http://europeanaction.blogspot.com/

(Published in European Action No 23)

Any attack upon another’s religion is a violation of a human right. A man’s religion is his free choice of worship and should be inviolable. Let us make it clear that the politicisation of religion is the real cause of so much human strife and suffering and not the religion in itself. Religion is often attacked by atheists and other secularists as being responsible for the slaughter of millions over the centuries … and it is the cynical political manipulation of religion for secular ends that concerns us here.
Here in Britain (and elsewhere in Europe) we have this ugly phenomenon of some fringe parties adopting a violent type of religious intolerance as a nationalistic platform. Its exclusive target is Islam and what is perceived to be ‘the threat of Islamification’, supposedly challenging Britain’s identity as a Christian nation. Are we really justified in claiming to be a Christian nation?
Where did all this begin? What are its origins? Attacking anyone for his religion was unheard of in the days of Mosley’s Union Movement. Mosley always said, “We do not attack people on account of what they were born [what they are] but solely on what they do”. This is a perfectly sane and rational point of view and can not be challenged on any moral grounds. At that time, Mosley was referring to what was described as ‘the quarrel with the Jews’. He would say the same regarding Muslims, always consistent, and he abhorred any ill-treatment of the under-dog. In Mosley’s case, there was never a quarrel with Muslims. Quite the opposite. He regarded the Arab world as Europe’s natural ally.
I believe this bogus ‘crusade’ against Islam erupted at the time of the end of the Cold War, when international communism dealt its own death blow. The Age of Ideology came to an end leaving an enormous vacuum waiting to be filled by a much-needed external threat in the form of another global bogeyman. That is when the idea of a ‘war against terrorism’ was first hatched with the Middle East in mind and the new neo-con global agenda linked to Israel and a New World Order. The rest is history, as they say.
Far-right opportunists latched onto this conspiracy theory, opposing Islam worldwide, as an ideal substitute for a previous ‘external threat’ now re-invented as the Muslim ‘enemy within’ … the militant Muslim with his eye on world domination. Ring a bell?
A new vocabulary was needed in order to articulate this myth. We had ‘jihadists’ and then ‘islamofascists’. ‘Jihadist’ is a clear corruption of a noble and pious obligation for the religious. It has no political equivalent. Jihad means the daily struggle to improve oneself as a religious person, having a subjective dimension as well as an obligation to the greater well-being of the community. It does not mean holy war, which is a cynical invention of the self-styled, latter-day ‘crusaders’ stirring up religious hatred. This is but one example of how Islam is being distorted and how it is being misrepresented by the far-right groups, without which they are completely moribund in terms of ideas.
All of this has been cobbled together to create a grotesque caricature divorced from reality … reality being one of three Abrahamic faiths experiencing a revival that was once the Christian experience, uplifting and dynamic. This is ‘Islamification’ to the conspiracy theorists … meaning Islam gaining in size and strength but it is only in terms of the religious without a political base. This is where the conspiracy theory falls flat on its face.
Although Muslims recognise the Ummah as the world community of Islam, it has no political organisation as such and is simply the recognition of a universal brotherhood of the religious. Universality is a characteristic of all the major religions and Islam is no exception.

This brings us to another weakness in the claims of the anti-Islamic far-right. There is a mad idea that only ‘British’ religions have a place in these isles, corralling their ‘British gods’ within a sanitised cordon off North West Europe. Universality is too much like the nightmare of world government which, as all good Empire Loyalists know, is a Jewish communist conspiracy in the pay of New York bankers. How Muslims fit into that equation is something that only the complete paranoiac can incorporate into his tangled web of a mind.
We find them defending the Christian values of Britain against the ‘alien’ faith, the interloper and destroyer of the true faith. Christianity has its roots in the Middle East, the Holy Land, as does Islam. If Islam is deemed alien then so is Christianity and, of course, the predecessor of both, Judaism. That any religion should have a national identity is absurd in the extreme … equally as much as the idea of a Christ renewing his British passport with the Home Office.
Christian values are not British values. They are universal values … meaning they are for all mankind. Islamic values are so similar that the same universality applies. How these giant faiths co-exist is a mark of our nation’s tradition of tolerance and the magnanimous nature of its people. Whether church, mosque or synagogue — they are all centres of religiosity and the human feeling that there is something greater than all of us. This is higher than any politics.
Then there is the scaremongering concerning Sharia Law. This is regarded by the anti-Islamic ‘crusader’ as barbaric, involving torture and mutilation unto which no Christian should succumb. For the benefit of the ignorant, Sharia Law is for Muslims only, being based on the Holy Qur’an … perceived to be the word of God. The reasoning being that God is higher than man, so it follows that God’s law is higher than man-made law.
The Jews in Britain have their Beth Din, Jewish ecclesiastical courts for the religious. This is perfectly reasonable and acceptable. Surely it follows that different faiths must have different needs. What a dull, grey world it would be if everything in our society were to be standardised and subject to a one-size-fits-all rule on matters of law and regulation. Yes, we have diversity and there should never be coercion to conform to a single standard way of living. I say that Muslims are entitled to another tier of law if their faith demands it. There will always be our tier of secular law … but there is nothing wrong with choice. According to Islamic injunction, a Muslim is obliged to honour and respect the laws of a host country and to do otherwise is deemed un-Islamic, of course.
We have large Muslim communities settled in Britain that have become part of a permanent demographic change. Second, third and fourth generations have adopted much of our culture, as one would expect, but most retain the faith of their fathers and those before them. Islam is now firmly rooted here and it deserves to be respected and understood … not attacked as a conspiracy.
Have I changed my mind on the immigration issue since the days of the 1960s when our slogan was ‘Stop Immigration — Send Them Back to Good Jobs and Conditions’? It was always a humane policy and one that became part of a wider economic solution for Britain and Europe. At that time, reversing non-white immigration was a very reasonable and practical proposition. Fifty years later, it is a different world that has left many far behind but one that demands a rethink if we are to preserve our European culture in peace and in prosperity.
All things are in a state of becoming. It is a law of the Universe. Race and culture are no exception in the great movements and upheavals that occur from time to time. Races have always migrated and moved around the world.
However, ‘Islamification’ is nothing more than a cheap scare tactic. This must be understood first. Islam saved Europe before when the Arab Empire civilised Andalucía for hundreds of years while Europe lived in the Dark Ages. Islam can again have a benevolent influence upon our lives in terms of morality, human character and a code for families and communities. After all, it is a complete way of life for the believer in a way that the Christian churches never quite managed to pull off for their flocks.
In these times of economic stress and uncertainty many of us are struggling and finding it all very difficult. The solution is not to turn on a perfectly innocent, hard-working community because it appears different in custom and worship.
I am often urged to seek out what unites us rather than to knock the far-right for its short-comings. I would apply that same principle to all other groups and communities living alongside us during these difficult times.
What should unite us all is a common interest in survival as people first.

By Zahi Sahli

Globalization was forever a dream of civilizations in order to spread the beliefs that serve the common good. In other words, the dream was to cross all borders with spiritual goodness, but globalization was manifested in material terms. The multiplication of goodness turned into a powerful and centralized control of minds. This control occurs through the tools of globalization such as the internet and the mass media. This control directs minds and causes everyone to think that there is only one right way to think of every aspect. Standardization causes the rise of standard culture and a common flow of ideas that are acceptable. Other thoughts, cultures and ways of life become rejected. The dangers of this phenomenon are beyond a limit and stretch to all fields of life. Today, there is standard beauty! Can we imagine a beautiful woman with features unseen in advertisements? No! Also, we accept not a beauty that reflects difference! We want common beauty; standardization has made of us creatures that long for bodily and style perfection! We demand perfection-is this realistic? Television series and sit-coms have made a certain school of thought propagate into the minds of people and made youngsters subject to constant control from what they see as the method of approach to life. The brilliant ideas, once held, by “different” (or special) people are now rejected, since there is a standard to thoughts and the way of life. We are thus left to wonder: is globalization truly a blessing? Is this the type of globalization we want? Why are Arabs speaking foreign languages on Arab lands and taking foreign ideas and making them their own? Can’t every man have his own ideas and views in life without being looked at as against “the flow”? Why are we as weak as slaves and have to “go with the flow”? Let standardization out of your lives! Be not a slave for those thoughts that are not your own! Wander freely and find your true self and true thoughts for everyone of us is a free person with his or her own thoughts! Now, let those thoughts out, freely! Break the bars of imprisonment and clichés and leave to a free sanctuary of your own where you can be yourself and not another, standard person!

By Michel Chossudovsky

URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15557

Global Research, October 6, 2009

I arrived in Manila barely a week after the disaster struck, affecting the lives of more nearly 4 million people, devastating more than 700,000 households, creating a public health disaster, destroying the lives of population groups, which were already living well below the poverty line.

During my visit to Manila, I was hosted by the Ibon foundation and the CDRC, one of the main NGOs involved in relief efforts, in close liason with people’s organizations in the affected areas.  

Under the auspices of CDRC and other NGOs involved in relief work, I visited Marinika, one of the main disaster areas in Metro Manila, where an entire urban area was devastated by the floods, with water levels reaching the second floor of people’s homes. There was no government presence, no medical or public health officials on location, no electricity, no drinking water. Toxic waste, garbage, piles of mud have accumulated.  

The WHO is present in providing medicine first aid kitsinncluding 10,000 water containers. What we are dealing with is one of south east Asia’s a largest natural disasters. 

The international media has casually focussed on the climatic event without providing indepth coverage of an impending humanitarian crisis.  

In a follow-up report, I hope to provide more information on the disaster. Below is the initial report of the CRDC which hosted me during my stay in Manila.

Global Research has contributed to the appeal for financial support.

We invite our readers to support the CRDC in its endeavors. We hope that in the next week or so we will be able to have an online donation form, wehich will be sent out to our readers and members.  

Michel Chossudovsky, Manila, October 7, 2009

CITIZENS’ DISASTER RESPONSE CENTER

72-A Times St., West Triangle Homes, Quezon City, Philippines

Fax: (632) 929-9822

Tel. No. (632) 929-9820

E-mail: cdrc_1984@yahoo.com

Website: www.cdrc-phil.org

Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana), which caused the Philippines’ worst flooding in four decades, left Php8.3 Billion worth of damages to infrastructure (P2.7B) and agriculture (P5.5B), the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.

Ondoy battered Metro Manila and parts of Luzon after it made landfall near the boundary of Aurora and Quezon last September 26. Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna and Rizal were the most affected by the massive floods.

Ondoy also left 797,404 families of 3.8 million people affected. The total number of casualties has already reached 335. Of this number, 288 were killed, 5 injured and 42 missing.

In Metro Manila alone, over 100,000 people from over 900 barangays were evacuated after incessant rains caused heavy flooding in Manila, Marikina, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Valenzuela, San Juan and Quezon City. Flood water in some areas have already reached the second and third floors of buildings, forcing residents to seek refuge on the roof of their houses. Other areas such as Pasig and Cainta remain flooded up to this day.

In Bulacan, 113 baranggays in Marilao, Meycuayan, San Miguel and Bocaue Sta Maria, Calumpit, Bustos and Norzagaray were heavily flooded. In Pampanga, 64 barangays in San Simon, Guagua, Masantol, Apalit, Lubao, Porac, Sto Tomas and San Fernando were flooded as well.

In Rizal, several barangays were flooded and 5,000 families were affected by rising floodwater. Many villages were not accessible to the rescue teams, leaving several families trapped on rooftops for hours.

Landslides occurred in Mt Province-Cagayan via Tabuk in CAR; Brgy. San Juan-Banyo, Arayat, Pampanga in Region III; Brgy. Bongalon, Sangay, Camarines Sur in Region V; Tagaytay-Taal Road, and Tagaytay-Talisay Road in Cavite; and Antipolo-Teresa Road and Sumulong Highway in Rizal.

Appeal for assistance

Right after the typhoon, CDRC and its Regional Centers immediately conducted a Damages, Needs and Capacities Assessment (DNCA) in the affected areas.

Of the total number of affected families, the most vulnerable were carefully identified, taking into account the gravity of destruction, their economic capacity to cope, their accessibility to relief services conducted by other agencies, and their willingness to help themselves.

On the basis of these criteria, 100,000 families have been identified as the most vulnerable families from among the total affected. They were among the worst affected by the typhoon and floods. Their houses were destroyed, and many of these areas are still difficult to access and therefore receive very little assistance if any. Immediate needs are food supply augmentation and other essential non-food items.

Needs include:

• food provisions
• water supply
• medicines (for common colds and diarrhea)
• clothes
• bedding (mats, blankets, mosquito nets)
• plastic sheet
• kitchen utensils
• sanitary napkins
• construction materials (plywood, corrugated metal roof, etc)

Donations for the evacuees may be sent through the Citizens’ Disaster Response Center at 72-A Times St., West Triangle Homes, Quezon City. Concerned individuals and donors can easily reach us at (632) 929-9822 / (632) 929-9820. Donations may also be sent through the following bank accounts:

Dollar Account

Account Name:  Citizens’ Disaster Response Center
Account Number:  2-63600158-3

Bank:  Metrobank, Examiner Branch

Bank Address: Corner Examiner and Quezon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City, Philippines

Swift Code: MBTCPHMM

Peso Account

Account Name:  Citizens’ Disaster Response Center
Account Number:  3-63600741-3

Bank:  Metrobank, Examiner Branch

Bank Address: Corner Examiner and Quezon Avenue, West Triangle, Quezon City, Philippines

References:

NDCC
PAGASA
Reports from:

Community Response for Enlightenment, Service and Transformation (CREST)

Alay Bayan Incorporated (ABI)

Southern Tagalog People’s Response Center (STPRC)

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

Two swimmers entered the water around the cages carrying banners calling for a complete ban on the trade of this iconic species. The action (1) comes just days after the European Commission announced its support for a ban on trading North Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna, under rules governing the trade of endangered species (2).

“Bluefin tuna is an endangered species. Yet, bluefin tuna can still be caged, fattened for market and then killed for profit,” said Banu Dokmecibasi, oceans campaigner for Greenpeace Mediterranean. “Not only would it be unthinkable to treat a tiger or a mountain gorilla in such a way – it would also be illegal.”

The bluefin tuna crisis is a devastating example of the global failure to sustainably manage the world’s oceans and the urgent need for a global network of marine reserves to protect ocean life. Bluefin tuna has been brought to the brink of collapse by the repeated failure of the International Commission of the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to follow scientific advice, make sure bluefin quotas are complied with and regulate its fishing in the Mediterranean. Since 2006, scientists have been ringing the alarm bell on the dire state of the bluefin tuna stock. A so-called ICCAT recovery plan in 2008 still allowed quotas 47% above scientific advice (3). Bluefin tuna captured during the 2009 fishing season is currently kept in farms all around the Mediterranean, to be fattened, killed and traded as part of a largely uncontrolled industrial activity (4).

“Without urgent action the only place bluefin tuna will be seen is in historical documentaries about extinct species,” said Sebastian Losada, oceans policy advisor for Greenpeace International. “As a first step, all governments must support the calls for protection and then move to close spawning grounds with a view to designating a network of Mediterranean marine reserves.”

The Greenpeace ships Rainbow Warrior and Esperanza are currently sailing in the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean to highlight the urgent need for marine reserves now in order to preserve fish stocks in the future. reenpeace is campaigning for a global network of fully protected marine reserves, covering 40% of our oceans. They are essential to ensure clean and healthy oceans and protect marine life from overfishing and habitat destruction. Healthy oceans can also play a vital role in building resilience against the devastating effects of climate change.

Contacts:

Sebastian Losada, Oceans Policy Advisor at Greenpeace International: + 33 623 590 963 Yesim Aslan, Communications Officer at Greenpeace International: + 90 532 316 73 65 Greenpeace International Picture Desk: +44 7801 615889

Notes:

(1) The farm demarked by Greenpeace belongs to the Turkish company Akuadem. The licence of the farm in Gerence Bay was cancelled in June by the Turkish civil court due to violation of Turkish aquaculture regulations.

(2) Reacting to the dire state of the bluefin tuna stocks, Monaco put forward a proposal to list North Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna as an endangered species under the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a move that would give Appendix I protection and lead to a ban on international trade until the species is no longer threatened. France, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Austria were among the countries supporting Monaco’s proposal. Earlier this week, the European Commission also announced its support for a ban on international trade of bluefin tuna. The CITES meeting takes place in March 2010.

(3) See ICCAT Rec 08-05 – Recommendation amending the recommendation by ICCAT to establish multiannual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean:

http://www.iccat.int/Documents/Recs/compendiopdf-e/2008-05-e.pdf

(4) See the Greenpeace submission to ICCAT 2008:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/ICCAT-16

_______________________________________________

Press-releases mailing list

——–

It’s a world of selfishness, the world we dwell. Not that it has been this vicious forever… But it is the fact that we adopt the rule of “every man for himself” that has devalued the ever-so valuable justice. Equilibrium and balance are a necessity in creating a successful society-and balance here isn’t restricted to financial equality. The fact that many eras have been successful in attaining more happiness, less stress and a lower suicide level than the modern times is extremely intriguing. Happiness is therefore not a direct result to an evolution in technology. Rather, it is directly influenced by the evolution of the human side of the society. Man has ever wondered about and chased the ultimate happiness, searching for a way to capture satisfaction once and for all. The sexual satisfaction, the happiness of receiving a gift, the delight after one’s own child is born, or the thrill of finding love is eventually covered by the coats of human selfishness. However, a feeling of internal happiness can be a form of energy and can thus be transported from one person to another. “Collective good” refers to the theory that states that the material on earth should have collective ownership. In other words, everybody owns everything, with equal shares without capital. But the focus of this article is “collective goodness” which I regard as the human side of the collective thought. How does it work? It’s quite simple. If a man treats his friend well, his friend will return the good behavior. Both of them will influence their surrounding in the same manner, giving the positive energy out to other people; those people will have a different circle of friends they can carry their energy to. By and by, the circle will grow. Compromise will come from two sides at a time and the positive energy can fill the once-miserable folks of this denatured, liberal world.

Zahi Sahli

——–

It is the the long-awaited globalization stamp that we have been waiting for to create the perfect conditions of life for all. Every kid from around this ill-fated world now has a tag. Surely there are no slaves for sale, but aren’t we all slaves of the market? The shocking downfall of the economy last year just comes to prove the fact that consumers are always the victims of any economic crisis. Yes, big companies did crash out of business but why shed a tear on a case where a billionaire has been made millionaire? The sad stories are those of the poor-made-poorer, the people who have little power to purchase. There are stocks for everything, as corporations take over the world, much to the delight of the owners of these corportations. Let’s take a quick peak at the future of our stock market provided that the morons running this world continue on the road of liberalism: I imagine that soon there will be stocks for lettuce and tomatoes. People will be standing in queues for food and supermarkets will have the latest roundups of the market on digital televisions as prices are automatically updated. Meat, fish and chicken will be luxuries, only afforded by the filthy-rich of the society. Meanwhile, due to the effect of global warming, water will be sold in 10mL “mini-cans” while vegetables will be sold online through up-to-date pricing via the stock service. Off course, the price can change after you order, that’s why motorcycles won’t be used for delivery. The chronosphere technology will be introduced. Yes, we will imitate Red Alert. I now understand a beautiful saying that dares to defy the schemes of liberalists. It says that the shirt you wear is probably stolen from a poor, shirtless person. True, if a market contains limited cash, 10 million, for example, and this money is to be shared by 10 people. If one takes a penney more than 1 million, then he or she takes this from the share of their fellow human being. But if we share the wealth of the world, wouldn’t it be a better idea? If we plant for every person to eat instead of wasting a great amount of our harvest when the stocks go down to keep them in limited amounts and thus, always on the rise, wouldn’t it be a better world? If we sell at a controlled price, wouldn’t we be securing the rights of all to buy. And if everyone buys, firms will produce, people will be employed, they will have money, they will commit no crimes, because they will not be hungry. But as I see it, there will be what I call a “Great Human Revolution” when hunger strikes and unfairness reaches an unbearable level.

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

————————————–

I never quite understood why we say that technology is a form of advancement. Yes, ‘technological advancement’ is a term coined to illustrate the progress in the technological world. But how is technology a form of progress for humanity? From day one of technology’s ‘life’, divisions were introduced. Man first invents the car, but who gets to drive the car? Who gets to ride the chariot, plant using then-new tools and gets the profit of selling nature’s production? When luxury is directed towards and driven by a class of the society, then the ‘peasants’ suffer. Not a real advancement, is it? What technology brought was against the freedom of the human mind and spirit. Do children want to be at schools? Do we want to be studying, applying for work and working for hours in offices until we reach a time where we are jaded and in-need for a small vacation in a natural and green area to look at sunrise and sleep? Wouldn’t we really enjoy a natural life more? Laying in between the trees without paying mortgage, drinking from the rivers without having to pay for every mL of water we drink, having time to appreciate sunrise and running freely without traffic lights? Isn’t happiness what we pursue? Then freedom is advancement! Yes, technology is a devil’s work, for we are confound into cities with misery belts, trapped in front of TV’s, far away from our leaders! There was a time when leaders were part of the society! But not now! Yes, technology is inhumane! Why should we all be the same? Perfect the SAT’s, talk to a computer in TOEFL? Are we computers and machines or are we human beings, men and women, with emotions and senses? Why should papers have value, and be maintained by a group of people? Why can’t we all share? It’s liberalism, the modern times and globalization! They are the faults for these inequations, for men and women once wandered with joy, ate from the land, drank from the rivers and submitted to nature’s beauty with freedom? And they say globalization’s goal is to bring people and classes closer to each other? That expression is worthy a ‘Joke of the Century’ award! But unfortunately, we are heading toward a stage of ‘total inhumanity’. Yes, there is no time to see the poor for they are locked behind doors where they are ‘nurtured’. No time to feed hungry children since we are busy surfing the Internet and no time for us to relax because we want to produce. Produce what exactly? Industry brings money, money goes to the owners and the rest of the people work for them? And they say slavery has been extinguished. No. We are the slaves of modern times. And who knows, soon, lettuce and tomatoes might be introduced to the stocks at Wall-Street. That will benefit us, won’t it? 10 dollars for a bite of tomato is fair, isn’t it? Thank you globalization!

‘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/