[Imc-East.-Mediterr.] Statement to the Press upon Departure which took place at 9.06 a.m. today

Thu Aug 21 23:56:36 PDT 2008

A STATEMENT TO THE PRESS FROM THE FREE GAZA MOVEMENT

For More Information, please contact:

JERUSALEM: Angela Godfrey-Goldstein

Tel. +972 547 366 393

angela at icahd.org

CYPRUS: Osama Qashoo

Tel. +44 78 333 81660 / +44 79 779 3595

osamaqashoo at gmail.com

Forty-six international human rights workers are now sailing to Gaza through
international waters with one overriding goal: to break the Israeli siege
that Israel has imposed on the civilian population of Gaza.  Any action
designed to harm civilians constitutes collective punishment (in the
Palestinians' case, for voting the "wrong" way) and is both illegal under
international law and profoundly immoral.  Our mission is to expose the
illegality of Israel's actions, and to break through the siege in order to
express our solidarity with the suffering people of Gaza (and of the
occupied Palestinian territory as a whole) and to create a free and regular
channel between Gaza and the outside world.

Israel claims that since the "disengagement" in 2005 it no longer occupies
Gaza.  However, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other
international human rights organizations reject this claim since Israel
still exerts effective control over Gaza.  As an Occupying Power, Israel has
a responsibility for the well-being of the people of Gaza under the
provisions of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention.  Israel has abused its
control and responsibilities by wrongfully obstructing vital supplies and
humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.  

As Israel's 41-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip defies
international consensus, and because Israel has grossly violated its
obligations, we do not recognize Israel's right to stop us outside its own
territorial waters, which we will not be approaching.  To remove any
"security" pretense that Israel may raise, we have had our boats inspected
and certified by Cypriot authorities that they carry no arms or contraband
of any kind.  We have invited Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to join
us on our voyage and, in fact, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
itself told us the Israeli government "assume[s] that your intentions are
good."

We are human rights activists, invited to visit Gaza by our Palestinian
partners, and each of us has vowed to do no violence, in either word or
deed.  If Israel chooses to forcibly stop and search our ships, we will not
forcibly resist.  Such a search will be under duress and with our formal
protest.  After such a search, we fully expect the Israeli navy to stand
aside, as we continue peacefully to Gaza.  If we are arrested and brought to
Israel, we will protest and prosecute our kidnapping in the appropriate
forums.  It is our purpose to show the power that ordinary citizens of the
world have when they organize together to stand against injustice.  Let
there be no doubt: the policies of repression against the civilian
population of Gaza represent gross violations of human rights, international
humanitarian law, and constitute war crimes.  The goal of our voyage is to
break the illegal siege on the people of Gaza as a step toward ending the
Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Satellite phone numbers available on the boats will be: a) 00 870 773 160
151; b) 00 870 773 160 156  c) 00 881 651 442 553;  d) 00 881 651 427 948.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0001.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 19480 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0002.jpeg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3789 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0003.jpeg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: List of Human Rights Workers Sailing to Gaza.xls
Type: application/vnd.ms-excel
Size: 38912 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0001.xls 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Free Gaza in French Media.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 50688 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0006.doc 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Free Gaza in German media.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 40448 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0007.doc 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: FREE GAZA IN THE MEDIA.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 320512 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0008.doc 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: FreedomSailersvoyageunderthreat.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 39424 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0009.doc 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Huwaida laying roses for 34 USS Liberty sailors.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 200697 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0005.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: In memoriam.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 153289 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0006.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Jeff Halper & Adv. Tom Nelson.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 117414 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0007.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Sister Anne commemorating 14 Gazan fishermen killed since 2004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 132421 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0008.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: MEP Kyriacos Triantyphillides.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 146945 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0009.jpg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Ships_to_Gaza.rtf
Type: application/msword
Size: 465650 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0001.wiz 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Message from Fulbright scholar.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 32256 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0010.doc 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Statement to the Press upon Departure.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 53248 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-eastern-mediterranean/attachments/20080822/a1fac76a/attachment-0011.doc 