CODE PINK ALERT

July 28, 2006

Dear Jasmina,

We have exciting news to share with you today! After being rebuffed in our numerous attempts to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, including setting up "Camp Al-Maliki" across from the Iraqi Embassy and publishing an open letter to him in one of the largest Iraqi newspapers, we received an amazing invitation: Five members of the Iraqi Parliament who are working on a Reconciliation Plan to end the violence in their country contacted us. Moved by the commitment of the long-term fasters and dismayed by their prime minister’s refusal to meet with us, these parliamentarians asked us to join them in Amman, Jordan next week to discuss their Reconciliation Plan, on condition that we break our long-term fast with them!

We are thrilled. It will be such a breakthrough for the US peace movement to be working directly with Iraqi peacemakers, and what better way to break our fast than with members of the Iraqi government seeking an end to the violence. So next week, we’ll be on our way to Jordan. In addition to a group of long-term fasters, we are inviting Congresspeople, academics, and notable journalists to join us.

This marks a big turning point in the fast, yet we know that we have a long way to go towards bringing the 140,000 US servicemen and women home from Iraq. We strongly encourage our local fasters to continue to do weekly or ongoing fasts, and to make your fasts public by holding actions outside Congressional offices and calling the media. Click here for info about getting involved in the fast locally. We plan to continue the Troops Home Fast campaign as energy builds towards the International Day of Peace, September 21, when Declaration of Peace events will begin around the country.

The news about the invitation to meet with the Iraqi Parliamentarians comes on the heels of an exhilarating week of actions at our DC fast: Faster and CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin spoke up during al-Maliki’s address to Congress on Wednesday, saying loudly and repeatedly, “Iraqis want the troops to leave, bring them home now! Listen to the Iraqis!” Medea was cuffed, removed from the Capitol and arrested. Read about this action and see video clips and photos by clicking here.

Yesterday, Thursday, July 27, two hunger strikers, Gael Murphy and Eve Tetaz, interrupted the long overdue Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on John Bolton’s nomination as US Ambassador to the U.N. They wore t-shirts saying “No Bolton” and urged Senators to reject Bolton as the worst possible choice for the job and for world peace. And today, when George Bush is visited by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, we’ll be there to greet them in true anti-war fashion.

Diane Wilson and other long term fasters are outside the White House each day; see the photos, read the blogs, hear a song written and sung by long-term faster Jesse Dyen, and check out what our local groups are doing.

We thank you for your support of the fast, and for this historic opportunity to link with Iraqi leaders who have a plan to make peace a reality.

Hungry but hopeful,
Anedra, Allison, Dana, Erin, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Katie, Laura, Medea, Meredith, Nancy, Rae, Sam & Tiffany

Aktivistkinje zenske mirovne mreze Zene u crnom u celom svetu protostvuju, kao i druge anti-ratne organizacije.

Juce su bile demonstracije u Majorki, Spanija, gde su aktivistkinje na pesku na plazi ispisale STOP ISRAEL.

Isto tako demonstracije su odrzane preko vikenda u oko tridest gradova u SAD.  Veliki mars preko mosta Bruklin u Njujorku zakazan je za subotu 29 jula u 2pm, a pred izraleskom Misijom u Njujorku odrzano je vec nekoliko protesnih stajanja.

Luisa Morgantini, clanica Evropskog parlamenta, jedna od osnivacica Zena u crnom u Italiji napisala je izvestaj sa sastanka odrzanog ovog vikenda u Ramali, Palestina, gde su se sastali predstavnici civilnog drustva i politicari iz regiona - objasnjavajuci siru pozadinu i namere izraleske vojske, koje izmedju  ostalog ciljaju na totalno unistenje infrastrkuture za zivot Palestinki i Palestinaca - u kome traze konfrontiranje sa izraelskom agresijom i solidarnost sa ugrozneim narodima Palestine i Libana.

A statement issued by Palestinian civil society organizations condemning Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza and Lebanon

  Representatives of several parties, political groups and Palestinian civil society organizations convened in the city of Ramallah upon the invitation of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO). The meeting discussed current conditions in light of the blatant Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the atrocities that are being committed by Israeli troops against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, and the serious escalation in the region in general following Israeli aggression on Lebanon.

  Participants stressed that the goals of the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon are evidently much broader than a mere reaction to the capture of Israeli soldiers during military operations by the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance.

  On the Palestinian front, the Israeli military operation comes in the context of a comprehensive integrated policy to destroy the infrastructure of the Palestinian society. It is another attempt to weaken the Palestinian entity and sabotage any hope for development. The Israeli invasion came specifically at a time of Palestinian political conciliation, as reflected in the signing of the National Conciliation Document, which translated the Palestinian consensus into concrete terms. The current atrocities committed by the Israeli military during this invasion demonstrate yet again how far Israeli disregard for Palestinian human life can reach. More than 90 people have been killed and hundreds (mostly women and children) have been injured. In addition, there has been an all-out destruction of vital Palestinian infrastructure, including the main power plant, which has brought Gaza to the verge of humanitarian disaster in terms of shortages in basic food items and medical supplies.

  On the Lebanese front, the barbaric Israeli aggression shows the complete picture, since the goals of that aggression are embedded in the conditions and dictates that the Israeli government wants to impose on the region so that it succumbs to Israeli-American hegemony. All international attempts to secure an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon failed as a result of resolute objections by the US, which only days ago vetoed a UNSC resolution aimed at ending Israel’s attack on Gaza. Simultaneously, the Israeli government’s intransigent position against engaging in any negotiations over the fate of its captured soldiers has made conditions worse, despite attempts by several parties to reach a negotiable solution.

  In light of all these developments, the question is raised whether the political frame that has been endorsed in Oslo and at a later stage through the road map by the quartet is still valid as the peace process has been rendered obsolete by the war crimes committed by Israel, through actions of indiscriminate killings, massive destruction of infrastructure, and inflicting humanitarian disaster on the civilian population at large. This is especially true in view of a weakened Palestinian Authority that does not have significant control on the ground, and at the time when the Israeli government has illegally arrested a large number of the democratically-elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and of the Palestinian government.

  Within this context, the application of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, requires the call for the provision of immediate international protection for the Palestinian people.

  The decision of the G8 regarding Israeli aggression in Lebanon and Palestine proves again the clear bias of these countries towards Israel and their unconditional acceptance of Israel’s narrative. This demonstrates, again, the need for a political frame that is based on international legitimacy and the United Nations resolutions and within the frame of the United Nations charter.

  A just solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict must guarantee the interests of all peoples in the region and must be based on international legitimacy, through which the conflict can be resolved and stabilised. In this respect, an immediate ceasefire is needed, and a halt of aggression in Lebanon and Palestine should be applied. Diplomatic efforts must be given an opportunity to find ways of addressing the real causes of the problem, in order to end the current crisis. The participants in the meeting stressed the need for Palestinian political forces and civil society organizations to formulate a common program that would include the following principles:

  1. Ensuring the implementation of the clauses stated in the National Conciliation Document on the need to revitalize the PLO so that it can develop and lead the implementation of a common, agreed-upon resistance strategy against the Israeli occupation.

  2. Confronting Israeli aggression and reinforce the spirit of resistance and steadfastness among the Palestinian people in confronting the Israeli occupation and rejecting all unilateral Israeli dictates.

  3. Requesting that our partners in Arab civil society organizations increase their effective solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples and exert pressure on their respective governments to stop dealing with the state of Israel at all levels.

  4. Mobilising solidarity campaigns at the international level and demanding a full boycott, divestment and the imposition of sanctions against Israel, until it fully complies with its obligations under international law by ending its occupation, oppression and racial discrimination.

  5. Taking the necessary measures at the Palestinian level to stop all normalization with Israel, particularly any projects between Palestinian and Israeli organizations, unless they are based on a common political stance of rejecting the occupation and recognizing international legitimacy, including the international resolutions pertaining to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

  6. Coordinating the efforts of Palestinian organizations that focus on Israeli violations of international law, with the objective of advocating a boycott against Israel.

  7. Calling on the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention to hold an urgent meeting to discuss practical means of enforcing the Convention in the occupied Palestinian territory.

  8. Declaring next Friday, 21 July 2006, a day of solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples and to confront Israel’s aggression by calling on all civil society organizations in the Arab countries to organize massive marches on that day.

  9. Demanding that the PLC drafts a special law on boycotting Israel and approaches international parliaments to push towards imposing sanctions on Israel, due to its flagrant and persistent violations of international law and international humanitarian law.

  Civil Society organizations, Occupied Palestinian Territory

  July 17, 2006

  PNGO Network

  PNGO Ramallah office :Tel : 00972 2 2975320/1

  Email

  PNGO Gaza office :Tel : 00972 8 2847518

  Website : www.pngo.net