And In Other News…
As the world rightfully turns its eye to the Middle East, and the ongoing conflict around Gaza, we should not forget what is taking place in other parts of the world, such as at Sri Lanka. As we find in this news report by the BBC, many groups trying to bring aid to the region are finding themselves to be victims in a two-sided war where both sides have some legitimate claims and yet both sides have acted unjustly. ”Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have expressed concern over the plight of civilians and have blamed both the government and the rebels.”
As Christians, we should realize the structures of sin which surround the societies we live in need to be untangled and removed. All social structures share, in part, with human sin. And it is for this reason, in times of conflict, there is rarely anyone who remains innocent. We should not use the guilt of one side in a conflict as justification for the other; rather, we should look to the sin from which the conflict finds its origin, and suggest a way to remove that sin so as to help establish a more just (but still, imperfect) human society. And when one side or another commits an atrocity, we should be willing to label it for what it is; we must not allow the unjust actions of one side be used to justify greater, disproportionate responses from the other.
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You’re right to call attention to Sri Lanka. The government’s campaign there seems to have many similarities with Israel’s in Gaza, including the horrible consequences for civilians caught in between the warring parties.
Yes! Having spent some time in Sri Lanka, I know the situation well. The Tamil Tigers engage in quite wicked terrorist activities (proof that not all suicide bombers are Muslim). But the majority Sinhalese has been quite appalling in its mistreatment of minorities (Muslims and especially Hindu Tamils), driven largely by a hyper-nationalistic form of Buddhism (don’t tell Richard Gere!). Like always in these circumstances, the Tamil war reflects legitimate grievances.
Zak
Right; when I saw reports yesterday and today about Sri Lanka, I thought it was important something was said. And there is so much similar about the situation to Israel, which is why I brought the two together. Obviously I could have looked at history and brought another example, one which is important to me on many different levels: Native Americans. Certainly they were not the ideal, perfect, utopian people some would like us to believe, and they caused a great deal of evil to each other before the West got to the Americas, and obviously, Native American resistance towards Europeans often engaged brutality which has no justification, but on the whole, the West has so much to blame in what happened, and the outcome of the conflict. One can easily understand the Sioux uprisings even if one disagrees with them. It is the same way I think many feel with Palestine. I know it is how I look at it.
MM
Oh, the thing is, while I think we find the problematic underbelly of Buddhism pushed to its limits in Sri Lanka, they are not doing what has not been done before; it’s not a unique situation in Buddhist history and I find it is always important for people to see this, so as not to have any false visions of Buddhism.
The American Indian parallel is an interesting one. In some ways, I think the U.S. was more at fault, in that in its post-Civil War dealings with tribes like the Sioux and Nez Perce, promises were broken and land was stolen from groups that didn’t even threaten the American population in general, in contrast with the situation of terrorists today (or other periods in America’s history, where Native tribes were more aggressively fighting the civilian white population.
One thing that bugs me about the reaction to the situation in Gaza is that the “boycott/divest from Israel” movement and the mass protests against Israel is that there’s nothing similar on behalf of the Tamils, suggesting that there is a degree of anti-Judaism involved in some of it. I understand that Israel-Palestine issues resonate in the West and Middle East for a variety of reasons, many legitimate, but it still appears a little unseemly to me.
On a different note, I’m interested to hear your thoughts, as an Eastern Catholic, on the election of Metropolitan Kirill as Patriarch of Russia. Knowing him only from his ecumenical work, I was somewhat encouraged, but reading more about his thoughts on the situation within Russia (like here http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com/2009/01/window-on-eurasia-new-patriarch-to-push.html), I was more skeptical.
Zak — in relation to Metropolitan Kirill, I think, as a whole, he sounds good. I also think there will be a tendency to degrade him and other major ecclesial leader which isn’t entirely pluralistic (in the bad sense) as authoritarian, and the comments you see there remind me similar statements made about Pope Benedict after his elevation. I would say pray and be hopeful. More importantly, I think the authoritarian and “nationalistic” tone in many respects comes in relation to “sheep-stealing” which is done by Protestant missionaries. It’s the same kind of tone Catholics have when discussing the situation in South America. And while I think there is every need for ecumenical dialogue with Protestants, one of the first actions of such dialogue needs to be the overcoming of such methodologies (and, in general, Catholic/Orthodox dialogues agree to what I just said). It’s also important to point out not all Protestants engage such underhanded practices — and indeed, I would say the historical churches from the Reformation tend to be good dialogue partners and should be seen as different from the modern evangelical movement.
Zak: I don’t think it’s “anti-Judaism”, it’s because Israel enjoys the wholehearted support of the United States. If teh US treated the Sinhalese the way they treated the Israelis, I guarantee you there would be more pro-Tamil protests.
I promise I will read the BBC story after I say…
I think there is a major component missing here in that the majority of the anti-Israel feeling is on behalf of everyday Gazans being killed. These are not the same as Hamas, which I think certain American media outlets would not want us to believe. Just like we are supposed to believe that its ok to go to war in Afghanistan because Osama BIn LAden has lived there in the past.
I cannot look at any situation where bombs are being dropped & and rockets fired at civillians and say that I am neutral. I think MOST people killed in war are those indifferent to the politics or objectives of the situation. Those are the people who I side with in my strong feelings against Israel & all who profit from conflict.
Matt McD-
iraqbodycount.org puts iraqi civillian deaths at 90-98,000…these are not militants. They and their families once lived under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. Now they are dead or living under a different tyranny.
I did not think there would be a lot of Peter SInger fans on vox-nova. He suggested that North Korea would be justified in firing a missile at the U.S. because of what Bush & Co. decided to do in the Middle East. Do you agree? Because you are saying that Gazans deserve what they get from Israel because of who they voted for. Perhaps you are a Peter Singer utilitarian? You are in the Catholic minority, I would say.
I will not deny being presumptuous. I was using Iraq as an example. And i never called you a sinner–that is such a ridiculous statement.
Of course those are all oppressive, brutal, murderous regimes! My point is simply that they don’t act on behalf of their people, they act for their own power and wealth. And yet the people will carry the weight of their wars and conflicts.
I am not under any delusion about Bush & whoever his company is. My memory is great–I remember the call for revenge after 9/11 and Bush’s clever steering of fear and hate towards Iraq. I thought it was awful and perverse then and still do today.
You don’t get any points for pointing out that the Taliban are bad folk. Isn’t the problem of evil so…..evil? I hope that your [again, I presume] Christian beliefs go beyond your “Quick to call someone else a sinner…” statement and make you wrestle with power, violence, and the rulers of this world.
The second tyranny I was referring to in Iraq was the chaos caused by terrorists, Blackwater (terrorists), bombings and the Sunni-Shiite pissing match.
Presumptuous.
Matt
500 or 600 at most is not definite from the source you cite; it said “it is possible that…” but does not explain how that figure is attained, who the doctor is, why he would make such a statement, from what facts he would make the statement. Indeed, it seems he is speculating, with the intent to downgrade the actual number of deaths; again, the “it is possible that…” indicates someone who does not know. In this way, it is interesting for you to pick up the report which Israel “seizes” and uses — similar, don’t you think, to anti-Holocaust people and how they seize problematic speculation and try to make them fact.
That’s just one of the problems with your response. As I pointed out in the text of the post, sure, we can see both sides have done wrong. That does not justify the use of cluster bombs, depleted uranium, et. upon civilian centers. Indeed, one could look at how this current struggle goes far further back then when there was even a Hamas if one wants to see the real situation. But it’s always easy to point to “well, they fight back, and it’s not always nice how they fight back, so it’s ok to level them all.” It’s also interesting to see how you engage the “civilians are to blame, anyway” mentality which pure war advocates do to support genocide. Why is it?