The news of the shocking killings of cartoonists at the Charlie Hebdo in Paris, as well as the hostage crisis that resulted in the loss of innocent lives must be condemned by all decent and peace loving peoples. The wide spread international coverage of these atrocities highlighted the role of “disgruntled youth” who, according to them, are adherents of `radical Islam’ and that there are dire warnings of jihadist movements across Europe. Islamophobia has thus been encouraged and anti-Islamic sentiments are now being given political and social limelight.. As an immediate reaction, there have been calls from all ends of the political spectrum in Europe including those who have never made a secret of their xenophobia, racism and thuggishness, who have gained a new legitimacy thanks to this massive provocation.
Any observer of international events knows that these events raise more questions than they answer. There are obvious connections of the perpetrators of these atrocities to intelligence agencies and some of them were also known to law enforcement. This is no secret. Other observers of international affairs have predicted long ago that in the wake of the large numbers of wars launched by the big powers, an environment has been created of anarchy and chaos, and inflammation of passions all around. What is more curious is that some of the world’s most reviled world leaders landed up in Paris for marches and speeches and these events have given them an opportunity to whitewash their own crimes. In the news, there has been coverage of the atrocious war launched in 2014 by Israel in Gaza where thousands of innocent civilians lost their lives, and yet the Paris march has featured Mr. Netanyahu.
The role of Mr. Nicola Sarkozy in ordering the extrajudicial killing of Col. Gadhafi has recently been highlighted in the media, and yet Mr. Sarkozy has gained a new statesman like aura in the wake of Charlie Hebdo. Irrespective of who is the mastermind of these events, they have been used by the most reactionary forces to leverage the legitimate horror in the public mind to their advantage. This is indeed an object lesson for all observers of international affairs as to what is the modus operandi of ruling circles to consolidate their hold on power, even as public disenchantment has grown across the length and breadth of the world with the present system of representative democracy, whether it is in France, UK, Greece or elsewhere.
At a time when there are mass protests across the length and breadth of Europe against belt-tightening and austerity on the one hand, and the launch of neo-colonial wars on the other, and at a time at which every political party is seen as a hand maiden of international financial oligarchs, Charlie Hebdo has created the ideal conditions for a massive diversion of this anger into the questions of terror and security and the like. All peace loving peoples are justified in asking the question as to who the master mind of these events at this time.
Any detective who is to solve a murder mystery, first searches for the motive along with the search for who the primary beneficiary of a murder is. Why should Charlie Hebdo be any different? While the actual perpetrators are known, let no one rest until the master mind is found.
By our LRS Correspondent
