Pinter

I just finished watching English playwrite Harold Pinter's Nobel Laureate speech. Pinter was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for literature.

I wonder if Pinter's speech will get much time over there in America. Probably not. First of all, he's not american, and I know how you guys like to keep things local. Second, he's a playwrite. Third, the speech was highly critical of US foreign policy over the last 50 years.

Pinter, in addition to being one of the most influential playwrites of any country in the last 50 years, is also highly active politically. His website has many of his writings on current affairs. I find it significant that Pinter took this opportunity to voice his (and not only his) opinions on the evil wave of politcal tyranny that america has cast across the earth since the end of the second world war. In that time America has supported, either directly or indirectly, every military dictatorship in the world, even if it had to go in and topple them every now and again and put in a new one.

Pinter called for Bush (and Tony Blair) to be brought before the international court for the catalogue of crimes they have committed. These are not implications and conspiracy theories - these are facts.

Pinter wondered about the tide of opinion in America and its reaction to the constant stream of deception that comes out of the white house. Will Americans ever grow wise to it and demand more truth in their politicians?

I hope that you all get the chance to see this moving speech from one of the masters of the English language (much better than me). Hopefully the video of it will be up on the site soon.





Update:

A transcript of his speech is here



Some exerpts:

On Nicaragua:

"Six of the most distinguished Jesuits in the world were viciously murdered at the Central American University in San Salvador in 1989 by a battalion of the Alcatl regiment trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. That extremely brave man Archbishop Romero was assassinated while saying mass. It is estimated that 75,000 people died. Why were they killed? They were killed because they believed a better life was possible and should be achieved. That belief immediately qualified them as communists. They died because they dared to question the status quo, the endless plateau of poverty, disease, degradation and oppression, which had been their birthright."



On Dictators:

"The United States supported and in many cases engendered every right wing military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War. I refer to Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, and, of course, Chile. The horror the United States inflicted upon Chile in 1973 can never be purged and can never be forgiven.Hundreds of thousands of deaths took place throughout these countries. Did they take place? And are they in all cases attributable to US foreign policy? The answer is yes they did take place and they are attributable to American foreign policy."

On Justice:

"How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice."

Anyway, I urge you to read it. Knowledge of opposing views (or support of your own) is NEVER a bad thing.