Some Canadians have picked up on it, and have written letters to thestar.com
Feb 23, 2008 04:30 AM
Still no answers on bombing of UN post
Column, Feb. 21
Thank you to Thomas Walkom for continuing to bring to public attention the tragic and inexcusable death of a true Canadian hero, Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener. Hess-von Kruedener was killed in Lebanon in 2006 by an Israeli attack utilizing overwhelming and specifically targeted destructive force against an unarmed UN observation post. That he was killed while serving his country and the world community in the capacity of an observer who had placed himself in harm's way to do what he could to mitigate the horrors of war as experienced by a civilian population is an outstanding expression of Canadian military heroism.
I am proud of our country's tradition of military heroism and proud to support the exceptional men and women of the Canadian Forces who continue that tradition. That the government of Stephen Harper has chosen to largely ignore Hess-von Kruedener's heroism and has refused to strongly condemn the Israeli action that caused his death is a sad expression of political cowardice that displays a remarkable lack of support for our troops.
Tony Jenkins, Kingston
Kudos to Thomas Walkom for this much-needed exposé of the Harper government's lack of concern for Israel's killing of Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, a brave Canadian soldier and dedicated UN observer.
Imagine the outrage that would have erupted in the House of Commons and throughout Canada if the perpetrator of this inexcusable crime had been Hezbollah or the Lebanese armed forces. Shame on the Conservative government and other parliamentarians who refuse to condemn Israel and instead choose to look the other way.
Gary D. Keenan, Vancouver, B.C.
Where is the outcry from other media outlets, from the opposition parties and from all those Canadians with "Support our troops" bumper stickers? Will we let Cynthia Hess-von Kruedener stand alone in challenging the Harper government's whitewashing of the Israeli attack on a UN post that killed a Canadian peacekeeper?
Church groups, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Israeli peace groups report daily killings, home demolitions, harassment and land theft by Israel with no response from the Harper government or the Liberals.
Linda Belanger, Ottawa
The failure of this Canadian government to hold the Israeli government accountable for the death of Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener is appalling. Canadian forces, who will in all probability be serving in future world hotspots, deserve to know that their government will hold other governments accountable for the safety of our troops in their sphere of influence.
As a minimum, our government should institute sanctions against the government of Israel until all matters concerning the death of Hess-von Kruedener are answered to its satisfaction.
David Green, Wasaga Beach, Ont.
Military investigators' conclusion that the death of UN monitor Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener during the 2006 war in Lebanon was due to a deliberate attack by Israeli forces is disturbing. But there are parallels with the attack on the U.S. intelligence ship Liberty during the Six-day War Israel fought against the Arabs in 1967.
In that incident Israeli forces killed 34 American sailors and wounded 173. As in the present case, Israel claimed the attack was unintentional and Israel's position was accepted, although there was abundant documented evidence that the attack was deliberate.
President Lyndon Johnson hobbled an inquiry and silenced surviving crew members of the Liberty with threats of court-martial and imprisonment. But now that Hess-von Kruedener's death has been fully investigated and blame placed squarely on Israel, is Stephen Harper going to accept this atrocity without a whimper? At least a strong protest and a demand for compensation should be lodged.
Stewart Brown, Peterborough
Major Paeta died in the service of this country and the Harper government betrayed his memory. It's not the first time Israel targeted UN bases. The Idf massacred 103 civilians in 1996 in Lebanon. Finland, Austria and China condemned the killing of their 3 other peacekeepers while Harper said he understood why our peacekeeper was killed. In 1996, I slammed the door on a conservative nose who wanted my vote for that reason.
ReplyDeleteIsrael bombed a well defined (from the air or ground)outpost and claims it was an error. It was being shelled for 6 hours by its artillery and was asked to stop time and time again by the UN staff until tragedy struck. Israelis using smart weapons cannot claim they were not aiming for that outpost. The worst part is that prime mister Harper threw our soldier major Paeta Hess-von Kruedner under the bus for Israel unlike countries where the other 3 UN casualties were from which forcefully condemned the killing of their soldiers.
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