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From: Dorothy <dor_n...@netvision.net.il>
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:12:15 +0200
Local: Mon, Dec 11 2006 8:12 am
Subject: Israel Blocks Tutu's fact finding mission
Dear all, For those of you who have been wondering about the delay in Desmond Tutu’s fact finding mission re the shelling of Beit Hanoun, now we know: Israel delayed and delayed issuing a permit for the investigation until the Bishop understood the message: he was not to be allowed into Gaza (this Israeli conduct was to be expected from Israel’s past performance on such issues). Such a ‘democracy’ is Israel! Freedom of speech? Nonsense! It’s policy is no opinion allowed but the official Israeli one published by its best propagandists, as, for instance, Mark Regev. Of course this official Israeli opinion on Beit Hanoun states that the shelling that killed 19 people (most caught unawares in bed asleep) was "unintended." That won't bring the 19 back to life or the seriously injured back to health or the psychologically injured back to normal, any more than will George Bush's favorite word for human lives: "collatoral damage." Dorothy For More on the subject See http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061211.ISRAEL11/TP... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4393016.html and additional 122 reports on this from around the world at http://news.google.com/nwshp?gl=us&ct=promo&ned=us&ncl=1111777758&hl=en --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- For those who may not know that, there is no more potent symbol in South Africa for tolerance, racial reconciliation and the pursuit of justice than Desmond Tutu (not even Mandela). The impact here is as if Israel were to ban Martin Luther King or Mother Teresa from entering its territory, because they are notorious rabble rousers... Ran Greenstein Johannesburg, South Africa ----- Israel blocks Tutu fact-finding mission Independent online (Johannesburg) December 11 2006 at 12:12PM Geneva - Israel has blocked a United Nations fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip that was to be led by Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, officials said on Monday. Tutu was to begin leading a six-member team over the past weekend in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun to investigate the killings of 19 civilians in an Israeli artillery barrage last month. But Israel refused to grant the South African anti-apartheid campaigner the necessary travel clearance, said officials in two separate UN departments. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Tutu was planning to meet with reporters in Geneva later on Monday. Tutu's team was supposed to report its findings to the UN Human Rights Council by Friday. It is unclear if the Jewish state will allow the fact-finding mission to take place at a later date. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said on Monday that no final decision has been made. "Israel heard that they decided not to come. We had not given them a negative response, our final decision was pending," Regev said. Israeli officials have expressed concern that Tutu's mission was only entrusted with investigating alleged human rights violations committed by Israel, and not also by Palestinian militants. The 47-nation council authorised the mission last month, asking Tutu to assess the situation of victims, address the needs of survivors and make recommendations on ways to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli attacks. The shelling, which Israel said was unintended, came after its troops wound up a weeklong incursion meant to curb Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel from the town. The Israeli army claimed Beit Hanoun was a rocket-launching stronghold. "We had a problem not with the personalities, we had a problem with the institution," Regev said. "We saw a situation whereby the human rights mechanism of the UN was being cynically exploited to advance an anti-Israel agenda. This would do the Israelis, the Palestinians and peace in the Middle East no good at all. This would also have done nothing to serve the interest of human rights." Tutu chaired South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the end of apartheid rule. - Sapa-AP ============================================================= [Published: Monday 11, December 2006 - 10:43] The Israeli Government has blocked a United Nations fact-finding mission led by Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu from visiting the Gaza Strip. The South African anti-apartheid campaigner was due to lead a six-member team on a visit to the town of Beit Hanoun to investigate the killing of 19 civilians by the Israeli military last month. However, Israel refused to grant him the necessary travel clearance and is is unclear if the country will allow the fact-finding mission to take place at a later date. Tutu and his colleagues were due to report their findings to the UN Human Rights Council by Friday. ----------------------------------------- [some background on the issue] Winnipeg Independent Media Centre http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?4221S Skip to navigation | Skip to newswire. As Predicted: Israel Blocks UN Investigation of Beit Hanoun Shelling Israel drags heels on Tutu visit Bradley Klapper | Geneva, Switzerland 09 December 2006 07:55 A United Nations fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip that was to be led by Desmond Tutu is in doubt because Israel has yet to give the Nobel laureate permission to enter the territory, officials said on Friday. Tutu was to begin leading a six-member team this weekend in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun to investigate the killings of 19 civilians in an Israeli artillery barrage last month. But Israel has yet to grant the South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town the necessary travel clearance, said three different officials close to the talks between the global body and the Jewish state. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions were continuing, said they had yet to receive any indication from Israel that the mission will take place at all. Israeli officials in Geneva said they were unable to comment immediately. Tutu's team was supposed to report its findings to the UN Human Rights Council by mid-December. The 47-nation council authorised the mission last month, asking Tutu to assess the situation of victims, address the needs of survivors and make recommendations on ways to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli attacks. The shelling, which Israel said was unintended, came after its troops wound up a weeklong incursion meant to curb Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel from the town. The Israeli army claimed Beit Hanoun was a rocket-launching stronghold. Tutu chaired South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the end of white rule. Tutu, who was in Geneva, could not be reached for comment. Earlier on Friday, the Geneva-based council passed a seventh resolution criticising Israel, this time for failing to act on recommendations the body made in July, urging the Jewish state to end military operations in the Palestinian territories and allow a separate fact-finding mission to the region. The rights body, which has only condemned the Israeli government in its seven-month existence, noted with regret that Israel has failed to release a group of Palestinian Cabinet ministers it arrested earlier this year. "Violations of the fundamental rights of the Palestinians continue unabated," said Pakistani diplomat Tehmina Janjua on behalf of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference, which proposed the resolution. "The Palestinian ministers, Janjua demanded that UN human rights expert John Dugard be allowed to conduct an "urgent" fact-finding mission in the region, which the council ordered at an emergency session only one month after it was called into existence to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission. Criticism by the council brings no penalties beyond international attention. Countries, however, lobby hard to avoid having their rights records scrutinised. Dugard, a former anti-apartheid civil rights lawyer from South Africa, has frequently clashed with Israel, which notes that he has been mandated only with investigating violations by the Israeli side. The United States -- which along with Israel is only an observer at the rights body -- also has dismissed Dugard's reports Only Canada voted against Friday's resolution. Cameroon and Japan joined the 10 European members of the council in abstaining. The rest of Africa and Asia, along with all of Latin America, voted in favour. Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva criticised the council for ignoring a November 26 ceasefire agreement that ended five months of fierce fighting in Gaza. "Why does this resolution fail to make any mention of the ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians, that persists despite the continuation of Qassam rockets fired on Israel?" Itzhak Levanon asked the council. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged the watchdog last month to deal with the Mideast conflict in an impartial manner, and said it was time to focus attention on "graver" crises such as Darfur. Despite his plea, the council has passed only a watered-down resolution on the western Sudanese region proposed by African countries, which urged all parties to the conflict to end human rights violations. - Sapa-AP http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=292831&area=/breaking_... Winnipeg Independent Media Centre | winnipeg.indymedia.org | Top of page You must Sign in before you can post messages.
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