I promised you the speech that I held in Strasbourg, in the Assembly of Council of Europe. Here it comes. I also met mr. Abdullah and mr. Kreishe from the Palestinian Legislative Councel, who held a speech also.
We had a good talk and agreed on many things.
For the message on the international website of the Socialist Party, click here.
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
April 19, 2007
Anja Meulenbelt, Netherlands, Unified European Left (UEL)
The situation in the Middle East
Mister Chairman, dear friends,
I start with my conclusion. If the assembly of the Council of Europe wants to have a role in supporting a solution for the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, we should start by being scrupulously fair and just about the standards that we apply to both sides. As parliamentarians we should insist that the 41 Palestinian parlementarians – one third of the Legislative Council – who are now locked up ion Israeli prisons are released. Just imagine how we would react if one third of the members of the Knesset were abducted by Palestinians.
I speak for the Group of the Unified European Left, but most of all I speak as close observer of the situation. I have been working in the Gazastrip for twelve years. I work for an organisation for disabled people -the National Center for Community Regabilitation (NCCR) – and after the hopeful years following the Oslo accord I have seen with my own eyes how the situation in the Palestinian territories has worsened. Some 80% of the population is now living under the poverty line. The situation became more disastrous after the sanctions taken by the European governments, including unfortunately my own government.
We appreciate the effort of the rapporteur, mr. Margelov, and the Political Committee, to write a report that addresses both sides of the issue, but there is still room to become more even-handed. Let us take the well-known three demands that are repeated in the report for Palestinian leaders to renounce violence, recognize the state of Israel within secure internationally recognized borders and comply with past agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Apart from the fact that there is no agreement in Israel itself or internationally about where the borders of Israel are, do we ask Israel to recognize the rights of the Palestinians to self-determination and to a state that is economically independent and that has its own safe borders controlled by its own authorities? I do not see that in the report.
Do we ask only Palestine to comply with the past agreements?Have we forgotten that Israel has not for one moment stopped the illegal building of settlements and the appropriation af Palestinian land, until this day?
If we rightly condemn the shooting of Kassam rockets, why do we not condemn the military attacks that recently wiped out a family of 16 members in Beit Lahiya? Is the difference based on the fact that Kassam rockets are launched by amateurs and that the weapons that killed the family are used by an official army? Do we ask Israel to stop the daily violence against Palestinians and the illegal ‘targetted’ killings that usually create many victims among civilians as well?
Let me state a few facts. During this last year, 27 Israelis were killed by Palestinians and most of them were soldiers. Some 583 Palestinian civilians, including children were killed, and this number does not include fighters.
The report asks for the release of one Israeli soldier who is kept in Gaza. It asks the other side only for the release of parliamentarians and Ministers. Why does the report not ask for the release of 11 000 political prisoners, including 500 children, who are held in Israeli prisons? Many of them under administrative detention, which means that they have not been charged, are not subject to legal process, and do not know when they will be released. Is it not our task to worry about torture, which has been well documented by the Israeli organisation Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) ? Palestinians are abducted daily. Last week, 29 Palestinians were abducted, including one child; the week before 37 Palestinians were abducted, including five children. This year, 860 Palestinians have so far been abducted, and it is only april.
It would take an hour to continue the list of serious violations against human rights, the treatment of prisoners, the collective punishments, the withholding of medical care, the destruction of houses and trees, and I could talk another hour about the traumatisation of most of the children in Gaza, or the people who have to live with a serious handicap – usually the dead are counted, the people with disabilities causes by military violence are not. I am very glad that the representative from Switzerland has already mentioned many aspects of the situation. We should work more closely with human righst organisations – Israeli, Palestinian and international. They can supply us with well documented reports on all the facts that should have been in this report to make it really even-handed.
Let me conclude by saying that it is high time that we acknowledge the unified national government of the Palestinians, which now represens almost 95% of the Palestinian population, and talk with them. It is not up to us to decide which part of this government we deem fit as a partner. We do not have to agree with Hamas to deal with them, as the chosen representatives of a large part of the Palestinian people. In fact, for people who have been observing the situation well, Hamas has changed their policy from armed resistance to working on a political strategy, working within the framework of a starting democracy that has to grow under very hard conditions. I salute the Norwegians who were the first to grasp the need for us to work with the Palestinian government, and I deplore the fact that the Dutch government is still of mixed feelings and drags its feet.
If we, of the Council of Europe, want to be taken seriously as defenders of human rights and democratic values by countries outside of Europe, the first thing we must do is take seriously the human rights of the Palestinian people. We should set the right example to all the countries in the world, including Israel and Palestine, by being completely fair, just and even-handed.
Thank you for your attention.`
In je verhaal stel je de mensenrechten aan beide zijden aan de kaak waarbij je wel aangeeft dat de Palestijnse mensenrechten het meeste worden geschonden,wat een gevolg is van machtsmisbruik die het machtsverschil uitbuit daarbij neem je het als socialiste op voor de underdog en krijgt de voorgaande en huidige regering terecht kritiek voor haar Amerikaanse volgzaamheid en ondemocratische handelswijze.
Vandaag was bij de NIO (Nederlands Islamititische Omroep) een interview met de Israëlische historicus Ilan Pappe over het recht op terugkeer van de Palestijnen. Hij zegt hierover o.a.: “De Israëliërs moeten het recht op terugkeer voor de Palestijnen erkennen. Het verdrijven van Palestijnen uit Palestina in 1948 was een etnische zuivering”. De in zijn eigen land omstreden historicus vindt de term Naqba (catastrofe) niet scherp genoeg. Het vluchtelingenprobleem moet worden opgelost, dan pas is er een kans op vrede. Hoop dat het nog te zien is op ‘uitzending gemist’, want zeer de moeite waard.
Groet van Thea Kuijper
Ik heb het ook gezien. Heel erg goed. Zou de NCRV ook eens moeten uitzenden. En Maxime Verhagen zou eens naar Ilan Pappe moeten luisteren. Vanmorgen was bij de IKON radio De Andere Wereld van zondagmorgen, was Peter Meyer Viol-Walburg. Net zo’n persoon als Hajo Meyer. Hij werkt met Palestijnse jongeren en zegt daarover dat wat hij daarbij meemaakt doet hem herinneren aan de discriminatie die hij als Joodse jongen in het Duitsland van de jaren ’30 heeft ervaren. De situatie van de Palestijnen in zowel Israel als de bezette gebieden waren voor hem een Déjà Vu.
Hier is de link waarop het programma nog te bekijken is:
http://player.omroep.nl/?aflid=4522804
Dank, jullie. Ja, het is een hele goede uitzending, en voor de mensen die er niet bij waren de mogelijkheid om Pappe zelf eens aan het woord te zien. Ik zag wel een foutje bij de vertaling. Pappe zei dat hij ‘challenged’ de officiele Israelische versie van wat er in 1948 is gebeurd. Dat werd vertaald als dat hij er aan twijfelde. Maar Pappe twijfelt na zijn uitgebreide onderzoek en zijn laatste boek over de ‘ethnic cleansing’ helemaal niet: wat hij zei: ik vecht het aan, ik bestrijd die officiele versie.
Nou ja, kleinigheid.
De uitzending wordt trouwens op zaterdag weer herhaald. `
Goed om te zien dat er mensen zijn die de moslimomroepen volgen. Daar zijn soms goede programma’s te vinden, en te veel mensen denken o dat is dus voor moslims. In een serie interviews werd ik ook eens gevraagd, ik werd geinterviewd door Naima Azough, toen nog geen kamerlid, en het was een van mijn beste interviews ever. Omdat er nou eens niet dat journalistentoontje overheen lag wat bij interviews bij de Pauwen en Wittemannen en de Polaks en de Knevels zo gewoon is geworden, zo van o ja? Dacht je dat? Het is een verademing om eens een interviewer mee te maken die zich gewoon tot doel stelt om jou verhaal zo goed mogelijk over het voetlicht te krijgen, in plaats van dwangmatig te proberen of ze je onderuit kunnen halen – bij Naima hoorde ik mezelf dingen vertellen die ik anders niet gauw gezegd zou hebben, terwijl de gemiddelde gehaaide interviewer er bij mij alleen maar voor zorgt dat ik op mijn hoede ben en op moet passen dat ik niet in het defensief schiet.
Sorry, dit was off topic.
Ik schakel nog al eens na Buitenhof over naar de NMO. Dat is inderdaad vaak heel interessant. Daar zouden al die Islamhaters of allen die alle Moslims over één kam scheren ook eens naar moeten kijken. Dan zien ze dat Moslims ook heel normale verstandige mensen zijn.
Fantastisch dat die uitzending van de NMO met Ilan Pappe zaterdag wordt herhaald. Ik had er spijt van dat ik het niet opgenomen had. Nu kan ik het alsnog opnemen.
Dear Anja;
I really admire you more when I see and hear what you do and what you say for us in Palestine. It is your hear that is carying all the love in the world that needs people to understand it.
Thank you, Ramadan. Good to hear from you. All of us from Kifaia are unhappy that we have not been able to come to Gaza, and hope the situation changes enough soon so we can come back!
We really miss Gaza and all you guys terribly!
Dear Anja,
I wish I had replied earlier , but it was out of our hands since we had a bad internet connection through the last week. Actually, days make me feel privileged because we have a friend like you . You progressively root the hope within us vanquishing all hardships to convey the truth to the world. Let me say that you are the candle that consumes itself to light the way to others.
Dear Anja,
Whatever one says, I believe that they cannot describe what you do for us and for our issue. You still fight more and more for the favor of depressed people in the world incarnating a real figure of self-sacrifice . Your conspicuous positive stand towards oppressed people all over the world cultivates the seeds of justice wherever you are fighting for.
I , on behalf of the Palestinian people highly appreciate your prominent efforts . Also, we wish things could be better in the nearest future to live as we aspire . To sum up, having a friend like you is enough to assure us the we have who are fighting for our life and peace.
I supplicate to Allah to lead you to what you are seeking for
Dear Anja,
Your making every efforts is familiar to us; we have nothing to say but we are are with you by heart and soul. We are full of willpower since we have YOU defending for our rights.
Wish you the best
Dear Anja,
We, the NCCR team would like to send you our deep gratitude for what you do for the Palestinian people. Actually, this is what you familiarized for all people know you. We highly pay our tribute to your ongoing support you exert for humanity and justice wherever you head to . Despite the massive danger you might face, you are still paving the way for peace all over the world.
Wholeheartedly, we are so touched for your doings, and we all hope you the best in you life.
The NCCR team
Thank you all – you make me a little shy with all these big and beautiful words. I do what I can, just as all your friends here, and always we feel it is nog enough and we still can’t convince most Europeans, and our government, to be more fair to the Palestinians. But it does make me happy to be able to do at least something now that we can’t come to Gaza yet.
So thanks, really. I never forget that I live comfortably and safely in my home, and you have to face danger daily.