Fr Dear's letter from Australia

As appears in the NCR Mar 27, 2007

On the Road to Peace by John Dear S.J.

G'day from Down Under! I've been on the road in Australia for a month now, from Sydney on the east coast to Perth on the west, then about face and back again. I spoke in Brisbane on the east coast, and down south in Melbourne on Port Phillip Bay, and Adelaide on the Gulf of St. Vincent, and Canberra, the inland capital, as well as Townsville, way up north in the tropics, across from Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef. And southernmost of all, somewhere near Antartica in Hobart on the gorgeous island of Tasmania, with other stops in between.

The tour is sponsored by my friends at Pace e Bene, a Franciscan-based group that offers trainings in Christian nonviolence all over the United States and Australia (See www.paceebene.org for details and how to bring them into your area.)

The week before I arrived, on Feb. 18, Pope Benedict issued a welcome but unusual statement. He called upon Catholics everywhere to fulfill Jesus' commandment in the Sermon on the Mount to "love our enemies." The quintessential Christian commandment, finally pronounced from Rome.

"This Gospel is rightly considered to be the Magna Carta of Christian nonviolence," the pope said, "which consists not of giving in to evil -- according to a false interpretation of 'turning the other cheek' -- but in responding to evil with good, thus breaking the chains of injustice." Christian nonviolence, he said, is "the attitude of one who is so convinced of the love and strength of God that he is not afraid to face evil armed with just the weapons of love and truth." Love for the enemy, he concluded, is "the nucleus of the Christian revolution."

I bear a similar message. I've spoken already to thousands about Gospel nonviolence and have taken heart at meeting such good people grappling with the Gospel of peace, trying to follow the path of the nonviolent Jesus. I've been enlightened, as well, to see the American empire through the eyes of these Australian peacemakers.

They have a clear-eyed grasp on their government, as well, a pawn of the United States in Bush's war on Iraq. A U.S. military base looms along Australia's northern territory, near Alice Springs, called Pine Gap. There, U.S. radar facilities pinpoint the targets of every U.S. bomb that falls on Iraq. Pine Gap is also a link in the chain of the Missile Defense System, the U.S. Star Wars scheme for controlling outer space.

The collusion goes deeper. Along the northeast coast this June, some 15,000 U.S. soldiers, along with 12,000 Australian troops, will train in the largest U.S. military exercises here ever -- "Operation Talisman Sabre 2007." Rumors are on the wind that nuclear-armed U.S. warships will practice with depleted uranium along the endangered Great Barrier Reef. They'll pound the gorgeous fragile Queensland coastline from land, air and sea. Counter-plans are on the wind, as well. Many in Australia are beginning to realize the deadly consequences of aligning with the American empire. And a vigil against the war games is first on their list (see: www.peaceconvergence.com).

Civil disobedience is on the list as well. The Pine Gap Four, for example, have engaged in it already. They're a cell of nonviolent Christian activists who walked onto the U.S. military base near Alice Springs on Dec. 9, 2005. In white coveralls, they announced themselves as a Citizens Weapons Inspection Team, then hung banners and dropped leaflets. Before long, they were arrested. Facing seven years in prison, they will be tried on May 29. (For information see: www.pinegap6.org.)

Heroes. Heroes of Gospel nonviolence. They exposed the hidden truth of the U.S. radar operations in Australia's backyard, a truth long obscured under official secrecy and gibberish. The Four demand the removal of all U.S. military installations here, and an end to Australia's support for our evil war on Iraq. In the process, they shine a light like the blazing Australian sun on what discipleship to the nonviolent Jesus looks like today. If we want to love our enemies, a straightforward first step is to put an end to our governments' plans to kill them.

Nonviolent revolution -- that's been my message at every stop, at each workshop, retreat, public lecture, and interview. Over and over I say we are all called to undertake with new vigor the Christian revolution of nonviolence -- in Australia, the United States, and everywhere.

We are, I tell them, Sermon-on-the-Mount people, people who embrace nonviolence as a way of life. We organize nonviolence as a new methodology for ending wars, for transforming unjust structures -- for beating swords into plowshares, to borrow a turn of phrase from the prophet. Such a revolution, if loving and tenacious, will one day give birth to a new world without war, poverty or nuclear weapons. And in that day we'll declare, "God's reign of nonviolence at hand." And so I join with the Pine Gap Four -- and now with Pope Benedict -- in calling people to choose to get actively involved in nonviolent campaigns for justice and peace.

Like most of us comfortable white, middle-class Americans, Australians are growing complacent and comfortable too. How easy to sit back, do nothing, and harrumph and grumble about the state of the world. The Gospel, on the other hand, challenges us to get up, get involved, and follow Jesus as he engages in nonviolent public action in the Temple -- and as he forgives those who arrest, imprison, torture and execute him.

Holy Week is a reminder that this journey is our own. We're to set our faces against the Jerusalems of our own place and time. We're to pursue justice with that same dangerous, holy, revolutionary nonviolence as did our Lord. And like him, publicly.

"Public action! Public action! Public action!" The words still ring in my ears, words out of the mouth of Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers movement. I had an evening with him shortly before he died, and I had asked, "What should I say to people who ask me, 'What should we do?'" He responded without missing a beat. And then he added for emphasis: "Tell everyone to act publicly for justice and peace!"

Many do that here, wonderful people engaging in local, national and global campaigns for justice and peace. I encourage them to carry on their work. They encourage me in return.

Upon my arrival home, I'll get the chance to practice what I preach. I stand trial in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., April 12 for protesting the U.S. war on Iraq. My friends and I hope to put the war on trial and uphold God's law of nonviolence. Whatever the outcome, the journey to peace, together with friends around the world, is rich with blessings. And more, it foreshadows the coming of a new world of peace, justice and nonviolence, here and now.

The situation of Iraqi refugees and displaced persons

Brussels – 23 March 2007- The oral statement on the situation of Iraqi refugees and displaced persons was delivered on 22 March 2007, at the session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, in Geneva. An estimated 100,000 Iraqis leave their country each month, including many of Iraq’s best-educated professionals. Approximately 2,000,000 Iraqis have fled since the 2003 invasion and about 1,800,000 Iraqis are internally displaced. The statement was given by Dominicans for Justice and Peace, Pax Christi International and 4 more partner organizations. Read the oral statement (in 07-0271) which highlights key elements of the written statement (A/HRC/4NGO/20 and 07-0165) that had been distributed previously to all member states of the United Nations and which appears on the UN web site at: www.unhchr.ch/
07-0271____
___________________________________________________________________

UNTED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Fourth session
12 March –5 April, 2007
Palais des Nations, Geneva

_______________________________________________________________________

March 22, 2007: Oral statement by Philippe LeBlanc, OP

Item 2: Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March,
2006 entitled “Human Rights Council”.

Title: The situation of Iraqi refugees and displaced persons

In his report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/4/38), the Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kälin wrote: “Responding to the protection needs of internally displaced person (IDPs) is one of the main challenges of today’s world.”

In this respect, Dominicans for Justice and Peace, Franciscans International, Dominican Leadership Conference, Pax Christi International, International Catholic Peace Movement, Congregations of St. Joseph and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas express their deep concern for the Iraqi internally displaced persons and refugees. There are about 1,800,000 Iraqi displaced persons in the country. An estimated 100,000 Iraqis leave their country each month, including many of Iraq’s best educated professionals. Approximately 2,000,000 Iraqis have fled since the 2003 invasion.

The humanitarian needs of these people are extreme and urgent. An immediate response to the humanitarian crisis is required to attend to the basic needs of those have left their homes because of the ongoing war in their country. Furthermore,,current refugee assistance and support for the internally displaced are extremely under-funded.

Middle Eastern countries, including Syria and Jordan have shown openness in welcoming the refugees. As the numbers have increased, the overburdened public services of the host countries are becoming overwhelmed by the increased refugee population. According to UNHCR estimates, Syria has taken in 1,000,000 Iraqis, Jordan, 750,000, Egypt, 80,000-130,000. The US Administration announced on February 15, 2007 that it would grant asylum for up to 7000 refugees over the next year.

Recommendations

Dominicans for Justice and Peace (Order of Preachers), Franciscans International, Dominican Leadership Conference, Pax Christi International, International Catholic Peace Movement, Congregations of St. Joseph and Sisters of Mercy of the Americas strongly recommend:

-that the international community through the United Nations seek ways and means to provide basic services including food, clothing, shelter as well as medical and educational services to the Iraqi people who have left their homeland seeking refuge in neighboring countries.;
- that western countries, especially the United States, Great Britain and the Allied Nations that are currently in Iraq, open their doors to the Iraqis as they seek safety and security for their families;

-that he United Nations refugee services seek support from the international community so that basic services are provided for the Iraqis who have been displaced and are living in other regions of Iraq.

We also urge the international community through the United Nations to take with utmost seriousness its responsibilities for the monumental and long-term challenge of the recovery and reconstruction of Iraq, devastated both by long-term sanctions and the ravages of war.
________________________________________________________________________

N.B. The written statement can be found on the website of Dominicans for Justice and Peace at; www.un.op.org

Petition Calling on sanctions on Zimbabwe

Dear friends,
In recent days, Zimbabwe has plunged further into crisis, with key democratic activists beaten up. Please sign this petition which calls for tougher sanctions against Robert Mugabe's brutal regime in Zimbabwe.

Click below to sign the petition calling for stronger, targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe's leaders:http://www.Avaaz.org/en/zimbabwe

The aim is to achieve 25,000. There are 7,159 at the moment.

On Sunday, while boarding a plane to an international meeting, Zimbabwe's democratic opposition spokesman was beaten so severely that he lost an eye. Last week, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was arrested and beaten for attending a protest prayer vigil. Other democratic activists in Zimbabwe are under a terrible threat, with many still held in prison.

The petition will be delivered at the end of the week. If Europe and neighbouring South Africa (Zimbabwe's largest trading partners) threaten tougher sanctions, Mugabe will be forced to stop his attacks.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from South Africa, is already calling on his country and others to take action. Click below to join him in calling for a response:http://www.Avaaz.org/en/zimbabwe

Best wishes,

Claude Mostowik msc

Positions Vacant - Centre for an Ethical Society

Dear Friends,
I am forwarding this urgent message from Terry McCarthy of the Centre for an Ethical Society. You may know something who is interested and able to do the work this position requires. I have copy and pasted the information on the attachment. I am also sending this to all the recipients of my liturgies in case you know of anyone who might be interested in this position.

Peace

Claude Mostowik msc

POSITIONS VACANT
to start by mid-April

Introduction:

The Centre for an Ethical Society, located at Lewisham, is a mainline Christian organisation set up with the assistance of leaders of the Anglican, Catholic and Uniting Churches. Its mission is to remind and educate people that the pursuit of social justice is intrinsic to Christianity. The pursuit of the common good is a core Christian value which obliges Christians to help build a just and compassionate Australia. Details of the CES can be viewed on its website: www.ces.org.au.

CES needs people, both employed and volunteer, to assist in its work:

Office Manager/Administrator:
The role of the position is to run the office. Tasks include establishing contact lists, keeping track of supporters, advising them of CES activities, arranging meetings and public functions, answering inquiries, basic bookkeeping, doing mail-outs and other office duties. While the position is based in Sydney, the role is important to the Australia-wide functioning of Board, State and local Chapters.

Desirable attributes:
- A sharing of the values and objectives of the CES.
- Good administrative skills including facility with Windows Applications, databases. basic bookkeeping, websites and other office tasks.
- Ability to work relatively unsupervised and often alone.
- Some interest in looking for information through the internet.
- Preparedness to be flexible.
We are keen to hear from interested people who are prepared to work 4-5 hours five days a week and have the above skills and background:

Interested applicants could contact either Terry McCarthy, Board Member and Public Officer on 02 6281 1673 or 0410590506, or Bonita Frank on 02 9572 6044.

B. Volunteers: We hope to have a group of volunteers to assist in a variety of tasks including IT, establishing contact lists, adding new elements to our computer system, providing technical assistance in maintaining the website; bookeeping and financial records; answering telephones, photocopying and mailing; researching other like organizations and foundations and related material, to name a few.
Again interested people could contact either Terry McCarthy on 02 6281 1673 or 0410590506 or Bonita Frank on 02 9572 6044.

'TWENTY-O-THREE' FOR 2007

CONCLUSION OF 'TWENTY-O-THREE' FOR 2007
Today (20:03) a small group of us took the signed originals of our open letter to George Bush to Martin Place.
Between all of us who got involved in the event we gathered two thousand, eight hundred (2,800) individual signatures. They came from all over the place (including a good number from Tasmania). We can all feel very pleased with our efforts.
We were not permitted to have any contact with any member of the consulate staff (such is their level of
paranoia) and had to hand the bundle over to a member of the Federal Police (who will hand it on to the Chief Security Officer, who will hand it on to the Consul General, who will hand it on...). It is an elaborate game of Chinese Whispers, garanteed to shield anyone from hearing something they don't want to hear!
Be that as it may, it still feels as though the exercise was worth it.
After delivering to the CG, we walked to the Prime Minister's Sydney office and delivered photocopies of most of the originals. We enclosed a covering letter (attached).
The Marrickville Peace Group is enormously grateful to all the groups who took part. We don't know all the individuals involved, so we rely on you who receive this message to pass it on so that everyone involved knows that we appreciate their efforts.

A copy of the letter that was delivered is below

Twenty-0-Three



Mr John Howard 20th March 2007
Prime Minister


Dear Mr Howard


Today, the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, we have delivered an open letter addressed to US President George Bush to the office of the US Consul General in Sydney.

To keep you informed, as a courtesy, we are also delivering photocopies of the signed originals to your Sydney office.

Please take note of the fact that 2,700 individuals have signed this letter – with only a couple of weeks’ exertion on our part. Last year we spent a full month and only managed 1,000 signatures. When gathering signatures we encountered fewer arguments than last year. We could discern a noticeable difference in the mood of the people.

We believe you should become aware that opinion is turning against policies that deliver violence and destruction. The war in Iraq is extremely unpopular.

These groups involved themselves in our “Twenty-O-Three” event:-

The Marrickville Peace Group
The Pennant Hills Area Peace Group
The Newtown Peace Group
The Leichhardt Peace Group
The Parramatta Peace Group
Pax Christ NSW
The CFMEU
Unions NSW
The Greens
Quakers for Peace and Justice
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom


Sincerely,


Nick Deane
(c/- Marrickville Peace Group, PO Box 647, Marrickville, NSW, 2204)

Peace Brigades International visitor to Pax Christi Meeting

At our Pax Christi Australia NSW meeting on 5 March we were honoured by the presence of a member of Peace Brigades International (PBI) who spoke about her experiences while working in Colombia

What is Peace Brigades International (PBI)?
Peace Brigades International is a grassroots organisation that promotes non-violent alternatives in conflict situations and support for human rights.

When invited, international teams of volunteers are sent into areas of political repression and conflict. The volunteers accompany human rights defenders, their organisation, and others threatened by political violence. Those responsible for human rights abuses usually do not want the world to witness their actions. The presence of volunteers, backed by an international emergency response network, thus helps deter violence. In this way, we create space for local activists to work for social justice and human rights.

Where does PBI work?
PBI currently has long-term projects in Columbia, Indonesia/East Timor and Mexico, as well as joint projects with other organisations in the Balkans Chiapas, Mexico.
PBI has also supported human rights initiatives in Guatamala, El Salvador, Haiti, North America and Sri Lanka.

How is PBI funded?
Fourteen country groups in Europe, North America and Australiasia raise a substantial part of PBI's income, securing funds from institutional and individual donors, fundraising events and the sale of merchandise.
Institutional donors also provide grants direct to PBI. Important examples include Amnesty International, Christian Aid, Oxfam and a number of embassies.
Donations to PBI might be used to keep a volunteer in the field for a year or to train potential volunteers prior to departure. Alternatively, it could go towards development of the emergency network or production of our regular newsletter.
PBI is a non-political organisation and the diversity of funding sources helps ensure that our operations remain independent.

Peace Brigades International (PBI) International Office, 5 Caledonian Rd., London N1 9DX Britain (fax +44 20 7837 2290; email pbiio@gn.apc.org; http://www.igc.org/pbi/).

The plight of Sri Lankan asylum seekers.

Dear Friends,
This continuing action by the Federal Government ,and seemingly supported by the Opposition, is fundamentally immoral. It is cruel, it is hard-hearted, small-minded and short-sighted. It is immoral to punish one group of people to target another group. This cruel, unnecessary and harsh treatment of people escaping the violence and conflict in Sri Lanka will only add to their trauma. The criticism that they paid a significant amount of money to escape Sri Lanka says more about us - would we pool our money etc to help people from our family or community to escape a situation of violence? Can the politicians not see or understand that some people have a greater sense of community than their small sminds and hearts can comprehend. This email is also going to Kevin Andrews and to Kevin Rudd.
Silence is not to be neutral but taking taking sides with the 'oppressor'.

Peace

Claude Mostowik msc
Convenor
Pax Christi Australia NSW

Sri Lankans face 'limbo' on Nauru

Jewel Topsfield, CanberraThe Age March 16, 2007
Other related coverage

Asylum seekers to go to Nauru
Tamil appeals to minister for asylum
Sri Lankans look set to be moved to Nauru
Asylum seekers' fate undecided
Two charged over asylum seekers

A GROUP of Sri Lankan asylum seekers face being left in limbo on Nauru after the Government signalled they would not be resettled in Australia even if found to be genuine refugees.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews yesterday said 82 "illegal arrivals", intercepted by the Australian navy near Christmas Island last month, would be transferred to Nauru to "send a strong message to those considering any attempt to enter Australia illegally".

When asked if the men, who are Tamils, could settle in Australia if they were found to be refugees, Mr Andrews said: "Our efforts will be aimed at settling them elsewhere. Once again we don't want to give a green light to people indirectly getting to Australia by this method."

But immigration lawyers and refugee advocates have warned the Sri Lankans could be cast into indefinite exile on Nauru.

A spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the men could face a "prolonged stay on Nauru in a limbo-like situation waiting for a solution to their plight".

"Our experience in the past was that other resettlement states generally felt people intercepted by Australia were its responsibility, but there may be particular circumstances with this caseload that would warrant other countries taking them," she said.

Under the so-called Pacific solution, asylum seekers who do not reach the Australian mainland are processed in offshore centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, without access to the Australian legal system.

Of the first group of more than 1200 asylum seekers to be processed on Nauru, more than 480 were resettled in Australia and another 274 were mostly resettled in New Zealand.

The UNHCR said only about 4 per cent of those processed on Nauru and Manus Island had been accepted by countries including Canada, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

"In our experience they largely only took those cases that already had family links in their respective territories," the spokeswoman said. More than 50 asylum seekers spent more than 3½ years on Nauru. Twenty five were resettled in Australia in 2005 after a mental health team warned that several were suicidal.

Mr Andrews yesterday told the ABC it was "hypothetical" whether Australia would accept any asylum seekers if they could not find other homes.

"I don't need to address that at this stage except to say we will work with the UN as we have in the past to settle any genuine refugee claimants somewhere else in the world."

Since 1983, there has been sporadic civil war in Sri Lanka, predominantly between the Government and the Tamil Tigers, which is estimated to have claimed the lives of more than 68,000 people.

The asylum seekers, who reputedly paid people smugglers between $US5000 ($A6390) and $US10,000 each to make the boat journey, will be flown to Nauru at the weekend after having health checks on Christmas Island.

Urgent Appeal Justice for Palestinian Matters

URGENT APPEAL: Ref: UA 05/ 07.
11 March 2007

VIOLATIONS: Criminal Obstruction of Medical Care and Emergency Services

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please copy the letter below the Background information or write in your own words and send to: Ms LOUISE ARBOUR, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
urgent-action@ohchr.org

AND Cc: (simply copy all addresses together and paste into Cc).
mailto:mission@palestine-un.org; info@who-health.org; presse.cabinet@consilium.eu.int; adamos.adamou@europarl.europa.eu; uk@un.int; usa@un.int
OPTIONAL: PLEASE ALSO SEND APPEALS TO: Diplomatic Representatives of ISRAEL in your country. Link to ISRAEL Embassies worldwide
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Israel/Israel1.html
The Foreign Minister of your country - WORLD-WIDE Governments:
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/foreign.html
Please cut and paste and send this appeal to your mailing lists
BACKGROUND
Israel ratified and became a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 3 October 1991, which entered into force on 3 January 1992. Under the Covenant, Israel is obligated to respect the rights included therein of the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,as most of these territories are under Israeli jurisdiction according to the Interim Agreement signed between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization.
Although Israel ratified the Geneva Conventions in 1951, Israel refuses to recognise their de jure applicability claiming that its presence in the OPT is as an administrator, thereby rendering the Israeli authorities completely unaccountable to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and declared that it will only abide by the “humanitarian provisions” of the Convention. Israel remains isolated in this legal interpretation and position. The majority of the international legal community has rejected the Israeli arguments since 1967 outlined above, and has repeatedly reiterated that Israel is an occupying power in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and cannot evade the obligations it committed to undertake as a High Contracting Party to the Conventions. (http://www.alhaq.org/etemplate.php?id=70)
The Palestinian civilian population have the right to receive medical care, which is ensured by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the Fourth Geneva Convention. Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention provides: "Each High Contracting Party shall allow the free passage of all consignments of medical and hospital stores and objects necessary for religious worship intended only for civilians…Articles 14 through 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention obligates parties to the conflict to create hospital and safety zones to protect the sick and injured, and civilians not involved in the hostilities from the dangers of war. These articles also prohibit attacks on hospitals established to provide medical treatment for the wounded and sick. The Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol 1) provides protection for medical personnel and obligates the parties to the conflict to allow the removal of the wounded in the areas of hostilities.


Ms LOUISE ARBOUR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
Geneva, Switzerland, urgent-action@ohchr.org

Your Excellency,
I strongly condemn the Israeli government’s criminal and uncivilized policy of restricting life-giving medical attention to Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) daily create humanitarian crises, while at the same time restricting the access of medical personnel to patients in need of medical assistance, including those wounded by Israeli forces. The denial of access of humanitarian organizations that provide relief consignments and/or medical services, into areas affected by a humanitarian crisis constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, further defined as a war crime in Additional Protocol I. On many occasions IOF deny ambulances access, apparently in an attempt to prevent them from carrying out their humanitarian mission, to those wounded causing an increase in fatalities among those injured by Israeli forces during military operations and at checkpoints.
The following cases of criminally restricted medical care occurred in February 2007, however these are not isolated cases of war crimes, but standard practice by the IOF.
Nablus: Thursday 1 February 2007, two armed Palestinian activists, Amer Bassam Mohammad Kalabona (21), Wa’el Khamis Saleh Awad (21), resisted an IOF incursion into the city. IOF troops cornered them, and injured them in the exchange of fire. IOF could have imprisoned them, or saved them; however, they were left to bleed to death while IOF did not allow ambulances to reach the scene. At approximately 6:10, IOF withdrew from the area. After that ambulances took the bodies of the killed activists to Rafedia hospital. The ambulance driver and paramedic who went to save the wounded stated,
“At 2:35 on Thursday, 1 February 2007, we were informed by our officer in the Red Crescent Society in Khillet El-Amoud Quarter in Nablus, that there is an injured person in Khan El-Tujar area in the old city. We went to the area, and tried to enter. However, the Israeli army was blocking the entrances to the old city. We tried to enter to from the market area, which leads to the area where the injured were. However, IOF jeeps in the area prevented us from entering. The soldiers instructed us to get out of the ambulance, and take off our clothes. We obeyed their orders. They ordered us to sit in the middle of the street for half an hour. Then they told us to stand on the sidewalk. After an hour, they allowed us into the area where the injured were reported to be. However, we did not find the injured there.”
Jerusalem: On Thursday, 1 February 2007, IOF troops deployed near Qalandia checkpoint, north of Jerusalem, fired at the child Taha Mohammad Sobhi El-Qeljawi (17), who was a resident of the old city in Jerusalem. He was hit by bullets in the legs, and was left to bleed to death. Palestinian medical sources indicated that the injuries the boy sustained initially were moderate and not life-threatening; however the soldiers left him to bleed in his place.
Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing: IOF have completely closed Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, which links the Gaza Strip with Israel and the West Bank. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip had been prevented from traveling through this crossing. With this closure, few Palestinian patients have been able to travel to hospitals in Israel and the West Bank. IOF have prevented Palestinian female patients aged under 40 from passing through the crossing, even though most of these patients are in serious conditions and suffer from serious diseases. Since the beginning of this year, IOF have allowed only 45 patients to travel to hospitals in Israel and the West Bank through the crossing.
Jerusalem: 9 February 2007, IOF stormed the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque in the old town of occupied Arab Jerusalem. At the conclusion of the Friday Prayer, the prayers saw hundreds of members of the Israeli Police and “Border Guard” in the yards of the Mosque, so a number of them started to loudly magnify God. Immediately, IOF fired dozens of tear gas canisters, sound bombs and bullets at the prayers. The payers moved back into the Mosque, but members of the Israeli police and “Border Guard” continued to move towards the Mosque, opening fire. They closed the doors of the Mosque with metal chains and held hundreds of prayers inside until 14:00. Dozens of prayers were wounded. IOF prevented ambulances from attending the wounded, so prayers were forced to carry the wounded and take them to ambulances which were far from the Mosque. According to sources of the al-Mqassed Hospital in Jerusalem, 24 of the wounded were admitted into the hospital. The others were evacuated to Israeli hospitals.
Qalqilya: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 00:00 on Monday, 18 February 2007, ‘Aadel Rasheed ‘Omar, 22, from Beit Ameen village, east of Qalqilya, died as IOF closed the sole entrance of ‘Azzoun ‘Atma village and obstructed his evacuation to the hospital. According to the Mayor of ‘Azzoun ‘Atma village, at approximately 22:45 on Sunday, 17 February 2007, a tractor which ‘Omar was driving turned over him. Soon, a taxi transported him to the hospital. When the taxi arrived at the entrance of ‘Azzoun ‘Atma village, IOF soldiers prevented it from exiting the village. An hour later, IOF soldiers allowed the taxi to pass through, but ‘Omar was then dead.

Ramallah: On Wednesday evening, 21 February 2007, Mowaffaq Younis Shafeeq Erhaimi, 34, from Beit Reema village, northwest of Ramallah, died at ‘Attara checkpoint north of the city as IOF soldiers denied him passage to the hospital. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 15:30, Erhaimi was seriously injured to the head while working in a construction site in his village. His colleagues called from an ambulance, which evacuated him. When the ambulance arrived at ‘Attara checkpoint searched it and obstructed its passage. At approximately 17:10, IOF allowed the ambulance to pass through the checkpoint, but Erhaimi died before reaching the hospital.
Nablus: At approximately 12:00 on Monday, 26 February 2007, an IOF sniper shot dead ‘Anan Mohammed al-Teebi, 42, with a bullet to the neck, and wounded his son, 24-year-old Ashraf, with a bullet to the hand, when he attempted to offer help to his father. The victim was on the roof of his house in the old town, when the IOF sniper shot him. IOF prevented ambulances from entering the area and arrested the son.
Attacks on Hospital and Medical Crews: On 25 February 2007, IOF besieged the National Hospital and Rafidya Hospital and denied access to medical care in the two hospitals. The two hospitals serve many patients in the northern West Bank. On the following day, IOF besieged private hospitals in the city. IOF also prevented medical crews from offering medical aid to the wounded and patients. IOF soldiers fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at medical crews when they wanted to offer medical aid to the wounded.
Large areas of this city of 50,000 people are now being held under military curfew, and once again, Palestinians are being confined to their homes for an indeterminate period. This, of course, has terrible implications for the sick and elderly who are not able to even seek medical assistance. Medics have had to find ways of reaching patients in crisis putting their own lives at risk, particularly since soldiers have taken up positions in peoples’ homes and are using the rooftops as sniper towers. Soldiers have also stationed themselves in the corridors of Rafidiya Hospital and are checking IDs and the belongings of doctors, patients and staff. The old city of Nablus is progressively turning into rubble as soldiers and bulldozers arbitrarily destroy buildings that they decide are security risks. (http://www.womenforpalestine.com/)

I call on the United Nations, as matter of urgency,
to engage Israel in a programme of action to bring its practices in the OPT into line with the country’s obligations under national and international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and The Fourth Geneva Convention
demand that Israel take immediate steps to ensure the IOF respect emergency medical professionals and allow unimpeded ambulance services and delivery of medical supplies
demand that Israel immediately end the regime of closures as well as other forms of restrictions on freedom of movement of emergency services, people and goods that result in death and in collective punishment.
implement sanctions, including economic and diplomatic, which would ensure Israel's respect of its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention and ensure that the occupying power fulfils its obligation to provide for the protection and welfare of the Palestinian population, and refrain from imposing restrictions that negatively affect the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population.
establish a war crimes tribunal to bring to trial those responsible for the perpetration of grave breaches of the Convention and other war crimes in the OPT.

Yours sincerely

Lenten Letter from Patriarch of Jerusalem

Brothers and Sisters,

The grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.We are entering the Lenten season. With Jesus we go to the desert of Jericho which, today, is telling us two things: first, that the desert which still surrounds it is the same one where Jesus went to fast and pray before bringing his message to the world; and second, that Jericho is a small prison city, like all the other Palestinian cities, a symbol of the conflict situation that has become the context in which we live, generation after generation, and day after day.

On the one hand, during this Lenten season, we want to pray and encounter God in solitude, and on the other hand, we want to meet people in order to overcome the conflict and to see the face of God in everyone.

In the desert, we free ourselves for a while from the weight of the preoccupations of our private and public life in order to enjoy a time of interior freedom that will allow us to see: to see God and to see, in the depths of ourselves, the good or the evil that we carry so that we can purify ourselves and come to know better the vocation to which God is calling us in our Church and in our society.

The Church invites us during Lent to abstain from food, not just for the sake of abstaining from certain food or from all food, but in order to learn how to deprive ourselves from one thing in order to attain another, and in order to regain our freedom. We free ourselves from the pressures of the body and of matter and from the feelings that prompt us to hate and destroy so that we can restore the strength of the spirit that is in us, and that helps us live the abundant life that Jesus came to give us.

To be sure, this life comprises trials, "Whoever wishes to come after me must take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34), but it also includes a love that makes life abundant: "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another" (John 10:10; John 13:35).

We fast in order to enable us to reconcile ourselves with God, as St. Paul tells us: "Let yourselves be reconciled with God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). And reconciliation with God cannot take place without reconciliation with all of God's children, our brothers and sisters, friends and enemies. We fast in order to renew our acceptance of the faith with all of its liberating force and its demands because the vocation to be leaven, salt and light is a vocation to a difficult life. But Jesus also told us: "If you have faith, you will be able to move mountains" (cf. Matthew 21:21). Authentic faith, fully accepted and lived, makes up for small numbers, drives fear away, and enables believers, even if they are alone in their society, to contribute to the common work of building up that society.

The vocation to be leaven in the dough of Jesus' own land requires that we stay in this land, even though life in other lands might be easier. The vocation to be leaven is a vocation to live the commandment of love in order to forgive, while at the same time demanding all the rights that have been lost, and in order to transform life into a sharing of goods and sacrifices. This sharing can make all of us, with all of our differences in religion and nationality, true builders of the new society that must arise in this Holy Land for all of us, Jews, Druze, Muslims and Christians.
We are called to a difficult life in the midst of a conflict that still continues in Palestine, and that has repercussions in the other countries of our diocese, Israel and Jordan, [and the] occupation and all that it implies: the restrictions on our freedom, the wall, the military checkpoints, the deprivations, the Israeli soldiers who, at any time, enter our Palestinian cities, kill people, take prisoners, uproot trees, and destroy houses.

And add to that, the lack of vision within Palestinian society, and the lack of security which is exploited by some who permit themselves to disobey the laws and to oppress their brothers, especially those who bear arms and who use them to oppress and to steal the money of others, and the internal struggles that are not going away. Added to that, the non-response or the inability of the international community to respond to the many voices in this region that are calling for peace. And the numerous prayers that are taking place everywhere and that continue to be made in this time of trial: In them and in all people of good will we place our hope.

In the face of all this, Lent reminds Christians that this situation can be one of death or of new life, and that they are called to transform it into a situation of new life. In this context, the purpose of our fasting is, first of all, to meditate and search for the will of God and his Providence in the midst of the trials we are undergoing, and secondly, to renew our love for one another.

By adding the weight of the concerns of our brothers to our own, God becomes present among us, because as Jesus said: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). We are therefore three to carry our concerns: ourselves, our brother, and God. With that, we become stronger and the burden becomes lighter.

Thirdly, with the presence of God in our midst, we will come to see the meaning of the events we are experiencing; we will see how to transform trials and oppressions into love for each other, which will give us more strength, a strength that will unite us more and that will allow us to carry out a true resistance whose purpose will not be to destroy the adversary, or to fill our hearts with rancor against him, but to put an end to the evil of occupation, with all of its oppression, and in this way to begin a new life for everyone, the occupied as well as the occupiers.
Brothers and sisters, I ask God to grant you his grace and blessing. May he bless and accept your fasting and may it be a source of renewal for you. I ask almighty God to grant you the gift of loving life despite the difficult circumstances in which he sent you to build a new life and a new society for all. Amen.

Archbishop Michel Sabbah,
PatriarchJerusalem,
Ash Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Joint US/Australian military exercise in May/June 2007. Environmental Destruction

David Bradbury is an Australian documentary film maker who created the outstanding doco on Depleted Uranium munitions. NOTE HERE that henceforth, I will not use the deceptive term "depleted".The uranium waste used for this purpose is NOT depleted. From now on, I am describing this as "nuclear radiation dispersing munitions" - or similar terms.DIRTY BOMBS would do as well.His powerful documentary is titled "Blowin' In The Wind". I do hope at least some of you have seen it.If not, you can contact David at ffilms@mullum.com.au

Here he alerts us to a forthcoming joint US/Australian military exercise. Vast tonnages of munitions, much of it likely to be made from or cased in Uranium 238. As you should know by now, U238 is not the most radioactive form - but it is still radioactive and prolonged exposure is not good.

However, it's what it become's after it is deployed that is a very different matter. It burns at a staggering temperature and turns into a very dangerous nano sized particle aerosol that 'blows in the wind. In this form it becomes an extremely toxic heavy metal. Particles can enter cell structures and both radiate and poison from within. The consequences for animal life are catastrophic. InIraq where the most massive quantities have been used, it looks like it will bring about a genetic genocide of the people of that tormented nation.Now if there was a plan to test a mushroom cloud producing nuke - all hell would break loose in the Australian population.Yet the dangers for the Australian people from the use of U238 munitions in a 'military exercise' would likely way exceed the danger of fallout from a mushroom cloud. The people of Australia should be rising up against this!
My Australian friends!

Tell your politicians what you think about this!If you are silent, they will not resist the demands of the USA that this military exercise take place.