Past cruelty must not be forgotten

Both Syria and Israel have sought to erase their recent crimes from the public record

A Syrian couple mourning in front of bodies wrapped in shrouds after a chemical weapon was used against Ghouta, in eastern Damascus in August 2013. (AFP PHOTO/HO/SHAAM NEWS NETWORK/AMMAR AL-ARBINI)

As unsurprising as it is to see dictators and dangerous governments seeking to rewrite history, it is still impressive to note how badly they wish to whitewash their crimes – rather than atone for them. Both Syria and Israel have tried the age-old tactic.

Start with Bashar Al Assad, whose government issued a denial that it had never “used chlorine or any other toxic chemicals” since the beginning of the Syrian uprising. This is the same government that is still besieging its own citizens, and that, on the same weekend as issuing its ludicrous denial, dropped a barrel bomb on a hospital in Homs – followed by a second bomb an hour later after paramedics had arrived.

A similar attempt to remove evidence of wrongdoing was on display from Israel, which issued a statement saying it had agreed a deal with YouTube to remove “anti-Israel” material from the video-sharing site. As Israel considers evidence of its soldiers killing and harassing civilians to be “anti-Israel”, the chilling effect of such an agreement was obvious.

Google, which owns YouTube, issued a correction a few days later, forcing Israel’s foreign ministry to admit there was no such deal and swiftly pulling evidence of the original mendacious statement from its website. Be that as it may, Israel’s intentions are clear.

Rewriting history in this way will not work. That the Assad regime used chemical weapons – not once, but several times – has been well-established. Airily dismissing the evidence will not work and will not cause the watching world to forget the crimes of the regime.

The same goes for Israel. Instead of seeking endless censorship of its repression of Palestinians – both within and without the occupied territories, for Israel is relentless about silencing dissent from Palestinians, shutting down media outlets – Israel’s leaders should turn their attention to ending the decades long occupation. Rather than seeking to curtail free speech, they should deal with the substantive issue. It should be easier to persuade an Israeli soldier not to pump bullets into children than to remove the video evidence from YouTube after.

Regardless of what happens in Syria and Israel the reality of the war and occupation cannot be erased. Cruelty must not be forgotten. True peace can only come by accepting and moving on from the past.