24 June '11
http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/06/good-on-yer-cobber-aussies-view-of.html
Reacting to the news that three Sydney pro-Palestinian activists, including a former Green Party politician, Sylvia Hale, are setting sail for Gaza, broadcaster, columnist, and advertising industry whizz Rowan Dean reckons they have been duped.
"This protest is a scam because it has no logical or intellectual underpinnings," he explains in no-holds-barred fashion.
'It is designed solely for the purpose of attempting to recreate the outrage that occurred when last year's flotilla was intercepted by the Israelis and, in the presence of reporters including Sydney Morning Herald chief correspondent Paul McGeough, a firefight was provoked that resulted in the tragic, awful and pointless death of nine activists. So, hey, let's do it again and see what happens!
But there's one big difference to last year that the scammers have chosen to overlook, which makes the very premise of Flotilla 2 a fraud. Thanks to the Arab Spring, the Egyptian border with Gaza is now wide open. Any and all legal goods can cross freely. In fact, the main organiser of the new flotilla, the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation head Bulent Yildirim, admitted recently to the Turkish daily Hurriyet that ''had they told us before our departure last year that they would [have relaxed the embargo] we wouldn't have gone''. And he then went on to explain how the ''martyrdom'' of last year's activists was justification enough for this year's flotilla.
If these activists are genuinely interested in providing goods and services (and comfort) to the beleaguered Palestinians in Gaza, all they need do is fly to Cairo, hire a combi from Hertz, fill it up with whatever goodies they want and drive in unimpeded through the Rafah crossing. As many times as they like. Maybe take in a day trip to the pyramids while they're at it....
The blockade of Gaza by the IDF for the purposes of preventing weapons and munitions being smuggled ashore is, whether we agree with it or not, entirely legitimate under international law. Hamas, who control Gaza, are in a self-declared state of war with their Jewish neighbours, launching 13,000 rockets and mortars into Israel since 2001. Israel maintains that as soon as there is a credible system of verifying that weapons are not coming in by boat the blockade will be lifted. Pretty straightforward, really....
The awful truth about the Freedom Flotilla 2 is that it's only worthwhile if it makes international headlines, and it will only make headlines if and when people get hurt....'
Read more:http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/fame-not-freedom-is-the-goal-of-the-latest-flotilla-bound-for-gaza-20110621-1gdeo.html#ixzz1QBrJ008n
If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment