Press Release 2nd July

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Thursday July 02, 2009 11:33 by Sean Clinton - IFPAL - Irish Friends of Palestine Against Lisbon chips at iol dot ie

The capture by the Israeli navy of the boat "The Spirit of Humanity" in international waters adds piracy to the list of crimes perpetrated by the rogue Zionist state.

The boat was bringing a largely symbolic cargo of humanitarian goods to the people of Gaza - medicines, toys, cement for rebuilding of homes destroyed by Israel during its latest murderous assault on Gaza. Its crew included an Irish first mate, Derek Graham from County Mayo, and its passengers included the Irish Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire and the former US presidential candidate and Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

These brave people risked their lives because the world's governments have failed consistently to fulfil their duty of protection towards the people of Gaza. Under international law, Gaza remains occupied territory as long as Israel controls its borders, airspace and marine access. Under international humanitarian law, the people of Gaza are a "protected people", yet instead of protecting them the world's governments - in particular those of the USA and EU, which have particular responsibilities towards the Middle East region - have connived with Israel's illegal blockade of the Strip, and thus have made themselves complicit with Israel's war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The presence of Irish citizens on board "The Spirit of Humanity" should bring our government's responsibilities into stark relief. Yet, just as our state-controlled national broadcaster RTÉ has completely ignored this extraordinary story of civil courage and state criminality, the government of Ireland has confined itself to vague comments on how it "remains in contact" with the abducted Irish citizens, and has failed to issue any condemnation of Israel's actions.

Clearly no such condemnation can be issued, because the Irish government's policy on Israel/Palestine entails uncritical subservience to the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy which is largely drawn up by Germany, Britain and France in the interests of the Israeli rogue state. IFPAL (the Irish Friends of Palestine Against lisbon) believe that such subservience in no way represents the wishes of the Irish people for a foreign policy that fully acknowledges the democratic and historic rights of the Palestinian people.

The forthcoming second referendum on the lisbon Treaty will give us a chance to vote against any deepening Irish subservience to a Common Foreign and Security Policy that is shaped by well funded Zionist lobby groups embedded in the political architecture of the states that control EU foreign policy. IFPAL calls on the Irish people to VOTE NO TO lisbon and YES for an Irish foreign policy which respects the rule of law and protects human rights.