Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 14. Juli 2006 / Time Line July 14, 2006
Version 3.507/14/2006
The Lebanon conflagration and the anti-war protest which took
place in Tel Aviv
By: Adam Keller
See on www.gush-shalom.org a photo reportage & read in the end
about Civil Disobedience on Saturday
Gush Shalon ad in Haaretz
Those who refused
To talk with
The Palestinian government And declared a blockade On the
Palestinian people -
Got a conflagration in
The Gaza Strip.
Those who refused
A prisoner exchange
And sent tanks
Into Gaza -
Got a conflagration
Both In the north
And in he south.
Those who refuse
To talk even now -
May get a conflagration
Throughout the Middle East.
And in the end,
In spite of everything -
They will talk.
"Ministers approve various plans and courses of action proposed
by the General Staff" was the dry radio report of last night's
cabinet meeting. In the morning, the mass-circulation papers,Yediot
Aharonot and Ma'ariv, translated this into enormous banner
headlines GOVERNMENT DECLARES WAR!" followed by jingoist editorials
and commentaries. Only the Liberal Ha'aretz had dared to dissent,
in a cautious dovish editorial - "Say 'No' to Lebanon War II".
(http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/737837.html).
Considered in isolation, Hizbollah's attack on the Israeli patrol,
the killing and capturing of soldiers would indeed constitute "an
unprovoked aggression". But without the daily carnage in Gaza going
on under the nose of an indifferent international community, it is
highly unlikely that Hizbollah would have done anything of the
kind. (And for that matter, the Gaza mess would not have started
without the preceding months of daily killings in the West Bank and
a totally one-sided international boycott on the elected
Palestinian government, and the entire Pallestinian people.) The
only hope: that now the world will be a little bit wiser and not
let the conflagration spread any further.
The next hour's radio bulletin already carried the news of Beirut
International Airport being put out of commission, and of the
Lebanese death toll reaching 27 (including twelve members of a
single family) and which would get considerably higher during the
day, and of an Israeli woman being killed in the northern town of
Nahariya and naturally getting far more attention than the "enemy"
casualties. The considerable Palestinian death toll in the Gaza
Strip (also including a whole family - father, mother and five
children) was totally pushed to the background, yesterday's war and
yesterday's bloodshed.
And then we found in our emails a call penned during the night by a
group of Jerusalem youngsters, calling upon all of us
well-established groups to bestir ourselves and come out in
immediate protest and outcry:
Picket the Defence Ministry Today, 6.00 pm!
"Summer Rains" precipitatre a flood of blood!
Start negotaition for prisoner excahnge! Stop the killing! Stop the
war! End the occupation!
In this demonstration we will call upoon the government to stop the
escalation and military offensives, and conduct negotiations
leading to a real political change.
The government chooses to use cruel military force and collective
punishment against the civilian populations of Gaza and Lebanon in
order to pressure the captors of Israeli soldiers. Aside from being
immoral and verging on war crime, this policy will prove
ineffective in returning the captives or effecting calm.
The latest events in Gaza and Lebanon are directly related to the
Government of Israel's campaign against the elected leadership of
the Palestinian people. This policy prevents any chance of creating
a channel of communications and diplomatic negotiations with our
neightbors, and leaves the arena to those who want endless
fighting. The only true solution is negotiations for the end of the
conflict.
And so, while listening during the day to the news of escalating
strike and counter-strike and the mounting bloodshed, there was at
least something concrete to do: prepare placards and banners, phone
people, forward the messsage to more email lists, place it on
relevant internet discussion forums...
And so, only a few hours after the start of the attack on Lebanon,
200 peace activists were already gathered in front of the Ministry
of Defense to protest.
"One - Two - Three - Four / We do not want this fucking war!"
shouted the demonstrators, members of several organizations,
youngsters side by side with veterans. Other slogans (roughly
translated from Hebrew) were:
"Artillery and Qassams / The occupation is bad for everybody!"
"Peretz - you promised education and pensions / And all we got is
tanks and dead bodies!"
"Peretz, Peretz, for the sake of the North / Get out of
Lebanon!"
"Jews and Arabs / Refuse to be enemies!"
"Exchange prisoners-of-war / Bring the soldiers home!"
"Peretz, Peretz, Minister of Defense / You have killed seven
children today!"
The chanting of "Peace - Yes! Occupation - No! Peace - Yes!
Invasion -No! Peace - Yes! Bombing - No!" was accompanied by
rhtimic thunmping on the sheet iron fence erected for public works
on the road - which turned out to be an excellent improvised
drum
Some older participants started out with singing the classic
Lebanon War protest song: "Red eleinu aviron/Kach otanu
leLvanon/Nilachem bishvil Sharon/Venachzor betoch aron". (Come down
airplane/Take us to Lebanon/We will fight for Sharon/and come back
in a coffin). The problem that neither "Olmert" nor "Peretz" could
fit into the rhyme was solved easily: "Anyway, they are both just
copying Sharon" commented a participant.
The reaction of passers-by was much less hostile then anticipated.
Some drivers shouted curses at the activists, but quite a number
honked in agreement. Most drivers seemed to be fatalistic.
The police brought a much larger force than usual, including a
special unit for riot control. It seems that they feared a blocking
of the traffic by the young demonstrators.
"In 1982, when we came out on the first day of the war, not far
from here, the police just jumped on us as soon as we unrolled our
placards. That's progress for you" said one of the old-timers. The
comparison gave some cheer on this bleak day - considering that
during Ariel Sharon's invasion of Lebanon, 24 years ago, protest
mushroomed within a few weeks to ten thousands, and to the
legendary 400,000 three months later. But that was after the Sabra
and Shatila Massacre...
Meanwhile, some participants talked of personal concerns. "Missiles
fell not far where my daughter lives in the north. I suggested to
her to come with her children to Tel-Aviv until things calm down.
She does not want it, says she lives in a small place which no one
will think worth bombing. Sure, nobody will target the place, but
accidents can always happen, I am very worried" said a white haired
woman, holding aloft the sign: "Stop the war madness!"
And so, we go of the relative comfort of being with our
fellow-activists, and in a crowded bus where in casual
conversations all around you can here again and again "War", "War",
"War"... And then the news of the latest escalation - a rocket shot
at Haifa in retaliation for the bombing of Beirut, and Peretz
vowing dire retaliation, and Israeli gunboats immediately setting
Lebanese oil reserves on fire... But at least the EU seems to be
stirring out of a long long slumber and say some critical words,
which seems a small oasis of hope in this dark night.
* July 13, Yesh Gvul calls on the Israeli government not to sink in
the Lebanese quagmire, and refrain from attacking civilians. "We
call on Israeli pilots to refrain from targeting civilians, and all
soldiers and commanders in the IDF are reminded that targeting
civilians is a war crime. A criminal attack by Hizbullah against
Israeli civilians does not justify targeting Lebanese
civilians."
** Brit Tzedek v'Shalom Calls for US Intervention to Prevent
Full-Scale Arab-Israeli War
http://www.btvshalom.org/pressrelease/20060713pr.shtml
But with all which happens we shouldn't forget the routine
oppression in the West Bank. Therefore the Coalition against the
Wall of which Gush Shalom is part sent out the following call:
A call for Civil Disobedience in Izbet Tabib Qalqiliya
region
Saturday July 15 Izbet Tabib is a small village of 300 inhabitants
near Qalqiliya. It was established in 1920 and in 1948 it received
an influx of refugees from Tubsur, which stood where Raánana
is now. The residents of the village are all recognized as refugees
(by UNRWA) but the village is not recognized as a refugee camp. In
fact, it is not recognized at all by the Israeli government which
has issued demolition orders for most of the buildings in the
village.
This small village has been assaulted by the Israeli occupation in
ways which would have destroyed much larger communities. Much of
its lands were taken by the wall, basic infrastructure such as a
connection to the electric grid and permanent roofs for buildings
is denied and most recently, the main exit from the village was
blocked by an earth mound.
The mere existence of Izbet Tabib is a continuing act of resistance
in the form of Tsumud.
The village is now calling on Israelis to join it on Saturday July
15th to demonstrate against the wall and the closure of the road
and to continue the construction of the village's kindergarten in
defiance of the building restrictions.
07/14/2006
US National Council of Churches and Church World Service Condemn
Violence in the Middle East
http://www.ncccusa.org/
or
http://www.councilofchurches.org/
New York City, July 14, 2006 -- "Is there ever to be an end to
violence in the land we call holy," asks the National Council of
Churches USA (NCC), and Church World Service (CWS), its
humanitarian partner agency, in a statement issued today following
days of unchecked death and destruction in the Middle East.
"What has violence solved these last 60 years? What has violence
solved these past weeks," the statement also asked as the NCC and
CWS called for an immediate cessation of attacks on all sides.
The statement urges the United States government and other nations,
"recognizing the success of former peace initiatives," to seek
nonviolent solutions with the assistance of the United Nations for
all the parties in the region.
The NCC and CWS also urged their 35 member Christian churches to
"pray for all those who have suffered and died as a result of this
violence, and their families and communities, and to engage in
humanitarian and advocacy actions for peace."
The complete statement follows:
A Statement of the National Council of Churches USA and Church
World Service on the Current Violence in the Middle East
Friday, July 14, 2006
"As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, 'If
you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make
for peace!'"
-- Luke 19:41-42a, NRSV
Jesus' lament echoes over the landscape of the Middle East, and in
the hearts of men and women everywhere, as we witness the senseless
violence engulfing the region. Is there ever to be an end to
violence in the land we call holy?
What has violence solved these last 60 years? What has violence
solved these past weeks?
Any hope for peace, itself a miracle in the midst of occupation,
was stifled with Israel's missile strike on Gaza and the death of
innocent Palestinians. Any chance of reconciliation was hindered by
the retributive attacks and kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by
Hamas. Any call for restraint was ignored with disproportionate
retaliations by Israel. Any plea for reason was cast aside with the
capture of two more Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah. Any prayer for
an end to this escalation of hostilities was silenced with the
Israeli incursions into Lebanon, the subsequent shelling of Haifa
and Beirut, and the death of more and more civilians.
We hear Jesus' lament in the cries of the Israelis, Palestinians,
and Lebanese, the Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others whose lives
are threatened by this unending violence. Where can this cycle of
vengeance, retribution and violence lead?
When will all Israeli leaders see that aggression only breeds more
aggression, and that security cannot be achieved through the
oppression and humiliation of others? When will all Palestinian
leaders understand that calls for justice demand the doing of
justice, and that suffering injustice does not confer moral license
to respond with violence? When will the United States see that
being an honest, effective broker for peace requires fairness in
our dealings with both the Israelis and the Palestinians, and now
the Lebanese, and that doing nothing to end the violence costs us
dearly in spirit, blood, treasure, and moral integrity?
The National Council of Churches USA and Church World Service:
-- Call upon our own government and all governments, recognizing
the success of former peace initiatives, to encourage aggrieved
parties to engage in earnest negotiation, and through the United
Nations to work with all concerned parties to address immediate
humanitarian needs and to resolve the long-term issues underlying
the continued violence;
-- Call upon all parties in the Middle East to end the current
hostilities, to develop non-violent strategies for engagement, and
to work toward a just and sustainable settlement of the issues that
plague the region;
-- Call upon the religious communities of the region to pray, teach
and lead their people in the ways of peace, and upon religious
communities throughout the world to walk with them in solidarity
until peace is achieved; and,
-- Call upon their member communions to pray for all those who have
suffered and died as a result of this violence, and their families
and communities, and to engage in humanitarian and advocacy actions
for peace.
We issue this statement remembering the words of Jesus Christ: "Put
your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will
perish by the sword."
-- Matthew 26:52, NRSV
Find the latest NCC news at:
http://www.councilofchurches.org/
NCC News contact: Dan Webster 212.870.2252
dwebster@councilofchurches.org
CWS media contact: Lesley Crosson 212.870.2676
lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
07/14/2006
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) today awarded a
multiple-year, $69 million human capital management (HCM) contract
to Accenture National Security Services LLC. The HCM contract
(HCMC, Contract #: HM1576-06-C-0012) covers a five-year period; a
base year and four-one year options. It supports NGA's human
development directorate by providing a holistic approach to
providing human capital services, encapsulating the end-to-end
processes involved with managing people resources in the
organization, from strategic work force planning support services
to the transactional human capital functions such as recruitment
and retirement processing. The HCM efforts will primarily be
performed in the greater Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Mo.,
areas. NGA Headquarters in Bethesda, Md., is the contracting
activity.
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