Freedom Next Time
1 journaler for this copy...
For those who wish to know the truth, John Pilger is prepared to tell the truth no matter how distasteful or shameful. He looks at ethnic cleansing of the Chagos Islands in order that the US could establish their military base of Diego Garcia from where they launch their bombing raids on Iraq and Afghanistan; the plight of the Palestinians under Israeli Occupation; modern day India; South Africa post-apartheid; and Afghanistan.
One of the most shameful acts by the British, some would say one of many such shameful acts, was the removal of the Chagos Islanders from their homes and the selling of their islands to the Americans, what is today the US military base of Diego Garcia. To the outside world the islands were uninhabited. The Americans, who were granted a 50 year lease with an automatic extension of 20 years if they so wished, required the islands 'swept' and 'sanitised'.
The most recent shameful act by the British foreign office has been to recognise Chinese sovereignty over Chinese occupied Tibet. This so the British can participate in the rape and pillage of the natural resources of Tibet (what the Sunday Telegraph called the new El Dorado) and ensure a continued supply of cheap consumer tat from Chinese sweatshops. [see UK recognises Chinese sovereignty over Tibet]
John Pilger and Mark Curtis are one of the few writers to write of the Chagos Islanders, unpeople to be airbrushed out of history.
For the islands, the British got a $14 million discount off a Polaris nuclear submarine, the islanders got nothing.
First their dogs were killed, then the islanders were told they'd be next. They feared they would be bombed if they refused to leave. They were transported in the hold of a ship, the only difference between their transport and a slave ship was that they were not bound in chains. They were not allowed to take their animals or their belongings. When the ship docked in Mauritius, the islanders were dumped on the quayside destitute and penniless.
The original islanders, removed from paradise, now inhabit the slums of Mauritius and the Seychelles. Not for want of trying, they have still not received justice for this despicable act.
What took place was ethnic cleansing. Under Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the 'deportation or forcible transfer of a population ... is a crime against humanity'.
So far, not a single British politician or official has been put on trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
In a talk in Chicago about the role of professional journalists employed in the mainstream corporate media to promote the corporate agenda, John Pilger made mention of how 'their' crimes are known, whereas our crimes remain hidden. [see Freedom Next Time]
Documentary film maker and journalist John Pilger is one of the few journalists of integrity.
Also read:
Hidden Agendas by John Pilger
The New Rulers of the World by John Pilger
The Ambiguities of Power by Mark Curtis
Web of Deceit by Mark Curtis
Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky
Failed States by Noam Chomsky
The Fateful Triangle by Noam Chomsky
Drinking the Sea at Gaza by Amira Hass
Pity the Nation by Robert Fisk
As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela by Mark Thomas [see BCID 6661110]
One of the most shameful acts by the British, some would say one of many such shameful acts, was the removal of the Chagos Islanders from their homes and the selling of their islands to the Americans, what is today the US military base of Diego Garcia. To the outside world the islands were uninhabited. The Americans, who were granted a 50 year lease with an automatic extension of 20 years if they so wished, required the islands 'swept' and 'sanitised'.
The most recent shameful act by the British foreign office has been to recognise Chinese sovereignty over Chinese occupied Tibet. This so the British can participate in the rape and pillage of the natural resources of Tibet (what the Sunday Telegraph called the new El Dorado) and ensure a continued supply of cheap consumer tat from Chinese sweatshops. [see UK recognises Chinese sovereignty over Tibet]
John Pilger and Mark Curtis are one of the few writers to write of the Chagos Islanders, unpeople to be airbrushed out of history.
For the islands, the British got a $14 million discount off a Polaris nuclear submarine, the islanders got nothing.
First their dogs were killed, then the islanders were told they'd be next. They feared they would be bombed if they refused to leave. They were transported in the hold of a ship, the only difference between their transport and a slave ship was that they were not bound in chains. They were not allowed to take their animals or their belongings. When the ship docked in Mauritius, the islanders were dumped on the quayside destitute and penniless.
The original islanders, removed from paradise, now inhabit the slums of Mauritius and the Seychelles. Not for want of trying, they have still not received justice for this despicable act.
What took place was ethnic cleansing. Under Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the 'deportation or forcible transfer of a population ... is a crime against humanity'.
So far, not a single British politician or official has been put on trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
In a talk in Chicago about the role of professional journalists employed in the mainstream corporate media to promote the corporate agenda, John Pilger made mention of how 'their' crimes are known, whereas our crimes remain hidden. [see Freedom Next Time]
Documentary film maker and journalist John Pilger is one of the few journalists of integrity.
Also read:
Hidden Agendas by John Pilger
The New Rulers of the World by John Pilger
The Ambiguities of Power by Mark Curtis
Web of Deceit by Mark Curtis
Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky
Failed States by Noam Chomsky
The Fateful Triangle by Noam Chomsky
Drinking the Sea at Gaza by Amira Hass
Pity the Nation by Robert Fisk
As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela by Mark Thomas [see BCID 6661110]
