CRIMES of EMPIRE
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 12:18 am
Next time you pat yourself on the back for being British, and better than any wog, consider the following:
Winston Churchill:
In 1919, he “planned and executed a sustained chemical attack on northern Russia”, according to Giles Milton at the Guardian. He even declared in one memorandum that he was “strongly in favour of using poisoned gas” against what he called “uncivilised tribes”.
Under the British empire, up to 29 million Indian people died of starvation as wheat was sent over to Britain in the midst of famine. In 1943, Churchill diverted medical aid and food away from starving citizens in British-controlled Bengal, sentencing around four million Bengalis to death in the process. He soon showed the callous racism behind his decision, saying “famine or no famine, Indians will breed like rabbits”.
And in 1944, the British army allegedly joined former Nazi collaborators in Greece in opening fire on Greek civilians. These citizens had been showing their support for the anti-fascist left-wingers with whom Britain had fought in previous years. Twenty-eight civilians were killed and hundreds more injured in this attack. Churchill’s justification was that the presence of communists in the resistance movement could jeopardise his hopes of returning the Greek king to power after the war.
British colonialism in general wasn’t much better
Here are some examples of why Churchill was not the only one responsible for colonial crimes:
During the Second Boer War (1899-1902), British forces detained tens of thousands of Boers in concentration camps. Almost 28 thousand of them died.
In India in 1919, peaceful protesters were blocked inside a walled complex and fired upon by the British army, in what is known as the Amritsar massacre. A thousand of these dissidents are thought to have been killed within 10 minutes during this mass execution.
In 1947, the carelessness of one colonial official resulted in the deaths of up to a million people in sectarian violence. Cyril Radcliffe was in charge of drawing up a border between India and Pakistan, a complex and delicate task which he undertook “over the course of a single lunch”.
In Kenya, British colonial forces allegedly raped and tortured thousands of members of the Kikuyu tribe during the Mau Mau Uprising (1951-1960). They were detained in camps described by some as “Britain’s gulags”, in which up to 100,000 may have died.
In short, the British empire committed numerous shameful acts in the twentieth century. And there is evidence to prove it. So when figures like Liam Fox claim that we do “not need to bury” this history, we should either be very worried or very angry.
There is nothing today that Britain can do to change its past, but the very least we can do is to ensure that past events are never repeated again. And for that to happen, we need to come to terms with the truth.
Winston Churchill:
In 1919, he “planned and executed a sustained chemical attack on northern Russia”, according to Giles Milton at the Guardian. He even declared in one memorandum that he was “strongly in favour of using poisoned gas” against what he called “uncivilised tribes”.
Under the British empire, up to 29 million Indian people died of starvation as wheat was sent over to Britain in the midst of famine. In 1943, Churchill diverted medical aid and food away from starving citizens in British-controlled Bengal, sentencing around four million Bengalis to death in the process. He soon showed the callous racism behind his decision, saying “famine or no famine, Indians will breed like rabbits”.
And in 1944, the British army allegedly joined former Nazi collaborators in Greece in opening fire on Greek civilians. These citizens had been showing their support for the anti-fascist left-wingers with whom Britain had fought in previous years. Twenty-eight civilians were killed and hundreds more injured in this attack. Churchill’s justification was that the presence of communists in the resistance movement could jeopardise his hopes of returning the Greek king to power after the war.
British colonialism in general wasn’t much better
Here are some examples of why Churchill was not the only one responsible for colonial crimes:
During the Second Boer War (1899-1902), British forces detained tens of thousands of Boers in concentration camps. Almost 28 thousand of them died.
In India in 1919, peaceful protesters were blocked inside a walled complex and fired upon by the British army, in what is known as the Amritsar massacre. A thousand of these dissidents are thought to have been killed within 10 minutes during this mass execution.
In 1947, the carelessness of one colonial official resulted in the deaths of up to a million people in sectarian violence. Cyril Radcliffe was in charge of drawing up a border between India and Pakistan, a complex and delicate task which he undertook “over the course of a single lunch”.
In Kenya, British colonial forces allegedly raped and tortured thousands of members of the Kikuyu tribe during the Mau Mau Uprising (1951-1960). They were detained in camps described by some as “Britain’s gulags”, in which up to 100,000 may have died.
In short, the British empire committed numerous shameful acts in the twentieth century. And there is evidence to prove it. So when figures like Liam Fox claim that we do “not need to bury” this history, we should either be very worried or very angry.
There is nothing today that Britain can do to change its past, but the very least we can do is to ensure that past events are never repeated again. And for that to happen, we need to come to terms with the truth.