The 26 January findings of the International Court of Justice relating to South Africa’s genocide claim against Israel, do not only have bearing on that state, but they trigger the obligation to prevent genocide required of all 153 state parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention, including Australia. In finding that it’s “plausible” that Israel’s massacre Continue reading »
International Relations
We need to be careful with the outrage over the sentencing of Yang Hengjun in China. Yang was a former member of the security (intelligence) services, working for China’s Ministry of State Security. On leaving China, he became a trenchant critic of his former employer and an advocate for the overthrow of the Chinese Government. Continue reading »
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” George Orwell, 1984. On the opening day of the bombing last week, I had to work hard to find out what the Iraqi government thought of the wave of attacks on Iraq by the USA. Think about that: a country undergoes Continue reading »
Those following the U.S. Republican presidential race will have noted from the voter polls that the issue of foreign affairs ranks amongst the lowest or is the lowest of the priority concerns that the American public sees as critical to themselves and their country. A variety of polls held before the recently concluded nomination battles Continue reading »
Current Australian defence policy involves close integration with the United States military in all areas, making an independent foreign policy impossible and ensuring Australia’s automatic involvement in US-instigated wars such as a war with China, our major trading partner. A policy of neutrality would free Australia from involvement in such disastrous military adventures and enable Continue reading »
Détente would be good. Dialogue and diplomacy would be better. An end to US-led covert actions and cold wars would be better still. And what about an enduring peace that balances interests of all concerned? Such a peace, surely, is the end to which the détente statement, led by former Foreign Ministers Carr and Evans Continue reading »
Around two decades ago, the Swedish writer, Henning Mankell, took an increasingly close interest in the wretched condition of Palestinians living under punishing Israeli domination. What he saw convinced him that Israel was maintaining an apartheid state very like those he had previously visited, at length, in Southern Africa. Readers may be familiar, from television, Continue reading »
In one of the world’s poorest countries, Yemen, there is a tribe called the Houthis. Emanating from that tribe to lead a larger coalition of other tribes is a group which does not want to be ruled by a Western or Saudi backed puppet government, they are called Ansar Allah, which means Supporters of god. Continue reading »
With its decision to suspend or “pause” funding to the United Nation’s key organisation that is providing assistance to Gaza’s famished, desperate population, New Zealand could open itself up to a charge of participating in a genocide. I first read we had “suspended” assistance to UNRWA in the Times of Israel, the Jerusalem Post, the Continue reading »
A Syrian friend in Damascus was commissioned to translate Bridge of Clay, a tender, beautiful novel by Australian author Markus Zusak. As it is not an easy novel for a Syrian who has never lived in Australia to translate, my friend and I have had quite a few WhatsApp calls to discuss tricky bits in Continue reading »