Palestine solidarity demonstration outside City Hall this evening in support of Veolia motion

by Council Mon Apr 12, 2010 13:54

It's important there's a good turnout to the demo today to put pressure on councillors to back Joan's motion. She deserves a lot of credit for putting it forward. But it's a long way down the agenda. (Everything before 37 are reports and correspondence). Joan's is 49.

49 COUNCILLOR JOAN COLLINSDublin City Council recognising1. That Veolia is a leading partner in the consortium contracted to build a light railway system linking Israel to illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem;2. That the Irish government and the U.N does not recognise Israel’s annexation and occupation of East Jerusalem and have repeatedly stated their views that the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank contravene international law;3. That Veolia’s involvement in the project is in contravention of the UN’s stated demand that Israeli settlement activities and occupation should not be supported;This Council calls on the City Manager not to sign any new or renew any existing contracts with Veolia as it would be in contravention of the wishes of this Council. Galway and Sligo City/County Councils have supported similar motions.

by Sean Og Mon Apr 12, 2010 18:04

The light railway is to serve both parts of the city -

if peace is to be maintained the Luas type

railway should serve all the citiizens and not stop half way at the former 1949 armistice

line evn if it is decided eventually fo divide Jerusalem again .

This is gesture politics being carried to the extreme by your usual suspects .

Have they nothing else to worry about at City Hall ?

by ME Mon Apr 12, 2010 18:26

The light railway is to serve both parts of the city -

if peace is to be maintained the Luas type

railway should serve all the citiizens and not stop half way at the former 1949 armistice

It clearly will not 'serve all the citizens', Sean. There are only 3 stops planned for Palestinian areas. And there is no guarantee that Palestinians will even be allowed travel on it. At most only Palestinians with Jerusalem Residency permits, used by Israel to prohibit Palestinian population growth in Jerusalem, will be allowed travel on it. Jewish Israelis are subject to no such residency restrictions

http://www.diakonia.se/sa/node.asp?node=3274

From an international humanitarian law (IHL) perspective, the construction of a light railway in the Western part of the city, on the Israeli side of the Green Line, does not have any legal implication. When it comes to the part of the light railway that is being built on occupied territory, several legal problems arise. The conditions under which the project is currently carried out, lead Diakonia to dispute the legality of the project.

Although the project was clearly initiated for the benefit of the Israeli settler population, an opinion survey in Shu’afat was commissioned by Veolia, which showed that the Palestinians living in this neighbourhood viewed the project favourably. No formal consultation with official representatives of the Palestinian population was attempted by neither the Israeli authorities or Veolia. The results of such informal survey do not change Diakonia’s position that the Jerusalem light railway does not comply with what IHL establishes under Article 43 of the Hague Regulations. First, since the survey was unilaterally undertaken by the rail company contracted to construct the railway its objectivity is disputable. Secondly, the potential incidental benefit for an very limited portion of the Palestinian community, namely those residing in Shu’afat, does not change the illegal nature of the project, which excludes the majority of the local population. Additionally, the fact that despite crossing through parts of the occupied territory, the railway network will serve only one Palestinian neighbourhood demonstrates that the project does not aim to answer the transportation needs of the Palestinians.

The new train line will not connect Palestinians of Shu’afat to other Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem, whereas it will effectively connect illegal settlements, the primary beneficiaries of the rail service, and make their presence more entrenched and sustainable.

In light of the above mentioned facts, the light railway project does not satisfy the test of the benefit to the local population. However, even if this test had been satisfied, the project would still remain problematic in an IHL perspective, due to its relation with other illegal practices, namely the annexation of East Jerusalem and other portions of the oPt as well as the settlements.

if or when it begins to operate it is possible that some sort of segregation may be enforced, such as separate carriages for Palestinians , if the are allowed to travel at all

by Kev - IPSC (pers cap) Mon Apr 12, 2010 23:03

Don't forget, Veolia also operate a bus service serving settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank on the infamous Apartheid Road route 443. And the Tovlan landfill in the West Bank Jordan valley.

Also, the formulation that 'better transport' = 'maintaining peace' is problematic on at least two levels.

1) There is no 'peace' - for the most part there (in the West Bank at any rate) is an absence of armed Palestinian resistance. However, the Israeli military still occupies the West Bank, still regularly kills, injures and detains Palestinians, still operates a humiliating (and at times murderous) checkpoint regime that denies Palestinians freedom of movement, and the Israeli state continues building the Apartheid Wall and the colonial settlements (whose inhabitants act with almost complete impunity) - both of which the International Court of Justice deemed illegal. And that's without even mentioning what's going on in Gaza.

2) 'Peace' will not come about without justice. Some improved services - and I'm not simply talking about the Light Rail here - is not justice. At best it would be an attempt at pacification and normalisation - an attempt that will fail.

Finally re: "gesture politics being carried to the extreme by your usual suspects"

The "usual suspects" - the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign - exists to build solidarity with the people of Palestine and their struggle for justice and freedom. The call for actions aimed at Veolia for their complicity with Israeli Apartheid comes from Palestinian civil society who have asked international solidarity activists to engage in actions such as this - indeed, the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC) wrote a letter of support to Dublin City Council with regard to this motion. We are following their lead.

As for 'gesture politics' - a gesture it may be. A powerful gesture that a European capital city rejects dealings with a company that shows disregard for Palestinians living under occupation and is in fact engaged in the process of normalising Israeli Apartheid. That's a strong message would add the defeats Veolia has suffered in recent times, both in Ireland (Galway and Sligo councils have passed similar motions) and internationally.

Finally, an update on tonight's demo. I'd like to thank everyone who came along to the IPSC demo this evening - there were around 40 of us (I will post a report & pics here tomorrow) - and those who lobbied councillors in advance. Alas, once again Dublin City Council didn't get around to actually voting on it (a shame as - based on conversations with councillors during the last month - it would have been passed). It has now been re-tabled for the next DCC meeting in May.

Let's keep the pressure on Veolia!

by Sean Og Wed Apr 14, 2010 08:28

Should I NOT take the Luas or the Dart to day as a gesture ?

by David L - IPSC Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:19

Sean, if you want to avoid taking the DART, that's entirely your own affair, and nothing to do with Veolia. It's also up to you to decide whether you want to travel by bus, bicycle, helicopter or however - and if you'd like to share your transport options with indymedia - again, please feel free.

What Veolia does is run the Luas, and we in the IPSC are not encouraging people to avoid taking the Luas, but rather to contact Veolia and demand they pull out of the Jerusalem tramline and the other apartheid projects it is running. We are also asking people to contact the RPA and demand that they not grant the Metro North project to Veolia, while it is helping build apartheid in Israel/Palestine

This information is available on our website: www.ipsc.ie, but thanks for giving me the opportunity to post it up here.