What is Israel Planning in Mauritius?

20.02.2022

Yesterday 19 February, LALIT sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Alan Ganoo and Minister of Health Kailesh Jagutpal requesting an explanation about an apparent joint-event held with “an” Israeli Embassy of some sort. Mauritius, as readers no doubt know, has no stand-alone Israeli Embassy present. However, the Israeli propaganda machinery is hard at work in Mauritius of late, having billetted L’Express newspaper, via one of its journalists into its army of justifiers world-wide. She thus interviewed an Israeli spokesman in a complaisant way and then wrote a follow-up article of equal complaisance. No mention, for example, of illegal occupation of Palestine, annexation of part of Syria, the three recent Reports out on Israel as an Apartheid State, nor even of its illegal nuclear weapons. Having first accomplished media “cover” this way, the Israeli state now seems to be making an advance into influencing the Mauritian state directly. Which is why LALIT has sent this initial letter to demand further details of the presence of two Mauritian Ministers at an Israeli-jointly hosted event:

Here – with a Class 4 Cyclone Warning still on – is the content of our letter:  

Dear Sir,

LALIT calls by this open letter for clarification about the photograph below. It is a Screen Shot from the MBC News yesterday, 18 February, and seems to show a banner showing a Mauritian Ministry, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, as well as the Minister himself, together with an “Embassy of Israel” of some sort doing a joint event. [A printed banner peeps from behind the Minister, reading “...bassy of Israel”.]* Is this Government policy? The Israeli Embassy on the poster behind the Minister, from which country is it? 

We have recently had clarification from Mr. Ganoo that the Mauritian Government opposes the observer status that has by stealth of some sort been granted apparently to Israel by the African union, of which the Republic of Mauritius is a member.  Now, the Israeli State seems to be inside the Republic of Mauritius.

Clarification in public on this official “joint event” with what looks suspiciously like the “Embassy of Israel”, would be most helpful, as well as a letter to us from each Ministry to explain.

As you know, Israel, as well as illegally occupying Palestine – the West Bank as well as East Jerusalem – and enclosing the entirety of Gaza in an illegal state of siege, has illegally annexed part of Syria – the Golan Heights – and continues to threaten Iran and the entire Middle East with its well-known, though illegal, nuclear arsenal. Israel has recently been declared an “Apartheid State” – only the second one ever so declared – by detailed reports, to which we can now refer, prepared both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and even by the Israeli rights organization B’Tselem. Mauritius should thus be part of the ongoing world-wide BDS -- Boycott, Disinvestment, Sanctions -- campaign, instead of embarking on joint events with this Apartheid State.

Please let us know if this letter has been received and that the screen-shot, too, has arrived at its destination. 

Yours sincerely,

Alain Ah Vee and Ragini Kistnasamy,

for LALIT, 

* Our news section does not support visuals, so we have described the poster in square brackets. For the photo, please see the Documents Section of our web site www.lalitmauritius.org