The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire
In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire
UK Sending Missiles to Be Fired Into Rus... Tue May 07, 2024 14:17 | Marko Marjanović
US Gives Weapons to Taiwan for Free, The... Fri May 03, 2024 03:55 | Anti-Empire
Russia Has 17 Percent More Defense Jobs ... Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:56 | Marko Marjanović Anti-Empire >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
News Round-Up Sun Jul 28, 2024 01:17 | Richard Eldred A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Green MP Proposes Sweeping Reforms to House of Commons in Maiden Speech Sat Jul 27, 2024 19:00 | Sean Walsh The sweeping House of Commons reforms proposed by Green MP Ellie Chowns are evidence that the Mrs Dutt-Pauker types have moved from Peter Simple's columns into public life. We're in for a bumpy ride, says Sean Walsh.
The post Green MP Proposes Sweeping Reforms to House of Commons in Maiden Speech appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Heat Pump Refuseniks Risk £2,000 Surge in Gas Bills Sat Jul 27, 2024 17:00 | Richard Eldred With heat pump numbers forecast to rise, the energy watchdog Ofgem has predicted that bills for those who continue using gas boilers will surge.
The post Heat Pump Refuseniks Risk £2,000 Surge in Gas Bills appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Debt-Funded GB Energy to Bet on the Costliest Electricity Generation Technologies Sat Jul 27, 2024 15:00 | David Turver So much for Labour's pledge to cut energy bills by £300, says David Turver. Under GB Energy, our bills can only go one way, and that is up.
The post Debt-Funded GB Energy to Bet on the Costliest Electricity Generation Technologies appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Christians Slam Paris Opening Ceremony for Woke Parody of ?Last Supper? Sat Jul 27, 2024 13:00 | Richard Eldred Awful audio, bizarre performances, embarrassing gaffes and a woke 'Last Supper' parody that has outraged Christians turned the Paris Olympics opening ceremony into a rain-soaked disaster.
The post Christians Slam Paris Opening Ceremony for Woke Parody of ?Last Supper? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
No to all forms of Terrorism!
The horrific bomb attacks in Spain are inexcusable. Targeting ordinary people is the work of evil people and no cause can justify it. However, the rank hypocrisy of the politicians and governments who supported the war in Iraq condemning the attacks should be noted. For example, the Europe minister, Denis MacShane, stated that "no progress in human affairs will ever be built on the blood of innocent people." Someone should tell his leader Blair that. Blair obviously considers the ten thousand plus innocent Iraqis killed by his and Bush's invasion and occupation of their country as a price worth paying to make "progress."
MacShane correctly argued that "those who find ways of justifying terrorism, who can talk of understanding the motives of terrorist actions need to think hard and think differently." The defenders and practitioners of state terrorism (and war is terrorism) should ponder those words as well. Blair, after all, did exactly that the week before, justifying his actions and asking us to "understand" why he did it.
Thus the morality of the state comes into play. Legal violence is good, non-state approved violence is wrong. So when the state sheds the blood of innocent people to further its ends then it is considered normal, even praiseworthy. When others do so then they are evil beyond belief. In reality, it matters little to the victim whether they were murdered by the state or the terrorist. And in terms of common humanity, we should condemn both state and non-state terrorism in all their forms. We must condemn this atrocity as well as the atrocity of war.
It seems that, at the time of writing, ETA, the Basque Nationalist group, is at the top of the list for being blamed for the atrocity (Islamic terrorists being a close second). While it is obviously too early is know whether they are or not, this has not stopped Spanish politicians claiming within hours (and without evidence) it is ETA. No one has (so far) claimed responsibility. ETA, obviously, cannot be ruled out although this atrocity is substantially different from their usual activity. The leader of the banned pro-ETA Basque separatist party, Batasuna, denied that ETA could have been behind the attacks. One thing is sure, we can expect this evil act to be used to justify increased state repression and authoritarianism across Europe. In Spain, we can expect it to be used to justify more repressions of radicals, regardless of their links with ETA or Basque Nationalism.
So while numerous politicians have called this an attack on European democracy, the sad fact is that these very same politicians will now enact laws which undermine the very freedoms and democracy they claim to defend. The Spanish state has, after all, been at the forefront in trying to get the EU to toughen its "anti-terrorist" policies. This act will bolster such policies and we must condemn not only the attack about also attempts by politicians, bureaucrats and police to utilise it for their own ends.
The Madrid atrocity may have been done by ETA However, given that the Spanish Prime Minister, in the face of overwhelming public opposition, strongly supported the US-led war in Iraq, his actions could have exposed Spaniards to attack by Islamic extremist groups. If so, then yet again ordinary people are paying the price of their politicians' egos. It also makes a mockery of the claim that invading Iraq reduced rather than increased the threat of Islamic terrorism.
Ultimately, the only way to combat terrorism (both state and non-state) is to tackle its roots in an unjust system based on power and profit. While doing that, while opposing terrorism in all its forms, we must also not allow politicians and the state to use the deaths to destroy yet more of our liberties and rights.
|
View Full Comment Text
save preference
Comments (28 of 28)