It was announced Wednesday that Prime Minister Stephen Harper would be accompanying the first planeload of Canadian evacuees to Ottawa from Cyprus, once they arrived in chartered ships from Lebanon. This photo-op will come a week after the PM gave his unsubtle approval to Israel’s deadly bombing of Lebanon, calling the initial attacks that killed civilians and destroyed infrastructure “measured.”

“Too little, too late” doesn’t begin to describe the cynical nature of Harper’s trip to Cyprus nor the blatant complicity of Ottawa in the war crimes of the past week. A family that included eight Canadian citizens (of whom four were young children) visiting from Montreal are among the over 300 civilians killed by Israel; there has been massive destruction of infrastructure, including the Beirut airport, bridges, and the major highways; as many as half a million Lebanese have been displaced from their homes.

Fouad Siniora, the embattled Prime Minister of Lebanon, expressed desperation and indignation Wednesday:

  • Is the value of human life in Lebanon less than that of the citizens of other countries? Can the international community stand by while such callous retribution by the State of Israel is inflicted on us? Is this what the international community calls self defense? Is this the price we pay for aspiring to build our democratic institutions? (CNN.com, Lebanese lost in shuffle of exodus, July 19, 2006)

The specific targets of Siniora’s accusations of hypocrisy are clearly countries such as Canada and the United States, who have been evacuating their own citizens while at the same time giving Israel the green light to do what it will with the people of Lebanon.

But Harper’s reaction in particular points to another disturbing double standard, as he steadfastly maintained his refusal to criticize Israel even after the news of the massacre of the Al-Akhrass family from Montreal. It is valid, then, to ask the Conservative government a couple of pointed questions: Is the value of some Canadian citizens’ lives less than that of other citizens’ lives? Does anyone believe that Harper’s reaction would have been the same if it had been an Anglo-Saxon family in Lebanon on vacation, or if the Canadian family killed had been in Haifa?

This racism is, of course, the darkness at the heart of the so-called “war on terror” which Harper is so shamelessly advancing as a pretext for the militarization of Canada. This fundamental undervaluing of the lives of the “Other” reveals a central contradiction of claims that Canada is in Afghanistan or any other country to spread democracy.

The crisis in Lebanon, coupled with the ongoing attacks in Gaza, calls out for sharper criticism of Harper and Bush and their allies’ foreign policies. With a house-broken or openly complicit opposition in Ottawa, we must turn back to that moderate leader in Beirut to find a sufficiently outraged voice:

  • Nothing is stopping this criminal war machine from murdering our people and leaving them homeless. Lebanon urges its brothers and friends in the world to immediately help the Lebanese by either pressuring Israel to stop its attacks or providing humanitarian aid.

No photo op will be able to redeem Harper for his shameful stand. And only a strong, concerted effort to stop this war machine will be able to redeem the people of Canada for our unfortunate leaders.

July 22 is a pan-Canadian Day of Action against the attacks on Lebanon and Gaza.

Derrick O'Keefe

Derrick O'Keefe

Derrick O'Keefe is a writer in Vancouver, B.C. He served as rabble.ca's editor from 2012 to 2013 and from 2008 to 2009.