Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 15. Oktober 2004 / Time Line October 15, 2004
Version 3.510/15/2004
Corries Push U.S. Government to Investigate Their Daughter's
Death
PC(USA) Probe into Caterpillar Affirmed
by Alexa Smith, PCUSANEWS
Louisville, Kentucky -- Craig Corrie isn't politically naive. He
served in Vietnam, after all. He's seen governments lie. Or cover
up. He's seen armies be duplicitous. And political spin, he's seen
that, too.
But it still takes him aback when officials duck questions.
Corrie and his wife, Cindy, are pushing the U.S. Congress to open a
new investigation into the death of their daughter, Rachel, 23, who
was crushed by a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in March 2003 as she
tried to block the demolition of a Palestinian physician's home.
The army said it was wrecking homes in the Rafah refugee camp to
create a "buffer zone" to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt by
building a high, steel wall.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that the driver of the
bulldozer had not seen Corrie, and that he did not run over her
intentionally.
But international eyewitnesses -- some of them U.S. citizens --
said Corrie stood 100 feet in front of the more than 60-ton
bulldozer, and was within the sight of the two men who manned the
heavy equipment as it moved closer. They contend that she even
clambered on top of the pile of dirt the machine raked as it
approached the house.
She was wearing the bright orange jacket that is the emblem of the
International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a coalition of Palestinian
and other international activists who volunteer to serve as human
rights monitors in the occupied territories. Corrie was also using
a megaphone.
Israel and the United States have repeatedly rejected attempts by
the United Nations to put monitors in place.
"There's been no attempt [here] to record the testimonies of the
international eyewitnesses. They all say Rachel was clearly
visible," says Corrie, who is on the lecture circuit pushing for
more international scrutiny of the IDF's actions in Gaza and of
Caterpillar's complicity in what most international organizations
call human rights abuses.
Three internationals died near Rafah within a seven-week period in
2003.
As it turns out, the British investigation contradicted the IDF's
inquest, revealing that soldiers at the site lied about how
21-year-old Thomas Hurndall was killed. He was reportedly helping
small children avoid Israeli gunfire, and was shot in the head when
he returned a second time to help another child who was paralyzed
by fear and unable to run.
Hurnnall was also wearing the orange ISM vest. His lawyer father
collected evidence that launched an investigation while his son lay
in a coma in an Israeli hospital.
According to The Guardian, the initial IDF report claimed that
Hurndall was in camouflage and wielding a gun. Those statements
were withdrawn in the face of testimonies by witnesses. A soldier
is now charged with Hurndall's killing.
Several campaigns are now under way aimed at getting Caterpillar to
stop selling bulldozers to the military. The most notable of these
is the Stop Cat Coalition, which held a demonstration that the
Corries attended in Peoria, Illinois, last April.
Rachel's Gaza journals may be read online at:
http://www.rachelcorrie.org.
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