Kouchner has no moral compass
Posted on October 5th, 2009
Ajit Randeniya
Bernard Kouchner has been one of the European politicians showing a keen interest in Sri Lankan affairs. His demand for a visit during the last stages of the war, and other remarks, were explained largely on the grounds of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Humanitarian ConcernsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. It is reasonable to assume that through his intrusions in to trouble-spots of the world, Kouchner seeks to portray an image of a fearless campaigner for the rights of the poor and the oppressed.
But analysis of KouchnerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s background in the French political scene and on international affairs shows that he is really a leading member of the international neocon cabal that seeks to interfere in global affairs for their own advantage.
His background and activities first. Bernard Kouchner, 67, is a doctor by training, and he first worked for the Red Cross in Biafra in 1968 during Nigeria’s civil war. He later co-founded Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) in 1971. Kouchner once told an interviewer that MSF, “was establishing the moral right to interfere inside someone else’s country”. These were carefully chosen words because MSF is the cleverest battle-front intelligence gathering organisation in the world. As an NGO, MSF is widely known to, while providing some genuine medical assistance to casualties of war, gather battle ground intelligence and carry out independent assessments for its pay masters. It enjoys the same privileges as the Red Cross without being subjected to the same conditions due to its NGO character.
Kouchner however, fell-out with MSF in 1979 over a controversial project involving his plans to take a chartered cargo ship to the South China Sea with a group of doctors to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”rescueƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Vietnamese boat people. So in 1980, he set up the rival organisation, Medecins du Monde, MDM or Doctors of the World, based in ten European countries and Japan. Significantly, Kouchner charged that the MSF was giving up its founding principle of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-aid workers making the atrocities they observe known to the publicƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. He obviously didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t want to spoil the operations of Gordon Weiss and Paul Castellano who got numbers from the battle front and exaggerated them for their own purposes!
In parralel with these NGO activities, Kouchner had also penetrated the French Socialist Party. While claiming to be a socialist, he carried out an independent agenda, similar to Joe Lieberman in the US who pretended to be a Democrat for over two decades.
Kouchner differed with the party and always took a more pro-American line than many French socialists and often called for renewal and reform on the left. This was similar to the Third Way movement in the UK that destroyed the Labour Party there from within by installing Tony Blair as leader.
In1992 Kouchner became health minister in the socialist government of the late President Francois Mitterrand. He later served as UN ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”special representativeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to Kosovo from 1999-2001, laying the foundation for the separation of that particular enclave to suit neocon designs.
Kouchner knows how to use the media to best effect to make his point or back a cause. His marriage to Christine Ockrent, a French TV presenter and political journalist is a massive part of such designs. In a much ridiculed media event, in 1992 he waded ashore alone in Somalia during the famine, carrying a sack of rice on his back!
In 2003, Kuchner was one of the very few French politicians to come out in support of the US invasion of Iraq. In fact, the French President Jacques Chirac and his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”suaveƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin were some of the fiercest and most vociferous opponents of the Iraqi invasion. But the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”socialistƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Kouchner supported the US invasion supposedly ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-due to the merit of over-throwing an evil dictatorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the need for putting an end to the suffering of the Kurdish population”.
Weighed against this background, the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”socialistƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ KouchnerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s inclusion in the cabinet of the right-wing government of Nicholas Sarkozy did not surprise many. The true socialist colleagues had long seen him as a traitor.
Together with Sarkozy, Kouchner undertook the massive job of repairing relations with the US after the 2003 chill, and addressing the problem of age-old mutual repulsion with the UK. Accordingly, French government has become much more Washington-friendly despite the revulsion among the French public about anything Anglo-Saxon remains as virulent as ever.
The most recent revelation of KouchnerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s true personality and priorities came during the arrest of the famous film director Roman Polanski by the Swiss authorities under an international alert issued by the US in 2005. Polanski had plea bargained, and then fled the US in 1978 before sentencing for raping and sodomising a 13-year-old girl after giving her champagne and part of a capsule of the recreational drug Methaqualone, that was known in the seventies as Quaalude.
Kouchner is a man who takes no prisoners when it comes to the preservation of his own kind. He forgot all loyalties to the US and called Polanski’s arrest “sinister” and wrote, together with his Polish counterpart, to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the issue. This reaction completely ignored the fact that Polanski fled the US to escape sentencing, adding a further crime to his horrible original crime.
The other major problem was that KouchnerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s position, despite its portrayal by his friends in the media as such, was not the French government position. There was a strong public reaction against this unethical defence of a paedophile, forcing the French government spokesman Luc Chatel to announce that “we have a judicial procedure under way for a serious affair – the rape of a minor – on which the American and Swiss legal systems are doing their job”. Chatel added that Polanski is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-neither above nor beneath the law, and must face justice like everyone elseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.
The French Greens leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit also said he was ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ill at easeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ with the rush to absolve Polanski of raping a minor and Kouchner should have been more cautious in his comments. But Kouchner, as usual, couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t and didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t accept the US arrest of his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”friendƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ or the criticism of his unprincipled defence of a convicted criminal.
In the middle of the furore he hurriedly left for Russia, to sell a French ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Mistral-classƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ assault ship worth around 300 million euros. The timing as well as the publicly announced purpose of the trip was clearly designed to irk the Americans. The sale is likely to be greeted with unease by both Georgia and the US on commercial, as well as strategic grounds due to the ship providing Russia with unprecedented rapid response capability in the Black Sea.
Kouchner fired several barbs at the US from Russia during an interview with Russia’s Ekho Moskvy radio, following reluctantly conceding that “no one is above the law”.
He condemned ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-war as mean for setting borders in EuropeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, clearly referring to the US fuelled aggression of its erstwhile friend Georgia on South Ossetia last year. He also used the criticism of Georgia contained in the report of the independent commission on the war. Kouchner said he did not see the Georgian bombing of the Ossetian capital Tskhinvali but learnt a lot about it afterwards. He also announced a new, more conciliatory position on Iran, contrary to that of the US, by saying that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-In Geneva we are not yet talking about sanctions.”
What all this is revealing is that Kouchner shows no commitment to the French national motto ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-libertƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©, ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©galitƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©, fraternitƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ or any other worthwhile principle other than championing the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”libertyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the brotherhood of neocon Zionists. It appears that he expects the liberty to break the law and skip town, just as he expected the Sri Lankan government to release Prabhakaran ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”to a third partyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.
His next request to pay us a visit should be politely declined.
October 6th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Polanski was famous for being the husband of Sharon Tate, a popular young actress who was murdered by the maniacal Manson. He then became notorious as the rapist and sodomist of a 13 year old girl who had been drugged. He was convicted in a court of law, but took flight to escape his punishment. Kouchner (whose primary loyalty is probably not to France, just like Joe Lieberman’s isn’t to the USA) came to Polanski’s defense as did a number of Hollywood personalities.
October 8th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Colombo, 8 of October, 2009.
Mr. Ajit Randeniya
Subject: Misinformation mention of MSF in your web publication
Sir,
The medical humanitarian organisation Médecins sans Frontières would like to correct serious misunderstandings and fallacious information, which have arisen following the publication of your article “Kouchner has no moral compass”, on October 5th
MSF refutes in the strongest terms the accusation that it ‘gathers battle ground intelligence’. As its core, the purpose of MSF’s humanitarian action is to deliver emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from health care. MSF has adopted and is constantly respecting the strictest principles of impartiality among those we treat (responding only to need); neutrality between opposing sides in a conflict, and independence from political powers. MSF is recognized as a neutral and independent organisation and thus able to carry out essential medical work in conflict situations across the globe.
MSF teams on the ground work in full transparency with belligerents and authorities.
We have no privileges, no diplomatic status and only the efficiency of our medical activities can make us accepted and welcomed in the many countries where we are working. MSF is independent from any government’s agenda and funds.
MSF’s funds are mostly from private donors. In 2008, the private income represented 86,9% of the total income of the all MSF movement.
We want to restate that such misleading information regarding MSF as those presented in your paper can have very serious impact on the security of our teams intervening all over the world and reiterate that our major concern is, and has always be, to provide care and relief to the populations living in crisis.
Yours Sincerely
Hugues Robert-Nicoud Orkhan Nasibov
Head of the Sri Lanka Mission Head of the Sri Lanka Mission
Médecins Sans Frontières Holland Médecins Sans Frontières France
October 8th, 2009 at 5:48 am
Colombo, 8 of October, 2009.
Mr. Ajit Randeniya
Subject: Misinformation mention of MSF in your web publication
Sir,
The medical humanitarian organisation Médecins sans Frontières would like to correct serious misunderstandings and fallacious information, which have arisen following the publication of your article “Kouchner has no moral compass”, on October 5th
MSF refutes in the strongest terms the accusation that it ‘gathers battle ground intelligence’. As its core, the purpose of MSF’s humanitarian action is to deliver emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from health care. MSF has adopted and is constantly respecting the strictest principles of impartiality among those we treat (responding only to need); neutrality between opposing sides in a conflict, and independence from political powers. MSF is recognized as a neutral and independent organisation and thus able to carry out essential medical work in conflict situations across the globe.
MSF teams on the ground work in full transparency with belligerents and authorities.
We have no privileges, no diplomatic status and only the efficiency of our medical activities can make us accepted and welcomed in the many countries where we are working. MSF is independent from any government’s agenda and funds.
MSF’s funds are mostly from private donors. In 2008, the private income represented 86,9% of the total income of the all MSF movement.
We want to restate that such misleading information regarding MSF as those presented in your paper can have very serious impact on the security of our teams intervening all over the world and reiterate that our major concern is, and has always be, to provide care and relief to the populations living in crisis.
Yours Sincerely
Orkhan Nasibov, Médecins Sans Frontières France
Hugues Robert-Nicoud, Médecins Sans Frontières Holland
October 8th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I just read the hilarious claim by the msf. It is quite right when you say that your front cover is caring, sharing and bearing with those having health issues just like every other bludger running INGOs. Ajit and others who know what your core business, are telling that your scum organizations are doing the bidding for your pathetic political maggots who rule your primitive (first) world where the humans are treated like livestock that can be traded to let earn your own natural rights taken away hundreds of generations before your birth, to spread their hegemony over other civilised countries that are far ahead of your barbaric civilisations. Having born to bondage, most of you find volunteering as an escape from the horrors of life in your hellholes. What you do not acknowledge is the fact that your cover is used by your masters who put their suckers to play havoc in other countries to gain a foothold behind your backs and in connivance with your superiors. If we have had true locals representing our leadership, all of your could have ended up in dole queues in your hell holes as you are not fit to be employed by your own slave masters. Please do not try to fool people who can see through your cover. If you have a little bit of grey matter inside your skulls, you should rebel against your own Satans who have turned you to walking and talking slaves with nothing to say yours in your own country. We can help achieve your natural rights back that we take for granted even today.
October 11th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Dear Mr Hugues Robert-Nicoud Orkhan Nasibov
Denials by INGOS and local NGOs ‘sponsored’ by them in numerous ways are to be expected, and are noted.
This writer has analysed the full spectrum of activities and campaigns MSF is engaged in, and has listened to first hand information provided by people familiar with the Sudanese, Somalian and Ethiopian governments. On the basis of such information, the writer maintains that some MSF ‘volunteers’ in the field pass on information to their embassies and other interventionist arms of the UN.
Your fear about physical retribution is unfounded. The idea in attracting the attention of Sri Lankans to such operations is not done with a view to incite any physical retribution but to increase awareness of the neocolonialism of the INGO movement. Kouchner’s own words quoted in the original article shows the agenda.