A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE US

jafrikayiti Ven 2 Jan 2009 - 10:20

A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

We, Black people in the United States, condemn the criminal Israeli attacks on the people of Gaza.

We understand that these war crimes are being conducted with the overt material and unapologetic political backing of the government ofthe United States of America. Most importantly, we have learned the lessons offour centuries of racist oppression in the Western hemisphere; that theliberation struggles of the oppressed must not be divided by language,geography, gender, religion or race; that if they come for Gaza in the morning, they will most certainly come for Harlem at night.

In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke out against the US war in Vietnam. He called out the US as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world." Forspeaking this truth, Dr. King was condemned by the rulers of the U.S. and theirloyal servants in the mass media who arrogantly and condescendingly told him that the Vietnamese war had nothing to do with the Black struggle for equality. Dr. King refused to be intimidated.

The stand taken by former U.S. Congresswoman and Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney, in escorting the humanitarian supplies being taken by ship to break the Gaza siege, is another example of Black people's support. Her response after the "Dignity" was rammed by an Israeli military boat was not to cower but to "organize." In the spirit of all those who have fought in our centuries-long river of struggle, we will fight by all means necessary to ensure that this genocidal attack on and blockade of the Palestinian people is ended.

* We demand that our elected officials, in particular, the Congressional Black Caucus, stand in opposition to the Israeli assault.

* We demand that sanctions be brought against Israel as they were brought against the racist Apartheid regime of South Africa.

* We demand disinvestment in US corporations which support Israel.

BLACKS AGAINST GENOCIDE COALITION
List in Formation
Black Men’s Movement
December 12th Movement
Friends of Zimbabwe
Harriet Tubman Fannie Lou Hamer Collective
Lakou-New York

To sign on, please write: RWare10709@aol.com

------------

**********
Deklarasyon Sipò Pèp Afriken k ap viv Ozetazini pou Pèp Palestinyen an

Noumenm, moun Nwa k ap viv Ozetazini, nou kondane atak kriminèl Izrayèl ap fè sou pèp Palestinyen an nan Gaza. Nou klè krim lagè sa yo ap fèt ak soutyen materyèl aklè epi soutyen politik san remò gouvènmen Meriken an. Pi enpòtan toujou, nou byen aprann leson 400 lannen opresyon rasis pa bò isit ke nou menm ki anba yo pa ka kite lennmi an sèvi ak diferans lang, distans jeyografik, fi yon bò, gason yon lòt bò, relijyon, oswa ras pou yo divize nou; nou byen konprann si yo vin kraze Gaza nan maten, san okenn dout y ap vin kraze Harlem aswè.

Nan lannen 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. te leve vwa l kont lagè Meriken tap fè sou pèp nan Vietnam. Li te di Etazini se "peyi k ap fè plis vyolans sou latè." Pou tèt li te di verite sila a otorite yo nan peyi a ansanm ak restavèk yo nan gran près la te kondane msye. Ak anpil awogans epi ak ton moun k ap pale ak timoun ki rete lakay yo, yo te di msye lagè nan Vietnam nan pa t gen okenn rapò ak lit moun Nwa pou egalite Ozetazini. Martin Luther King Jr. pa t pran nan presyon an.

Pozisyon ansyen Palmantè Nwa Meriken Cynthia McKinney, ki te kandida GreenParty nan eleksyon Prezidansyèl 2008 yo, pou l te akonpanye batiman "Dignity"ki t ap pote sipò imanitè pou pèse anbago Izrayèl mete sou Gaza a se yon egzanp anplis sipò moun Nwa Ozetazini pou pèp Palestinyen an. Apre batiman militè Izrayelyen te atake bato "Dignity", frape l nan pwen kote dlo te koumanse ap rantre nan bato a, repons Cynthia sè ke olye pou n kouri ak lake n nan mitan janm nou se pou òganize.

Nan lespri tout zansèt nou yo k ap lite rèd chèch depi syèkdèsyèk, nou angaje n pou n goumen ak tout fòs nou ak tou atou k nan men nou pou n asire jenosid k ap fèt sou pèp Palestinyen an ak tout anbago k anpeche yo viv la rive nan tobout yo.

*Nou mande pou tout zotobre eli yo pa bò isit, patikilyèman "Congressional Black Caucus" la, kanpe ankwa kont masak Izrayèl ap fè a.

*Menm jan te gen sanksyon kont rejim rasis Apated la nan Afrikdisid n ap mande pou gen sanksyon jodi a kont Izrayèl

*Nou mande pou tout moun ki gen lajan yo nan biznis k ap sipòte Izrayèl pouyo retire lajan sa yo.

Kowalisyon Moun Nwa kont Jenosid Lis k ap grandi:

Black Men’s Movement
December 12th Movement
Friends of Zimbabwe
Harriet Tubman Fannie Lou Hamer Collective
Lakou-New York

Pou ajoute non òganizasyon ou nan lis sila a tanpri ekri:lakounyenfo@yahoo.com

Sasaye Ven 2 Jan 2009 - 16:43

Lit yon pèp anba opresyon se lit tout pèp ki anba opresyon.
Paske moun ki pratike rasis kont arab, pral fè menm bagay kont nèg.

Si yo mache pese Gaza, pase pran Alèm, noumenm se pare kò nou pa sa pa rive n.

Donk, se nòmal pou nou sipote moun ki ap lite pou lajistis paske nou bezwen sipò yo lè bab pa nou pran dife.

Marc-Henry Ven 2 Jan 2009 - 17:28

Sasaye a écrit:Lit yon pèp anba opresyon se lit tout pèp ki anba opresyon.
Paske moun ki pratike rasis kont arab, pral fè menm bagay kont nèg.

Si yo mache pese Gaza, pase pran Alèm, noumenm se pare kò nou pa sa pa rive n.

Donk, se nòmal pou nou sipote moun ki ap lite pou lajistis paske nou bezwen sipò yo lè bab pa nou pran dife.

Haitien toujou vle ede lot moun pendan se tan , peyi pa yo ap mouri...

jafrikayiti Ven 2 Jan 2009 - 18:42

From Cynthia McKinney: We Lived to Tell the Story; Lebanon Rescued Us

Thursday, January 1, 2009 4:51 PM

January 1, 2009 - We Lived to Tell the Story: Lebanon Rescued Us

Yesterday, we met with the President of Lebanon, the Chief of the Military, and the Interior Minister who all thanked us for responding and risking our lives on a mission of mercy; we profusely thanked them for rescuing us.

What would we have done, stranded out at sea, prohibited from reaching our destination, low on fuel, with a badly damaged boat if Lebanon had not accepted us? Lebanon sent their ships to find us. Lebanon rescued us. Lebanon welcomed us. And we are truly thankful.

It's official now. We've been told that the sturdy, wood construction of our boat, Dignity, is the reason we are still alive. Fiberglass would probably not have withstood the impact of the Israeli attack and under different circumstances, we might not be here to tell the story. Even at that, the report that came to us yesterday after the Captain and First Mate went back to Sour (Tyre) to inspect the boat was that it was sinking, the damage is extensive, and the boat will take, in their estimation, at least one month to repair. Tomorrow, we will bring the Dignity from Sour to Beirut. And now, we must decide what to do and from where we will do it and how we are to get back to wherever that might be.

My personal, and I know the group's, thanks must go to Al Jazeera, that allowed three of their reporters to be onboard with us on our voyage. As a result, Al Jazeera carried the story of the Dignity live, from castoff in Cyprus when our spirits were high, right up through the manacing maneuvers of the huge, super fast Israeli ships before they rammed us, the Israeli calls on the ship phone after the ramming calling us terrorists and subversives and telling us to return to Cyprus (even though the Israelis later claimed that they didn't know who we were, they knew enough about us to tell us where we had come from), and the fact that we didn't have enough fuel to follow their instructions, right up to their threat to fire at us if we didn't turn around, ending with our beaten-up boat limping into Sour harbor in Lebanon. Al Jazeera carried our story as "breaking news" and performed a real service to its audience and to us. Al Jazeera called the Israelis to inquire about the incident right as it was happening and I am sure the Israelis were prepared to leave none to tell the story. Al Jazeera told the story and documented it as it was happening.

One of those Al Jazeera reporters with us was Sami El-Haj, who was detained in Guantanamo by the United States for six incredibly long years. What an honor to even exchange glances with such a humble man who had endured so much pain at the hands of the U.S. government. I apologized to him that my tax dollars were being used in such a despicable way. And Sami's crime according to the U.S.? Born in Sudan, and reporting for Al Jazeera in Afghanistan, Sami was the wrong color, the wrong nationality, the wrong religion, reporting for the wrong news outfit, telling us the truth about a wrong war. And for that he survived incarceration for six long years. Sami El-Haj, Guantanamo prisoner number 345.

Another incredibly committed journalist who was with us was CNN's Karl Penhaul. Karl reported the truth even when his own station was repeating Israeli disinformation. The fact that we were traveling with these alert journalists added to the flat-footedness and obvious crudeness of the Israeli response. Sadly, Israel has changed its story too many times to count, and that's because they are not telling the truth.

We lived to tell the story. Karl's incredible reporting, just a portion of our story, can be seen on CNN at:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/30/gaza.aid.boat/index.html

where there's also video and a photo of our damaged boat. A little more of the story and film of the extensive damage can be seen at:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/30/gaza.aid.boat/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

This video and the photos of Karl's report is particularly interesting given that Israel claims that our boat was only scratched and that, in actuality, our captain, while trying to outmaneuver them, damaged their warship.

I'm told that CNN only played my full statement once--and that's the time that it aired live. Of course, they cut the reference to the U.S.S. Liberty. What are they afraid of?

Last night I was on PressTV.com, along with others who were on the Dignity, and we debated a representative from WINEP, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. I reminded the audience that the Palestinians don't have nuclear weapons, depleted uranium munitions, white phosphorous, or F-16s, but the Israelis do. The facts, however, tend to get garbled after being processed by the "Grand Wurlitzer" organ of state-sponsored disinformation utilizing the world's press.

With the truth clearly on our side, Israel has been reduced to releasing the ridiculous bombast below, given to me by a reporter who came to our hotel in Beirut for a visit. With their multiple, conflicting stories, it is clear that the Israelis did not expect us to live to tell the truth.

On the drive from Sour through Saida to Beirut, we were welcomed like heroes because our ordeal had been seen by everyone on Al Jazeera. The mayor of Sour came to welcome us. The mayor of Saida insisted that we stop there, on our way to Beirut, for a special ceremony. But there was something else that was visible along our drive, and that is the devastation that Lebanon, itself, has received as a result of the Israeli war machine. The scars of the war are still evident everywhere. I will write more on that tomorrow.

And one final note, President-elect Obama roared like a mighty lion onto the political scene, but now he is as silent as a lamb in the face of the death and destruction that is happening in Gaza. As we approach the birthday celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. let us remember what Dr. King said:

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

And after five days of aerial bombardment by Israel, the carnage in Gaza continues.

Here is the palaver that the Israelis put out for public consumption. It is pitiful that a powerful and mighty country like Israel would be reduced to publishing something so petty and weak as the following press release dated December 30, 2008:

seal
Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast

Press Release

Office of Media Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12.30.2008

Israel continues to take its humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza seriously. Border crossings into Gaza remain open, and every effort is being made to deliver aid to the Palestinian people. Nearly 100 trucks carrying relief supplies entered Gaza on the 28th & 29th of December and additional shipments are arriving. Israel is working closely with UNSCO, UNRWA, the Red Cross, and WHO to ensure the entry of the required aid, especially food and medical equipment.

Unfortunately, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has taken it upon herself to commit an act of provocation, leading a small boat of supposed assistants into the conflict zone. She endangered herself, her assistants, and the vessel's crew. The Israeli navy hailed Ms. McKinney but the former Congresswoman failed to respond, thereby leading to the incident. We regret that during this time of crisis, while Israel is battling with the terrorist organization of Hamas and defending its citizens, that we are forced to deal with Ms. McKinney's irresponsible behavior.

Consulate General of Israel
to the Southeast
1100 Spring St NW, Ste 440
Atlanta, GA 30309-2823

Michael Printy Arthur
Director of Media Affairs
404.487.6511
media@atlanta.mfa.gov.il

Contenu sponsorisé

A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE US

A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE US

Re: A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE US

Re: A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE US

Re: A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE US

Re: A DECLARATION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE BY AFRICAN PEOPLE IN THE US