Piers Akerman: Albanese and Wong ambivalence a disgrace as ICC brings international law into disrepute
To our national shame, Australia is no longer a reliable ally and supporter of the rule of law, otherwise it would call out the International Criminal Court as an absurd kangaroo court, writes Piers Akerman.
Opinion
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To our national shame, Australia is no longer a reliable ally and supporter of the rule of law.
If the Albanese government had any principles, it would call out the International Criminal Court for what it is: an absurd kangaroo court lacking credibility.
Examine the charges the ICC has laid against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, Yoav Gallant, and it is clear they don’t stack up.
But we know that neither Prime Minister Anthony Albanese nor Foreign Minister Penny Wong have the slightest interest in criticising those who attack Israel or those who conduct lawfare against that nation.
It is more than a year since Hamas forces and ordinary Gazan citizens conducted a barbaric attack on young Israelis attending a music festival and residents of a number of kibbutzim nearby. It included murder, torture, rape and kidnapping by both trained killers and Gazan civilians, a number of whom worked for the UN’s dedicated refugee agency.
It is more than a year since a mob of pro-Palestine protesters, with a NSW police escort, rioted in front of the Sydney Opera House which had displayed the Israeli flag as a tribute to those youthful individuals slain just two days earlier as they rose in a campground looking forward to a weekend of music and dancing.
Since then, politicians’ offices have been firebombed, vandalised, and covered in graffiti.
Last week in Sydney, one car was torched, 10 others, a restaurant and some residences nearby were covered in anti-Semitic graffiti. Shamefully, the federal and state governments have chosen to look the other way. These were acts of domestic terrorism, not hate crimes.
Now, the ICC, which is not a part of the UN, and has existed for just 22 years, has come out with utterly preposterous charges against Israel to discredit the nation. It has charged Israel with deliberately starving the people of Gaza as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Accusations of severe food insecurity, malnutrition and even famine have been broadcast by our ABC, with the director of the World Food Program Cindy McCain declaring on May 3 that there was a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza.
However, the UN’s Famine Review Committee examined these same claims in June and found they weren’t plausible. Israel has been providing even more food relief since the review but much is still stolen by Hamas.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan rushed the farcical charges after allegations of sexual harassment were brought against him. Not to worry though, the UN has launched its own investigation into his activities and appointed his wife, Dato Shyamala Alagendra, to look into the matter.
International law expert Eugene Kontorovich, professor at the George Mason University Scalia Law School, was scathing in his assessment of the ICC and the indictments during a discussion we had this week.
“An illegitimate court issued arrest warrants against a non-state member, on behalf of a non-existent state, for fake crimes based on unsubstantiated reports,” he said. “It’s time for Israel to pass an Act barring all co-operation with the ICC and sanction Israeli organisations that pass information to the court. Israel’s allies should sanction this illegitimate court.”
The ICC can only indict states without viable judicial systems. Israel has a strong legal system as shown by the cases it has brought against politicians, including former prime minister Ehud Olmert and former president Moshe Katsav. Also, the ICC can only indict member states. Israel isn’t a member and Palestine has never been a state.
Albanese and Wong’s weasel-worded ambivalence is a disgrace.
The ICC has brought international law into disrepute. It’s a laughing stock, as is the Albanese government.
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