Activist Post
The Irish Government is coming under heavy criticism for an inexplicable lack of action in relation to the 14 Irish citizens currently being detained by Israeli authorities. They are being held at the Givon Detention Centre near the port of Ashdod.
The 14-man crew of the Irish vessel the MV Saoirse were taken into Israeli custody last Friday when their ship was illegally boarded in international waters by Israeli forces.
The ship was en route to Gaza as part of the 'Freedom Waves' flotilla, alongside Canadian ship the 'Tahrir'. This was a humanitarian mission carrying medical aid and supplies, and aimed to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
A number of Irish political figures, including a current Member of the European Parliament, are among those being detained.
The decision by the Israeli authorities to board the vessel in international waters contravenes international law, and amounts to piracy. The subsequent decision to detain the crew of MV Saoirse, therefore, can only by described as state-sponsored kidnapping.
In a three-minute phone call from Givon prison in Israel, MEP Paul Murphy described the treatment of the detainees by the Israeli authorities:
Our boat was almost sunk by the manner in which it was approached and boarded by the Israeli navy. People were shackled and deprived of all personal belongingsCo-ordinator Dr. Fintan Lane who is also among those detained, described the Israeli raid as "dangerous to human life."
In Givon prison the authorities tried to disorientate us through sleep deprivation and the removal of our watches and the prison clock recording the wrong time. We have been given no time frame as to how long we will be kept here before the deportation trial.
'I was hosed down the stairs of the boat' Dr Lane said. 'Windows were smashed and the bridge of the boat nearly caught fire. The boats were corralled to such an extent that the two boats, the Saoirse and the Tahrir, collided with each other and were damaged, with most of the damage happening to the MV Saoirse. The boats nearly sank.'The Irish activists have so far refused to sign deportation papers which state that they came to Israel voluntarily and entered the country illegally. This is clearly quite absurd, since Israeli naval ships violently seized the MV Saoirse and the Tahrir, and forcibly transported the vessels and all crew on board to Ashdod.
Back home, the Irish Government has remained coy on the matter, and attempts by opposition TD's to have the issue openly debated in the Dáil have so far failed.
Tonight Deputy Richard Boyd-Barrett described the lack of action by the government as "nothing short of disgraceful".
Mr Boyd-Barrett said:
We are calling on the Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore and the Government to speak out and condemn what Israel has done; and to demand the immediate release of Irish citizens and to demand an explanation from the Israeli authorities as to why they kidnapped, illegally on international waters, 14 Irish citizens.This sentiment is echoed amongst the Irish general public, where there is a growing feeling that Israeli defiance of international law has become habitual, and worryingly appears to be without any consequence whatsoever.
In May of last year, the world was stunned when Israeli commandos murdered 9 Turkish humanitarian activists and wounded many more during the raid on the first 'Gaza Freedom Flotilla'. This incident also occurred in international waters and involved a number of Irish citizens.
The following June, Ireland ordered the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat from the country's embassy in Dublin. This move was in protest of Israel's forgery of Irish passports, eight of which were used in the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai.
This latest incident -- the latest of eleven international attempts to break the blockade of Gaza via the sea -- is sure to further damage relations between Ireland and the Israeli regime, as well as continue the disintegration of the Irish public's regard for Israel.
Some reports are suggesting that up to half of the 14 Irish detainees may be released on Thursday November 10th. There is however no word as of yet to suggest when the remainder of those who have been detained may be released.
Ruaidhrí O' Conghaile is an independent Irish Republican, political activist and blogger based in the west of Ireland. You can read more of his work at Dord Fian
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8 comments:
Israel has proven time and time again that the Rule of Law does not apply to them by their actions. Screaming anti-semitism no longer has an effect (except amongst the coopted/blackmailed political whores). Just as Americans are suffering under delusional politicians who care more about their money and status than the job they were elected to do the Jewish people suffer under psychopathic zionist-Nazi mentality and actions. As this Facism comes barrelling along killing all who dare to stand up the Revolution that is inevitable from criminal acts in the guise of authority will leave no one unharmed. In other words by their actions they have declared open season on all opposition and the flip side will be no one is safe anywhere in the world. Open season on zio-nazis and their political enablers will be what is forced upon the masses.
Zionist filth
So where is the famed Irish temper that defied the King of England and fought every other tyrant who tried to subdue the Irish people? Where is the IRA when they are needed to defend the honor and rights of the Irish people?
http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=87271
"The [fourteen Irish nationals] are in good health and have no complaints about their physical treatment."
Where is the famed Irish temper?? It's been chemically neutered by 40 years of fluoride in the water. The sooner the people of Ireland wake up to mass poisoning the sooner they can gain their sovereignty back.
UPDATE: Zoe Lawlor, Mags O’Brien, John Mallon, Fintan Lane, Trevor Hogan, Hugh Lewis and Patrick Fitzgerald will all be deported back to Ireland today, and will arrive in Terminal 1 in Dublin Airport on flight BD123 (from London) at 2.25pm.
The suggestion now seems to be that the remainder of the activists will be deported tomorrow, this remains to be seen however, as a number of deadlines have already come and passed. Time will tell.
Have they forgotten how they were treated? They are repeating the very things the they had to endure. Why do they feel they can do this to everybody else but it was wrong when it was done to them?
You're completely right, but actually, this is quite common.
You find that ethnic groups or any group of people that have been oppressed over long periods, tend to internalize that oppression.
This can manifest as internal feuding, like tribal warfare of some sort, but more often they will seek to project the oppression they suffered onto another group, rarely ever their original oppressor.
There are many examples of this. Zionism is however, by far the most extreme example.
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