U ovom postu, djelomičan prijevod izvještaja novinara s napadnutog turskog humanitarnog broda Mavi Marmara koji u cijelosti možete na engleskom pročitati na linku.
Istanbul, utorak, 13. srpanj 2010.
Prošla su 43 dana od krvavog napada koji je izraelska vojska izvela u međunarodnim vodama. Tijekom tog napada na Mavi Marmari ubijeno je 9 osoba, uključujući 1 novinara. Danas smo se ovdje okupili kao preživjeli tog napada i kao novinari koje nisu ušutkali izraelski metci. Oko 60 novinara iz Turske i cijeloga svijeta bilo je na tim brodovima, koji su prevozili humanitarnu pomoć civilima u Gazi, zarobljenim pod ilegalnom izraelskom blokadom.
Mete su u napadu bili i novinari i obični civili. Novinarima je prijetila smrt jednako kao i svakom drugom tko se na tom brodu nalazio. Vojnici koji su se protuzakonito iskrcali na naš brod i otvorili vatru, na temelju naredbe koju je izdalo izraelsko ministarstvo obrane, također su nam onemogućili da radimo svoj posao. Oni su nas zapravo na kraju kaznili zato što smo radili svoj posao. To je neupitno kršenje međunarodnog prava [... koje novinarima jamči] „slobodu pružanja informacija“ i zabranjuje „sprječavanje novinara da prikupljaju informacije“. Prava koja je Izrael očigledno prekršio.
Bili smo suočeni s nečovječnom intervencijom koja je izvedena u suprotnosti s međunarodnim pravom i predstavlja kršenje najosnovnijih ljudskih prava. Jedan od novinara, Cevdet Kılıçlar, nemilosrdno je pogubljen metkom ispaljenim u čelo dok je obavljao svoj posao novinara.
Po završetku krvavog napada, vojnici uopće nisu poštivali naše dostojanstvo, sileći nas da klečimo pod žarkim suncem dok su nam ruke bile vezane na leđima. Radi se o gruboj povredi naših ljudskih prava. Naša sloboda da prikupljamo i zadržimo informacije u potpunosti je ignorirana. Prijenos uživo i svi ostali oblici komunikacije s vanjskim svijetom prekinuti su i onemogućeni ometanjem naše satelitske veze. Naši kompjuteri, kamere, memorijske kartice – ukratko sva oprema potrebna za obavljanje našeg posla – protuzakonito su konfiscirani i ukradeni. Velika većina te opreme nije vraćena. Malen dio opreme koji je vraćen uništen je i zahvaljujući tome potpuno beskoristan.
Osim opreme, ukradene su i sve naše osobne stvari – knjige, odjeća, cipele, čak i četkice za zube. Nekima su silom oduzete putovnice i novac koji im nikad nisu vraćeni.
Uhićeni smo pod prijetnjom vatrenim oružjem. Stavili su nam lisice na ruke. Stalno su nas iznova protuzakonito ispitivali, kao da smo kriminalci. Morali smo trpjeti ponižavajuća pretraživanja tijela, kako bi se spriječilo da bilo kakve slike onog što se dogodilo izađu na vidjelo svjetske javnosti. Naše novinarske akreditacije i naše članstvo u državnim i međunarodnim novinarskim udruženjima nisu bili priznati ni poštivani. U nekoliko su nam navrata, i to na najgrublji i najneuljudniji mogući način, rekli da to što smo novinari ne znači ništa. Oteli su nas i protuzakonito zatvorili u zatvor na 2 dana. Za to vrijeme nije nam bilo dopušteno da komuniciramo niti s našim novinarskim organizacijama, niti s poslodavcima, pa čak niti s našim obiteljima. Nisu nam omogućili pristup odvjetnicima, a mnogi od nas nisu primili ni konzularnu pomoć svoje vlade. Nismo dobivali nikakve informacije iz vanjskog svijeta, niti smo mogli slati informacije u svijet.
Izrael se nije obazirao i nije poštivao prava i slobode novinara koje jamče međunarodni sporazumi, već je prema njima pokazao krajnji prezir. Vladavina prava – jedna od vrijednosti koja je zajednička cijelom čovječanstvu – bila je pogažena. Ne možemo i ne smijemo šutjeti. Ni kao ljudi, ni kao novinari. Moramo zaštititi prava koja su izborili toliki mnogi prije nas koji su toliko mnogo žrtvovali da bismo ih mi danas mogli uživati.
Proučili smo prava koja imamo prema međunarodnom pravu. Pokrenuli smo akcije zajedno s novinarima našim prijateljima iz cijelog svijeta i podižemo tužbe kako u našim vlastitim zemljama tako i u Izraelu.
Mi ćemo se kao novinari boriti do kraja i podići tužbe za psihološku i materijalnu štetu prema nacionalnom i međunarodnom pravu kako bi krivci za ovaj gnjusan zločin protiv čovječnosti, ovu mrlju na povijesti čovječanstva, bili kažnjeni i privedeni pred lice pravde.
Još linkova o Palestini/Izraelu:
Palestinians still hopeful
Mladi Palestinci su oslikali jedan zid u luci u Gazi u spomen na Flotilu slobode i borbu za ukidanje opsade Gaze. Slike možete pogledati na linku.
18 Israeli Families Control 60% of Nation's Corporate Equity
Today, it is a corporate wild west in which a quarter to third of all Israelis live below the poverty line. An even larger percentage of all Israeli children live below it as well since the Israeli poor tend to be Israeli Palestinian and Haredi and have extremely large families. There is hardly a safety net to speak of. The poor are basically on their own. Israel is the triumph of Hobbesianism thanks to free marketeers like Netanyahu and Natan Sharansky. According to Hever Israel is the second most unequal country in the world after the U.S. Israel spends 75% less than the average western nation on redistributive programs like health care, unemployment, infrastructure and job creation. The reason: it invests so much of its budget in security it can't afford to properly fund these social programs. Hever reveals that Israel spends 9% of its budget on maintaining the Occupation (military spending specifically related to the Territories and settler subsidies) making it a very costly drain on Israeli economic development.
US Arms Used for War Crimes in Gaza
The devastating Israeli firepower, unleashed largely on Palestinian civilians in Gaza during the three-week attack starting December 27, 2008 was fueled by US-supplied weapons paid for with US tax dollars. Washington provided F-16 fighter planes, Apache helicopters, tactical missiles, and a wide array of munitions, including white phosphorus and DIME. The weapons required for the Israeli assault were decided upon in June 2008, and the transfer of 1,000 bunker-buster GPS-guided Small Diameter Guided Bomb Units 39 (GBU-39) were approved by Congress in September. The GBU 39 bombs were delivered to Israel in November (prior to any claims of Hamas cease fire violation) for use in the initial air raids on Gaza. Researchers in Gaza found several weapon fragments after the attacks. One came from a 500lb (227kg) Mark-82 fin guided bomb, which had markings indicating parts were made by the US company Raytheon. They also found fragments of US-made white phosphorus artillery shells, marked M825 A1. In the recent Gaza operations, Israeli forces frequently airburst white phosphorus in 155mm artillery shells in and near populated areas. Each airburst shell spreads 116 burning white phosphorus wedges in a radius extending up to 125 meters from the blast point. White phosphorus ignites and burns on contact with oxygen, and continues burning at up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit (816 degrees Celsius) until nothing is left or the oxygen supply is cut. When white phosphorus comes into contact with skin it creates intense and persistent burns that continue to ignite. On January 15, several white phosphorus shells fired by the Israeli military hit the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza City, destroying medicine, food and other basic aid. One fragment found at the scene had markings indicating it was made by the Pine Bluff Arsenal, based in Arkansas, in October 1991. The UN Security Council, Amnesty International, International Red Cross, and voices of protest from around the world demanded a ceasefire. Yet, with shocking lack of regard, both houses of US Congress overwhelmingly endorsed resolutions to support a continuation of Israel’s “self defense.” Four days after the carnage ensued, on December 31, the US Navy’s Sealift Command hired ships to deliver another 3,000-odd tons of arms to Israel through Greece. This last shipment was halted mid-January due to Greek protest. The US has long been the largest arms supplier to Israel; under a current ten-year agreement negotiated by the Bush administration, the US will provide $30 billion in military aid to Israel. As the major supplier of weapons to Israel, the USA has a particular obligation to stop any supply that contributes to gross violations of the laws of war and of human rights,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa program director. “To a large extent, Israel’s military offensive in Gaza was carried out with weapons, munitions and military equipment supplied by the USA and paid for with US taxpayers’ money.”
Jonathan Cook: Israel Stops Listening to Its Judges
The Israeli government is facing legal action for contempt over its refusal to implement a Supreme Court ruling that it end a policy of awarding preferential budgets to Jewish communities, including settlements, rather than much poorer Palestinian Arab towns and villages inside Israel. The contempt case on behalf of Israel’s Palestinian minority comes in the wake of growing criticism of the government for ignoring court decisions it does not like — a trend that has been noted by the Supreme Court justices themselves. Yehudit Karp, a former deputy attorney general, compiled a list of 12 recent court rulings the government has refused to implement, but legal groups believe there are more examples. Many of the disregarded judgements confer benefits on Palestinians, either in the occupied territories or inside Israel, or penalise the settlers.
