Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu
Platinum Member
- Feb 3, 2009
- 43,108
- 34,934
Israeli commandos have
murdered up to a dozen or so people upon a flotilla of six aid-carrying ships
on Monday. The events have been played out on our screens and the response has
been overwhelming. It must not end here.
Israel needs to be
condemned under international law for committing an act of state piracy upon an
unarmed ship. The Freedom Flotilla as it has been dubbed, had no weapons aboard
and all the members were registered upon embarkation from Turkey. Therefore, it
posed no threat to the inhabitants of Gaza. Its mission, let us be clear, was
to carry aid in the form of chocolates, toys, workbooks and most importantly
medical supplies to the 1.5 million people in Gaza who depend on international
aid. For the last three years, Israel has held Gaza under siege, imposing a
blockade and hence bringing the people of Gaza to their knees in the face of
dire shortages.
The Freedom Flotilla
was carrying 10,000 tones of aid and approximately 750 peace activists,
including politicians, former UN officials, EU delegates, Nobel Laureates and
journalists. Moreover, the ship underwent all the legal procedures upon
embarkation from Turkey and was searched to ensure no weapons were found on
board and all those on board were peace activists. Israel has blatantly made a
series of statements, which lie in stark opposition to the findings of the
Turkish customs upon embarkation. Israeli officials have been claiming that
weapons were found on board and the people on board were dangerous activists
collaborating with terrorists. Hence, they had the right to attack the ship in
defense of their people. We need not deliberate much upon these statements made
by Israeli officials, as it is quite clear that UN officials, EU delegates and
Nobel Laureates are not, in common imagination, dangerous activists.
Furthermore, toys, chocolates, books and medicines do not constitute weapons.
It is unnecessary to go
into the long chain of contradictions coming out of the Israeli statements, as
they are being adequately dealt with by the UN, EU and Arab League. Let us
instead think hard about what position we on the East African coast are to
take. Starting with an example at home: when the people on the Somali coast
started to seize ships that were depositing toxics in the territorial seas of
Somalia, the UN Security Council, pushed by the US, was quick to respond by
issuing the UN resolution 1816 allowing states to take action to counter the
Somali pirates. There was no hesitation from the international community, to
deem the Somali people, defending their seas from toxic waste, as pirates. They
abducted ships and were henceforth committing acts of piracy. Let us carefully
note that the ships were on Somali territorial waters, depositing toxic wastes
illegally in Somali territorial waters, without any consequences. When the
Somali people took matters into their own hands they were immediately called
pirates allowing for the necessary actions to be taken upon them.
Israel attacked an
aid-carrying ship upon international waters (65km off the coast of Gaza), even
though the ship posed no threat. According to the International Law of the Sea,
a military ship cannot lawfully board a foreign ship on international waters
unless there is reasonable ground to suspect that: the ship is engaged in
piracy, slave trading, unauthorized broadcasting or the ship has no nationality
or no proof of nationality, that is it is not bearing a flag of the state from
which it originates. The Freedom Flotilla was not a pirate ship or a slave
ship, it did not carry out unauthorized broadcasting and it clearly exposed its
nationality through the Turkish flag. It may be deduced that the very act of
Israeli commandos being airlifted into the Mavi
Marmara was illegal under international law.
One law broken.
Upon landing on the
ship the Israeli commandos, as seen in footage taken on board, used live
ammunition on the peace activists, killing up to a dozen or so people and
injuring several. Israeli officials claimed they were met with violence once
they landed on board. In fact, the peace activists raised a white flag as a
sign of surrender. Of course the activists took up anything they could lay
their hands on to defend themselves from being shot, but again this hardly
constitutes of an attack on the Israeli commandos, rather a defense. So far,
the ships and the activists have been detained. The same International Law of
the Sea defines an act of piracy as an illegal act of violence or detention.
Violence and detention on board Mavi
Marmara was illegal, as the Israeli commandos had no basis to see the
Freedom Flotilla as a threat to its people.
Two laws broken.
If the international
community led by the US, could call the Somalis who were seizing the ships that
were harming their people, pirates. Then I think there can be no hesitation
that Israel, with no basis in committing acts of violence upon peace activists
in international waters, has committed an act of state piracy and must be
punished accordingly. Yet, according to recent reports the same US has been
playing an obstructive game on the passing of a Security Council resolution to
condemn Israel strongly.
We here in East Africa
must straighten the international law that has been manipulated to condemn our people,
to condemn Israel for its arrogant and horrendous crime. Let us learn to
recognize real piracy, as in the case of Israel, and real resistance as in the
case of Somalia.
murdered up to a dozen or so people upon a flotilla of six aid-carrying ships
on Monday. The events have been played out on our screens and the response has
been overwhelming. It must not end here.
Israel needs to be
condemned under international law for committing an act of state piracy upon an
unarmed ship. The Freedom Flotilla as it has been dubbed, had no weapons aboard
and all the members were registered upon embarkation from Turkey. Therefore, it
posed no threat to the inhabitants of Gaza. Its mission, let us be clear, was
to carry aid in the form of chocolates, toys, workbooks and most importantly
medical supplies to the 1.5 million people in Gaza who depend on international
aid. For the last three years, Israel has held Gaza under siege, imposing a
blockade and hence bringing the people of Gaza to their knees in the face of
dire shortages.
The Freedom Flotilla
was carrying 10,000 tones of aid and approximately 750 peace activists,
including politicians, former UN officials, EU delegates, Nobel Laureates and
journalists. Moreover, the ship underwent all the legal procedures upon
embarkation from Turkey and was searched to ensure no weapons were found on
board and all those on board were peace activists. Israel has blatantly made a
series of statements, which lie in stark opposition to the findings of the
Turkish customs upon embarkation. Israeli officials have been claiming that
weapons were found on board and the people on board were dangerous activists
collaborating with terrorists. Hence, they had the right to attack the ship in
defense of their people. We need not deliberate much upon these statements made
by Israeli officials, as it is quite clear that UN officials, EU delegates and
Nobel Laureates are not, in common imagination, dangerous activists.
Furthermore, toys, chocolates, books and medicines do not constitute weapons.
It is unnecessary to go
into the long chain of contradictions coming out of the Israeli statements, as
they are being adequately dealt with by the UN, EU and Arab League. Let us
instead think hard about what position we on the East African coast are to
take. Starting with an example at home: when the people on the Somali coast
started to seize ships that were depositing toxics in the territorial seas of
Somalia, the UN Security Council, pushed by the US, was quick to respond by
issuing the UN resolution 1816 allowing states to take action to counter the
Somali pirates. There was no hesitation from the international community, to
deem the Somali people, defending their seas from toxic waste, as pirates. They
abducted ships and were henceforth committing acts of piracy. Let us carefully
note that the ships were on Somali territorial waters, depositing toxic wastes
illegally in Somali territorial waters, without any consequences. When the
Somali people took matters into their own hands they were immediately called
pirates allowing for the necessary actions to be taken upon them.
Israel attacked an
aid-carrying ship upon international waters (65km off the coast of Gaza), even
though the ship posed no threat. According to the International Law of the Sea,
a military ship cannot lawfully board a foreign ship on international waters
unless there is reasonable ground to suspect that: the ship is engaged in
piracy, slave trading, unauthorized broadcasting or the ship has no nationality
or no proof of nationality, that is it is not bearing a flag of the state from
which it originates. The Freedom Flotilla was not a pirate ship or a slave
ship, it did not carry out unauthorized broadcasting and it clearly exposed its
nationality through the Turkish flag. It may be deduced that the very act of
Israeli commandos being airlifted into the Mavi
Marmara was illegal under international law.
One law broken.
Upon landing on the
ship the Israeli commandos, as seen in footage taken on board, used live
ammunition on the peace activists, killing up to a dozen or so people and
injuring several. Israeli officials claimed they were met with violence once
they landed on board. In fact, the peace activists raised a white flag as a
sign of surrender. Of course the activists took up anything they could lay
their hands on to defend themselves from being shot, but again this hardly
constitutes of an attack on the Israeli commandos, rather a defense. So far,
the ships and the activists have been detained. The same International Law of
the Sea defines an act of piracy as an illegal act of violence or detention.
Violence and detention on board Mavi
Marmara was illegal, as the Israeli commandos had no basis to see the
Freedom Flotilla as a threat to its people.
Two laws broken.
If the international
community led by the US, could call the Somalis who were seizing the ships that
were harming their people, pirates. Then I think there can be no hesitation
that Israel, with no basis in committing acts of violence upon peace activists
in international waters, has committed an act of state piracy and must be
punished accordingly. Yet, according to recent reports the same US has been
playing an obstructive game on the passing of a Security Council resolution to
condemn Israel strongly.
We here in East Africa
must straighten the international law that has been manipulated to condemn our people,
to condemn Israel for its arrogant and horrendous crime. Let us learn to
recognize real piracy, as in the case of Israel, and real resistance as in the
case of Somalia.
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