Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
One year on, no justice for Uludere victims by Richard Hall
Saturday, December 29, 2012
One
year ago today, on a bitterly cold winter evening, a Turkish fighter
jet attacked a group of its own citizens who were crossing the border
from Iraq. A total of 34 civilians were killed, most of them children.
The victims were Kurds from the villages of Roboski and Bujeh, on the
Turkish side of the border. They were travelling a well-worn smuggling
route, bringing in cigarettes, sugar and fuel to sell for a small profit
where they lived in Turkey’s south-east, where few other job
opportunities exist.The Turkish army said following the incident that the villagers had
been mistaken for fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) – a
rebel group that has fought for greater autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds
since 1984, and whose bases in the mountainous border region are a
frequent target of the Turkish airforce.
One year on, the Turkish government has yet to make any meaningful
effort to find out why these group of villagers – whose movements were
reportedly being tracked by US Predator drones prior to the strike –
were killed on that night.
Amnesty International has described the government’s record in
investigating the incident as “not a promising one.” Outlining the
problems with the investigation, it said: “A Parliamentary inquiry was
established in January, 2012, but, according to media reports, it has
been denied access to vital military reports and, the sub-committee
carrying out the investigation has already indicated that it would not
attempt to determine individual responsibility for the bombing.”
Yesterday, Human Rights Watch condemned
the Turkish government for its failure to open and effective and
transparent inquiry into what has become known as the Uludere massacre –
named after the region in which it occurred – accusing it of failing to
“live up to some of its most fundamental obligations under the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to safeguard the right to life.”“The lack of progress in an entire year on completing any
investigation of the Uludere incident is very troubling because it is
consistent with the government’s overall reluctance to account to the
public for the government’s wrongdoing,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior
researcher for Turkey at the rights group. “Holding state authorities
who killed civilians accountable is crucial to upholding democracy and
the rule of law.”
Nicole Pope, writing for Turkish daily Zaman, also
mourned the government’s lack of accountability. “Parliament and the
government set up inquiries, prosecutors are investigating the event,
but the publication of official reports has been postponed. By all
accounts, state officials are unwilling to shed light on the disaster
and few people now expect that a convincing explanation will be
forthcoming,” she wrote.She added: “the mishandling of the whole issue suggests that Turkey
remains a place where civilians can be killed with impunity.”
The Uludere massacre was not the first time civilians have been caught up in Turkey’s decades-old war with the PKK. With fresh airstrikes being carried out last night and little hope of a negotiated settlement on the Kurdish issue, it will not be the last.
For now, attention is focused on Turkey’s troubled neighbour to the
south. Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been at the
forefront of international opposition to Syria’s crackdown on civilians
in the civil war raging there. But many have been quick to point out his
hypocrisy in failing to show the same restraint he demands of Assad
when dealing with his country’s own rebellion.The same people would no doubt argue that Erdogan’s condemnation of
civilian deaths across the border would sound more convincing if those
responsible for the deaths at Uludere were held accountable. The Independent UK @_RichardHall
