Tuesday 22 December 2009

Let Gaza Feel Italy's Solidarity








The date of the Gaza Freedom March, 31st December 2009, is drawing near. The march is a historic initiative to break the siege that imprisons the one and a half million people who live in the Gaza Strip.





The march will bring together people from all over the world, hand in hand with the people of Gaza, to call on Israel to open the borders. More than 1,300 people from 42 countries - amoung them 140 from Italy - will take part in the march, carrying with them humitarian aid, solidarity and love for the people of Gaza.


On the first anniversary of the Israeli invasion that left more than 1,400 dead, this is a global response from ordinary people, to the inaction of their leaders and of the world's political institutions.

This year, we have seen:


  • Aid donated by people from all over the world blocked by the Israeli and Egyptian governments.
  • Gazan fishermen and farmers injured or even killed by the Israeli armed forces.
  • The ship of the Free Gaza movement attacked and hijacked by the Israeli navy.
  • The Goldstone report ignored by European governments and denigrated by the US congress.

But we have also seen the indignation of people for what happened in Gaza, the solidarity and the determination to do something, despite the inaction of their governments. We've seen aid convoys and delegations of activists struggle to enter Gaza, and we've seen them succeed.

No we must struggle to make the Gaza Freedom March succeed. On December 20th, the Egyptian authorities communicated their intention to not open the Rafah crossing to permit the participants of the march to enter Gaza.

Click here to send a message of support for the march to the Egyptian ambassador in Italy.


People are mobilising. The message is clear:

End the siege, end the occupation, respect for international law.




But Gaza needs concrete solidarity from all. Click here to find out how you can contribute.

Monday 14 December 2009

Freedom for the Bi'lin Detainees



Bil’in is a Palestinian village that wants to continue to exist, that fights to protect its land, its olive groves, its resources and its freedom.

The state of Israel, by annexing 60% of Bil'in's land to construct the separation wall, is destroying this village each day, confining its inhabitants to an open-air prison.

Every Friday, supported by Israeli and international activists, the inhabitants of Bil'in protest peacefully in front of the construction site of shame - and every Friday, the Israeli army respond with physical and moral violence.






The most recent attempt by the Israeli army to reduce Bil'in's non-violent resistence campaign to silence is a wave of nocturnal raids and the multiplication of arrests of demonstrators, in particular the leaders of the Bil'in Popular Committee. Since June 23 2009, 31 Bil'in residents have been arrested by the Israeli military.



People arrested in Bil'in since the start of the campaign of intimidation



  1. 24/06/2009: Mohammed Khalil Abu Rahma (23 years old)
  2. 24/06/2009: Moatassem Faisal Al-Khatib (17 years old)
  3. 26/06/2009: Khaleel Ibrahim (15 years old)
  4. 26/06/2009: Kamel Alkhateeb (15 years old)
  5. 29/06/2009: Emad Mahmoud Yassin (16 years old)
  6. 29/06/2009: Hosni Rasim al-Khatib (16 years old)
  7. 29/06/2009: Mohsen Kateb (16 years old)
  8. 29/06/2009: Hamoda Yaseen (16 years old)
  9. 30/06/2009: Suleiman Seif (17 years old)
  10. 5/07/2009: Oda Rebhe Abu Rahma (20 years old)
  11. 5/07/2009: Mahmoud Issa Yassein (17 years old)
  12. 7/07/2009: Abdel Muamer Majdi Abu Rahma
  13. 10/07/2009: Adeeb Abu Rahme
  14. 17/07/2009: Muhammed abde Fatah al Burnat (21 years old)
  15. 19/07/2009: Imad Burnat (37 years old)

  16. 3/08/2009: Khaled gut Show Alrazic Abd-al-Khatib (23 years old)
  17. 3/08/2009: Mustafa gut Show Alrazic Abd-al-Khatib (18 years old)
  18. 3/08/2009: Mohammed Abd-gut Show Alrazic Al-Khatib (16 years old)
  19. 3/08/2009: Abdullah Ahmad Yassen (18 years old)
  20. 3/08/2009: Abdullah Mohammed Ali Yassen (16 years old)
  21. 3/08/2009: Issa Mahmoud Issa Abu Rahma (40 years old)
  22. 3/08/2009: Mohammed Khatib (35 anni), freed 18/08/2009 on the condition of presenting himself at the Police station every Friday and staying there until 5pm, until his trial is over.
  23. 15/08/2009: Nashmi Mohammed Ibrahim Abu Rahma (14 years old)
  24. 20/08/2009: Mohammad Abu Rahma alias Abu Nizar (50 years old), Freed with a caution 23/08/2009
  25. 29/08/2009: Tofik Ashraf Mohammad Jamal Al-Khatib (29 years old)
  26. 29/08/2009: Hamru Hisham Bornat (24 years old)
  27. 1/09/2009: Abed Baset Mohammed Abu Rahme (19 years old)
  28. 25/09/2009: Haitham al Khatib (33 years old), Freed 25/09/2009. He was forced to sign a document promising not to go near the wall and he has been ordered to present himself at a judicial hearing within 6 months.
  29. 1/10/2009: Basel Mansour (32 years old), freed 8/10/2009 after paying a fine of 1000 shekels
  30. 19/11/2009 : Muhammad Yassin (19 years old)
  31. 3/12/2009 : Rani Najar (23 years old)
  32. 10/12/2009 : Abdallah Abu Rahma




The latest to be detained is the coordinator of the non-violent resistence movement of Bil'in Abdallah Abu Rahmah, arrested during the night of December 10th by Israeli soldiers.

At 2 in the morning, 7 Israeli military jeeps stopped near to the home of Abdallah Abu Rahmah in the city of Ramallah. The soldiers burst into the house and arrested Abu Rahmah in his bed, in the presence of his wife and children. Abu Rahmah is a school teacher at the Latin Patriarch school in Birzeit near to Ramallah and he is the coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee against the wall and the settlements. In previous attempt to arrest Abu Rahmah, on September 15th, the Israeli army used such violence that a soldier was indicted.

What can you do?

Support the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee and its efforts to free the detainees.

http://www.popularstruggle.org/freeabdallah#do



A simple man called Gandhi led the non-violent struggle in India and simple people like Rosa Parks led the struggle for civil rights in the USA, simple people here in Bil'in are carrying out a non-violent struggle that will bring them freedom. The example of South Africa demonstrates that injustice can be defeated.

Desmond Tutu

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Israeli Lettres de Cachet




Lettres de cachet were letters signed by the king of France with which a subject could be condemned to imprisonment without trial or the possibility of defense or appeal.

Lettres de cachet were abolished immediately after the French Revolution, but naturally such a useful practice was not completely abandoned. All the colonial powers used similar regulations. Administrative detention, still used today by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestine, is one of these regulations.


No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile..
Article 9 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Administrative detention is a form of detention without charge or trial, authorised by an administrative order rather than a judicial decree. An administrative detention order can be for a maximum period of six months, but there is no limit to the number of times it can be renewed. It was introduced in Palestine by the British authorities during the Mandate, and was used against both the indigenous population and the Jewish immigrants.

The Zionist jurist Dov Joseph, protesting against its use by the British authorities said:

Are we to be subjected to official terror? ... no citizen can be safe from life imprisonment without trial... it is not necessary to have committed any crime, a decision taken in some office is enough..

After the establishment of the state of Israel, the British Emergency Regulations, which included administrative detention, were incorporated into Israeli law and Dov Joseph, by then minister of justice, used them against the Palestinian population. Since then, administrative detention orders have struck children, women, young people, old people, intellectuals, students, political and trade union leaders, and in the last three years it has been the turn of elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Since 2000, more than 19,000 administrative detention orders have been handed down.

Currently, more than 500 Palestinians are subject to administrative detention orders. The most recent detainee is Mohammed Othman. Mohammad was arrested by the Israeli authorities on 22nd September. He was returning to the West Bank from Norway where he had spoken at public meetings and met with government officials. Despite two months of detention, isolation, and lengthy interrogations, no charges were brought against him and finally the military authorities requested an administrative detention order.

Click here to send a mail to President Obama asking him to press for Mohammed's immediate release.

Click here for more information about the campaign against administrative detention.



Report on the arbitrary detention of Palestinians prepared by the Israeli human rights organisations B'tselem and Hamoked.

200910 Without Trial Eng

Friday 13 November 2009

Vicenza matters to us










On Saturday November 7th, Women in Black from Padua, Naples, Schio, Verona, Udine, Bologna, Ravenna, Milan, Turin and Alba were in the streets of Vicenza together with many women from the city, to declare their opposition to the construction of the new US military base, Dal Molin.

They went to Vicenza because the construction of the base and all that is revealed by the choices and actions of successive Italian governments concerning the base, is a problem that all of us must confront.


More photos

The stubborn fight by the citizens of Vicenza has brought more visibility to the secret agreements that impose not only the presence of foreign bases in Italy, but also the financial burden of maintaining them at the expense of Italian taxpayers. But it has also made visible, in an unmistakable way, the contempt of our political leaders for the opinions, the wishes and the rights of citizens. The citizens of Vicenza have seen their opinions discarded, their right to have a local referendum denied, the decision against the construction of the base by the local courts for the Veneto region set aside.






The exclusion of citizens from the decisions that concern military installations represents a serious threat to democracy in a country that already hosts 110 American bases.



American Bases in Italy



  1. Cima Gallina [Bolzano]. US airforce telecommunications and radar station
  2. Monte Paganella [Trento]. US airforce telecommunications station
  3. Aviano [Pordenone]. US airforce largest advance base in Italy, nuclear weapons depot and telecommunications centre
  4. Roveredo [Pordenone]. US weapons depot
  5. Rivolto [Udine]. US airforce base
  6. Maniago [Udine]. US airfoce firing range
  7. San Bernardo [Udine]. US army ammunition depot
  8. Trieste. US navy base
  9. Camp Ederle [Vicenza]. Headquarters of the US Southern European task force
  10. Vicenza: US army 173rd airbourne brigade
  11. Tormeno [San Giovanni a Monte, Vicenza]. Military depot
  12. Longare [Vicenza]. Military depot
  13. Oderzo [Treviso]. Arms and ammunition depot
  14. Codognè [Treviso]. Arms and ammunition depot
  15. Istrana [Treviso]. US airforce base

  16. Ciano [Treviso]. US telecommunications and radar centre
  17. Verona. US airforce air operations centre and NATO southern European land forces base; US airforce telecommunications centre
  18. Affi [Verona]. US telecommunications centre
  19. Lunghezzano [Verona]. US radar centre
  20. Erbezzo [Verona]. US national security agency antenna
  21. Conselve [Padova]. US radar base
  22. Monte Venda [Padova]. US telecommunications and radar antenna
  23. Venice. US naval base
  24. Sant'Anna di Alfaedo [Padova]. US radar centre
  25. Lame di Concordia [Venezia]. US telecommunications and radar centre
  26. San Gottardo, Boscomantivo [Venezia]. US telecommunications centre
  27. Ceggia [Veggio]. US radar centre
  28. Ghedi [Brescia]. US airforce base, communications station
  29. Montichiari [Brescia]. US airforce base
  30. Remondò [Pavia]. US army base
  31. Solbiate Olona [Varese]. Rapid intervention base
  32. Sorico [Como]. US national security agency antenna
  33. Cameri [Novara]. US airforce base, with NATO coverage
  34. Candelo-Masazza [Vercelli]. US airforce and army training centre with NATO coverage
  35. La Spezia. Anti-submarine center

  36. Finale Ligure [Savona]. US army telecommunications station

  37. San Bartolomeo [Spezia]: Research centre for submarine warfare
  38. Monte San Damiano [Piacenza]. US airforce base with NATO coverage
  39. Monte Cimone [Modena]. US telecommunications centre with NATO coverage
  40. Parma. US airforce depot with NATO coverage
  41. Bologna. US State Department telecommunications centre
  42. Rimini. US logistics group for the activation of nuclear bombs
  43. Rimini-Miramare. US telecommunications centre
  44. Potenza Picena [Macerata]. US radar centre with NATO coverage
  45. Camp Darby [Pisa]. The largest Mediterranean logistics depot of the Southern European Task Force. Naval resupply base
  46. Coltano [Pisa]. Important US telecommunications base. US army ammunition depot
  47. Pisa [military airport]. US airforce base (intermittent)
  48. Talamone [Grosseto]. US navy base (intermittent)
  49. Poggio Ballone [Grosseto]. US radar centre with NATO coverage
  50. Livorno. US naval base
  51. Monte Limbara [Sassari]. US missile base
  52. Sinis di Cabras [Oristano]. US national security agency data centre.
  53. Isola di Tavolara [Sassari]. US navy radio-telegraph station for submarine support
  54. Torre Grande di Oristano. US national security agency radar base
  55. Monte Arci [Oristano]. US telecommunications centre with NATO coverage.
  56. Capo Frasca [Oristano]. US heliport and radar installation
  57. Santulussurgiu [Oristano]. US airforce telecommunications station with NATO coverage
  58. Perdasdefogu [Nuoro]. Experimental missile base
  59. Capo Teulada [Cagliari]. Firing range for aerial and naval exercises of the US Sixth Fleet and NATO
  60. Cagliari. US naval base
  61. Decimomannu [Cagliari]. US military airport with NATO coverage/span>
  62. Elmas airport [Cagliari]. US airforce base
  63. Salto di Quirra [Cagliari]. Missile firing range
  64. Capo San Lorenzo [Cagliari]. Training area for the US Sixth Fleet
  65. Monte Urpino [Cagliari]. US and NATO ammunition depot
  66. Rome. NATO command for the central Mediterranean and centre for US interforces logistics coordination
  67. Rome Ciampino [military airport. US airforce base (intermittent)
  68. Rocca di Papa [Roma]. US telecommunication centre with NATO coverage
  69. Monte Romano [Viterbo]. US army firing range (intermittent)
  70. Gaeta [Latina]. Permanent base of the Sixth Fleet and of the naval escort squadron for the aircraft carrier "La Salle"
  71. Casale delle Palme [Latina]. NATO school of telecommunications under US control
  72. Naples. US marines security force command. US submarine base. US airforce mediterranean command.
  73. Capodichino Airport [Naples]. US airforce base
  74. Monte Camaldoli [Naples]. US telecommunications base
  75. Ischia [Naples]. US telecommunications antenna with NATO coverage
  76. Nisida [Naples]. US army base
  77. Bagnoli [Naples]. The largest coordination centre for the US navy including all telecommunications activity, command and control of the Mediterranean
  78. Agnano [Naples]. US army base
  79. Licola [Naples]. US telecommunications antenna
  80. Lago Patria [Caserta]. US telecommunications station
  81. Giugliano [Naple]. Statcom command
  82. Grazzanise [Caserta]. US airforce base (intermittent)
  83. Mondragone [Caserta]: US and NATo underground anti-atomic command centre, where the US and NATO commands would be situated in case of war
  84. Montevergine [Avellino]: US communications centre
  85. Cirigliano [Matera]. US command for naval forces in Europe
  86. Pietraficcata [Matera]. US and NATO telecommunications centre
  87. Gioia del Colle [Bari]. US airforce technical support base
  88. Brindisi. US navy base
  89. Punta della Contessa [Brindisi]. US and NATO firing range
  90. San Vito dei Normanni [Brindisi]. Secret Services base. Electronics Security Group [US national security ageny]
  91. Monte Iacotenente [Foggia]. NADGE (NATO military radar network) base
  92. Otranto. US radar station
  93. Taranto. US navy base. US and NATO depot
  94. Martinafranca [Taranto]. US radar base
  95. Crotone. US and NATO telecommunications base
  96. Monte Mancuso [Catanzaro]. US telecommunications centre
  97. Sellia Marina [Catanzaro]. US telecommunications centre with NATO coverage
  98. Sigonella [Catania]. Main land base of the US navy in the central Mediterranean, logistical support centre for the Sixth Fleet
  99. Motta S. Anastasia [Catania]. US telecommunications centre
  100. Caltagirone [Catanzaro]. US telecommunications centre
  101. Palermo Punta Raisi [airport]. US airforce base (intermittent)
  102. Isola delle Femmine [Palermo]. US and NATO ammunition depot.
  103. Marina di Marza [Ragusa]. US telecommunications centre
  104. Augusta [Siracusa]. Base of the Sixth Fleet and ammunition depot
  105. Monte Lauro [Siracusa]. US telecommunications centre
  106. Centuripe [Enna]. US telecommunications centre
  107. Niscemi [Caltanissetta]. Base of NavComTelSta [US navy communications]
  108. Trapani. US airforce base with NATO coverage
  109. Isola di Pantelleria [Trapani]: US navy telecommunications centre and NATO radar centre
  110. Isola di Lampedusa [Agrigento]: US coast guard base. Listening post and communications centre









We're told that all this is done for our security.


But to feel secure we need, in the first place, respect and recognition of our freedom, dignity and self-determination. In second place, it's necessary to build relationships that are driven by mutual recognition, living together and solidarity and to recognise the rights of citizens to participate in choices that concern their own land.






Wednesday 4 November 2009

Demilitarise our environment and our lives


November 4th is National Unity Day and Armed Forces Day, instituted by the fascist regime in the 1920s to celebrate the "victory" in the First World War. What victory for the 650,000 dead and the 1,000,000 mutilated and injured? It was good business for the big industrialists, for corrupt politicians, for unscrupulous state officials, high-ranking officers with their hands in the till. War profiteers made such scandalous profits that a parliamentary commission of enquiry was set up.

Every year, in every city, the civil, military, and religious authorities unite to provide legitimacy for armies and wars and to draw the veil of rhetoric over the reality of “a useless slaughter”.

We want to reaffirm our NO to that and to all useless slaughters that continue to stain the world with blood.








"Don't believe in the soldiers' acts of valour, don't be taken in by the other fabrications in the newspapers. They are lies. They don't fight with pride, no, nor with ardour. They go to the slaughter because they are led to it and because they fear the firing squad.
If they could get their hands on the head of the government, or rather of the brigands, they would tear him apart".


(B.N. 25 year old soldier; condemned to 4 years in prison for writing a denigratory letter 1916)






Italy repudiates war” states our constitution, but repudiating war means not only not making war, but also not building, selling, or buying instruments of war: neither bases or armaments. The production and the trade in arms, the construction and maintenance of military base - all of this is a problem we need to solve, as citizens who are not resigned to the choice of war, who take on the responsibility of building the fair society, based on peace and solidarity, prefigured by the constitution.

We think that the use of violence and the culture of armaments are the most absurd, the stupidest, the cruelest activity that man ever undertook during the course of history.

To confront the ever more serious problems of our times, we don't need more bases, more soldiers, more armaments. We need co-responsibility, civil solidarity, far from the logic of militarism and power.

We don't want to be complicit in militarism, wherever it shows itself, and particularly not in our own country with its concession of the Dal Molin airport for the construction of another US military base, the growing militarisation of the Campania region(the port of Naples, the military bases, the armaments factories, the militarised rubbish disposal areas...), the storage depot of nuclear weapons at Aviano, the continual growth in military spending, the building of the F35 fighter-bombers, the participation in military operations, disguised as peace-keeping missions...

The militarisation of or country doesn't provide us with security, it takes away our security and freedom. To feel secure we need respect and the recognition of our freedom, dignity and self-determination.

For this reason, on November 7th we will be on the streets of Vicenza to declare our opposition to the construction of the new Dal Molin base.

We invite all women who refuse the logic of war to join us.


Donne in Nero
Padova 4 november 2009

Saturday 31 October 2009

Gaza Freedom March








The law is clear. The conscience of humankind is shocked. Yet, the siege of Gaza continues. It is time for us to take action!






The Gaza Freedom March, organised by the International Coalition for the End of the Illegal Siege of Gaza, 27 December 2009 to the 2 January 2010


In the days that mark the first anniversary of the Israeli assault and massacre in Gaza, hundreds of international activists will attempt to break the siege to participate in a nonviolent demonstration, marching alongside the population of Gaza on 31 December 2009.

The Gaza Freedom March will be a demonstration of solidarity which also aims to refocus attention of the humanitarian crisis and on the illegality of the siege, calling on the International Community to put an end to it.







Amnesty International has called the Gaza blockade a "form of collective punishment of the entire population of Gaza, a flagrant violation of Israel's obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention." Human Rights Watch has called the blockade a "serious violation of international law." The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Richard Falk, condemned Israel’s siege of Gaza as amounting to a “crime against humanity.”



Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter has said the Palestinian people trapped in Gaza are being treated "like animals," and has called for "ending of the siege of Gaza" that is depriving "one and a half million people of the necessities of life."



One of the world's leading authorities on Gaza, Sara Roy of Harvard University, has said that the consequence of the siege "is undeniably one of mass suffering, created largely by Israel, but with the active complicity of the international community, especially the U.S. and European Union."



Appeal of the Internazional Coalition for the End of the Illegal Siege of Gaza

Israel’s blockade of Gaza is a flagrant violation of international law that has led to mass suffering. The U.S., the European Union, and the rest of the international community are complicit.




The law is clear. The conscience of humankind is shocked. Yet, the siege of Gaza continues. It is time for us to take action! On Dec. 31, we will end the year by marching alongside the Palestinian people of Gaza in a non-violent demonstration that breaches the illegal blockade.


Our purpose in this March is lifting the siege on Gaza. We demand that Israel end the blockade. We also call upon Egypt to open Gaza’s Rafah border. Palestinians must have freedom to travel for study, work, and much-needed medical treatment and to receive visitors from abroad.



As an international coalition we are not in a position to advocate a specific political solution to this conflict. Yet our faith in our common humanity leads us to call on all parties to respect and uphold international law and fundamental human rights to bring an end to the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967 and pursue a just and lasting peace.


The march can only succeed if it arouses the conscience of humanity.

We invite you all to join us


Last month, the UN Human Rights Council approved the Goldstone Report on the violations of international law and crimes against humanity committed durign the Israeli "Cast Lead" offensive. Not a single member state of the EU voted in favour. Italy followed the USA to vote against.

This complicity isn't surprising. As Israeli President Shimon Peres said, criticising British universal jurisdiction leglislation for war crimes: "Great Britain and the United States used similar tactics in their operations in Iraq and Afganistan." So, since our governments are also involved in war crimes, we can't wait for them to act against other criminals. We must act.







Join the Gaza Freedom March! For further information...

Thursday 22 October 2009

Against all racism - we reject the politics of oppression and exploitation




The Republic recognises and guarantees the inviolable rights of the person, whether as an individual or within the social groups where the human personality is expressed

Article 2, Constitution of the Italian Republic






Italy, land of emigrants in times not so long past has become a place of immigration - though in smaller measure than in other European countries, the presence of foreigners has become consistent.



So, in our daily relationships - family, school, work, trade - we meet people from a different background, with different cultures and concerns. We didn't immediately realise, but our life has changed: we learn languages and far-away places, and for those who understand the value of diversity, these new experiences enrich us greatly.








For the economy, people who have immigrated support important sectors: construction, agriculture, family and we all know that without their contribution there would be economic and social collapse.


These people - immigrants - from different origins but with the same humanity, should have been welcomed to a society in evolution, respectful of the rights of all, but that isn't what happened. The economically powerful used them as cheap labour, in the black economy, at times forcing them into conditions of slavery. The Italian government used women and men from the immigrant communities to offload the responsibility for the current conditions that are difficult for all, building up fear and hostility in citizens, and then imposing emergency laws that limit the freedom of us all.



For some time, we have been witnessing a veritable turn towards racism. Today, in Italy, racism is spreading because those who practise it find support in the xenophobic policies of the Berlusconi government, which , with the approval of the Security Law (DDL 733), has without ambiguity taken the path of incitement to hatred against "the foreigner", "the different".





There are dynamics, fed by the strong impact of the platform of extreme right-wing parties on government policies and on the public perception. The media also manipulates and legitimises racism and xenophobia, exploting the multicultural process that the Italian society is experiencing.


Doudou Diène, special rapporteur of the UN in his report on the situation in Italy with respect to the phenomena of racism, social discrimination and xenophobia.












The growing incidence of discrimination and violation of fundamental human rights against the immigrant population in the country is evident. We note that racism and xenophobia persist in attitudes towards immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, including the Rom. We call on the government to intervene effectively to combat the climate of intollerance and to guarantee protection to migrants whatever their status may be.



From the report of the International Labour Organisation, 2009












The turning back of immigrants, as it is being effected today in the Mediterranean, is not in line with Italian law, since Italian law, though it does indeed provide for expulsion but with some guarantees: the person must be identified, must receive an expulsion order and can appeal. Turning back of immigrants on the seas is indiscriminate and collective, and calls into question the right to asylum.


Laura Boldrini, spokeksperson for the Italian section of the UN High Commission for Refugees.








The measures and the proposals that have been adopted attack the most elementary human rightsand are a list of barbarities:
  • The crime of clandestinity, which makes a crime of a condition of life that is linked to a particular mement in the existence of a migrant, is a dangerous step towards the normalisation of social inequalities and towards the legalisation of racism.
  • The policy of expulsion and the criminal agreements with Lybia cause veritable slaughters of innocents
  • The facility for the public health services to denounce illegal immigrants is completely contrary to the ethical code of doctors and to the constitution (art. 32: “The Republic safeguards the health as a fundamental right of the individual and as being in the interest of the collectivity and guarantees free care to the poor. ”)
  • The registration of those without fixed address, a first step towards the discrimination of a sector of the population that evokes memories of the horrors of the fascist and Nazi past.
  • The institution of the CIE (Centre of Identification and Expulsion) in Lampedusa;
  • The instituion of vigilante patrols, which ferment a climate of suspicion and are contrary to the right of all to be protected with the instruments at the disposition of the democratic institutions.


As Women in Black, we reject these racist measures as fatal to our freedom and we refuse:



  • the ideology of intolerance
  • xenophobia and racism
  • The politics of exclusion of the "other" that transforms others into enemies
  • The violence contained in any law and in any attitude that denies the humanity of the "other",
  • The "security scam" that not only threatens our freedom and our lives, but also masks the real causes of social insecurity, traceable to the logic of the neoliberal system, which makes work precarious, increases poverty, destroys the social state, makes it impossible to plan for the future







We will not obey laws in which we do not recognise ourselves because they violate the most elementary human rights.






























































Friday 16 October 2009

Freedom for Mohammed Othman

More than three weeks ago, Palestinian activist Mohammad Othman was arrested, when he reentered the West Bank after a visit to Norway. Mohammad, who is active in the nonviolent movement against the Apartheid Wall and in the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment campaign (BDS), is still in detention, in solitary confinement. He still doesn't know why he has been arrested!

On Monday, 19 October he appeared before a military tribunal without even being informed of the charges against him. The judge extended his detention for another 11 days. Since then he has appeared before the tribunal again, and once again the detention has been extended though no charges have been brought.

In solidarity with the international appeal "If you want to stop the BDS movement, you'll have to arrest us all!" launched by Stop the Wall following Mohammed's arrest, we are sending an avalanche of mails demanding his immediate and unconditional release !

Click here to send a mail.

Mohammed comes from the villager of Jayyus in the West Bank. Jayyus has been devastated by the building of the Apartheid Wall and by the Zufim settlement, and it is one of the principle villages involved in the nonviolent popular movement against the wall, started four years ago in the village of Bi'lin. He's not the only activist from the popular nonviolent movement to be detained. Dozens of Palestinians from Bi'lin, Ni'lin are Jayyus are being held in Israeli prisons, many taken from their beds during night raids by Israeli soldiers, their faces covered by masks.

The response of the Israeli armed forces to the weekly protests in the villages has been brutal repression: unarmed civilians have to confront soldiers armed with firearms and with new experimental weapons.

In his Cairo speech, President Obama told the Palestinians to renounce violence. Unfortunately, he didn't direct the same words to the Israeli government and nor did he recognise the nonviolent struggle in the Palestinian villages.

In the last four years, 16 people have been killed and more than 1500 wounded, some seriously.

Let's give a future to the Palestinian popular resistance and to the nonviolent option for ending the occupation!

For more information about Israeli repression of the popular nonviolent movement, read the report Repression Allowed. Resistance Denied.
Repress

Friday 2 October 2009

President Obama, support the recommendations of the Goldstone report on Gaza

Open letter from Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj President of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program.





Dear President Obama,

Our wounds in Gaza are still open, our justice still denied. Israel's 23 day offensive (28 December 2008- 19 January 2009) has left our children afraid to return to school, and feeling unsafe in their beds.

The war, and the continued closure of the Gaza Strip, has undermined the capacity of mothers and fathers to act as protectors and providers. As a community, we will struggle for decades to live with the consequences. Along with our children we feel that justice has been too long abandoned.

For many reasons we Palestinians have felt that the world has ignored us. The international attention following the war on Gaza gave us hope. The investigation led by Justice Goldstone was a cause for optimism. We felt that this respected judge and prosecutor - who has served at the highest level and consistently demonstrated his independence in upholding the rule of law - was one of the few people who had the credentials and experience to take on this legally complex and politically charged mission. We came to believe that the world actually cared.

The statement of your ambassador to the UN, Ms. Susan Rice, sent a different message: that the world, or at least the United States, does not care.

Ms. Rice suggested that the focus should be on the future and not the past and that the task at hand must be to cement progress towards the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.








This separation of justice and peace is misguided; the two are intertwined. If there is one thing that history teaches us, it is that when the powerful are allowed to escape accountability, they will continue to violate the law, and innocent people will pay the price.

In Cairo you said that "America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own." You also spoke of the desire for the rule of law and the equal administration of justice, stating that these "are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere". These were welcome words, but they demand action. Accountability and criminal responsibility are fundamental components of justice. All those responsible must face trial; victims' rights must be upheld; suffering cannot be ignored.

President Obama, as you once said quoting Dr. Martin Luther King: `


'the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice, but it doesn't bend on its own unless each and every one of us puts our hands on the arc.' '.

Support the recommendations of the UN Fact Finding Mission.


The report of the mission led by Richard Goldstone includes these conclusions:

  • The Israeli forces committed human rights violations and violations of humanitarian law that correspond to war crimes and, in some cases, to crimes against humanity. In particular, the investigations into the numerous attacks on the civilian population and civilian targets have revealed that these were intentional and that some were launched with the objective of spreading terror among the civilian population and without any justifiable military objective. Moreover, the Israeli forces used Palestinian civilians as human shields;
  • Israeli forces committed grave violations of the IV Geneva Convention, in particular carrying out killings, torture and inhuman treatment, deliberately provoking great suffering and serious physical injury and damage to health, causing enormous destruction of property, not justified by military necessity, in an illegal and reckless manner. For these actions, individual responsibility must be established;
  • Israel violated the obligation to respect the right of the population of Gaza to an adequate standard of life, that includes access to food, water and adequate shelter. The report refers in particular to actions that deprived the inhabitants of Gaza of sustenance, of work, of housing, of water, as well as the freedom of movement and the right to enter and leave their own country, and finally to have limited access to effective help. The combination of these actions could amount to the crime of persecution, which is a crime against humanity;
  • Palestinian armed groups violated the principle of distinction by launching rockets and mortars that could not be directed with sufficient precision against military objectives. These attacks, against civilian settlements that in no way could be considered military objectives constitute deliberate attacks on civilians and as such are war crimes and in some cases could amount to crimes against humanity.
  • Palestinian armed groups have not always acted in such as way as to distinguish themselves from the civilian population and so have exposed the latter to needless risks, launching rockets from places situated near to civilian housing or protected buildings.
  • There is no evidence to support the accusations that Palestinian armed groups transferred the civilian population to zones that were under Israeli attack or that they forced them to remain there, nor is there evidence that hospitals were used by the de facto Hamas administration or by Palestinian armed groups to conceal military activity or that ambulances were used to transport combatants or that Palestinian armed groups took part in military activities inside hospitals or UN structures that were used as shelters.


>To read the full report, click here

>To read the executive summary, click here.

We are all Honduran Women in Resistance


Since the first day of the military coup, 29th June 2009, the media policy of the coup regime has been to try to present the image of absolute normality. The enormous protest marches are a simple expression of some lunatics who have lost contact with reality.

Following the international condemnation, the principal media have abandoned the country. The continuing mobilisations by social, popular, and trade union organisations aren't news. The international community seems unwilling to pass from words and proclamations to concrete facts. It remains tied to a mediation process that has no future, that depends on the ambiguity of the US government and that is part of the process of normalisation of the coup.
The international silence has opened the doors to a harsh repression against the popular organisation that continue to demand the restoration of constitutional order, and as always it is the women who are most vulnerable. Women involved in the resistence are subjected to sexual violence and insults.


But the protests have continued, and the response has been ever harsher repression. On 22nd September, Feminists in Resistance, who have taken an active part in the resistance from the first day, have published this appeal. :



By this means Feministas en Resistencia denounce the brutal repression that has been committed today against the people who had peacefully gathered outside the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras, on learning that President Manuel Zelaya had taken refuge there.

The people were attacked in the early morning hours with hot gases, water and a device that emits a deafening noise. Some people were injured and had to be taken to hospital.

Yesterday the de facto government declared a nationwide curfew beginning at 4:00 pm, when most of the Honduran workers are still at their jobs. The curfew lasted until today at 7:00 am. In the meantime, the government announced a new curfew from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm. of today.

We want to inform as widely as possible that we fear for our lives due to the steady and progressive aggression shown by the army against the people that demand the restoration of the constitutional order.




In recent days, the situation in Honduras has worsened. On September 28 a decree was enacted that permits arrests and searches without charges or warrants, and which abrogates the rights of freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech.

Canale 36 and Radio Globo were closed down on 29th after the de facto governent issued a decree suspending 6 articles of the constitution for a period of 45 days. The two stations were invaded by the armed forces and police at 5.30am. Files and equipment were seized from Radio Globo. Canale 36 was surrounded by the army and transmissions were blocked. Some journalists had to escape through the windows.

The decree authorises the closure of "any media that threatens peace and public order" or that "attacks the human dignity of public officials or decisions of the government.” It calls for the arrest of "persons considered suspect" adding that they must be taken to "legally established detention centres"

It is said that the government has ordered the arrest of activists and their detention in the stadium.

Hundreds of soldiers dispersed a demonstration at the Francisco Morazán National Pedagogic University, where hundreds of people had gathered to march towards the Brazilian embassy. Soldiers were deployed in key points of Tegucigalpa and in the entire country to stop people attempting to go to the demonstration.

For further information: Ni Golpe de Estado, Ni Golpes Contra Las Mujeres

Saturday 26 September 2009

Blessed the world that has no more need for heroes


The demonstration for the freedom of information was postponed so that it wouldn't clash with the national day of mourning for the Italian soldiers killed in Kabul.

For us, this decision was mistaken and dishonest. We gave our support to the demonstration because we believe that freedom on information is a vital factor in the struggle against war and violence and in the struggle for women's rights - struggles that cannot be separated.

I am very sorry to see governments putting the lives of their soldiers in danger in Afghanistan in the name of bringing democracy. In fact the soldiers are serving the strategic and regional interests of the White House and the consequences of their occupation so far have been devastating for my people.

Malalai Joya



If we really believe in the importance of the freedom of information, it should be clear that the lack of serious information about the motives and consequences of the military mission in Afghanistan has played an important role in the killing of the six Italian soldiers.

To stand back and remain silent as the tragedy that has struck these men and their loved ones is manipulated by those who sent them to their deaths is not a sign of respect - quite the contrary.


So, despite the rain the decision of many to postpone the demonstation, the Women in Black of Bergamo kept the appointment, dressed in black for the sorrow we feel for wars, for every war.

If the media provided news and documentation about the motives for each war, perhaps there would be more peace.

We also offer are solidarity to Simonetta Salacone, headteacher of the Iqbal Massih school in Rome, who refused to participate in another manipulation - the minute silence for the fallen in Afghanistan. Simonetta Salacone explained her decision with clarity and eloquence:

Click the text to read the complete letter.

Sunday 13 September 2009

War in Afghanistan - an alliance with murderers and rapists

One of the most quoted "benefits" of the NATO intervention is to have improved the condition of Afghan women, but Malalai Joya doesn't agree : "Just as air raids haven't brought security to Afghanis, the occupation hasn't brought security to Afghan women. The reality is exactly the opposite. The now infamous family law is only the point of the iceberg of the catastrophe that has struck women's rights in our country, under occupation. The entire system, in particular the judiciary, is infected by the virus of fundamentalism and so, in Afghanistan, men who commit crimes against women can do so with impunity".

Western soldiers fight the Taliban, causing "collateral damage" among the civilian population, while western governments also have their victims of collateral damage. The civil rights of the Afghan people, but above all, the rights of women, are sacrificed to preserve alliances with fundamentalists and warlords who might bring a superficial stability that will allow our governments to promote their own interests but which will not bring peace or security to the Afghan people.

Shortly after the elections of 20 August, , Malalai Joya wrote:

Like millions of Afghans, I have no hope in the results of the elections. In a country ruled by warlords, occupation forces, Taliban terrorists, drug money and guns, no one can expect a legitimate or fair vote. Even international observers have been speaking about widespread fraud and intimidation and, among the people on the street, there is a common refrain: the real winner has already been picked by the White House.

President Hamid Karzai has cemented alliances with brutal warlords and fundamentalists in order to maintain his position. Although our constitution forbids war criminals from running for office, the incumbent has named two notorious militia commanders as his vice-presidential running mates – Karim Khalili and Mohammad Qasim Fahim, both of whom stand accused of brutalities against our people.

Deals have also been made with countless fundamentalists. This week saw the return from exile of the dreaded warlord Rashid Dostum. And the pro-Iranian extremist Mohammad Mohaqiq, who has been accused of war crimes, has been promised five cabinet positions for his party in exchange for supporting Mr Karzai.

Rather than democracy, what we have in Afghanistan are back-room deals among discredited warlords who are sworn enemies of democracy and justice.

The President has also continued to absolutely betray the women of Afghanistan.

Even after massive international outcry – and brave protesters taking to the streets of Kabul – Mr Karzai implemented the infamous rape law, targeting Shia women, to gain support of the fundamentalist elements in the election. He had initially promised to review the most egregious clauses, but in the end it was passed with few amendments and the barbaric anti-women statements not removed. As Human Rights Watch recently stated: "Karzai has made an unthinkable deal to sell Afghan women out in return for the support of fundamentalists."

And the two main challengers to a continuation of the Karzai rule do not offer any change. Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah are both former cabinet ministers in this discredited regime and neither has a real, broad footing among the people.

We Afghans know that this election will change nothing and it is only part of a show of democracy put on by, and for, the West, to legitimise its future puppet in Afghanistan. It seems we are doomed to see the continuation of this failed, mafia-like, corrupt government for another term.

Democracy will never come to Afghanistan through the barrel of a gun, or from the cluster bombs dropped by foreign forces. The struggle will be long and difficult, but the values of real democracy, human rights and women's rights will only be won by the Afghan people themselves.

The Western governments that claim to be bringing democracy to Afghanistan ignore public opinion in their own countries, where growing numbers are against the war.

In my tours to countries that have troops in Afghanistan, I've met many bereaved parents who have lost their loved ones in the war in my home. I am very sorry to see governments putting the lives of their soldiers in danger in Afghanistan in the name of bringing democracy. In fact the soldiers are serving the strategic and regional interests of the White House and the consequences of their occupation so far have been devastating for my people.

I believe that if the ordinary folk of Afghanistan and the Nato countries were able to vote, and express their wishes, this indefinite military occupation would come to an end and there would be a real chance for peace in Afghanistan.


Tuesday 4 August 2009

Stop Ethnic Cleansing in East Jerusalem

On Sunday 2nd August at dawn, Israeli forces evicted two families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem - yet another example of the policy of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories and in particular in East Jerusalem.

The following appeal against the evictions of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah and from other East Jerusalem neighbourhoods will be sent to the press and to diplomatic representatives in Israel/Palestine.


STOP THE EVICTIONS OF PALESTINIANS FROM EAST JERUSALEM

On Sunday 2nd August, the eviction order against two Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, was executed. In the early hours of the morning, soldiers of the IDF forced the al Ghawi and al Hanoun families, refugees since 1948, to leave their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where they have been living since 1956. Israeli settlers have already taken their places in the houses.



“I deplore today's totally unacceptable actions by Israel, in which Israeli security forces evicted Palestinian refugee families registered with UNRWA from their homes in the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem to allow settlers to take possession of these properties. These actions are contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory. The United Nations rejects Israel's claims that this is a matter for municipal authorities and domestic courts. I call on Israel to adhere to international law and to cease and reverse such provocative and unacceptable actions in East Jerusalem"

Robert Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Peace Process.


We are appalled by the evictions in East Jerusalem this morning. Israel’s claim that the imposition of extremist Jewish settlers into this ancient Arab neighborhood is a matter for the court or the municipality is unacceptable. Their actions are incompatible with Israel’s professed desire for peace.

British Consulate Jerusalem.


For weeks, the presence of international and Israeli citizens and of Palestinian human rights activists has sustained the determination of the families to not leave their homes, to not become victims the Israeli state's policy of ethnic cleansing.

According to international law, East Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian Territories, occupied by Israel in 1967, and the International Community is obliged to enforce respect for UN resolutions which prohibit the transfer of populations and any other actions that change the status quo of the city.(cf. Geneva Conventions (1949) and UN resolutions 242 (1967), 252 (1968), 267 and 271 (1969), 298 (1971), 465, 476, 478 (1980)).






The situation of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem is becoming more and more unsustainable because of the discriminatory policies of the occupying government which aims to Judaise the city of Jerusalem, creating territorial continuity with the illegal Israeli settlements that surround East Jerusalem.


Since 1967 to the present day, 17 settlements have been built occupying 35% of the territory of East Jerusalem and housing 200,000 settlers. OCHA (Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs www.ochaopt.org/) reports that between 1967 and 2006 more than 8500 Palestinian houses have been demolished. In the first four months of 2009, OCHA recorded the demolition of 19 structures in East Jerusalem, including 11 residences, resulting in the displacement of 109 Palestinians including 60 children.


The direct consequences on Palestinian society of such actions by the Israeli government are the territorial fragmentation of the different East Jerusalem neighbourhoods and the isolation of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, creating de facto conditions for Jerusalem to be the "eternal capital of the State of Israel" in violation of international law and the UN resolutions.

The only possible defense of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem is the support of the international community, who alone can put pressure on the Israeli government to immediately revoke the eviction orders against Palestinians in East Jerusalem (Sheikh Jarrah, Old City, Silwan, Bustan, Ras al Amud) and to halt the plans for the construction of new settlements in Jerusalem.

The al Ghawi, al Hanoun and al Kurd families - the last of these evicted from their home in November 2008, are only the first of the 28 families (500 people) residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood , who risk eviction.

The new US administration and the European Union have condemned the confiscation and demolition of Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem and the construction of new settlements. Therefore, we call on the Italian government and its diplomatic representative in Jerusalem, the Italian General Consulate to severely condemn the evictions of the al Ghawi and al Hanoun families, and to urge the Israeli government to cancel the eviction orders so that the families can return home, to cancel other eviction orders and to stop the plans for settlement building in East Jerusalem in accordance with international law.


As Italian citizens, we ask the Italian Consulate in Jerusalem to visit the al Ghawi, al Hanoun and al Kurd families and to deliver a message of solidarity and support, as has already been done by other European and US diplomatic representatives.