Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (pictured) nearly called for a ceasefire in Gaza. [Picture: Art Babych/Shutterstock]
It is okay for apartheid Israel’s response to Hamas’s retaliatory October 7 attacks to grow way out of proportion. It remains a matter of self-defence, even when 11 000 civilians are killed. A ‘humanitarian pause’ may be considered, but at no cost will we call for a ‘ceasefire’.
That appears to be the approach by the loudhailer promoters of the free and fair values of democracy. Even with the mounting death toll in Gaza, and the humanitarian catastrophe, the word “ceasefire” is too difficult to utter.
It was after a meeting with his US counterpart that Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau stumbled on the word “ceasefire”. The result was a messy string of incoherence.
“We need to see a cease… we need to see a humanitarian pause so we can flow … we need to see ceasing of the levels of violence that we’re seeing,” he told reporters earlier in November.
SMread: Apartheid Israel’s displacement and occupation of the West Bank
Ceasefire meme
It didn’t take long for Internet users to react. Many wondered why it was so difficult for someone of such stature to tell it as it was, others already had their own answers. Others made their own skits to highlight the absurdity.
“Poor guy,” wrote one TikTok user who goes under the alias ‘Mustang 821’. “[He] couldn’t say what he wants to say.. he is a prime minister, amagine [sic] how politicians are being controlled by super powers”.
Another user, Goub, who went viral for dramatically quitting a TV interview when it became clear which way the questions were going, had a field day doing impressions of Justin Trudeau’s flop.
“We need to see a cease-fff… I’ll tell you what we need. We need a… caesar-salad. We need a cea-shish kebab, shish kebab, no. It’s obvious to me what we need; Augustus Caesar,” he said.
@goub “We need to see a cease F-“ – Prime Ministher Justin Trudea 🤡
♬ original sound – Goub
While leaders fail to muster the courage to call for the right thing, reluctantly opting for calls for flimsy humanitarian pauses instead, the already-dire situation in Palestine continues to deteriorate.
Nearly all of Gaza’s civilian population has been displaced, hospitals have shut down and the United Nations warns its operations will “grind to a halt” if no fuel is allowed into the enclave before Wednesday.
