a terrorist state in the region. Putin rightly pointed out that the wars and invasions of countries (in the name of terrorism) like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya provided a breeding ground for terrorism. We all know that the power vacuum created by the west in Middle East led to the rise of terrorist groups like ISIS.
Syrian government had claimed it long before that certain countries (allegedly US and its allies, Turkey and some gulf countries etc) pumped arms and money to rebel groups to uproot Syrian government. So if ISIS has become a dangerous terrorist organisation today one needs to understand that who created such an organisation in the first place. America’s policy of change of unfavourable regimes has created a chaotic condition in many countries. To add to it America seems not keen to restore order in such countries. This point becomes clear with the fact that the Russian intervention in Syria was not welcomed by US and its allies. They realise that it could be a game changer as Russia unlike the West does not distinguish between good and bad terrorists. And now with downing of the Russian jet by Turkey (backed by NATO) has again exposed the policy of US against ISIS and some of its favourable terrorists groups (like Al Nusra and Free Syrian Army). America termed Russian intervention as “pouring gasoline over fire” without ever accepting that fact that it was America and its allies who lit the fire in the first place. The US was especially angered that Russia had targeted the “Free Syrian Army” trained and financed by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). So America continues with its policy of first creating terrorists to uproot certain unfavourable governments and then invade such countries in the name of waging war against terrorism and thus also have an excuse to have strategic military presence in such countries.
It is believed that Israel too is adding to the chaos in Middle East and has been supporting groups like Al-Nusra Front and even the ISIS. Further it is also believed that Israel’s larger game plan is ensure that the neighbouring secular Arab countries continue to remain in chaotic condition and with the result get disintegrated, which is largely going to benefit Israel to further consolidate it’s position and continue with the illegal occupation of Palestinian land and also to construct more illegal settlements on Golan Heights.
So what we witnessed in Paris thought cannot be justified at all but is the outcome of the policies of the West. Creating strategic chaos by invading countries, creating and supporting certain terrorist groups to change unfavourable governments was definitely going to backfire someday. And it can be assumed that it has started to backfire. On the other hand a world where intelligence agencies are busy overtime to make plots, strategies and covert plants to draw certain countries to war, who know whether the attacks in Paris could be a part of the larger game plan.
For the so called civilised world and the so called peace keeping body like UN it is time to step up and come forward for peace, order and common good of all. World needs to understand that peace cannot be restored in the world by injustice and bullying. World cannot remain a mute spectator to all what is happening in the whole world and Middle East particularly. If the happenings are allowed to continue in the Middle East and if strategic and selfish interests of certain countries are allowed to supersede the world peace then the day is not far away when a greater chaos will be prevailing everywhere in this world and when the snake of terrorism will be stinging everybody.
Imran Khan ,M.Phil- Psychology from University of Kashmir,Presently working as Teacher in Education Department
Previously worked as Psychologist with Action Aid International, Medecins sans Frontieres and JK Police Drug De-addiction Services