Sunday, May 10, 2009

permitted tresspassing

Somebody entered your land without permission and evict you from your land and claim the land as theirs. Under municipal law, it is an illegal act. Assuming that the infringing act was sanctioned by the ruler of the state, we call the ruler as oppressive ruler. The municipal law seems to take care of that circumstance. However, how can International law condone such illegal act?

The question then is whether the creation of Israel state is a legal act under the international law?

The above is the message from Dr. Azzam Tamimi in his public lecture at the Faculty of law University of Malaya. Dr. Azzam is the director of the Institute of Islamic Political Thoughts had delivered a clear message as to the predicament of the Palestine.

Palestine is a land that has been invaded and conquered by numerous powers under the God’s name. The last was the Ottoman Empire. As conquerors come and go the native of Palestine remains to stay at the ‘holy’ land. Looking at the vast amount of blood that had been sacrificed…we begin to ask why?   

Record shows that Muslims rulers never force the Jews to leave Palestine. It was the Romans in 135 AD that had expelled the Jews from Palestine en masse. However, after the World War II, the ‘victors’ decided to create a Jewish state in Palestine.

Another interesting question posed to the audience is the position of Declaration of Human Rights 1948 in the light of Palestine issue. By creating Jewish state at the expense of the ‘native’, are we protecting the human right of one but denying the right of another?

The preamble of the declaration says that;

“Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”

Is this declaration a mockery to human race?

The declaration further says

“Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”   

The declaration aspires to protect human rights; but it depends on the ‘guardians’ or should I say the ‘manipulators’ of international law to determine who should be protected.

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