By Dr Chandra Muzaffar
When thousands of pagers and other communication devices exploded simultaneously last week in Lebanon, it was a dastardly act of terrorism by the Israeli regime. Totally indiscriminate, people from all walks of life were killed or wounded. This was a clear attempt to spread fear and terror among ordinary people, quite apart from its more obvious goal of killing or maiming individuals. According to various sources, 37 people were killed, including a number of children. More than 3,000 others were wounded, many severely.
It is important to emphasize that not all of those killed or wounded were from south Lebanon, where Hezbollah is concentrated in its efforts to resist the Israeli occupation army and Israeli hegemony in West Asia, including Lebanon (part of which Israel has occupied since 1967). Israel’s terrorist operation appears to have targeted several cities, including Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. Its larger aim — apart from what has been stated here — could be to turn at least some Lebanese citizens against Hezbollah in a volatile situation where different groups are competing for power and control with the active support of foreign actors.
The political dimensions of the conflict in Lebanon notwithstanding, the Israeli terror attack of 16 September should be condemned by all those who reject terrorism as an ideology and as political practice. It is significant in this regard that while some Western governments have condemned Israel’s action, the US administration has been reticent about Israel’s role.
This is one of the main reasons why the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv has become bolder and bolder in its bellicose behavior in West Asia. It knows that the majority of US leaders will continue to support any Israeli government blindly, even when it is responsible for terrorism and murder.
For those of us who have a genuine commitment to human rights and human dignity, we remain consistent in our opposition to terrorism, whoever the perpetrator is. That is a defining attribute of our credo.
-Dr Chandra Muzaffar is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His article appeared in MEMO.
