[mgj-discuss] Rally Update: Palestinian Land Day Demonstration this Saturday 3/30

Fri Mar 29 11:09:07 EST 2002

As I'm sure most of you have heard by now the situation in the Occupied
Territories and the Middle East in general is extremely serious. See below
the "Urgent call to World Civil Society" by prominent Palestinian leaders
like Hanan Ashrawi warning that Israel is carrying out a massive invasion
of the territories. 

Meanwhile, 600 "internationals" (mostly Europeans but a number of
Americans) who are part of a campaign to support the Palestinians through
non-violent civil disobedience and direct action if necessary, have
already arrived in Ramallah and are refusing to leave, according to CNN.
Another 200-300 Italians and others were refused entry to Israel.

Here's what one of the reports from the internationals: "International
civilians are trying to assist ambulance teams in Ramallah as they attempt
to get to wounded and dying people. The ambulances of the International
Red Cross, Red Crescent and U.N. have been prevented from moving in the
city. The ambulances are now coming under fire and international
civilians have been trying to act as human shields on board since 2:00
today. Internationals will continue to ride aboard the ambulances in the
hope that this may increase the chances of getting to those in need."

Luckily we don't have to organize something from scratch in response to
this. There will be a Land Day demo (to commemorate Israel's killing of
six Palestinian citizens of Israel at a demonstration for equal rights in
1976) tomorrow, Saturday, March 30 @ 1:00 (see details below). This is a
great opportunity to organize a response to the atrocities Israel has
already begun carrying out and to prevent further atrocities. The US has
clearly given Israel the green light to carry this out. Therefore showing
opposition to Israel's ethnic cleansing here in the belly of the beast is
crucial at a time like this. Please come out and bring your friends,
relatives, co-workers, etc.

Rami
__________________________________________________

29 March 2002 
URGENT CALL TO WORLD CIVIL SOCIETY: 
BREAK THE CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE, ACT BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE 
We, the undersigned, believe that a full-scale Israeli offensive 
throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) is imminent and 
that such an unprecedented attack demands from global civil society 
an unprecedented response. For this reason, we urge global civil 
society - including human rights organisations, solidarity groups, 
and individuals - to take immediate direct action to stop Israel's 
all-out war against the Palestinian people and its 35-year 
belligerent military occupation of the Gaza strip and West Bank, 
including east Jerusalem. 
Today, Israeli occupying forces invaded the compound of PNA President 
Yasser Arafat in Ramallah as part of a systematic and longstanding 
campaign to undermine, humiliate, and destroy the Palestinian 
political leadership. Israeli troops have also seized complete 
control of Ramallah and imposed a total curfew. At the same time, 
Israeli officials have begun a massive military build-up, including 
the mobilization of 10,000 army reservists, in preparation for an 
openly declared war throughout the OPT that promises to be 
widespread, prolonged, and bloody. 
Earlier this month, escalating Israeli attacks - including willful 
killings, indiscriminate shelling and aerial bombardment, complete 
economic and social suffocation, and mass destruction of housing and 
agriculture - culminated in full-scale invasions of Palestinian 
refugee camps and villages that killed hundreds of civilians. 
Statements by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today referring to 
Arafat as the "enemy" and speaking of the need to "extirpate 
Palestinian terrorism everywhere it exists" indicate that such 
attacks are set to resume, with greater ferocity and scope, leading 
to disastrous consequences. 
Palestinian civil society groups have warned for years that Israel's 
freedom to act as a state above the law would severely undermine 
chances for a just and lasting peace. After decades of occupation, 
apartheid, and ethnic cleansing and 18 months of all-out war against 
a civilian population, we call for the international community not to 
wait for massacres on the scale of those in Sabra and Shatila in 
1982; the time for action is now. 
The support for the Palestinian people shown by international 
solidarity groups, manifested in numerous statements, visits, and 
actions, has proved invaluable throughout this crisis. Now is the 
time for global civil society to use the momentum it has generated 
and the ethical integrity it has demonstrated to forcefully demand 
immediate action from governments to end the occupation, which is the 
root cause of the conflict. 
Governments, including those currently meeting at the UN Commission 
on Human Rights, must face direct and unambiguous pressure from their 
own people to immediately secure Israel's respect for the Fourth 
Geneva Convention and its complete withdrawal from the OPT as 
necessary steps towards achieving a just and lasting peace. 
To this end, we call upon all those who oppose occupation, apartheid, 
ethnic cleansing, and war crimes, who are committed to justice and 
peace, who are willing to speak truth to power, to: 
1. Raise your voices to break the conspiracy of silence among 
governments that allows Israel, which enjoys the unlimited and 
unconditional support of the US, to commit war crimes and other 
violations of international humanitarian law with impunity. 
2. Clearly, vigorously, and publicly demonstrate before governments 
and international organisations to demand immediate and effective 
protection for Palestinian civilians in the OPT, through protests, 
marches, media campaigns, and other peaceful means. 
3. Demand that governments end military assistance to Israel, suspend 
economic ties, and support the prosecution of war criminals, and urge 
other states to do so. 
4. Continue and intensify your activities as part of a sustained and 
systematic campaign to end the occupation, apartheid, ethnic 
cleansing, and war crimes in the OPT and to support the legitimate 
rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people. 

Now is the time for immediate and direct action, as the pattern of 

escalating oppression and brutality that we have experienced over the 
past 18 months moves inexorably towards a disaster whose consequences 
we can only begin to imagine. In this dark hour of suffering and 
determined resistance, we are sure that the worst is yet to come, but 
we are equally sure that, with the support of global civil society at 
this crucial time, peace and justice will prevail. 
Signed: 
Dr. Heydar Abdel-Shafi 
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi 
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti 
Dr. Azmi Bishara 
Rana Nashashibi 
Dr. Eyad Sarraj 
Khader Shkirat 
Raji Sourani 

Note: forwarded message attached.

__________________________________________________
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