‘Imperial powers’ propaganda on Israel-Palestine issue gaining upper hand’

Meena Kandasamy says truth of civilian/child deaths in Palestine is casualty of 'propaganda' by 'imperial powers'. She calls for public opinion to rise against violence, citing 3,000 of 9,000 victims are children. Arundhathi Roy pledges solidarity, calling attack a crime against humanity. Dalit activist Sunny M. Kapikad says Israel is claiming land by citing Old Testament, with little international resistance. International community must prevail on Israel to bring sustainable peace and reassert democratic values.

Truth regarding the death of civilians and children in Palestine following the recent spate of attacks by Israel has become the casualty, with ‘propaganda’ at the behest of ‘imperial powers’ gaining the upper hand, author and poet Meena Kandasamy has said.

She was speaking at a Palestine Solidarity Meet organised at Fort Kochi near here on Thursday by the Kochi Human Rights Collective on the theme ‘Free Palestine! Stop the Genocide!’. “The unprecedented violence is a test for societal conscience and public opinion must rise against it, so that a ceasefire is announced at the earliest. Sadly, ‘troll armies’ and much of the media are engaged in propaganda for Israel.”

“Imperialist powers have rallied behind Israel, even as Israel is attacking refugee camps and hospitals, by citing that Hamas leaders were hiding there. The gravity of the violence can be gauged from the fact that the first six pages of a long list of victims in Gaza is filled with the names of children aged below a year who were killed in the attacks. Apart from civilians, journalists and doctors are getting killed in large numbers,” Ms Kandasamy said and drew parallels in many ways with the struggle for self-determination by Tamils in Sri Lanka many years ago.

She further read out a statement issued by author Arundhathi Roy, pledging solidarity with the Palestinian people. The attack on Gaza is a crime against humanity. One cannot condone excesses by both sides, especially since 3,000 of the 9,000 victims are children. International intervention is needed to defuse the situation, she quoted Ms. Roy.

Speaking on the occasion, Dalit activist Sunny M. Kapikad said much of the media terms the ongoing stand-off as a ‘Palestine issue’ and says Israel is acting in self defence, even at the cost of their credibility. Israel is claiming the land by citing the Old Testament, while the number of Jews in the region grew, thanks to plans of imperialist forces. Israel even ignored even international accords. Sadly, there was little international resistance to its excesses, even from the West which is considered the prime upholder of human rights. Even India, which hitherto supported the Palestinian cause, changed track under the NDA regime.

In this situation, the international community must prevail on Israel, in order to usher in sustainable peace and to reassert democratic values. This was necessary for Jews, Muslims and Christians to co-exist, he added. K.P. Sethunath, journalist, was among those who spoke.