[News] The Rachel Corrie MV Continues To Sail Towards Gaza In Defiance Of Israeli Threats
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Tue Jun 1 15:43:15 EDT 2010
The Lone Ship Of The Freedom Flotilla: The Rachel Corrie MV Continues
To Sail Towards Gaza In Defiance Of Israeli Threats
By Michel Chossudovsky
01 June, 2010
<http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19481>Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19481
Following Israel's criminal raid in international waters on May 31st,
the Rachel Corrie MV continues to sail towards the Gaza coastline in
defiance of Israeli threats.
In an act of tremendous courage, the Rachel Corrie MV is determined
to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
At noon today, I received the following message from Christopher
Chang and Ram Kardigasu, on behalf of the Malaysian and Irish peace
activists, who are on board the Rachel Corrie:
RACHEL CORRIE: MV Rachel Corrie is now the sole ship on the
international freedom flotilla moving towards Gaza.
The Malaysian and Irish peace and humanitarian activists aboard share
their deepest grief and sense of loss with the loved ones of those
killed and injured in the illegal action undertaken by Israel on
Monday 31st May 2010 in the international waters of the Mediterranean.
In the names of our friends, we are more determined than ever to
continue into Gaza with our humanitarian cargo and our support for
the blockaded and suffering people of Gaza.
We expect Israel to respond to the international condemnation of its
violence by not impeding by any means the safe passage of the Rachel Corrie.
We appeal to the international community and United Nations to
continue to demand Israel our safe passage into Gaza.
Jointly issued by Malaysians and Irish on board the Rachel Corrie.
Sent on behalf of the humanitarian activists on aboard the Rachel
Corrie - by PGPO land team (Ram Karthigasu and Christopher Chang)
In recent developments, the Netanyahu government is in crisis:
"Senior ministers [of the Netanyahu cabinet] have been sharply
critical of the fact that the decision to seize control of the
flotilla to Gaza was made after two meetings of the forum of seven
senior ministers but without official deliberation by the inner
cabinet, the body that has the authority to approve military actions
of this scale." What this suggests is that the actual decision to
conduct the raids in international waters bypassed the Cabinet.
(Haaretz.com headlines RSS)
The question remains: if the Israeli cabinet did not ratify the
operation, who ordered the raids and through what procedure?
What were the respective roles of Israeli intelligence and the IDF in
planning these raids?
What role was played by Rahm Emmanuel, Obama's White House Chief of
Staff, who had meetings with both Netanyahu and president Shimon
Peres, respectively on May 26 and 27?
Did Rahm Emmanuel meet officials of Israel's military and
intelligence establishment?
Did the Obama administration give the Green Light?
It is important that this news gets out, with a view to ensuring that
the Rachel Corrie MV safely reaches the coast of Gaza without
encroachment, with a view to breaking Israel's criminal embargo.
In this endeavor we shall prevail. Our hearts and minds are with
those who continue to sail on board the Rachel Corrie MV.
It should be noted that Israel has not in any way modified its policy
with regard to the Rachel Corrie MV: There are two more ships heading
for Gaza including the Rachel Corrie MV. Israel has promised "to
respond even more harshly":
"Israel will use more aggressive force in the future to prevent ships
from breaking the sea blockade on the Gaza Strip, a top Navy
commander told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
"We boarded the ship and were attacked as if it was a war," the
officer said. "That will mean that we will have to come prepared in
the future as if it was a war." (<http://www.ynetnews.com>www.ynetnews.com)
The Rachel Corrie MV is in part supported by the Perdana Global Peace
Organization under the helm of Malaysia's former Prime Minister Dr.
Mahathir Mohamad.
Global Research Director Michel Chossudovsky is a member of the
Perdana Global Peace Organisation and of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes
Commission.
<http://aliabunimah.posterous.com/list-of-passengers-aboard-mv-rachel-corrie-en>List
of passengers aboard MV Rachel Corrie en route to Gaza
Following is the list of passengers aboard MV Rachel Corrie. It
includes 2 Irish and 9 Malaysians. Received via Belfast IPSC.
LIST OF PASSENGERS ABOARD MV RACHEL CORRIE STILL EN ROUTE TO GAZA
*Mairead Maguire 66 Belfast, Ireland
Mairead Maguire is a Nobel Peace Laureate (l976) and Co-founder of
Peace People, Northern Ireland. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for her work for peace and a nonviolent solution to the
Ethnic/political conflict in Northern Ireland. Mairead has travelled
many times to the occupied territories of Palestine to support the
nonviolent peoples' movement for Human Rights, International Law,and
Self Determination of the Palestinian people. Maguire was shot with a
plastic bullet whilst participating with
Palestinians/Israelis/Internationals in a peaceful protest March to
the Wall in Bilin, in April, 2007. Mairead went on the maiden Voyage
of Dignity in October, 2008, the second successful voyage for the
Free Gaza Movement. She was also on Board 'Spirit' when Israel
hijacked the Boat in International Waters, taking all 2l humanitarian
passengers to Israel, where they were arrested, detained for a week
in an Israeli prison and then deported.
*Denis Halliday, Manhattan, NYC and Connemara, Ireland.
Denis Halliday was UN Assistant Secretary-General from 1994-98.
Appointed by SG Boutros Ghali, he served as ASG UN Human Resources
Management in New York and in mid 1997 to end 1998 as Head,
Humanitarian Programme in Iraq to support the Iraqi people struggling
under the genocidal impact of UN Sanctions.
Prior to that, as a development manager, Halliday served UNDP from
1964-94 in Iran, New York Hqts, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei,
Indonesia, Samoa, New York again and finally as head of the UNDP
Regional Office in Thailand.
Since resigning from the UN in 1998, Halliday has delivered numerous
parliamentary briefings, provided extensive media inputs and has
given public/university lectures on Iraq, human rights, and the UN,
in particular its reform. He was a visiting professor at Swarthmore
College in Pennsylvania and teaches/speaks inter alia at universities
in Ireland, Canada, UK and USA. Halliday is a graduate of TCD, has an
honorary Phd, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and was awarded
the UK Gandhi Peace Prize.
MALAYSIAN
*Matthias Chang Wen Chieh 60, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . Matthias Chang
is a Malaysian of Chinese descent. He is a Barrister of 32 years
standing and once served as the Political Secretary to the Fourth
Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
He is the author of three bestsellers, "Future FastForward",
"Brainwashed for War, Programmed to Kill", and "The Shadow
Money-Lenders and the Global Financial Tsunami", published in the US
and in Malaysia. Since his student days in England in the late 1960s,
he was and still is, actively involved in the anti-war movement
spanning a period of 41 years. He is a Catholic but enjoins all to
promote inter-faith understanding.
*MP Mohd Nizar bin Zakaria is a Member of the Malaysian Parliament.
*Shamsul Akmar bin Musa Kamal 46 , Selangor, Malaysia
*Mr. Shamsul Akmar bin Musa Kamal is a journalist for over two
decades, Columnist for The New Straits Times and The Star newspapers
and is currently the Special Officer to Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the
Fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He holds a Masters Degree in War
Studies from King's College, University of London.
*Mohd Nizar bin Zakaria 41 , Perak, Malaysia
*Abdul Halim Bin Mohamed 29 , Selangor, Malaysia
*Abdul Halim is a broadcast journalist for news and current affairs
Malaysia TV3
*Mohd Jufri Bin Mohd Judin 33, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*Mohd Jufri is a cameraman for news and current affairs Malaysia TV3.
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