Protest in Ottawa against Gaza attack
The Globe and Mail reports that, “What started as a peaceful demonstration of support for the 1.7 million people of Gaza, turned bloody Monday as Israeli forces boarded six ships attempting to run the three-year-old blockade Israel has maintained of the Gaza Strip. Reports of as many as 19 of the human rights activists being killed in the assault are giving Israel an international black eye, and threaten to dramatically change the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Toronto Star reports that, “The violent end to a Turkish-backed attempt to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip by six ships carrying some 600 people and 10,000 tonnes of supplies raised an outcry across the Middle East and far beyond.”
CTV reports, “There were no details on the identities of the casualties, or on the conditions of some of the more prominent people on board, including 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, European legislators and Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, 85.”
Rabble.ca notes that two Canadians were aboard the ships.
INTERNATIONAL REACTION
The Toronto Star adds, “The United Nations condemned violence against civilians in international waters. U.N. officials responsible for aid in Gaza said: ‘We are shocked by reports of killings and injuries of people on board boats carrying supplies for Gaza, apparently in international waters. We condemn the violence and call for it to stop. Such tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of the international community to end its counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza.’”
“France and Germany said they were ‘shocked’. Ireland, with citizens engaged in the venture, said it was ‘gravely concerned’.” The French foreign minister has also called for an investigation.
The Globe and Mail reports that, “Reuters reports that Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, has demanded a full inquiry about the circumstances in which the deaths occurred, and called for ‘an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of the crossing for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza.’”
The CBC adds that, “Turkey condemned the actions, while the Israeli ambassadors in Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Greece were summoned for meetings.”
CANADA
Despite earlier media reports that the remainder of his trip had been cancelled, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff in Ottawa today.
Before today’s news, Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson wrote, “The official portion of Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Ottawa on Monday reflects Canada’s status as Israel’s best friend. …On Middle East issues, the Harper government remains an unswerving defender of Israel, even after the Obama administration replaced George W. Bush’s uncritical support with a more balanced approach that included sharp criticism of Israel’s ongoing settlements in the West Bank.”
Ibbitson adds, “In a scathing diatribe earlier this year, the former diplomat, Robert Fowler, maintained, ‘the scramble to lock up the Jewish vote in Canada’ had led both Conservative and Liberal governments to ’sell out our widely admired and long-established reputation for fairness and justice in the Middle East – in particular, for the cause of a just settlement for the Palestinian people.’”
In a CBC.ca “Reality Check” analysis several years ago, John Gray wrote, “For half a century Canada has taken some considerable satisfaction in its credibility as an international good fellow on matters relating to the Middle East. That status flowed directly from Lester Pearson’s volunteering of Canada for a peacekeeping role after the disastrous 1956 Suez invasion. Canada’s role then and since then has depended on a scrupulous neutrality in an area where neutrality was almost impossible to sustain. Neither side could point to Canada and say its neutrality had been compromised, so Canada could serve as mediator or peacekeeper.”
Despite the comments from the United Nations, the European Union, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Greece and Turkey, there was no public comment from Prime Minister Stephen Harper until late this morning.
The Toronto Star now reports that, “As much of the world reacted with dismay and condemnation, Canada’s Conservative government took a wait-and-see approach to news of Israel’s deadly storming of a humanitarian flotilla in international waters.” Harper said in a statement that, “Canada deeply regrets the loss of life and the injuries suffered. We are currently looking for more information in order to shed light on what exactly happened.”
CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONDS
Letter from Paul Moist: Israeli attack on Gaza Freedom Flotilla, http://cupe.ca/global-justice/letter-paul-moist-israeli-attack-gaza
Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper regarding Israeli attack on Gaza Freedom Flotilla, http://www.cupw.ca/1/2/3/0/2/index1.shtml
Statement by New Democrat Leader Jack Layton on the situation in the Middle East, http://www.ndp.ca/press/statement-by-new-democrat-leader-jack-layton-on-situation-in-middle-east
Israeli authorities urged to commission international inquiry, http://www.amnesty.ca/resource_centre/news/view.php?load=arcview&article=5377&c=Resource+Centre+News
Investigate the raid, end the blockade, http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_flotilla_4/?cl=592072104&v=6411
Greenpeace Statement on Humanitarian Vessel Attacks, http://www.facebook.com/notes/mike-hudema/greenpeace-statement-on-humanitarian-vessel-attacks/425450452958
