Gaza Action in WalesCND Cymru Bulletin No. 3
13th January 2009
A round-up of events and actions in Wales that we know of, plus some events
beyond the borders. If you know of more events or actions in Wales please
email them to CND Cymru heddwch@cndcymru.org) and they can be included in
future mailings.
Please pass on this bulletin to any individuals, groups or organisations
that might find it useful.
[All information is obviously included in good faith - if you find mistakes
or can fill in omissions (especially for contacts) please do let us know.]
Join the local protests across the country (see below)
Message from Ray Davies CND Cymru Vice Chair:
At our peace vigils and protest marches on three buses which Wendy and
myself organised on behalf of CND Cymru and Wales PSC some people asked the
question why CND. First of all I do not think a peace organisation like CND
can turn its head away when children are being killed and maimed where women
are crying and there is tremendous suffering taking place in the war zone
ghetto they call Gaza. What some people fail to understand is that Israel
is a nuclear state and also Iran is well on the way if not already have
acquired nuclear weapons.
Another thing people do not understand is that the rockets being fired by
Amas into Israel is slowly creeping nearer and nearer to the Israeli nuclear
facility and if ever one of the rockets land on there it would be a
tremendous nuclear explosion which would devastate the whole region. That
possibility could provoke Israel into a nuclear weapons response in the Gaza
region and also spark off a nuclear war in the Middle East.
For me the pain of seeing the women and children being carried into the over
crowded hospital Gaza is often too much. To see the 45 year old conflict
going on with no peace in sight, with America actively encouraging Israel
and with Britain and the West following meekly behind is obscene to say the
least. If CND have any place on this planet, any place in Wales at all it
must play a leading role in working for peace with justice for Palestinians
to try and stop the wars which are taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan and
as we work to eliminate nuclear weapons we must still do all in our power to
prevent the conventional wars which are taking place in the Middle East from
escalating into a nuclear conflict.
Yours sincerely,
Councillor Ray T. Davies
Vice-Chair, CND Cymru, South Wales
..........................................
INDEX:
1. Future Events (mostly) in Wales.
2. What else you can do.
3. Reports of recent actions/events
4.Also in London
...................................
1. Future Events in Wales
WREXHAM
Wednesday 14th January 6 pm -
meet outside Tesco
WREXHAM
Saturday 17th January Midday demonstration
Queens Square
CARDIFF
Wednesday 14th January 7.30 pm
Main Building, Cardiff University Park Place
EMERGENCY PUBLIC MEETING:
STOP THE MASSACRE IN GAZA - FREEDOM FOR PALESTINE
Speakers include EHAB BESSAISO, Palestinian Journalist from Gaza.
Ehab Bessaiso is a Palestinian writer and poet born in Gaza. Involved in
media studies in the Arab world, he has contributed widely to literary
events and publications in the UK and Palestine. A collection of his poetry
'The Albatross of the Blurred Skyline' was published in Beirut in 2004. He
will be joined by local anti-war activists to discuss what's going on in
Palestine, the background to the conflict, and what we can do to stop it.
CARDIFF
Saturday 17th January 1 pm, Nye Bevan Statue, Queen Street
STAND UP FOR GAZA PROTEST FOR JUSTICE & PEACE
Speakers to include Jill Evans Chair of CND Cymru
Please bring people, placards, drums, posters etc. We need to keep the
pressure up.
WEBSITE AND EMAIL Stop the War Coalition
Stop the War Coalition website is down and the usual email address not
functioning. There is a temporary email address to contact Stop the War:
HYPERLINK "mailto:stopwaruk@gmail.com" stopwaruk@gmail.com
Users of the social network site Facebook may also wish to join the Cardiff
Stop the War Coalition group on the site.
CAERNARFON
Friday 23rd January 5pm-6pm Picket outside Tesco
Boycott Israeli Goods,
2. What else you can do:
Petitions to sign
As the attack on Gaza continues, we thought that we should circulate details
of these three petitions, from Christian Aid, Amnesty International and the
Palestine Solidarity Campaign to make it easy for people who are as
horrified as we are to make their views more widely know. Do please support.
HYPERLINK
Christian Aid
Christian Aid campaign Palestine Campaign AmnestyIf you wish to donate money to help those stuck in Gaza, Oxfam, Christian
Aid. Medical Aid for Palestine, UNRWA and Mercy Corps among many others have
websites where you can do so.
Number 10 petitionSign the petition to ask the British Government to do everything in it's
power to impose an arms embargo on Israel in light of the recent Israeli
offensive in the Gaza strip and to apply pressure on countries supplying
Israel with arms that breach international agreements with the intention of
restoring lasting peace to the region:
CAAT GAZA Britain arms Israel source: Private Eye 9 January 2009:
British arms sales to Israel whole of 2007: £7.5 million
British arms sales to Israel first three months of 2008: £18,847,795 millionThese include components for combat aircraft, military aero engines,
helmet-mounted display equipment for pilots.& Gordon Brown says we must
'stop the supply of arms to Hamas'.]
List of other arms sellers to Israel
CAAT listHYPERLINK
CAAT IsraelPlease continue tocontact your elected representatives and the British
Government.
Write to your AMs, MEP and MP urging them to call for:
* An immediate end to Israel's military assault on Gaza
* An immediate end to the blockade and siege on Gaza
* An end to Israel's violations of international law
* An end to Israeli occupation
i. Write to your AMs, MEPs & MP
You can
find their details on this site
just enter your postcode.
ii. Write to the Labour Party
You can send a message to the Labour Party using this online form
HYPERLINK "http://www.labour.org.uk/contact"
http://www.labour.org.uk/contact
iii. Write to the Conservative Party
Write to David Cameron mailto: camerond@parliament.uk
You could mention you are appalled that he has been on the BBC calling for
restraint on all sides when nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed.
iv. British Consulate Jerusalem 972 (02) 541 4100
Call them asking what the British government is doing about the attacks on
Gaza.
v. British Embassy Tel Aviv
02 3510 1167 / (0)3 527 1572
vi. Prime Minister - Gordon Brown
Fax PM's office on 02079250918
vii. Foreign Secretary - David Miliband
mailto:private.office@fco.gov.uk" private.office@fco.gov.uk
Boycott Israeli Goods
Look for the label on food stuffs - Israel or West Bank.
Refuse to buy these goods.
Complain (politely but firmly) to the manager of the store
Find out more at:-
Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign
http://www.bigcampaign.org
www.bigcampaign.org
Jewish Boycott of Israeli Goods HYPERLINK mailto: Jews4BIG@googlemail.com
3. Reports of recent actions/events
10th January
Wendy Lewis' and Ray Davies' report from Demonstration in London
100,000 people from all over Britain joined today's march in London, to
protest at the Israeli Embassy against the continuing relentless attacks on
Gaza's civilian population. Ray Davies, 79 year old Vice Chair of CND Cymru,
sustained head injuries, concussion and cuts when he was trapped with
hundreds of others against the Embassy gates by Metropolitan Police.
The march had gone peacefully until it reached the Embassy. Many shoes were
thrown over the fence in a symbolic gesture of defiance, but the police
claimed that the shoes were aimed at them , and began to lash out at the
crowd. Three rows of police, in full riot gear and with heavy shields penned
a section of the protesters in an alleyway beside the Israeli Embassy. Ray
tried to negotiate between the protesters and the police; he explained that
the police had not been the target of the shoes, and asked to be allowed to
pass through in order to deliver a letter to the ambassador calling for a
ceasefire in Gaza.
In response, the special riot police shouted obscenities at Ray, and told
him to "get back with the rest of the scum".
Scuffles broke out, and the heavy steel barriers around the Embassy were
pushed over. Ray, at the front of the march, was unable to escape, and two
policemen hit him on the head with truncheons, cut him on the face with the
sharp edge of the heavy riot shields, and proceeded to kick him to the
ground, bleeding with cuts on his nose and hands. He suffered concussion for
a while, and medics pleaded to take him to hospital ; but when he regained
consciousness he wanted to get home on the bus rather than spend the night
in a London casualty unit.
He was treated at the University Hospital of Wales, and discharged.
Ray said:
"I have experienced the war zones in the Occupied Territories; I have been
shot at ,teargassed and beaten by the Israeli Defence Force; but I never
expected such abuse and brutal treatment in Britain from our own police
force."
The violent reaction to today's march was in complete contrast to the
peaceful protests held throughout the past weeks in Wales. There have been
two vigils in memory of the victims of Israel's bombing of Gaza; a
fundraising concert with Frankie Armstrong, which raised £1200 for Middle
East Childrens Alliance, and the enormously successful fundraising dinner at
City Hall for the Islamic Relief Fund; and a march and rally on Friday, one
of the biggest Cardiff has seen in many years, calling for a ceasefire in
Gaza
Ray Davies
Wendy Lewis
10th January
Plaid Cymru MP joins calls for Israel to halt bombardment of Gaza Strip
Wrexham Evening Leader 08 January 2009 By phil robinson
Plaid Cymru and Euro MP Jill Evans has called for urgent action to end
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, which have already killed and injured
hundreds of Palestinians.
In retaliation for the firing of rockets into their territory by liberation
group Hamas, Israel's defence forces began mounting air attacks on Gaza last
week, followed by a ground invasion at the weekend.
Along with Plaid president Dafydd Iwan, Ms Evans, who is the party's deputy
president, has demanded "real and urgent action" to end the attacks.
They are supporting calls for an immediate ceasefire but say that words are
not enough.
A rally calling for the Israelis to cease attacks will take place in Queens
Square, Wrexham at midday on Saturday.
Ms Evans, who has visited Palestine several times and is planning to return
to Gaza in February, said: "Plaid Cymru has long campaigned for an end to
the Israeli occupation of Palestine and for a two-state solution.
"We opposed the siege of Gaza, which caused such terrible suffering. Gaza
itself is smaller than Wrexham, but has a population of 1.5 million.
"The bombardment and now the ground invasion of this poor and heavily
populated area will cause untold misery.
"There have been many calls for a ceasefire which Israel has ignored. The
time has come for action."
She added: "One concrete step would be for the European Union to suspend
Israel's privileged trade agreement with Europe, which requires Israel to
respect human rights.
"This would send the clearest signal of the need for an urgent ceasefire."
Mr Iwan said: "In my New Year message, I called for people to work together
to create a more peaceful world.
"Most of the world's problems can be better served by talking and
negotiations than by military might.
"The state of Israel is showing once again that it believes everything can
be solved by military action, and they are in danger of losing the support
and sympathy of people across the world, who see this as a totally
unnecessary a ct of aggression against a country which is in no position to
defend itself.
"We must work with the United Nations to bring peace and stability in the
Middle East, but I fear this latest action has made everything more
difficult, including the rebuilding of civil life for Palestinians and
Israelis.
"The UK government must revoke its support for any new agreements with
Israel.
"The European Parliament should refuse to endorse any extension of existing
agreements and should exert its influence to prevent further EU benefits
going Israel whilst it fails to observe its international legal and
humanitarian obligations."
Israel announced yesterday it would halt its bombardment of the Gaza Strip
for three hours from 11am every day to "allow residents to re-supply, get
aid and so on".
8th January
Islamic Relief Fund Wales
Over £40,000 has been raised in Cardiff (on the streets and at a fund
raising supper in Cardiff City Hall) for the Islamic relief fund currently
working within Gaza to try and relieve the suffering. See more :
HYPERLINK "http://www.islamic-relief.org.uk" www.islamic-relief.org.uk
Raytheon factory Northern Ireland Protest
HYPERLINK
"http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/7819735.stm"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/7819735.stm
4. ONGOING: 24hr VIGIL AGAINST ISRAEL'S ACTIONS IN GAZA OPPOSITE WESTMINSTER
PARLIAMENT
A non-stop vigil opposite the Westminster Parliament started on Thursday
8th, calling for an immediate end to Israel's military assault on Gaza and
an end to the two-year long blockade and siege of Gaza.
The vigil was started by individuals appalled by what has been happening in
Gaza - the siege by Israel which has closed off people in the Gaza Strip
from the outside world, and the recent military attacks which have resulted
in many hundreds of Palestinian deaths and many thousands injured. The
United Nations and the International Red Cross now describe the conditions
in Gaza as "a full-blown humanitarian crisis". (1)
Emma Sangster, who helped set up the vigil, said "I, like many, many
thousands of others around the country, can not just look on at the death
and destruction in Gaza and wait for world leaders to take effective action,
without taking action ourselves. We are outraged that Israel is allowed to
act with impunity and to break international humanitarian law and commit war
crimes. The British government must use every means available to stop
Israel's indiscriminate killing and punishment of people in Gaza."
Vigil for Gaza welcomes all who wish to peacefully protest against the
blockade of Gaza and the indiscriminate attacks on its people by Israel. The
vigil is being maintained 24 hours every day.
Vigil for Gaza is supported by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and is
one of many protests happening throughout Britain against Israel's action in
Gaza. (2)
CONTACTS
Maria Gallastegui 07886 662091, Emma Sangster 07791 486484
For further information on the vigil, contact vigilforgaza@gmail.com or see
http://www.vigilforgaza.net.
NOTES
1. United Nations and the International Red Cross describe the conditions in
Gaza as "a full-blown humanitarian crisis".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7813671.stm
2. See http://www.palestinecampaign.org for details of other protests
throughout the UK.
BRISTOL
Daily peace vigil for Gaza between 5pm & 6pm on the Centre (3pm to 4pm on
Saturday). Try to join in at least once a week. See
Link to Video on Israeli PR & Spin
HYPERLINK "http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6604775898578139565" \o
"blocked::http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6604775898578139565"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6604775898578139565
THE TIMES NEWSPAPER:
Jews speak out against the Gaza carnage
We the undersigned are all of Jewish origin. When we see the dead and
bloodied bodies of young children, the cutting off of water, electricity and
food, we are reminded of the siege of the Warsaw Ghetto.
When Dov Weisglass, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert,
talked of putting Gazans "on a diet" and the deputy defence minister, Matan
Vilnai, talked about the Palestinians experiencing "a bigger shoah"
(holocaust), this reminds us of Governor General Hans Frank in Nazi-occupied
Poland, who spoke of "death by hunger".
The real reason for the attack on Gaza is that Israel is only willing to
deal with Palestinian quislings.
The main crime of Hamas is not terrorism but its refusal to accept becoming
a pawn in the hands of the Israeli occupation regime in Palestine.
The decision last month by the EU council to upgrade relations with Israel,
without any specific conditions on human rights, has encouraged further
Israeli aggression.
The time for appeasing Israel is long past. As a first step, Britain must
withdraw the British ambassador to Israel and, as with apartheid South
Africa, embark on a programme of boycott, divestment and sanctions.
Ben Birnberg, Prof Haim Bresheeth, Deborah Fink, Bella Freud, Tony
Greenstein, Abe Hayeem, Prof Adah Kay, Yehudit Keshet, Dr Les Levidow, Prof
Yosefa Loshitzky, Prof Moshe Machover, Miriam Margolyes, Prof Jonathan
Rosenhead and 65 others
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