But they can’t spin for much longer. Video footage from dozens of people is beginning to surface about what really happened. Al Jazeera has posted their coverage as gun shots sound in the background, speakers beg the passengers to go below and a white flag is set out for the paramilitary groups. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn-l_JltCB4

More will come out as passengers are released. We already know that Israel shot the captain of the Marmara and the European Campaign boat, maybe hoping that we would no longer be able to hire captains. Several activists have spoken to their Consulates and told of being kicked, beaten, dragged along the ground, tear gassed and bags thrown over their heads.

Knowing that video of this vicious attack in international waters was going to surface, Captain Aria Shaliker of the Israel Defense Forces, who was part of the operation on Monday, said the commandos began the raids armed with paint ball guns. “I was, myself, on one of the boats, the Israeli boats, approaching the flotilla,” he told the BBC’s World Today programme. “It is true that the Israeli commander unit… came on board with paint ball weapons… in order to disperse people.

No mention of paint-stained clothing.

As Israel’s hysteria mounts, “they now claim “self defense” in attacking ships in international waters today, killing 9.  Israel informed the US and Britain that the convoy was ferrying stolen nuclear weapons that would be used for a terrorist attack on Israel.  The “stolen nukes” have been in Israel for 18 years while the US has spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives looking for them. Today 9 more died” http://mycatbirdseat.com/2010/06/gordon-duff-israel-scams-u-s-%E2%80%9Cgaza-convoy-carrying-stolen-nukes%E2%80%9D/

The world is watching a county imploding, having a massive nervous breakdown in full view. It’s tragic that thousands of Palestinians have died and 9 human rights workers lost their lives yesterday.

—
Greta Berlin

On the radar, the boats could see three Israeli war ships shadowing us, and 15 minutes later, a silent aircraft hovered over the flotilla. One of our Hebrew speakers had found Israel’s strategy and posted it to us. It stated, “You will be boarded by highly trained, very efficient and very SILENT commandos. They will use silent inflatable boats to get to our boats and both try to board our boats directly from the inflatables and by dropping divers into the water to climb onto the boats,” so people were preparing for them to come up and over the sides of the ships.

Our SPOT locator has sent out several HELP messages at www.witnessgaza.com.

Lubna Marsawa, Free Gaza’s organizer on the Turkish passenger boat said in outrage, “Very few times in history has a flotilla delivering humanitarian goods been welcomed by military war ships.”

This is a call to the world from the people on the boats. “We are a civilian people doing what our governments have refused to do, challenge Israel’s right to collectively punish 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza by blockading their right to their own sea. This flotilla is bringing construction and educational supplies the people of Gaza and are being met by Israeli warships.”

Contact: Huwaida Arraf on board the Challenger 0088 216 5207 2093

Ewa Jasciewica on board the Challenger 0088 163 184 7926

Fatima Mohammed on board the IHH ship 8821636619168

Greta Berlin 00 357 99 18 72 75

Mary Hughes 00 357 96 38 38 09

Check out this site, find the Israeli embassy nearest you and let them know how you feel.
http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-of/Israel

—
Greta Berlin, Co-Founder
+357 99 18 72 75
witnessgaza.com
www.freegaza.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza

After tremendous pressure from the Greek Cypriots, reneging on their agreement with us http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/cyprus-stops-mps-joining-gaza-flotilla/20100529, we were forced to take our MPs and activists to Famagusta yesterday, on the Turkish/Cypriot side of Cyprus. We spent all day going from one port to the next, surrounded by helicopters and police. Clearly our deal with Cyprus officials had fallen through, and we ended up being pawns in a political soap opera. The Cypriot members of Parliament, the ones who had worked so hard to get us permission to leave, were outraged. The Greek Parliament members finally told us to go to the North. If they could, they would. The Cypriot government said they made their decision because, “The Republic of Cyprus is fighting for its survival” but it didn’t bow to pressure from Israel. As they said this, they bowed their heads.

We made a deal with the Cypriot government that we would board our high-profile passengers and members of Parliament from Cyprus. We would board with no media coverage. We would not bring our boats into Cyprus. We would take small boats out to our own ships and board past the 12-mile territorial limit.

Authorities mandated that we couldn’t even do that, essentially telling us that, even if we board small boats anywhere in Greek Cyprus from any port, we could not travel outside their territorial limits to go to Gaza. Twenty-seven people were supposed to board, including 9 Cypriots and two Greeks. None of them could come with us as we went North.

Then our two passenger boats mysteriously had mechanical problems at the same time, 3:30 pm. Challenger 2 was able to get 14 delivered to the IHH ship, then limped into the harbor in Limassol after being harassed by Cypriot helicopters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjGoe3Gi-ns&feature=player_embedded, essentially forbidding us to bring our wounded boat into port.

Our other boat, Challenger 1 headed toward Famagusta with 16 passengers. It, too, was wounded, something wrong with the steering.

By the time we were jerked around yesterday. We had started at 7:00 am.  By 10:00 pm, we had nowhere to board, and our boats were out of commission.

But we all have Gaza fever, and no one was giving up.

It has taken us all day to find someone on the Turkish side to ferry some of our passengers out to the flotilla who have been patiently waiting five hours away from Cyprus. At 6:00 pm, 20 of our passengers left for the flotilla, and the Swedish MP and the three German MPs are on board. Hedy is not, and we are heartsick that, once again, she will not be able to go to Gaza.

The flotilla leaves for Gaza early in the morning and should arrive tomorrow afternoon. We have persevered… Al Samoud.
—
Greta Berlin, Co-Founder
+357 99 18 72 75
witnessgaza.com
www.freegaza.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza

Wednesday March 31^st 2010

Yesterday the Free Gaza Movement bought a 1200 tonne cargo ship at an auction in Dundalk, Ireland.

The vessel had been impounded a year ago following an inspection by the International Transport Federation (ITF) which found that its’ owners had exploited it’s Lithuanian crew members- not paying their wages and subjecting them to humiliating treatment.

ITF Inspector and SIPTU organiser Ken Fleming said, ‘We are pleased to announce that this vessel which was used to subject workers to modern day slavery, will now be used to promote human rights for the people of Palestine’.

The Free Gaza Movement now owns four ships including three passenger vessels.

Free Gaza’s ships will take part in an international flotilla taking humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza strip this May. Passenger and cargo ships are also being organised by the Turkish humanitarian organisation I.H.H., and by groups in Greece, Sweden, Malaysia and Belgium.

Free Gaza has launched eight missions to Gaza over the past two years. Five were successful. The last two were violently stopped by the Israeli Navy.

The Irish ship will be taking 500 tons of cement, as well as medicines, medical equipment and educational materials to the people of Gaza.

Derek Graham of the Free Gaza Movement said, ‘We have international law and the conscience of the people of the world on our side. We know the Irish people will not stand by and let the people of Gaza be starved and punished by Israel any longer’.

In preparation for the launch of the Irish ship, hospitals, trade unions, churches, mosques, families and community groups are being invited to sponsor bags of cement to help the people of Gaza to rebuild.

Caoimhe Butterly of the Free Gaza Movement said ‘We call upon the Irish people and government to support the safe passage of our mission. The siege is a form of collective, sustained and devastating punishment. Supporting the flotilla is a way for the people of Ireland to show direct solidarity with the 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza as they attempt to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives’.

The vessel, the MV Linda, will be re-named the MV Rachel Corrie, in memory of the 23 year old solidarity activist crushed to death in 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer as she attempted to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in Gaza. The Free Gaza Movement pays tribute to Rachel and the thousands of Palestinian men, women and children killed, wounded or imprisoned under Israeli Occupation.

China’s Myanmar Dilemma

Beijing/Jakarta/Brussels, 14 September 2009: After two decades of failed international approaches to Myanmar, Western countries and China must find better ways to work together to push for change in the military-ruled nation.

China’s Myanmar Dilemma*, the latest International Crisis Group report, examines Chinese national and provincial policy towards Myanmar and its implications for international approaches toward the country. While many believe that China is the key to pushing Myanmar toward political reform, its influence is overstated.

The Myanmar army’s recent raid against the Kokang ceasefire group, resulting in the flight of 37,000 refugees to China, highlights the complexity of China’s relationship with Myanmar. China was unable to dissuade the generals from launching their bloody campaign. Tensions along the border remain the highest in 20 years.

“The insular and nationalistic generals do not take orders from anyone, including Beijing”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “By continuing to simply expect China to take the lead in solving the problem, a workable international approach to Myanmar will remain elusive”.

While China shares the aspiration for a stable and prosperous Myanmar, it differs from the West on how to achieve these goals. China will not engage with Myanmar on terms dictated by the West. To bring Beijing on board, the wider international community will need to pursue a plausible strategy that takes advantage of areas of common interest as well as China’s actual level of influence.

The West should emphasise to China the unsustainable nature of its current policies and continue to apply pressure in the Security Council and other fora. At the same time, China is just one among many countries courting Myanmar. International pressure should not exclude other regional states pursuing their own narrowly defined self interests in Myanmar.

“Both Chinese and international policies towards Myanmar deserve careful reassessment,” explains Donald Steinberg, Crisis Group’s Deputy President for Policy. “An effective international approach also requires a united front by regional actors as well as multilateral institutions such as ASEAN and the UN.”

Read the full Crisis Group report on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org

Sudan: Justice, Peace and the ICC

This media release is also available in Arabic.

Nairobi/Brussels, 17 July 2009: Sudan must dismantle its system of impunity for atrocity crimes or there will be no peace in Darfur, and the North-South civil war could again erupt.

Sudan: Justice, Peace and the ICC,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the root cause of the country’s many crises, namely the reluctance of the long-ruling National Congress Party (NCP) to enact policies that would bring justice to the victims of its many conflicts. To end Sudan’s centralised, exploitive and unaccountable governance, the NCP must accept judicial reforms and transitional justice mechanisms as key elements of a Darfur settlement and at the same time fulfil its side of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which halted decades of civil war.

International partners of the Sudan peace process should increase pressure on the NCP in order to create a chance for meaningful policy changes. The best way to do so is to reconfirm their support for execution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants, including the warrant issued against President Bashir in March, and to deliver a firm message in Khartoum that they will only consider a UN Security Council resolution suspending execution if Khartoum first makes those reforms.

“The danger now is that the international community might accept an ICC deferral too cheaply”, says Fouad Hikmat, Crisis Group’s Sudan and African Union Adviser. “If it demands only national elections as envisioned in the CPA while ignoring the Darfur issue, including its justice aspects, Sudan will not find peace.”

The NCP has defied the ICC arrest warrant against President Bashir for atrocity crimes in Darfur, and the African Union and Arab League have requested the Security Council to suspend the ICC proceedings, via the procedure for a one-year renewable period provided in Article 16 of the Rome Statute that established the ICC. Since the first case announced by the ICC on Sudan in 2006, there has been no genuine attempt to deal with systemic crimes and lack of accountability, making it difficult to achieve peace in Darfur. Humanitarian aid there is still restricted, putting several million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and others at risk.

Sudan will face increased turmoil if the NCP is allowed to maintain the status quo and close the door to political accommodation of Darfur through a fraudulent electoral process in 2010 that disenfranchises many Darfuris. That result would undermine conditions for the promised 2011 referendum in South Sudan on independence, which in turn could lead to the return of full-scale civil war.

While critical of some of the tactics of the ICC prosecutor, the report concludes that international pressure on the NCP regarding the Bashir arrest warrant can be effective. That warrant has created a critical dilemma for his party, which must now decide whether to genuinely work to resolve the crisis in Darfur and elsewhere in the country or accept pariah status in much of the world.

“Sudan needs institutional reforms and new policies directed at instituting a culture of accountability”, says Daniela Kroslak, Crisis Group’s Deputy Africa Program Director. “Short-term deals and quick fixes that ignore the core issue of impunity for atrocity crimes cannot advance a sustainable political settlement to the country’s conflicts”.

Read the full Crisis Group report on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org

‘The abduction of human rights workers bound for Gaza: House of Commons debate the actions of the Israeli Navy’

Contact:
Alex Harrison (British passenger): 07824621613. Alex will be available outside the House of Commons from 9.15 p.m. or after the conclusion of the debate for interviews.
Hilary Smith (UK Free Gaza): 07818040982
Greta Berlin or Ramzi Kysia (Free Gaza; Cyprus): +357 99081767

(LONDON) – The House of Commons will tonight be debating the interception of a boat in international waters by the Israeli Navy and the abduction of six British civilians on board. The debate[1] will be led by Emily Thornberry, MP, and constituent MP for Alex Harrison, a human rights worker who was one of those abducted.

On June 30th 2009 a small ferry, carrying 21 unarmed civilians and a small amount of humanitarian aid, was forcibly boarded by armed Israeli commandos as it sailed towards the partially destroyed seaport of Gaza city, in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The boat, the Spirit of Humanity, was in international waters at the time it was taken. Through the night prior to the boarding, the boat had been sailing only by compass after its navigational systems had been jammed by Israeli war ships which had surrounded and trailed the boat. The Navy has also threatened to fire on those on board. Following the boarding, in which the Al Jazeera journalists on board had their cameras taken, and in which at least one passenger was assaulted, the boat, its cargo and the 21 were forcibly taken to Israel, were they were then charged with illegally entering the country. The British film maker on board, Ishmahil Blagrove, managed to retain footage of the night’s events.[2]

The voyage was the latest attempt by the international Free Gaza movement[3] to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which results in the imprisonment of the 1.5 million population and conditions of desperate poverty and siege conditions for the civilian population.

“People in Gaza are being made to live in subhuman conditions. Children are dying, and governments are silent. It is important to continue sending boats to Gaza to challenge the criminal blockade enforced by the Israeli military,” said Huwaida Arraf, Free Gaza organiser and who was on board the Spirit.

Amongst the human rights workers on board was Nobel peace prize winner, Mairead Maguire, Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia and award winning British film maker Ishmahil Blagrove. Six of those on board, including the Captain, were British, and after almost a week in Israeli custody the six were deported to Britain.

British supporters of Free Gaza contrast the silence of the British Foreign Office over the abduction and false imprisonment of six of its citizens with their very public reaction to the arrest of British Embassy staff in Iran. The Free Gaza movement is most concerned, however, with what the abduction in international waters reveals about Israeli determination to enforce its illegal blockade, to prevent any attempt by human rights workers to travel to Gaza, and by the silence of international governments, including the British Government, to Israeli actions.

Free Gaza movement www.freegaza.org
-Ends-

[1] Debate, ‘The interception of the boat The Spirit of Humanity’, is due to take place at approximately 10 p.m. Monday 13th July 2009.
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSFy-pkKtZU
[3] The Free Gaza Movement, a human rights group, sent two boats to Gaza in August 2008. These were the first international boats to land in the port in 41 years. Since August, four more voyages were successful, taking Parliamentarians, human rights workers, and other dignitaries to witness the effects of Israel’s draconian policies on the civilians of Gaza. On December 30, their boat, the DIGNITY was rammed in international waters, on its way to deliver emergency medical supplies to the people of Gaza, while they were under the infamous attack by Israel. Contact them at www.freegaza.org. For photos, please check www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/

Congo: A Comprehensive Strategy to Disarm the FDLR

Nairobi/Brussels, 9 July 2009: The Congolese and Rwandan governments, as well as the international community, must formulate a new comprehensive strategy to dismantle the Rwandan Hutu rebels or face continuing regional instability.

Congo: A Comprehensive Strategy to Disarm the FDLR,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the failed attempts of the past to dismantle the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an insurgency with roots that go back to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It recommends a new approach to help end great civilian suffering and restore state authority in the eastern Congo. Clear division of labour and better coordination are needed to capitalise on recently improved Congo-Rwanda relations.

“New momentum is required, involving national, regional and international actors”, says Guillaume Lacaille, Crisis Group’s Senior Congo Analyst. “The separation of the FDLR leadership from its rank-and-file should be the priority. Unless the FDLR is closed down, the militarisation of the Kivus, the absence of state control and the extensive violations of human rights will prolong the suffering and endanger the Congo’s stability”.

In Operation “Umoja Wetu” (Our Unity) earlier this year, the Rwandan army moved through North Kivu province, seeking to uproot the rebel militia from its main strongholds. The results of the 35-day offensive were much more modest than officially celebrated. Barely a month after it ended, the FDLR regrouped and began to retaliate against civilians. A new military campaign by the Congolese army and the UN mission (MONUC) –“Kimia II” has failed to protect the population and should be called off.

Experience shows that piecemeal disarmament, forced or voluntary, and unilateral attempts by the Congo to negotiate a settlement with the rebels will not succeed. Crisis Group proposes a new strategy that includes:

• civilian protection by responsible Congolese security forces and the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC);
• a reformed disarmament and demobilisation program involving psychological operations and informational campaigns as well as options for return or resettlement (including in third countries);
• Rwanda’s development of a list of FDLR génocidaires in eastern Congo and their subsequent isolation by sophisticated psychological operations, accompanied by talks with commanders not involved in the 1994 genocide;
• in due course, limited military actions by Congolese army units specifically trained to weaken the command and control structure of the rebels in coordination with Rwandan forces;
• legal initiatives in third countries to block propaganda and aid from FDLR leaders outside Congo;
• consolidation of Rwanda-Congo relations; and
• dividends for the people of the Great Lakes region through economic and social development.

 “Without progress on ending the FDLR problem once and for all, their presence in eastern Congo will contribute to regional instability ”, warns François Grignon, Crisis Group’s Africa Program Director, “and the promising Congo-Rwanda entente will be at risk”.

Read the full Crisis Group report on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org

Iraq and the Kurds: Trouble Along the Trigger Line

Baghdad/Erbil/Brussels, 8 July 2009: Iraqi leaders and the U.S. must manage increasing tensions between the Baghdad federal government and Kurdish authorities or face deadly violence following the U.S. troop withdrawal.

Iraq and the Kurds: Trouble Along the Trigger Line,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, warns that a new and potentially destructive ethnic conflict has arisen between the Iraqi federal and Kurdistan’s regional government. In particular, tensions have been building steadily along a new, undemarcated “trigger line”, a curve stretching from the Syrian to the Iranian border, where at multiple places the Iraqi army and Kurdish fighters known as peshmergas are arrayed in opposing formations. Both sides have been manoeuvring to gain political, military and territorial advantage before the U.S. withdrawal.

“To prevent an outbreak of deadly ethnic conflict after it pulls out its forces, Washington should craft an exit strategy that encourages Iraqis to reach a series of bargains on power, resources and territory”, says Joost Hiltermann, Deputy Director of Crisis Group’s Middle East and North Africa Program. “The Obama administration should make sure that the peace it leaves behind is sustainable, lest Bush’s war of choice turn into its own war of necessity”.

The conflict is centred on disputed territories, especially Kirkuk, which hosts a mix of populations, as well as untold reserves of oil and gas. Amid increased tensions and without the U.S. presence, some Iraqis, including Kurdish leaders, could seek outside protection, thus potentially regionalising the conflict.

The U.S. must draw down its forces responsibly, leaving in place a clear arrangement agreed by the federal Iraqi and Kurdistan regional governments. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) should facilitate negotiations between the two parties with muscular U.S. backing.

The ultimate deal, as Crisis Group has consistently argued, should comprise a federal hydrocarbons law, a settlement over Kirkuk and other disputed territories and agreement over the division of powers that jointly would pave the way for consensus on amending the constitution. In the interim, the U.S. and UN should help Baghdad and Erbil to improve their mutual communications and security cooperation in disputed territories and persuade them to refrain from unilateral steps along the trigger line.

“President Obama’s late June decision to appoint Vice President Joseph Biden as his informal special envoy for Iraq and the latter’s subsequent visit to Baghdad point in the right direction”, says Robert Malley, Director of Crisis Group’s Middle East and North Africa Program. “The challenge now for Washington is to display determination, persistence and follow-through”.

to read the full Crisis Group report click here

Thank you for the fellowship and for the good wishes you have shown us these last days. They have sustained us. As we continuing our groundbreaking work to shatter the Israeli siege of Gaza, we’re turning to you, our friends and supporters, for help.

We have a need for volunteers to help us in translations (particularly Arabic and Greek), webwork, research, writing, graphic design and art, and many other areas. If you are interested in volunteering with the Free Gaza Movement, please send us an email to:
volunteer[at]freegaza.org

Please include your contact information, a brief bio, and where you think you’d best be able to contribute. Please be patient with us as we may not be able to respond to every offer right away.

You are our family. If not for you, none of this would be possible. In the midst of all of the pain and difficulty of this terrible crisis – through each and every one of you, we are truly blessed.

www.FreeGaza.org