Mideast crisis - World should heed Irish call for ceasefire

THE situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate, while the international community stands idly by, seemingly believing that little can be done.

Deputy Michael D Higgins, Labour Party president and spokesman on foreign affairs, has frequently been the articulate voice of impassioned reason. He was particularly eloquent yesterday in his indictment of the international community over its failure to act on the Middle East crisis, and in his criticism of Israel for exacerbating the situation.

He complained that the statement issued by the G8 summit was “a shameful sop to Israel, excoriating the actions of extremists, yet merely calling on Israel to be mindful of the humanitarian consequences of its massive response”.

The G8 advocated creating conditions in which there could be a cessation of violence. This could be seen as a licence to Israel to continue until it was satisfied with prevailing conditions.

There is undoubtedly an element of fatigue in the international community’s response. Many countries — not just the United States — have suffered at the hands of Arab extremists and their militant Muslim allies.

Before the airplanes were ever flown into the World Trade Center in New York, there was the murder of Bobby Kennedy in 1968 and the massacre at the Munich Olympics four years later, followed by a whole series of aircraft highjackings around the world.

Since then, there have been the outrages at Madrid, Beslan, Bali and the recent Mumbai train bombings in India.

These outrages may have gained notoriety for Muslim extremists, but they won them little sympathy. The muted response from the G8 summit should be seen against that backdrop.

Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern would appear to have taken a measured attitude. He did complain openly that Israel adopted a disproportionate response to the kidnapping of her two soldiers on the Lebanon border, but he avoided any temptation to grandstand in public.

Back in the 1930s when this country was a lone voice and the world was rocked by a series of international crises — such as the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Chaco War in Latin America, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War, and the Munich Crisis over the Sudetenland — Ireland’s voice was heard but nobody was listening.

Now, as part of the European Union, this country has more influence, and this was used at the foreign minister’s meeting yesterday. Working quietly behind the scenes Mr Ahern argued effectively for the EU to adopt a much firmer attitude than the G8 by calling for an immediate cessation of the violence in the Middle East by all sides.

If the broad support that this call received from Britain, France and Germany at the foreign minister’s meeting is repeated elsewhere, especially at the United Nations, it could make a real difference.