As we go to
press July 7, Reuters reports that a French ship, “Dignity,” was
intercepted in Greek waters near Crete, having sailed from Corsica
with 10activists on board to join the Flotilla. It has been towed to
the port of Sitia. So far no arrests have been made.
Israel has been using collective
punishment against the people of the Gaza Strip since Hamas was
elected in 2006. This has taken the form of economic sanctions
including the withholding of humanitarian aid. It was Operation Cast
Lead—the massive bombing campaign, which began on Dec. 27, 2008,
lasted 22 days and killed over 1,400 people—that opened the eyes of
many around the world to the terror that the U.S.-backed Zionist
state can create.
Around the world people watched as the
Israeli government refused to allow food, medicine, water and
building supplies to the people on whom they had rained down white
phosphorus. Massive protests broke out around the world demanding an
end to the siege.
On Nov. 26, 2008, Libya sent a ship to
Gaza, in the first attempt by any state to break the first
internationally sanctioned siege by an occupier on the people it
occupies.
On May 31,, 2010, the
Israeli Navy rapelled onto the ship the Mavi Marmara while in
international waters, murdering nine Turkish and Turkish American
activists en route to deliver aid to Gaza.
At the time of this writing, most of
the boats in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla 2 are being detained by Greek
authorities. Activists on board the ships are not taking it lying
down. John Klusmire, captain of the U.S. passenger boat Audacity
of Hope was arrested July 2 when he attempted to set sail to Gaza
without the permission of the Greek government. He was charged with
setting sail without permission and endangering passengers. The
charges were dismissed by a judge and he was released on July 5.
Passengers of the Spanish boat Guernica
entered the Spanish embassy in Athens and staged a sit-in, demanding
that the Spanish government intercede with Greece to release the
boat. They hoisted the Palestinian flag and are currently refusing to
leave until their boat is given permission to leave.
Canadian citizens Sandra Ruch and Suha
Kneen were arrested in the port city of Aghios Nikolaos along with
Australian Michael Coleman. They were charged with impeding coast
guard authorities by placing themselves in kayaks in front of police
boats which were attempting to stop the Canadian boat Tahrir from
leaving Greek waters. Kneen and Coleman have been released pending
hearings while Ruch remains locked up and is expected to receive
heavier sentencing.
There have been many acts of solidarity
by and with the activists of the 10 ships of the Gaza Freedom
Flotilla 2. What is important to note is that the ships being held
not only against the will of the activists, but against the will of
the Greek people as well, just as the recent deep austerity measures
were imposed on them in the face of mass protest.
This
is a struggle against imperialism. On June 25, U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton stated, “We do not believe that the flotilla
is a necessary or useful effort…and we think that it’s not
helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by
entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the
Israelis have the right to defend themselves.” She never mentioned
the right of Palestinians in Gaza to clean water, medicine, and
building supplies. The occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is funded
and supported almost completely by U.S. dollars. Solidarity with the
people of Palestine will only continue to grow and as we grow
stronger in number, so too in power. Together, we will end the
siege on Gaza.
