Palestina/Izrael:
Bad journalism at best
A close analysis of the documentary reveals a troubling lack of objectivity in trying to paint the activists, headed by the Turkish relief organisation IHH, as radical Islamists bent on waging violent jihad. Through interviews, activist footage and footage selectively released by Israel, Panorama attempts to piece together the "real story". Giora Eiland, the head of Israel's military investigation into the raid, claims in the film that an analysis of the bullet holes found that one of the guns used on the ship belonged to the activists. Not only does the presenter fail to give IHH an opportunity to refute the allegation on camera, but she takes it for granted, asking "who" could have fired "the first shot". She further fails to question why then, as the IHH has claimed, that some of the bullet holes in the vessel were painted over before it was returned to Turkey. ... Corbin also claims that "western authorities accuse [the IHH] of having links to terrorist organisations". In fact, the only government that has designated the IHH as a terrorist organisation is Israel. In July, Germany banned the Frankfurt-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, incidentally also known as IHH, for "fighting Israel's right to exist". Since then, Israel has, with relative success, launched a campaign to blur the difference between the Turkish organization and the German one, an allegation many journalists have unquestioningly adopted as a fact. The Turkish IHH has denied any links to the German group.
Happy Birthday Free Gaza
UNHRC probe into flotilla massacre lands in Turkey
Članovi odbora UN-ovog Vijeća za ljudska prava koji istražuje izraelski napad na propalestinske aktiviste na humanitarnim brodovima flotile za Gazu prošli su ponedjeljak (23. kolovoza) stigli u Tursku kako bi saslušali svjedočenja očevidaca i razgovarali s turskim dužnosnicima. Odbor će surađivati s turskim istražiteljima tog napada, saslušati iskaze ranjenih, sastati se s dužnosnicima turskih ministarstava i drugih institucija i detaljno pregledati 3 turska broda koji su plovili u flotili. Istražni odbor UN-ovog Vijeća za ljudska prava se sastoji od 3 člana, a predvodi ga bivši sudac Međunarodnog kaznenog suda Karl Hudson-Philips.
Prošlu je nedjelju (22. kolovoza) iz Alžira isplovio veliki brod s humanitarnom pomoći za stanovništvo Gaze. Brod će pristati u egipatskoj luci El-Arish odakle će pomoć biti dostavljena u Pojas Gaze. Brod sa 60 kontejnera punih lijekova i hrane, odjeće i šatora organiziralo je Udruženje alžirske muslimanske uleme, a u toku su i pripreme za slanje pomoći u Gazu kopnenim putem iz Alžira u rujnu.
Ali Abunimah: Hamas, the I.R.A. and Us
Both the Irish and Middle Eastern conflicts figure prominently in American domestic politics — yet both have played out in very different ways. The United States allowed the Irish-American lobby to help steer policy toward the weaker side: the Irish government in Dublin and Sinn Fein and other nationalist parties in the north. At times, the United States put intense pressure on the British government, leveling the field so that negotiations could result in an agreement with broad support. By contrast, the American government let the Israel lobby shift the balance of United States support toward the stronger of the two parties: Israel. This disparity has not gone unnoticed by those with firsthand knowledge of the Irish talks. In a 2009 letter to The Times of London, several British and Irish negotiators, including John Hume, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the Belfast Agreement, criticized the one-sided demands imposed solely on Hamas. “Engaging Hamas,” the negotiators wrote, “does not amount to condoning terrorism or attacks on civilians. In fact, it is a precondition for security and for brokering a workable agreement.” The resumption of peace talks without any Israeli commitment to freeze settlements is another significant victory for the Israel lobby and the Israeli government. It allows Israel to pose as a willing peacemaker while carrying on with business as usual.
Diana Buttu: direct talks bound to fail
In terms of the PLO's response, this is not new. [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas is the same man who hijacked Palestinian elections a year and a half ago, when he unilaterally declared that his term was extended. This is the same man who has failed to hold the Palestinian Legislative Council elections. This is the same individual who has canceled the municipal elections, all under the guise of, "oh, this is too difficult right now." So it is not at all surprising that Mahmoud Abbas, speaking on behalf of Mahmoud Abbas, comes forward and declares that the PLO has accepted such talks when they haven't. And declares that the Palestinian people are welcoming such talks when they are not. And has the audacity to speak on behalf of Palestine and the Palestinians when he is neither elected nor legitimate any longer, and has not even bothered to ascertain the opinion of other organizations, other factions that are members of the PLO.
"Solidarity tastes different inside prison"
My human dignity, basic human rights and constitutional rights are suffering from basic violations. I still have no permit to meet my lawyers without being recorded. The ruling of the three judges is to justify the decision of the attorney general of Israel and the Shabak to ban free meeting with my lawyers in prison. The judges insist that such a meeting should be done through the glass separation wall and through a telephone in order to ensure recording of the whole conversation. On its face the process as well as the procedures look fair, but essentially, systematic, structural and political violations of my basic right to fair procedure are practiced. The role of the attorney general is to criminalize me, not to seek truth.
"Once winter's over, the sun will shine"
Road 446 was built by the Israeli government in 1992, and it was decided that the village of Nilin would be split into two sides. Many of us have brothers or sisters living in the other side of the village, and a lot of the time we can't reach them, either because we are under curfew or because the army have set up a flying checkpoint at the entrance of the village, and are making problems for any cars trying to enter or leave. Sometimes it feels as if our family members are living in a different village! Another problem is the dangerous nature of such a busy highway running through a small village like ours, making it impossible for children to walk from one side of the village to the other. Instead, their families must pay for buses to take their children to school, or taxis to take them to the house of a family member living on the other side of Nilin. Not to mention the land that was confiscated and the olive trees that were uprooted to make way for Road 446. The road leads to the huge settlement of Modiin Illit, so its purpose is clear, but when the road was established we were told that is was a normal road like any other, for the use of Israelis and Palestinians. Now we are not allowed to travel south on Road 446, only towards the north, but who knows if we will retain even this right in the future. It has become an apartheid road. In the past we have heard about plans to build an underground tunnel for Palestinians, but we don't know if this is true or not. Nevertheless, we hope that the settlements will be removed from our land, the occupation will be ended, and thus the road will be handed over for the use of Palestinian civilians. ... Ibrahim Amireh is a 43-year-old man with eight children, some of whom are studying at university ... now, it's difficult for them to pay for the food, let alone their education. This is the third time Ibrahim has been imprisoned. Like me, he has lost all of his land behind the wall. The army once tried to occupy his house early in the morning, to prevent his family from reaching the demonstration, and injured one of his small daughters in the process. Another of his daughters was shot with live ammunition while standing inside the window of their family's home. Hassan Mousa is another resident of Nilin currently in jail; an English teacher at the local school, he had studied in his youth in India, and was imprisoned by the Israelis purely for the reason that he is generally the person who speaks to international supporters who come to support us, because of his good grasp of the English language. The court decided that both Hassan and Ibrahim would stay in prison for one year, and would pay 9,000 NIS ($2,383) each to be released. The Israeli army got their confessions against Hassan and Ibrahim by kidnapping young men from the village and subjecting them to torture and interrogation. Amongst the claims in the confessions were that they throw stones at the demonstrations, and give money to encourage others to do the same. Both of these claims are completely false. These men have always followed the philosophy of nonviolent resistance, always directed their thoughts towards keeping the demonstrations peaceful, and have barely enough money to support their own families, let alone to support others. There are nine others still in prison, including Saddam Nafer, Ahmed Nafer, Mostafa Amireh, Said Amireh, Ibrahim Srour and several other young guys.
No reconstruction despite siege "easing"
While more consumer goods and foodstuffs are more abundant in Gaza's markets, building materials are still scarce. Even existing construction projects are stalled due to the persistent Israeli blockade on building supplies. Among them are a major housing project being built by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, and more than 100 UNRWA schools. "At this moment, there is nothing happening on the ground regarding construction materials for the UN projects," said Basil Nasir, director of the United Nations Development Program in Gaza. When announcing its "easing," Israel had said it would allow supplies in for UN-sponsored projects. According to Maxwell Gaylard, United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, vital UN projects such as water and sanitation infrastructure and clinics are also on hold. "Our position is that the blockade in terms of air, sea and land should be lifted and this position has not changed," Gaylard told The Electronic Intifada. Gaylard acknowledged that since Israel announced the easing, about 200 truckloads per day were coming through the Kerem Shalom land crossing as opposed to about 70 before. But this is still far short of what is needed. "As for housing, schools, sanitation and water, we are talking about tens and tens of thousands of truckloads" of needed supplies, Gaylard said. Gaylard added that the UN was focused on getting permission for more materials to come through and according to him, the Israeli government is trying to expand the capacity of the Keren Shalom crossing. But Omar Shaban, an economist in Gaza, contends that disallowing construction materials into the coastal territory has nothing to do with logistical factors. He blamed Israel for what he termed collective punishment against of the population in Gaza, a violation of international law.
bez komentara
Negotiators to push mechanism to end siege
Pregovarači namjeravaju podržati mehanizam kojim bi se ukinula opsada Gaze (2. rujan 2010.)
Član Fatahovog središnjeg odbora koji sudjeluje u mirovnim pregovorima u Washingtonu, Nabil Sha'ath izjavio je da postoji prijedlog, koji podržava i Hamasova vlada u Gazi, prema kojem bi se dio luke u egipatskom Al-Arishu, turskom Izmiru ili na Cipru namijenio za carinski pregled brodova prije njihovog odlaska za luku u Gazi. Međunarodni inspektori nadgledali bi prijevoz roba i putnika u i iz Gaze, a ova bi mjera bila „prijelazna“ i na snazi dok traju mirovni pregovori i prethodila bi potpunom ukidanju blokade i otvaranju izravne linije za Gazu. Sha'ath tvrdi da Europa podržava prijedlog, dok je SAD izrazio želju da ga prouči. Sha'ath tvrdi da prijedlog zadovoljava međunarodne zahtjeve, ukida opsadu Gaze i onemogućava krijumčarenje oružja. Dodao je da to ne znači da treba zatvoriti ostale granične prijelaze, već da kroz njih kontinuirano treba ulaziti roba u Pojas Gaze. Ukidanje opsade Gaze za vrijeme kontroverznih mirovnih pregovora moglo bi ublažiti srdžbu Hamasa, koji je preuzeo odgovornost za napad u kojem su ubijena 4 Izraelaca u Hebronu na Zapadnoj obali u utorak (31. kolovoza), tvrdeći u svojoj izjavi da je napad izveden zbog Hamasovog protivljenja pregovorima. Stranke u PLO-u, uključujući sve osim Fataha, također su izrazile svoje protivljenje pregovorima i organizirale masovne prosvjede. Stotine ljudi okupile su se u srijedu u Ramalli kako bi osudile sudjelovanje Mahmouda Abbasa na pregovorima u Washingtonu. Mustafa Barghouthi iz Palestinske nacionalne inicijative osudio je odluku predsjednika Abbasa da sudjeluje u pregovorima za koje nema mandat palestinskog naroda. Barghouti je objasnio da palestinska vlada sudjeluje u izravnim pregovorima bez jamstava, poput obećanog zaustavljanja izgradnje ilegalnih naselja na Zapadnoj obali, i stoga bez povjerenja i bez podrške palestinskog naroda. Predvidio je da će pregovori propasti i upozorio da je napad u Hebronu dokaz da je prije izlaska na pregovore potrebno postići jedinstvo u palestinskom stajalištu.
UN panel visits flotilla victims
Ban Ki-moonova istražna skupina posjetila žrtve izraelskog napada na flotilu (23. kolovoz 2010.)
Članovi UN-ove istražne skupine koju je imenovao glavni tajnik UN-a Ban Ki-moon i u kojoj sudjeluje zloglasni bivši kolumbijski predsjednik Uribe, stigli su u Tursku i razgovarali s ranjenim aktivistima u bolnici Ataturk. Skupina će se također sastati s turskim ministrom vanjskih poslova Ahmetom Davutogluom, savjetovati se s turskim povjerenstvom koje provodi svoju istragu napada, saslušati svjedočanstva svjedoka napada, uključujući onih koji su u napadu ranjeni, te se sastati s turskim ministrima i čelnicima drugih institucija. Očekuje se da će ova skupina svoj prvi izvještaj podnijeti do sredine rujna.
Ostalo:
Heroj kojeg Hrvatska želi zaboraviti
Prošlo je deset godina od ubojstva Milana Levara, a oni koji su naručili da ga se ubije i oni koji su atentat izveli još uvijek nisu pronađeni, niti se za njima traga. Čitav Gospić, naravno, zna tko su oni. Likvidaciju su naručili ljudi koji su, nakon promjene vlasti 2000., shvatili da bi ih Levarova svjedočenja mogla spremiti na dugogodišnje robije. Blagoslov su dale poglavice patriotskog podzemlja koje je 2000. i 2001. zbijalo redove i pokušavalo se prijetnjama i krvavim upozorenjima zaštititi od prodora pravde u svoj život. Što se tiče izvršitelja, istražitelji su u početku bili na pravom tragu. Ubojice i organizatori ubojstva detektirani su u redovima visokopozicioniranih policijskih specijalaca i vojnih obavještajaca u Gospiću. No, onda je iz policijskog vrha u Zagrebu stigao nalog da se taj trag napusti, jer da je pogrešan, te da se istraga usmjeri u sasvim drugom pravcu. Znamo kako je završila ta promjena smjera: istraga je skončala u ćorsokaku, kamo je se smišljeno odvelo. Levara su ubili konkretni ljudi povezani u bratstvo što se temeljilo na leševima nedužnih ličkih Srba, ali - koliko god to moglo patetično zvučati - ubila ga je i Hrvatska koju nije zanimalo što govori Milan Levar i koja je njegove riječi nevoljko počela pretakati u optužnice tek pod međunarodnim pritiskom. I tek kad je za Levara bilo prekasno. Ubila ga je ona većinska Hrvatska koja Norca, Oreškovića i Glavaša, unatoč pravomoćnim osudama za ubijanje civila, i danas smatra nacionalnim herojima i žrtvama antihrvatskih zavjera, dok Levara smatra huljom i izdajicom hrvatstva. Javni život i 2010. godine prepun je izljeva privrženosti zločincima, a za Milana Levara i njegovu obitelj rezerviran je zaborav koji je najbolje sredstvo za ispiranje mrlja na kolektivnoj savjesti. Sjećanje na Levara i na njegovu hrabrost zapravo je sjećanje na vrijeme kad se ova nacija, u ime nakaradnih viših ciljeva, odrekla ljudskosti.
Političko zastrašivanje
Postavljamo pitanje kako se može dogoditi da kriminalistička policija intervenira prema Inicijativi u slučaju komunalnog prekršaja, a da Inicijativa nije službeno obaviještena niti o postupku za komunalni prekršaj. Zbog navedenog smo prisiljeni sumnjati kako je cilj ove intervencije kriminalističke policije bio političko zastrašivanje, što, ako se pokaže istinitim, najoštrije osuđujemo jer je tako nešto nedopustivo u demokratskom društvu. Ukoliko Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova ne ponudi zakonskim propisima podržano obrazloženje ove intervencije, pozivamo institucije, organizacije civilnog društva i međunarodnu zajednicu na nepodijeljenu osudu postupka MUP-a.
Žrtve se (ne) zaboravljaju
Regionalna komisija za utvrđivanje činjenica o ratnim zločinima (REKOM), naime, ne utvrđuje tko je i gdje u ratu bio agresor, a tko žrtva, niti opskrbljuje podacima strašni sud u Haagu, nego zagovara osnivanje međudržavne (regionalne) i nezavisne komisije s mandatom utvrđivanja i javnog iznošenja činjenica o ratnim zločinima i drugim teškim povredama ljudskih prava u nekadašnjoj Jugoslaviji. Cilj joj je povezati različite skupine i cjelokupnu javnost u izgradnji ambijenta suosjećanja, solidarnosti i poštivanja svih žrtava ratova od 1991. do 2001. na području bivše Jugoslavije, sa željom da u dogledno vrijeme REKOM potvrde i nacionalni parlamenti svih država nasljednica bivše SFRJ. Ambicija je da REKOM stvori objektivan i točan arhiv o ratnim zločinima i povredama ljudskih prava u zadnjim ratovima, kako bi žrtve dobile puno priznanje i kako se slične stvari ne bi sutra ponovile. U postjugoslavenskim društvima ratni se zločini s druge strane često ističu i preuveličavaju, dok se vlastiti relativiziraju, umanjuju i opravdavaju zločinima drugih. Jaka je i solidarnost i identifikacija s optuženima za ratne zločine iz vlastite zajednice. Žrtve se svuda olako zaboravljaju i malo spominju, s izuzetkom prigodnih režimskih ceremonija. Sudbina čak 16.252 nestalih u ratovima na prostoru bivše države još je nerazjašnjena, a brojne grobnice su neotkrivene. Politički interes da se utvrde činjenice o svim događanjima iz prošlosti, usprkos deklarativnim željama, u državama bivše SFRJ još ne postoji. Inicijativu koja bi pridonijela da se takvo stanje promijeni - REKOM - pokrenuli su lani Fond za humanitarno pravo iz Beograda, Udruga Documenta iz Zagreba, te Istraživačko-dokumentacioni centar iz Sarajeva, a u međuvremenu im je pristupilo još 900 građanskih, novinarskih, braniteljsko-veteranskih i stradalničkih udruga s područja bivše Jugoslavije.
Policija trenira strogoću
Mario Mažić, koordinator Inicijative mladih za ljudska prava, našao se na meti aparata države koja institucije civilnog društva smatra tek ukrasom za vanjski svijet, a borce za ljudska prava opasnijima od obiteljskih nasilnika.
