A JOURNALIST WHO CHALLENGED WESTERN COLONIALISM

John Richard Pilger, a prominent journalist, writer, intellectual and documentary maker, died on December 30 at the age of eighty-four. John was born in Australia in 1939 but spent most of his life in Britain and America. The reason for his fame was being a strong opponent of the American, British and other Western governments. John believed that these governments make their foreign policies under the influence of colonialist and colonialist mentality and keep small and poor countries in their possession.

John was also a strong critic of the policies of Western governments towards Islamic countries. He said: "Muslims are the biggest targets of global terrorism." He raised his voice many times in favor of Muslims living in Occupied Kashmir and Palestine and criticized angry India and Israel.

FELLOW KASHMIRIS

John Pilger described the Kashmir issue as the most critical conflict not only between India and Pakistan but also the entire world. In his opinion, the global forum… the United Nations and the major powers have failed to resolve it for nearly seven decades. In 2011, he wrote in one of his writings:

"Occupied Kashmir is the region of the world where the most soldiers are working on the heads of the people. India does not allow this region to be mentioned in the international media. Despite this, a peaceful movement like Tahrir Square is taking place there. These Kashmiris are victims of oppression by the (Indian) ruling class. Thousands of Kashmiris have 'disappeared' and violence against them is nothing new.

HOMELESS PALESTINIAN MUSLIMS

These courageous journalists who raised their voices for the weak also wrote and spoke in support of the people of Palestine. After the recent Israeli attack on Gaza on November 15, he penned an article "We Are Spartacus": Resistance and the unmoving shadow of war. John writes:

"Palestinians are Spartacus. The people who fill the streets with flags and principles and solidarity are Spartacus. "We are all Spartacus if we want to be."

Remember, Spartacus was a slave in the Roman Empire. He revolted against the oppressive Roman government. In this revolt, other slaves also became his helpers. Several films have been made on his freedom-loving Bollywood, the most famous of which is the film in which Kirk Douglas played this. What was the role?

John Pilger also made two documentaries to highlight the plight of the Palestinian people. The 1974 film chronicled the flight and expulsion of nearly a million Palestinians, who became refugees in their own land when the state of Israel was established in 1948. In a 2002 documentary he stated:

"What has changed is that the Palestinians have risen up. Stateless and humiliated for so long, they rise up against Israel's all-powerful military regime, even though they have no army, no tanks, no American planes, no gunships, no missiles... for their lives. Almost every aspect has been controlled by a ruthless Israel, as if they live in an open prison. The curfews, controls, road blocks and checkpoints that rule their lives have been compared to South Africa (the former apartheid regime). "

In the last few posts of the deceased on X (X), Palestine was the topic. Since October 7, more than 22,000 Palestinians have been martyred by the Israeli army in the massacre in the Gaza Strip, including many journalists. Regarding Gaza, he wrote:

"When I was last in Gaza, the Israeli Air Force terrorized the population by flying high and low at night. A psychiatrist told me, all the (Palestinian) children had wet beds and had violent nightmares, and they became mentally ill forever. This is Israel's exercise of its 'right to self-defense'.

OPPRESSION IN AFGHANISTAN

In the article "We are Spartacus", John Pilger severely criticized the role of America and Australia in Afghanistan and attacked the ruling class of these western countries. He writes:

"According to a study by Brown University, since 9/11, almost six million men, women and children have been killed by the US and its allies in the 'Global War on Terrorism'. A memorial is to be built in Washington to 'celebrate' this mass murder. The committee to build the monument is chaired by former US President George W. Bush. Afghanistan, where the carnage began, was finally ruined when President Biden stopped his national bank from issuing Afghan dollars.

"In the past, the West has given birth to many Afghanistans." In the book (Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower) he writes:

"In my lifetime, America has overthrown or attempted to overthrow more than 50 governments, mostly democracies. He dropped bombs on the people of 30 countries, most of whom are poor and defenseless.  He tried to kill innumerable leaders.'

"Afghanistan is the country where the West sent armed men with the ritual of 'warriors' to kill people and enjoy carnage." We know this truth from the evidence of sociopaths in the SAS (Australia's elite army). This evidence includes a photograph in which SAS men can be seen drinking alcohol into the skull of an Afghan victim. But not a single sociopath has been prosecuted for this or other crimes.

“These crimes include: kicking a man over a rock, shooting children, slitting throats. None of this is 'at war'. Whistleblower David McBride, a former Australian military lawyer who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, was a true man in his secret system. They also have a firm belief in truth and loyalty. He may appreciate them as some may. But since November 13 he has been in court in Canberra as an alleged criminal. Karen Pender, a senior lawyer at the Australian Human Rights Law Centre, reports that “an Australian Whistleblower faces trial for blowing the whistle on horrific wrongdoing. It is extremely unfair that the first person on trial for war crimes committed in Afghanistan is a whistleblower and not an alleged war criminal."

Jeremy Corbyn, a prominent British social leader and former leader of the Labor Party, said of John Pilger's death: "I am deeply saddened to hear of this. John gave a voice to the oppressed. In Australia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Chile, Iraq, East Timor, Palestine and beyond, they brought the voices of the oppressed to the world. Thank you for your bravery in seeking the truth — it will never be forgotten. Will do.

John was also a fierce critic of the Australian government's treatment of his country's Aboriginal people. He wrote a book "The Secret Country" (A Secret Country) and highlighted the truth about how the British in the Australian past continued to oppress the Aboriginal people and how their lands were usurped. They were inhabited for thousands of years.

In recent years, John Pilger has been a staunch supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently in Belmarsh Prison. He is on trial on charges related to the publication of thousands of classified U.S. documents in 2010 and 2011. He described Assange as a "truth-teller" who committed no crimes but widespread government wrongdoing and lies. Revealed.

In an interview on BBC Radio Four's Desert Island Disc in 1990, John said: "They are always interested in the victims of war, people who are fleeing because of suffering and pain. I understand, Journalism is nothing if it is not about humanity. It should be about people's lives."

John Pilger edited a book "Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs" in 2005. In it, he summarized his journalistic values ​​as follows:

"Secret powers hate journalists who do their honest work, who reveal the truth behind the veils, reveal the real faces behind the faces, peer into the tunnels and pick up the stones. On behalf of the powers and the powerful. Atrocities done on them are a sign of respect and dignity for such journalists.

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