ZGram - 3/27-2002 - "More writing-on-the-wall"
irimland@zundelsite.org
irimland@zundelsite.org
Wed, 27 Mar 2002 18:33:41 -0800
Copyright (c) 2002 - Ingrid A. Rimland
ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny
March 27, 2002
Good Morning from the Zundelsite:
It always lifts my heart when I can give my readers another snippet
of good news. Look what is happening in Europe - more "fallout" for
America's uncritical support of Israel from half around the world!
When I showed this to Ernst, he said:
"In the strongest terms yet, the majority of the European Union sides
with the beleaguered Palestinians. In many parts of the world, now
certainly in Europe, Israel has totally squandered its once almost
limitless supply of good will and sympathy by its brutal suppression
and flagrant hypocrisy .
"The tide HAS turned - it's only a matter of time!"
[START]
European Parliament Supports Palestinian Leaders
Greta Hopkins (Inter Press Service) - dated March 26, 2002
BRUSSELS, Mar 26 (IPS) - Members of the Palestinian Legislative
Council have won strong backing in the European Parliament for their
struggle against Israel.
Three members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) visiting
Brussels this week asked the European Union to play honest broker in
the bloody and drawn out war between Palestinians and Israelis.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) seemed largely supportive
of their demands.
The three Palestinian leaders met MEPs and senior EU officials Monday
and Tuesday. Two others were prevented by Israeli authorities from
joining the delegation.
Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the
PLC Luisa Morgantini expressed her dismay that elected
representatives were prevented from moving freely within their
territories and traveling abroad. ''The decisions of Sharon (Ariel
Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel) are hindering the work of
democratic bodies such as the European Parliament and the Palestinian
Legislative Council,'' she said at a meeting with the Palestinian
delegates.
The Palestinian leaders were evidently impressed with the solidarity
and support they found in Brussels. Ibrahim Abu-Naja, leader of the
Palestinian delegation told the meeting with MEPs: ''We will never
forget the role of the EU in helping us to hold elections and build
up our infrastructure. Now we ask you to do everything you can to put
a stop to this aggression and get both sides back to the starting
point of peace negotiations.''
Rawya Shawa, a member of the Palestinian delegation, said she had
drawn great hope from the meetings in Brussels. ''The EU has always
been supportive of the Palestinian cause, and the proof is in the aid
that it has given for our infrastructure,'' she said. ''I am
convinced that the EU position will move progressively towards
greater support of the Palestinian people.''
Shawa said the meeting with EU commissioner for external relations
Chris Patten had been positive. ''He promised more EU support for the
private sector and for industrial reconstruction in Palestine,'' she
said.
Ziad Abu-Amr, president of the PLC's political committee said: ''We
want a strong EU standpoint which is distinct from the blind and
biased standpoint of the United States. We want a stronger
condemnation of the embargo imposed on the President of Palestine
(Yasser Arafat \ and the Palestinian people.''
Several MEPs called for tough EU action against Israel. MEPs
condemned the destruction of EU-financed infrastructure by the
Israeli army in Palestine. European Union foreign ministers have said
earlier they reserve the right to claim compensation from Israel for
an estimated 17 million dollars worth of damage to EU-funded projects
since the current Palestinian uprising began in autumn 2000.
''It is quite difficult to know how driving a bulldozer up and down
the runway in Gaza will make it less likely for young men and women
to strap bombs to themselves and murder people in Tel Aviv,'' Chris
Patten said while speaking to the European Parliament's budget
control committee last week.
But any EU claim for compensation from Israel would be fraught with
administrative difficulties. When the EU releases funds for projects
in Palestine, they become the property of the Palestinian Authority,
Patten told MEPs. Aid for Palestine is also channeled directly by
member states, each with its own legal system.
Morgantini said it is unlikely the EU can claim compensation but it
must continue to exert pressure. ''We don't want to see any further
damage,'' she said. ''The structures destroyed have nothing to do
with security. Damage has been done to schools, airports and roads.''
Lousewies van der Lann, a Dutch MEP suggested that the EU could get
around the problem in the future by keeping part ownership of such
property. ''If the EU is not the owner, then it has no power when the
property is destroyed,'' she said.
Morgantini said the EU could bring sanctions against Israel by
invoking a human rights clause in the bilateral trade and aid
association agreement. '' It is indispensable that Israel respects
the agreements it has signed with the European Union,'' said
Morgantini. ''Article 2 of the agreement says that if there are
infringements of human rights, the agreement is made null and void.''
But Van der Lann said that three EU member states (Britain, Germany
and the Netherlands) are blocking the proposed suspension of the
association agreement with Israel. The move would need unanimous
agreement among all 15 member states. ''The EU has no credibility if
it does not apply its own rules,'' she said. ''We should never forget
that behind all this legal talk there are human lives being lost
every day.''
[END]
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Thought for the Day - and a beautiful one it is:
"Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may make ourselves
happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness."