People's Democracy

On India's Stand on the Goldstone Report

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on November 6, 2009.

IT is shocking that the Indian delegation has expressed its reservations on endorsing the findings and recommendations of the Goldstone report at a special session of the UN General Assembly. B K Hariprasad, member of parliament, speaking on behalf of the Indian delegation has reportedly said, "We have reservations in making unqualified endorsement of the various recommendations as well as some of the procedures adopted by the Goldstone report, including the involvement of the International Criminal Court and that of the Security Council."

The facts are that Judge Richard Goldstone --- a jurist of impeccable  international judicial credentials, and a Jewish South African --- held both Israel and the Hamas guilty of violations of humanitarian international law in the three-week war in Gaza in his meticulous and detailed report submitted to the UN. While the Hamas had cooperated fully with Judge Goldstone, and also agreed to hold enquiry on the instances provided in the report, Israel refused to cooperate with this UN enquiry and also has categorically refused to conduct any enquiry on the detailed list of war crimes in the Goldstone report that the Israeli forces committed in the Gaza war. It must be borne in mind that Judge Goldstone did not investigate whether the Gaza war was legal or not but only whether Israeli forces violated international law in its conduct of the war.

Israel and the US have been trying to bury the report by first opposing it in the UN Human Rights Council, where the overwhelming opinion went against them and now in the General Assembly. Their aim is not to allow the report to be referred to the International Criminal Court or be taken up in the Security Council. The attempt is to pass a weak resolution in the General Assembly, which will allow Israel to get away from any future action on its blatant violation of humanitarian law in the conduct of war.

The Indian action in questioning the "recommendations" and raising doubts about "procedures" followed by Judge Goldstone is nothing but colluding with the US and Israel's other allies in getting them off the charges of war crimes that Judge Goldstone has shown Israel has committed.

The government of India should stand up for Palestinian rights and reverse the shameful stand it has taken in the UN.