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Campaigns
We hope this website offers up to date information which will make it easier to write and speak against the constant mis-reporting of the media: the radio and newspaper editors, too timid, biased or unaware to contradict the Israeli framings: ‘Gaza isn't occupied' - ‘No partner for peace' - ‘Israel only acts in self-defence'.
Gaza
The UK Liberal Democrats and the British Group of Liberal International proposed an Emergency Motion on Gaza at the meeting of the Executive Committee and Bureau of Liberal International in Berlin.
Resolution on the recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean
(reconciled version) Liberal International Executive Committee in Berlin:
• Deplores the use of force by Israeli commandos in stopping the flotilla carrying aid to Gaza
• Deplores the violence caused by some activists on board of the flotilla
• Expresses shock at the resultant deaths and injuries aboard the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, and at the treatment of the crew and passengers.
- Demands the restoration of liberty of the Israeli Arabs who have been on board the flotilla
- Supports the UN Security Council's call for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent inquiry into this violent clash between Israeli armed forces and activists to avoid immense further damage to both Israel's reputation and its security
- the inquiry must fully examine the actions of all parties, including claims of weapons possession, and establish the precise facts and responsibility for the chain of events, and report for consideration to the Security Council
- Strongly calls on the Middle East quartet, and the US government in particular, to urge all parties to return to the Road Map and observe international law.
Simon Hughes, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats used this as the basis for his speech in the Gaza debate, see link below.
15 June 2010 Westminster Hall debate on Gaza
Universal Jurisdiction (UJ)
UJ is the term that describes the legal power which allows suspected perpetrators of crimes such as genocide, torture and war crimes to be prosecuted in the national courts of countries other than those where the alleged crimes were committed. As a signatory to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions, and the 1984 UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) Britain has not only the capacity, but also a duty to arrest those suspected of such crimes.
e.g Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, states that the UK is:
.... under an obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts.
It is often difficult, if not impossible, to bring a suspect to justice in the state where the crimes allegedly took place. The purpose of UJ is to ensure that there is no hiding place for suspected war criminals.
Arrest Warrants and the Law
The current position is that a private individual may apply to a magistrate for an arrest warrant, if the war crimes suspect is visiting the country or a visit is anticipated. The Attorney General's consent is needed for the prosecution to go ahead. But under Section 25 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, absence of consent does not prevent the issue of a warrant, if the magistrate considers that:
• There are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence under such legislation has been committed
• Admissible evidence has been presented which (if uncontradicted) establishes the elements of the offence alleged
• s/he has jurisdiction to issue the warrant and has ruled out the immunity of the suspect.
Official Conservative and Labour Policy
Before the election, as a result of Israeli lobbying, both larger parties wished to remove this power of the magistrate: requiring the Attorney General to consent to the prosecution before an arrest warrant could be issued in respect of UJ offences. This would inevitably bring political interference into the judicial process.
The two larger parties mistakenly allowed themselves to be convinced that the applications that had been made against Israelis for arrest warrants were a form of political protest and a misuse of the courts. As the Labour MP Andrew Dismore put it in a parliamentary debate in January:
"I would like to see our courts protected from being used as campaign forums by politically motivated groups that are not interested in justice, but are interested in scoring party political or other political points in this long running conflict in the Middle East....Our courts have been left dangerously open to political manipulation and are being brought into disrepute.''
This is a fundamental misconception: an arrest warrant has never been issued for a war crime on political grounds. Such an assertion is an insult to our judicial system and to the victims of some of the most heinous crimes.
Only the most serious crimes are subject to UJ. And an arrest warrant is decided only by the most senior and specialist legally qualified magistrates. If an arrest warrant could not be issued until a decision to prosecute had been taken, the suspect would have fled and our country would become a safe transit point for war criminals all over the world.
In the case of visiting Israeli ministers or military leaders, the UN mandated Goldstone Report, investigating Operation Cast Lead, the assault on Gaza in December/January 2009 – 2010 gave ample prima facie evidence of attacks which deliberately targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure. It concluded, therefore, that war crimes had been committed which needed investigation. Ms Tzipi Livni, as Israeli Foreign Minister, was one of those responsible for authorising these attacks and made statements that encouraged the Israeli military to use disproportionate force. Prima facie evidence of both factual and mental elements of her committing war crimes would therefore seem to exist.
The argument that banning Israeli ministers from visiting the UK hinders the ‘peace process' is specious. There is nothing to prevent British ministers from visiting suspects in their own country where they enjoy immunity.
Take Action
It is vital that the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and all Lib Dem ministers and MPs understand that no members will allow International Law and Human Rights, which are absolutely fundamental to Liberal Democrat values, to be compromised. The issuing of arrest warrants for private prosecutions is one of our ancestral civil liberties. The right ‘remains a valuable constitutional safeguard against capricious, corrupt or biased failure or refusal of the authorities to prosecute offenders under the criminal law'. (Lord Diplock)
Urge your MP to sign EDM 108 put down by Jeremy Corbyn:
‘That this house believes that universal jurisdiction for human rights abuses is essential as part of the cause of bringing to justice those who commit crimes against humanity and will oppose any legislation to restrict this power of UK courts'
So far only three of our MPs have signed. As a party we can do better! Fifty-two of our MPs (including the Foreign Affairs team) signed the identically worded EDM he put down in the last Parliament.
Attack on Gaza flotilla
The UN Security Council has condemned Israel's act of aggression in international waters: the brutal attack on an humanitarian aid convoy in which nine civilians were killed has sparked international outrage.
It has also reminded people that 1.5 million people are imprisoned in Gaza, close to starvation, and civilians, including children, are dying from lack of medical supplies or treatment. The British government has been complicit in this barbaric siege.
Please write to David Cameron, William Hague and Nick Clegg: sheer volume of letters does make a difference.
And please lobby your Member of Parliament to urge them to sign the following EDM in relation to the recent attack by Israel on the Free Gaza Flotilla, tabled by Richard Burden MP.
EDM 127
Israel and the Gaza Flotilla
That this House is appalled by the loss of life associated with Israel's attack on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza; notes that UK and other nationals have been held by Israel despite the attack having taken place in international waters; endorses the call of the United Nations Secretary General for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards; recognises that Israel's blockade which has destroyed the economy of Gaza and deepened poverty still inflicts widespread suffering and, by imposing collective punishment on the people of Gaza, is itself contrary to international law; and calls on the international community to require Israel to end its blockade and to redouble international efforts to secure a lasting settlement with a secure and independent state of Palestine alongside a secure and independent Israel.
Bristol Lib Dems
The majority Lib Dem Group on Bristol City Council tabled the motion below at its meeting last week which was was carried with Labour support.
"This Council notes the long standing links between Bristol and the people of Palestine through a range of organisations and activities over many years; therefore Council condemns the brutal attack on the ships of the Freedom Flotilla, in international waters, by the Israeli military on Monday 31 May 2010.
This was a convoy of ships delivering vital humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. At least nine human rights activists were killed and dozens more injured. Two Bristol citizens, Sakir Yildirim and Cliff Hanley were on one of the ships carrying aid to Gaza. We welcome the statement in the Queen's Speech that the UK Government will “continue to work for a two-state solution that sees a viable Palestinian state existing in peace and security alongside Israel,” but call on the Government to hold Israel to account for this illegal action and to ensure that future convoys from Bristol and elsewhere are able to deliver humanitarian aid without fear of an Israeli army attack.
Council expresses its support for: The demand of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan for a prompt, independent and international investigation into the Israeli attack The UK Government to put pressure on Israel to end the illegal blockade of Gaza and its military occupation of Palestinian land.
Sanctions be imposed on Israel until it complies with international law and ceases perpetrating human rights abuses.
An immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement on human rights grounds. An immediate two-way arms embargo between the UK and Israel. Such an embargo would send a clear message to Israel that its actions are unacceptable.
Council requests the Leader of Council to write to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in support of the above demands and further requests that the Government issues a blanket exemption to all public bodies to allow them to dis-invest in Countries that flout international law in the above manner.
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Stop Arms to Israel
Bruce Burgess is a member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign who is organising a petition against arming Israel. He is also a biker enthusiast and will deliver the petition via a Royal Enfield motorcycle ride from Mersey to London. At the moment the petition has some 350 signatures and 5 riders. More signatures needed and bikers welcomed!
All the details and a link to the petition are at: http://rideforpalestine.blogspot.com/
War on Want - Stop Arming Israel
The arms trade - asking the question
Please go to the following links to view Israel's current weapons technology and enormous military hardware industry. The question has to be asked: how is this resourced and supported, both financially and technologically?
Is this kind of weapons production capability consistent with Israel's claim to be a victim?
Rafael Advanced Defence Systems
Israel Aerospace Industries
PRESS RELEASE - 11 May 2010
New weapons experimented in Gaza: population risks genetic mutations
Toxic and carcinogenic metals, able to produce genetic mutations, have been found in the tissues of people wounded in Gaza during Israeli military operations of 2006 and 2009. The research has been carried out on wounds provoked by weapons that did not leave fragments in the bodies of the victims, a peculiarity that was pointed out repeatedly by doctors in Gaza. This shows that experimental weapons, whose effects are still to be assessed, were used.
The researchers compared the quantity of 32 elements present in the tissues through ICP/MS (a type of highly sensitive mass spectrometry) The job, carried out by laboratories of Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), Chalmer University (Sweden) and Beirut University (Lebanon), was coordinated by the New Weapons Research Group (NWRG), an independent committee of scientists and experts based in Italy, which is studying the use of unconventional weapons and their mid-term effects on the population of after-war areas. The relevant presence of toxic and carcinogenic metals found in the wound tissues points to direct risks for survivors, but also to the possibility of environmental contamination.
Biopsies of tissues were performed by doctors of Shifa hospital, in Gaza city, who selected and classified the type of wounds. Research was conducted on 16 tissue samples belonging to 13 victims. Four biopsies were taken in June 2006, during the operation “Summer Rains”, while the others were taken in the first week of January 2009, during the operation “Cast Lead”. All tissues were appropriately preserved and then examined by each of the three universities.
Some of the elements found are carcinogenic (mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel and uranium), others are potentially carcinogenic (cobalt and vanadium), others are also fetotoxic (alluminium, copper, barium, lead and manganese). The first ones can produce genetic mutations; the second ones can have the same effect on animals, but they are not proven to do the same on people; the third ones have toxic effects on people ad can affect either the embryo or the foetus in pregnant women. All metals found in high amounts have pathogenic effects on human respiratory organs, kidney and skin and affect sexual and neurological development and functions.
"Nobody – says Professor Paola Manduca, spokesperson for the New Weapons Research Group, genetics teacher and researcher at the University of Genoa – had ever conducted bioptic analysis on tissue samples from wounds. We have focused on wounds made by weapons that do not leave fragments, as the doctors from Gaza reported on them repeatedly. We wanted to verify the presence of metals that remained on the skin and in the derma. It was suspected that these metals were present in the weapons that leave no fragments, but it had never been demonstrated before. To our surprise even the burns provoked by white phosporus contain high amount of metals. Moreover, the presence of these metals in the weapons implies that they have been dispersed in the environment, in unknown amounts and range; they have been inhaled by the victims and by bystanders, thus constituting a risk for survivors and for people that were not directly hit by the bombing."
The research follows two previous studies conducted by NWRG. The former was published on 17 December 2009 and statued the presence of toxic metals in areas around the craters provoked by the Israeli bombing on Gaza Strip. The latter was published on March 17th 2010 and it pointed out the presence of toxic metals in hair samples of Palestinian children of Gaza Strip area hit by Israeli bombings. Both point to the presence of environmental contamination, aggravated by the living conditions on the ground and often in shelters exposed to wind and dust, due to the impossibility to rebuild housing imposed by the Israeli blockade to the entrance of needed building materials and tools.
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