Another Israeli Violation of International Norms Cynthia McKinney and the Kidnapping of the Spirit of Humanity [By Franklin Lamb]
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xprophecy
Jul 6, 2009, 1:16:09 PM7/6/09
to Cynthia Squad
Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney returned home today after 6 days
being held by the government of Israel while attempting with 21
colleagues to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza on the vessel, the
Spirit of Humanity.
“Don’t sign Miss Cynthia don’t sign!” So chanted a boisterous group of
Palestinian teens and pre-teens in Beirut’s Shatila Refugee Camp
demonstrating support for the Freegaza Humanity boat abductees on the
4th of July.
The students understood that those illegally arrested while in
International waters had been offered a “get out of Jail Free” pass if
they confessed in writing to violating Israel’s territorial waters.
The Spirit of Humanity boat, trying to bring emergency humanitarian
aid to Palestinians in Gaza, was the topic of a lively discussion
during a Sabra Shatila Foundation summer school civics lesson on
“International law and the Question of Palestine”. The students were
interested in the plight of some of their relatives and countryman in
Palestine and the continuing siege of Gaza. Some had just finished
their Baccalaureate exams and were wondering how they could continue
their education given the severe impediments the government of Lebanon
places on Palestinian civil rights, and their post exam relief seemed
to energize them for the discussion.
A couple of the students had met Cynthia during her recent visits to
Lebanon. When they learned that as a Congresswoman, she had introduced
articles of impeachment against Bush, was a consistent anti-war voter
during her twelve years in Congress, and that no member in Congress
had achieved a more consistent, principled, voting record of issues of
civil and human rights, including Palestinian rights, they really
connected with the subject of the Freegaza aid boat, the Spirit of
Humanity and her travails. “Those supporters of Palestine should not
accept a false confession and should stay in Jail if necessary. They
are patriots” was a commonly expressed sentiment.
The students understood that in refusing to sign the Israeli
government prepared “acknowledgement/confession” the Freegaza group
acted consistent with International Law. They learned that territorial
waters, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical
miles from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal
state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of
the state, although foreign ships (both military and civilian) are
allowed innocent passage through it. They learned from media reports
that in any case the Humanity was in International waters and that
consequently Israel had no right to molest it.
The class adjourned sharing a general consensus that the Spirit of
Humanity, enjoyed and will continue to enjoy on every subsequent
humanitarian voyage, these freedoms as well as other internationally
lawful uses of the sea within contiguous zones, exclusive economic
zones, and on the high seas. Needless to report, were it possible for
them, the whole class would like to be on the next Freegaza boat.
Special UN Rapportteur, Richard Falk, condemned from Geneva Israel’s
seizure of the Freegaza boat, Humanity, carrying relief aid for the
Gaza Strip "unlawful" and said its blockade of the territory
constituted a "continuing crime against humanity". Falk said the move
was part of Israel's "cruel blockade of the entire Palestinia n
population of Gaza" in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention
prohibiting any form of collective punishment against "an occupied
people".
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a Report
this this week in which it claimed that Israel was also halting entry
to Gaza of building materials and spare parts needed to repair damage
from its 22-day invasion late last December.
Israel unsuccessfully sought (since no one apparently signed) to avoid
international capability for its criminal conduct against the Humanity
group by getting their victims to sign a statement agreeing that they
violated Israeli territorial waters.
The claim that the Humanity was sailing in a “closed military zone” is
also bogus. Since its 1967 aggression, Israel has used an obscure 1858
Ottoman Lands Law to create “closed military zones” in order to steal
thousands of acres of Palestinian land using complex ‘legal’ and
catch-22 bureaucratic measures. These ‘special security areas (SSAS)
were designed to meet Israel’s expansionist goals and are now being
applied by the Israeli government to International waters. The
Humanity had every right and indeed responsibility to reject Israel’s
transparent efforts at expanding its control of the high seas. The
freegaze boat, the Humanity, enjoyed and will continue to enjoy on
every subsequent humanitarian voyage, these freedoms and other
internationally lawful uses of the sea within contiguous zones,
exclusive economic zones, as well as on the high seas.
Reflecting this obligation, the LOSC reserves the high seas for
‘peaceful purposes’. Only Military activities that are consistent with
the UN Charter are allowed within the ‘peaceful purposes’ for which
the high seas are reserved. Israel’s actions on June 30, 2009,
reflecting its three year siege of Gaza, clearly did not meet the
international standard of ‘peaceful purposes’ and its crimes against
the Humanity boat group are part and parcel, as Professor Falk noted,
of its continuing crimes against Humanity itself.
Israel's false arrest and false imprisonment of Journalists on board
the Humanity contravened its international legal obligations, imposed
by international customary law as well as statutory enactments. The
Johannesburg Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to
Information of 1995, an amalgam of general principles of international
law and customary international law, states that the government of
States that would interfere with the work of Journalists bares the
"burden of demonstrating the validity of the restriction.” The blanket
ban instituted by Israel in November 2008, as its prepared its assault
of Gaza and its response did not meet this standard nor did the
arrests of Journalists on board the Humanity, including Al Jazeera’s
Othman Al-Battiri and cameraman Mansour Al-Ibbi, and Press TV’s
Cynthia McKinney.
Israel was required to give the journalists on board the Humanity
respect for their life, property and personal dignity based on General
principles of the international law relating to the protection of
human rights including Geneva Conventions and their Additional
Protocols as well as international practice of States and the
International Committee of the Red Cross. Journalists on the Humanity
were civilians and they share the rights of any member of the civilian
population and must be treated as such. Abducting, falsely arresting
and falsely imprisoning a journalist is prohibited as are acts or
threats of violence, psychological pressure and intimidation in order
to pressure them into signing ‘confessions’ or summary ‘convicted’
without a due process court proceeding. Israel’s treatment of
journalists on the Humanity grossly violated these international
norms.
The International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ),
an NGO based in Geneva, condemned the Israeli arrest of Humanity’s
journalists and International Lawyers Sans Frontiers has asked the
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Arab Federation
of Journalists (AFJ), as well as the Palestinian Syndicate of
Journalists and the Israeli Association of journalists to start an
immediate investigation into the Israeli arrest of the journalists.
Cynthia Mckinney, without support from her own government, stood up
for the principals on which her country was founded 233 years ago and
spent Independence Day inside a foreign jail. All people of peace and
good will salute her and her colleagues who sailed the Freegaza Spirit
of Humanity with the universal message of self determination.
Franklin Lamb is doing research in Lebanon can be reached at
fpl...@sabrashatila.org
- - - -
COUNTERPUNCH
06 Jul 2009
http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb07062009.html
being held by the government of Israel while attempting with 21
colleagues to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza on the vessel, the
Spirit of Humanity.
“Don’t sign Miss Cynthia don’t sign!” So chanted a boisterous group of
Palestinian teens and pre-teens in Beirut’s Shatila Refugee Camp
demonstrating support for the Freegaza Humanity boat abductees on the
4th of July.
The students understood that those illegally arrested while in
International waters had been offered a “get out of Jail Free” pass if
they confessed in writing to violating Israel’s territorial waters.
The Spirit of Humanity boat, trying to bring emergency humanitarian
aid to Palestinians in Gaza, was the topic of a lively discussion
during a Sabra Shatila Foundation summer school civics lesson on
“International law and the Question of Palestine”. The students were
interested in the plight of some of their relatives and countryman in
Palestine and the continuing siege of Gaza. Some had just finished
their Baccalaureate exams and were wondering how they could continue
their education given the severe impediments the government of Lebanon
places on Palestinian civil rights, and their post exam relief seemed
to energize them for the discussion.
A couple of the students had met Cynthia during her recent visits to
Lebanon. When they learned that as a Congresswoman, she had introduced
articles of impeachment against Bush, was a consistent anti-war voter
during her twelve years in Congress, and that no member in Congress
had achieved a more consistent, principled, voting record of issues of
civil and human rights, including Palestinian rights, they really
connected with the subject of the Freegaza aid boat, the Spirit of
Humanity and her travails. “Those supporters of Palestine should not
accept a false confession and should stay in Jail if necessary. They
are patriots” was a commonly expressed sentiment.
The students understood that in refusing to sign the Israeli
government prepared “acknowledgement/confession” the Freegaza group
acted consistent with International Law. They learned that territorial
waters, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical
miles from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal
state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of
the state, although foreign ships (both military and civilian) are
allowed innocent passage through it. They learned from media reports
that in any case the Humanity was in International waters and that
consequently Israel had no right to molest it.
The class adjourned sharing a general consensus that the Spirit of
Humanity, enjoyed and will continue to enjoy on every subsequent
humanitarian voyage, these freedoms as well as other internationally
lawful uses of the sea within contiguous zones, exclusive economic
zones, and on the high seas. Needless to report, were it possible for
them, the whole class would like to be on the next Freegaza boat.
Special UN Rapportteur, Richard Falk, condemned from Geneva Israel’s
seizure of the Freegaza boat, Humanity, carrying relief aid for the
Gaza Strip "unlawful" and said its blockade of the territory
constituted a "continuing crime against humanity". Falk said the move
was part of Israel's "cruel blockade of the entire Palestinia n
population of Gaza" in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention
prohibiting any form of collective punishment against "an occupied
people".
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a Report
this this week in which it claimed that Israel was also halting entry
to Gaza of building materials and spare parts needed to repair damage
from its 22-day invasion late last December.
Israel unsuccessfully sought (since no one apparently signed) to avoid
international capability for its criminal conduct against the Humanity
group by getting their victims to sign a statement agreeing that they
violated Israeli territorial waters.
The claim that the Humanity was sailing in a “closed military zone” is
also bogus. Since its 1967 aggression, Israel has used an obscure 1858
Ottoman Lands Law to create “closed military zones” in order to steal
thousands of acres of Palestinian land using complex ‘legal’ and
catch-22 bureaucratic measures. These ‘special security areas (SSAS)
were designed to meet Israel’s expansionist goals and are now being
applied by the Israeli government to International waters. The
Humanity had every right and indeed responsibility to reject Israel’s
transparent efforts at expanding its control of the high seas. The
freegaze boat, the Humanity, enjoyed and will continue to enjoy on
every subsequent humanitarian voyage, these freedoms and other
internationally lawful uses of the sea within contiguous zones,
exclusive economic zones, as well as on the high seas.
Reflecting this obligation, the LOSC reserves the high seas for
‘peaceful purposes’. Only Military activities that are consistent with
the UN Charter are allowed within the ‘peaceful purposes’ for which
the high seas are reserved. Israel’s actions on June 30, 2009,
reflecting its three year siege of Gaza, clearly did not meet the
international standard of ‘peaceful purposes’ and its crimes against
the Humanity boat group are part and parcel, as Professor Falk noted,
of its continuing crimes against Humanity itself.
Israel's false arrest and false imprisonment of Journalists on board
the Humanity contravened its international legal obligations, imposed
by international customary law as well as statutory enactments. The
Johannesburg Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to
Information of 1995, an amalgam of general principles of international
law and customary international law, states that the government of
States that would interfere with the work of Journalists bares the
"burden of demonstrating the validity of the restriction.” The blanket
ban instituted by Israel in November 2008, as its prepared its assault
of Gaza and its response did not meet this standard nor did the
arrests of Journalists on board the Humanity, including Al Jazeera’s
Othman Al-Battiri and cameraman Mansour Al-Ibbi, and Press TV’s
Cynthia McKinney.
Israel was required to give the journalists on board the Humanity
respect for their life, property and personal dignity based on General
principles of the international law relating to the protection of
human rights including Geneva Conventions and their Additional
Protocols as well as international practice of States and the
International Committee of the Red Cross. Journalists on the Humanity
were civilians and they share the rights of any member of the civilian
population and must be treated as such. Abducting, falsely arresting
and falsely imprisoning a journalist is prohibited as are acts or
threats of violence, psychological pressure and intimidation in order
to pressure them into signing ‘confessions’ or summary ‘convicted’
without a due process court proceeding. Israel’s treatment of
journalists on the Humanity grossly violated these international
norms.
The International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ),
an NGO based in Geneva, condemned the Israeli arrest of Humanity’s
journalists and International Lawyers Sans Frontiers has asked the
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Arab Federation
of Journalists (AFJ), as well as the Palestinian Syndicate of
Journalists and the Israeli Association of journalists to start an
immediate investigation into the Israeli arrest of the journalists.
Cynthia Mckinney, without support from her own government, stood up
for the principals on which her country was founded 233 years ago and
spent Independence Day inside a foreign jail. All people of peace and
good will salute her and her colleagues who sailed the Freegaza Spirit
of Humanity with the universal message of self determination.
Franklin Lamb is doing research in Lebanon can be reached at
fpl...@sabrashatila.org
- - - -
COUNTERPUNCH
06 Jul 2009
http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb07062009.html
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