maandag 11 januari 2010

Peter van Walsum Oud-Diplomaat 15


In December 1999 John Pilger asked Peter van Walsum, Chairman of the UN Sanctions Committee to explain why Iraq is still being subjected to economic sanctions. The transcript of the interview appears below.

John Pilger: Why should the civilian population, innocent people, be punished for Saddam's crimes?

Peter van Walsum: It's a difficult problem. You should realise that sanctions are one of the curative measures that the Security Council has at its disposal. And obviously they hurt. They are like a military measure.

JP: But who do they hurt?

PW: Well, this, of course is the problem, but with military action, too, you have the eternal problem of collateral damage...


JP: What do you say to those who describe sanctions that have caused so many deaths as 'weapons of mass destruction' as lethal as chemical weapons?

PW: I don't think that's a fair comparison.

JP: Aren't the deaths of half a million children mass destruction?

PW: I don't think you can use that argument to convince me.

Lees verder: http://stanvanhoucke.blogspot.com/search?q=peter+van+walsum

Let op de taal, het ontmenselijken van de ander begint met het taalgebruik. Het vermoorden van een half miljoen Irakese kinderen heet bij Peter van Walsum: 'heilzame maatregelen. And obviously they hurt. They are like a military measure.' Maar dat was ook de bedoeling en dus vanzelfsprekend. Vandaar dat deze massamoord door hem als 'heilzame maatregelen' werd gepresenteerd.


Hannah Arendt in Eichmann in Jerusalem. A Report on the Banality of Evil:

This "objective" attitude -- talking about concentration camps in terms of "administration," and about extermination camps in terms of "economy" -- was typical of the S.S. mentality, and something Eichmann, at the trial, was still very proud of.

Morgen verschijnt een rapport over Irak , dat ondermeer door Peter van Walsum werd samengesteld.

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