Appeal for the Freedom of Leyla Zana

CONDEMNED
TO ANOTHER 10 YEARS OF PRISON.
DON'T BLOCK HER PATH.

Only 4 years after her release following 11 years of prison, the Turkish government wants to send Leyla Zana back through the prison gates. On December 4th 2008, the criminal court of the city of Diyarbakir handed down a harsh sentence: 10 years for 9 public speeches.

Violation of the antiterrorist laws - that's what the verdict says. Among hercrimes, that of having publicly spoken the name of Abdullah Ocalan, recognised by Leyla Zana as the leader of the Kurdish people.

The history and the content of the speeches of Leyla Zana are known at international level, so much so that she has received prestigious awards, such as the European Sacharov prize for freedom of thought, awarded to her in Brussels by the president of the European Parliament immediately after her release in 2004, and numerous honourary citizenships.

Among these is the citizenship of the Rome, conferred in 1994 and given to her by the delegate of Mayor Alemanno in October 2008, on the occasion of her visit to Italy.

This new and outrageously unjust sentence has already been appealed
and the hearing is fixed for the 2nd June, if there are no
postponements.
The verdict if confirmed will deprive Leyla Zana of her freedom for
ten more long years and will deprive the whole world, starting with
the Kurdish minority in Turkey, of one of the most significant figures
in the difficult process of peace on the path to democratic reforms in
Turkey. It is a process that is already crowded by obstacles and made
a nonesense of by the incessant repression of the Kurdish population
by the Turkish military power. It is a process that is weakened by
the wavering of European politics in the face of the worrying truth
about the Turkish state that any attentive observer will find to be
undeniable.
But it is from Turkey itself - from the most democratic expression of
Turkish society - that an appeal has arrived, signed by intellectuals,
politicians and associations, addressed to European and international
political forces, calling on them to put pressure on their own
governments and on the government in Ankara to put a stop to the new
sentence.
Among the first significant acts of the newly elected president Obam
was the closing of the Guantanamo prison camp, but before the new
springtime arrives in the world other steps are needed at the side of
those who have given so much of their lives for justice. Leyla Zana
has done it and continues to do it - her path cannot, must not be
blocked.


Women in Black, Italy

To sign the petition

http://leyla-zana.blogspot.com/

Gaza - Remember?

Today, the Gaza Strip is still sealed and not a cent of the funds promised for the "reconstruction" at the widely proclaimed conference in Sharm El Sheikh has been put in place

Gaza is under siege. There are no construction materials. Israel and the world are dictating conditions, the Palestinians are unable to form the unity government that is considered necessary, there's no money or cement to be seen......No one knows if they will ever be handed over. Word of America.

Exactly 3 months have passed since that much discussed war, and Gaza has once again been forgotten. Israel has never been interested in the well-being of her victims. And now, the world too has forgotten. Two weeks without even a single Qassam rocket have swept Gaza away as a theme for discussion. If the residents of Gaza don't get a move on and start firing again, no one will be interested in their situation. It's certainly nothing new, but it is a particularly depressing and painful message, which is capable of triggering off the the next round of violence. And at that point, they will certainly not receive any aid, because they will be firing.

Once again, the world must remedy the disasters caused by Israel. But Israel is putting more and more political conditions on the delivery of humanitarian aid. Israel uses empty justifications for leaving Gaza in a state of destruction and not offering the aid that Gaza deserves and of which it has desperate need. Gaza has once more been left to it's own devices and when the hostilities restart, we will once again hear talk of the cruelty and the brutality.... of the Palestinians.

Gideon Levy, Israeli journalist

The war crimes continue:
The occupying power has the duty of supplying the food and medical needs of the population. It must import food, medicines and other indispensable articles if the resources of the occupied territory are insufficient.
(art. 55 4th Geneva Convention)

The civilian population of Gaza continues to die slowly, strangled by the criminal and immoral embargo, accompanied by the silence of the media and of the "democratic" governments:

Silence

• about the blocking of the entry of goods, including humanitarian aid.
• about the impossibility of people including many seriously ill to leave the Strip.


• about the farmers killed by Israeli snipers when they try to work their own land.


• about the fishermen machine-gunned by Israeli warships that prevent them putting to sea to fish and feed the population.

Silence makes us complicit in this continuing massacre.

The Egyption government blocks humanitarian aid - solidarity from the whole world - as shown by the tons of food, water, clothing, medicines blocked in Al Arish, togegther with ambulances and industrial generators, as documented by the Italian group Music for Peace, who were also prevented from delivering aid donated by Italian solidarity.

Land of Milk and Honey

Much of what is now stockpiled in Northern Sinai - including food - has been defined by Israel as "not essential" to life in the Gaza Strip.


Two thousand “family packages” – each containing essential supplies for a Palestinian famil, donated by Music for Peace – was turned back by the Israeli authorities at the al-Auja crossing. The reason: each package contained a jar of honey.


We demand:

• The opening of the Rafah crossing for the entry of aid and of international volunteers
• The ending of the criminal embargo against the Gaza Strip
• Freedom of movement for residents of Gaza