Zionism – Breaking News
Flotilla journalists to sue Isarael
(source: Al Jazeera)
A group of journalists has announced that it plans to sue Israel over its deadly raid on a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip in May.Lawyers have already begun preparing lawsuits in several European countries, according to several of the journalists, who met in Istanbul on Wednesday. The group accused Israel of violating international law.
One of the nine people killed on board the Mavi Marmara, the main ship, was Cevdet Kulclar, a Turkish journalist.Reporters who were on board the ships say the Israeli government never returned their equipment or passports, and that Israeli soldiers later used their credit cards.
An Italian journalist, Manolo Luppichini, told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in June that his credit card was used to make NIS250 ($65) worth of purchases in Israel.
In a statement released after their meeting, the journalists said they are demanding compensation for their losses, the return of their equipment, and an international inquiry into Israel’s treatment of the reporters on board the flotilla.
The group of more than 30 journalists includes reporters from Turkey, Spain, Germany, Lebanon, Egypt, the United Kingdom and the United States.Several of the journalist on board the ship were from Al Jazeera.
Operation sea breeze
(source: Radio 786 Website)
The Israelis called the attack on the Gaza aid flotilla, “Operation Sea Breeze” – a rather mild name, for a brutal attack on humanitarian activists.
As the boats were in international waters, Israeli soldiers illegally boarded the ships during the waqt of fajr. I remember dozing off on Sunday night, and waking up to the sound of the fajr athaan, and then the sirens going off repeatedly. We were told to put on our life jackets, and women were told to remain in their quarters below decks.
Those of us in the women’s quarters sat and waited for any kind of news on what was happening on the ship. We heard voices of people we had joked with just the day before, telling us that armed soldiers had shot and injured several activists on board the ship.
We heard: “Stop shooting, we are unarmed” several times over the intercom – from the background noise we could determine shouting and gun fire. About three hours passed of sitting and hearing those screams and calls for mercy, and then we were told to go upstairs.
The steps that we had climbed so often before the attack were now covered in blood. Blood smears clung to the walls, and then when I looked up, I saw three bodies wrapped up in white cloth lying on the floor – their blood seeping through, while others were being tended to by medics.
Media release demonstration in support of the Egyptian uprising
Issued by: Coalition for a Free Palestine, South African Municipal Workers Union, Palestine Solidarity Committee, Palestine Solidarity Alliance
30 January 2011
The heroic masses of Egypt have risen up against the decades-old corrupt dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Taking inspiration from the intifada in Tunisia, for six days, Egyptian protesters have been demanding that Mubarak be ejected from the office he has held for 30 years, demanding affordable prices for basic foods, and demanding jobs. Close to 200 protestors have been murdered by the security forces as they attempt to exercise their democratic rights.
As South Africans watch the unfolding36in the north of our continent, it reminds us too of our own uprisings: Sharpeville, Soweto, Langa… and spurs us on to express our solidarity with the people of Egypt and Tunisia who remain steadfast in their determination to rid themselves of corrupt and oppressive dictators.
International solidarity organisations, together with social movement activists, members of trade unions and Egyptians in South Africa have come together to celebrate the uprisings of the Egyptians and Tunisians and people’s power globally – whether in the Arab world or in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. We echo the calls of our people in the north of Africa who are demanding bread, jobs, dignity and democracy. Our anger is also directed at the tremendous support successive United States administrations have given to shore up dictators like Mubarak in the region and their collaboration with Israel and Israeli occupation.
Read More »Media release demonstration in support of the Egyptian uprising