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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Activists
in the Green Party of the United States are asking the U.S. to hold the
government of Israel accountable for the latest wave of bloodshed, and
insist that Israel seek negotiation instead of the "War on
Terrorism" against the Palestinian people that Israel's own policy
of assassination recently ignited. Greens condemn the current escalation
of violence committed by both sides and call for an international peace
force to enforce a ceasefire, and support the demand by United Nations
Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson that Israel stop bombing the
West Bank and Gaza Strip, assaults which Ms. Robinson said are
"terrorizing and terrifying the civilian population."
"Israel's continued occupation -- with heavy military supervision
and imposed economic deprivation -- of the Palestinian territories
continues in violation of international law and in the face of the
U.N.'s condemnation," said Anita Rios, an Ohio Green organizer and
member of the party's national steering committee.
"Greens condemn the suicide bombings that have killed Israeli
citizens, and see such tactics as counterproductive in the movement to
liberate Palestinians. But the Israeli government instigated the current
wave of violence, with the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Abu
Hanoud, at a time when Ariel Sharon demanded a week's cessation of
violence by Palestinians before negotiations would begin."
"Assassinations are not 'self-defense' but an illegal attack on
civilians," added Ben Manski, also a steering committee member of
the Green Party of the United States, a Jewish American who grew up in
Jerusalem and whose family left Israel at the time of the invasion of
Lebanon.
"The Sharon government seems determined to destroy any chance of
ending Israel's half century oppression of Palestinians, and has
declared the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat to be the enemy
in a hypocritically declared 'war on terrorism' against an already
subjugated people. Both Israeli and Palestinian civilians will continue
to suffer - especially Palestinians, who have already suffered loss of
their human rights, homes, livelihoods, and the lives of
children."
Bulent Ecevit, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Israel's closest ally in
the Middle East, recently revealed that Sharon has told him Israel wants
to "be rid of" Arafat. Israel and the U.S. both boycotted the
Fourth Geneva Convention in Switzerland on December 4 and 5, at which
Israel was reprimanded by 114 states, including Britain and other
European Union nations, for indiscriminate and disproportionate violence
against Palestinian civilians and breaches of the Geneva
Conventions.
"We are ashamed of the silence of the U.S. about Sharon's
responsibility, as the leader of a wealthy and heavily armed state, for
lighting the fuse that set off the recent attacks," said Annie
Goeke, a Pennsylvania Green activist and chair of the party's
International Committee. "Palestinian civilians are being murdered
with American weapons and with the Bush Administration's
approval."
The Green Party of the United States continues to demand that Israel --
and the United States, the power behind Israel -- adhere to
international law and the decisions of the U.N., that it begin
negotiations and the process of granting self-determination to the
Palestinian people, and that it respect the right of exiled Palestinians
to return home.
Greens are also concerned that Israel's new 'war' and the Bush
Administration's threat to expand the military assaults against
Afghanistan to other Muslim nations, especially Iraq and Somalia, will
destroy the fragile alliance with some Muslim nations and lead to a long
and bloody war across the Middle East and central Asia - as well as
violent attacks against civilians in the U.S. and our allies.
MORE INFORMATION:
The Green Party of the United States http://gpus.org
Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com
Ben Manski, Co-Chair, 608 239 6915, manski@greens.org
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