European Union support for Colombia and Israel ignored by politicians

Over recent weeks we have all seen what has passed for debate in the European election campaign. However, completely absent from this debate has been the role of the European Union (EU) in bankrolling terror states involved in gross human rights abuses, political repression, torture, murder and other breaches of International law.

Particularly reprehensible has been the EU’s decision to maintain and upgrade, favoured trading status with both Colombia and Israel, regimes that violate International law on a daily basis.

In Colombia, trade unionists, political opponents and human rights activists all face intimidation, arbitary detention, kidnapping, torture and murder at the hands of the Colombian regime or their right wing death squad allies. Last year, over 40 Trade Union activists were murdered. Already this year, 19 more Union activists have been slaughtered.

Israel continues its illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and the building of its illegal annexation wall. The inhumane siege of Gaza continues as the civilian population increasingly struggle to get food and essential medicines to survive. The Israeli military continue bombing the area, obliterating the remnants of an already destroyed economy and infrastructure. During their recent invasion of Gaza, Israel committed countless war crimes, deliberately bombing civilian targets, killing more than a thousand Palestinian civilians, including hundreds of young children.

Rather than cutting all ties with Israel, imposing sanctions on them and seeking to bring those responsible for the war crimes committed against the Palestinian people to justice, Israel has been allowed to retain favoured trading status with the EU.

By doing so, the EU are bankrolling the Colombian and Israeli terror regimes and éirígí believe they are complicit in the human rights abuses and war crimes committed by these states. That this scandalous situation is deemed unworthy of being debated by the candidates exposes the shallowness of the claims of a commitment to human rights which occasionally emenate from the EU and its politicians. Their silence shames them all.