Palestine, the Raytheon 9 and the Belfast May Day Rally
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rights, freedoms and repression |
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Wednesday May 07, 2008 23:33
by TD - Free Palestine Campaign
Prosecution Service: Any jury from Derry may be too sympathetic to the action
From Derry to Palestine
Last weekend, Belfast was graced with the presence of two strong Palestinian activists; George Rishmawi and Iyad Bornat (also spelled Eyad Burnat), the screening of Iyad's powerful documentary: Bil'in Against the Wall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy8-oxnZQJU in the Falls Road Cultural Center last Friday night and George's public address at the Belfast May Day Rally on Saturday.
The documentary is a powerful indictment of Israel and its use of murderous violence by its Occupation Army in beleaguered Bil'in against peaceful protestors to snuff out dissent against the expropriation of Palestinian land for the building of "settlements" for Jews only colonists.
Au fait with the action of the Raytheon 9 in Derry, George Rishmawi and Iyad Bornat, through the good offices of Kathleen O'Connell (IPSC) sought and found Eamonn McCann at the rally to express solidarity with the 9 and Pitstop Ploughshare success at their forthcoming trial.
Related Links: Raytheon 9 pamphlet reviewed www.raytheon9.org Indy.ie coverage
The Raytheon 9 website http://www.raytheon9.org/home.html reports that: "The trial of Derry Anti-War Coalition activists, the Raytheon 9, is set to start on Monday May 19th. It is to be held in Belfast. The trial was moved to Belfast after the Prosecution Service applied to have it moved; it argued that the Derry jury pool is likely to know too much about the campaign against Raytheon, including the non-violent direct action taken on 9th August 2006 and that any jury from Derry may be too sympathetic to the action and/or intimidated by the level of support for the Raytheon 9 because of all the protests held outside the court over the almost two years since the nine were arrested. They have been charged with aggravated burglary and unlawful assembly. These are very serious offences that could mean the accused could be denied the right to trial by jury under British security legislation prevailing in the north of Ireland. ".
Their website further states that: "Raytheon is the fifth biggest arms manufacturer in the world. It manufactured the 100 GBU-28 bunker buster bombs urgently flown by the United States to Israel at the height of the destruction of Lebanon by the Israel Defence Force. Among the many services Raytheon has performed for Israel is supplying electronic equipment for the apartheid wall being built on Palestinian land. The National Lawyers Guild of the US has accused Raytheon of being 'implicated in the commission of war crime"'.
George Rishmawi is a Palestinian Christian from the Bethlehem area. George is Co-ordinator of the Siraj Center www.sirajcenter.org for Holy Land Studies in Beit Sahour, and is board member of the Network of Christian Organisations in Bethlehem. George has toured the USA speaking to churches about the indigenous Christians in Palestine, and encouraging Christians to visit the Holy Land.
Eyad Burnat is a Palestinian Muslim from Bil'in. He is founder of the Movement for Freedom and Justice in Bil'in - one of the most highly respected and well known non-violent movements in Palestine. Bil'in is a small village north of Jerusalem and is directly in the path of the obscenity called the Apartheid Wall being built by Israel - the wall has been declared illegal in the International Court, and the residents of Bil'in are joined by many Israelis in a peaceful weekly protest which has become synonymous with the non-violent movement against occupation in Palestine.
Last February, a group of 10 Irish people including three activists, on a solidarity visit to the West Bank http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86492 numbed to the point of fury (at least this one was) and outraged at what they witnessed during the previous week joined the Friday protest in Bil'in to be further outraged by the indiscriminate, totally disportionate violence visited on the peaceful protesters by the IDF: three Palestinians were downed with plastic bullets and stretchered away and many others were dowsed with tear gas, but then again, in comparison, it was small potatoes to what Iyad captured with his video camera and the fact that three local Palestinian farmers were shot dead previously and a Japanese protestor has his eye taken out by an Israeli plastic bullet the previous Friday.
Eamonn McCann, noted anti-war/civil rights activist and campaigning journalist - don't know the names of the others?
IPSC Belfast branch
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Comments (13 of 13)
Jump To Comment: 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Was anyone aware of the links between Tony Blair's role as Envoy in the Middle East and Raytheon?
Upon his retirement in June 2007, Tony Blair assumed the 'unpaid' role of Peace Envoy to the Middle East. He was also appointed as an advisor to the major US Investment Bank, JP Morgan Chase in a deal worth over £1 million per year.
His employers at JP Morgan Chase are major shareholders in Raytheon, having invested close to $80 million in 1997 (that figure is likely to have since increased).
Reporters at the time asked a Government Spokesman if there was likely to be a conflict of interests in is roles as both envoy and advisor. The response? 'Ask Tony Blair'.
Closer scrutiny also needs to be made of New Labour's pro-Israel stance. Both Blair and Gordon Brown are members of 'Labour Friends Of Israel' - a pro-Israeli interest group operating in the UK Parliament (there is also a 'Conservative Friends of Israel' group).
Although largely ignored by the press at the time, the 'Labour Friends Of Israel' group featured at the centre of the 'Donorgate Scandal' of 2007. David Abrahams donated at least £548,850 since 2003, via at least two work colleagues, his solicitor and the wife of an employee - an illegal activity. Abrahams at the time ranked as the third biggest Labour donor. Another senior member of 'Labour Friends of Israel' was Lord Michael Levy, the disgraced peer at the centre of Blair's 'Cash For Peerages Scandal' (Blair first met Lord Levy at a 'Friends of Israel' function in North London).
Also named in the 'Cash For Peerages Scandal' was Lord Sainsbury - who similarly faced an inquiry over his £2 million loan to the party. Sainsbury too is a 'Labour Freinds of Israel' member (David Goldman – the Chairman of an Israeli telecommunications equipment company BATM Advanced Communications is also reported to have made several 5-figure donations). He too is an LFI member.
John Mendelsohn - Mr Big at the LFI and a passionate Zionist is now Gordon Brown's party fundraiser.
Of course we all know about the influence of America's pro-Israeli lobby, AIPAC and their ability to influence the Senate, but too little has been made of pro-Israeli interest groups in the UK's own backyard.
The image of Blair as somekind of ‘lacky’ or sidekick to Bush has served as a rather convenient cover for Britain's own vested interests in this region. The standard party line is that Britain was pulled somewhat reluctantly into the Middle-Eastern conflict because of its loyalty to the USA, when its quite clear that Britain’s actions were more the result of influence built up at home.
Although interesting to see that Fidelity Investments (US), the largest shareholders in Trinity Mirror (owner of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, People, and Sunday Mail) are also major shareholders in Raytheon Defense. Little wonder that Piers Morgan was ejected from the Daily Mirror after he published the ‘fake’ photos of UK soldiers urinating on Iraq prisoners. Afterall, it didn’t do much for the war effort.
Interesting ideas but you have to look at the comments area for more on Raytheon and Blair.
Against racism.
I cant believe that this stuff is actually going on. Two guys got stabbed then after this text was sent.
http://www.imemc.org/article/54818
“It's time to put an end to all the Arabs that hang out in the neighborhood and at the mall, whistle to girls, curse and threaten little children. Any Jew who wishes to put an end to this should arrive at the burger ranch, where we will finally teach them not to walk around in our area. Whoever is willing to do this and has the Jewish blood to do so”, the message reads as published by Haaretz.
3!
The 130 or so, Malaysians currently studying medicine in the University College Hospital Galway are unstinting in their support for Palestine
and Palestine in Galway yesterday.
Nabeela, Martin (son of Mary Kelly) and daughter Maya
From L to R: Finn Arden, Margaretta D'Arcy and husband, John Arden
I dont believe the anti war movement in Ireland consists solely of pacifists , although Im sure there are many pacifists within its ranks . Anyway the 3 lads are in a maximum security prison on the word of a senior garda facing up to 6 years imprisonment . Thats basic internment by another name . More great work by the Donegal gardai whom we all know are impeccable in their honesty and wouldnt tell a lie to stitch a man up .
Fair play to Eammon and Co for keeping the anti raytheon protests in the public eye and for their principled stand against these merchants of death .
"Are there attested or proven links between the Raytheon 9 & Omagh bombers?"
The Omagh bombing was carried out by the RIRA. Certain members of the Raytheon 9 are members of the 32 CSM - the political wing of the RIRA. Some members of the Raytheon 9 are now in prison charged with membership of the RIRA. Certain members of the Raytheon 9 also have quite a notorious reputation within their own community in Derry for violence and intimidation, usually (but not always) towards so-called anti-social elements within that community.
From the point of view of those of us who embrace non-violence and non-violent protest, it does indeed seem a tad hypocritical that some folks can claim to be non-violent one day and then are willing to go out and kill in the name of freedom the next.
does anyone have the photos from the whole of the belfast march?
Are there attested or proven links between the Raytheon 9 & Omagh bombers? If so, please publish them.
LINK-May Day raid on General Dynamics Weapons Plant - Vermont, USA
http://www.counterpunch.org/dangl05052008.html
Whether the bombs are made by Raytheon or by the so-called "Real IRA" - they have one thing in common. They kill.
Neither bomb is more progressive than the other. Those members of the Raytheon 9 who sympathise with the "Real IRA" are hypocrites. Their socalled war of liberation is as acceptable in Ireland as the zionists' attack on Lebanon. Eamonn McCann for 40 years or more has called a spade a spade - why the reticence now when it comes to the clowns in the Real IRA? Is he afraid of a split in the Raytheon 9, some of whom are linked to the "32 county sovereignity committe" - a group that has links to the Omagh bombers!
Unfortunately three members of the Raytheon 9, Paddy McDaid, Mickey Gallagher and Gary Donnelly could not attend this rally due to their continued internment by the free state on IRA membership charges. The 32CSM believe that these bogus charges are as much about their work wth the Derry Anti War coalition as they are to do with their political activism with the 32 County Sovereignty Movement.
3!
Kathleen (IPSC)
Bernadette and husband, Jerry on left - Jerry was a member of the solidarity visit group to the West Bank last February
More!
George Rishmawi
Iyad Bornat