(en) Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle continue in spite of criticism

The joint struggle of Palestinian activists with Israeli and international activists was
never in consensus. The more reactionaries objected to the influence of secular partners.
Extreme "nationalists" oppose the Israeli activists. The Palestinian authority was never
too happy with independent struggle. Some "militants" were against the non armed mode of
the struggle. Narrow minded people did not have a clue about the contribution of the joint
struggle to the international pressure on Israel to put end to the occupation or at least
to lessen the level of repression. The demo against the renewal of discussions of the PA
with Israel rulers brought the PA objections to the open. ---- In Israel, the social
struggle collect momentum while the split between the reformists who wish to join the
parliament and these who refrain from that quagmire.


Beit Omar

Saturday, A handful of Palestinians, two dozen internationals and two Israelis marched
toward Karmei Tzur colony chanting and waving flags. They were met by a large force,
composed of mostly Border Police, a few soldiers and two or three civilian police from the
settlement. The Border Police were well-armed, forming a strong row of riot shields
blocking the way. A soldier read out a military closed zone order, giving the activist
five minutes to leave. A Palestinian member of the local organizing committee gave a
speech outlining the theft of Beit Omar land by Zionist occupiers. After around 10
minutes, the Palestinian leaders of the protest decided to end the protest on their own
terms rather than let violence erupt from the Israeli Occupation Forces. The protestors
marched back to the village, following for a short while by the armed force.


Bil'in

18 Israelis and a similar number of internationals joined the weekly Palestinian
demonstration in Bil'in against Israeli oppression, land grab and ongoing ethnic cleansing
throughout the West Bank. Together with an energetic PPSF (Jabhet Al-Nedal Al-Sha'abiyet
Al-Falestini) delegation, the demonstrators marched to the wall, set tires on fire and
watched the shabab stone the two soldiers wearing heavy protective gear in the scorching
heat, who were assigned the dubious task of peering over the wall, throwing the occasional
gas canister, and mostly playing sitting ducks for the local boys' aim practice. Since the
stinky skunk water cannon broke down, many demonstrators dared to stand close to the
barbed wire protecting the wall. The soldiers reacted with a barrage of dozens of gas
canisters, shot all at once, causing direct impact injuries to several demonstrators and
journalists. After the third round of gas, the demonstrators had enough of the suffocating
humidity, and ended the demonstration.

Bil'in photographer Haitham Al-Khatib wounded by a tear gas canister, and dozens suffer
from suffocation as a result of tear gas during the Bil'in weekly demonstration against
the separation wall.
http://t.co/kMSA3ITi


Jordan valley

solidarity visit and protest against apartheid policy in the Jordan Valley - 13-7-12
Israel Puterman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSbIgD7gK5I


Al-Ma?asara

The Cutest Demonstration Against The Occupation on Friday July 13, 2012
Al-Ma?asara, a little village near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, has begun to develop a
reputation for its silly, creative demonstrations against the occupation, from dancing
like birds to speaking to the soldiers in joyful gibberish. I think that there is a lot of
subversive power to humor and art, so when a few friends asked I wanted to go this week, I
happily said yes. We arrive; the air is summer heavy, dripping. The first thing I hear:
the bvvvt bvvvt bvvvt of horn-kazoos, only sort of matching the tumble of drums.
The first thing I see: a friend of mine, Amitai (who recently started a blog about his own
set of leftist escapades- highly recommended), dressed as a clown and sitting on the
ground, surrounded by soldiers.
Soldiers: You?re under arrest.
Amitai, in clown voice: But, but why?
Suddenly a winged creature swoops in and envelops the sad clown in her light Forrest
wings. Laughter. The soldiers look confused. A sun beam glints off of the blade of a knife
attached to the uniform of one soldier. Someone tells them they have No Right to Arrest
this Clown! The soldiers back off.
There is more dancing, and silly movements, and gibberish. Clowning, all of us, in the
face of this absurd reality, copy-pasted onto the faces of these kid-soldiers.
Kids shouldn?t be soldiers. But they should dress up in suits. Because it looks super cool
and adds to the environment of cognitive dissonance.
And that?s all. The demonstration ended on the demonstrators? terms, not waiting for the
soldiers to close it down. No arrests, no injuries. Sweat. Laughter.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467400466603596.112300.136633479680298


Nabi Saleh

The IOF used excessive violence in its attempt to disperse a peaceful march in Nabi Saleh
in solidarity with the political prisoners. Four Israeli solidarity activists were
arrested (Bashir al-Tamimi was detained and released); the army used skunk, tear gas and
rubber bullets, targeting protesters and houses, breaking windows and causing damage to
the house of Abu Hussam al-Tamimi, injuring Muhammad 'Atallah al-Tamimi from broken glass.
AwallsA ?@AwallsA
soldiers arrested another four internationals in ?#nabisaleh?. Bringing total number
detained to eleven - including reporter of New York Times... released after authorities
"were slapped on their hand".
According to updates from @AbirKopty, all Israeli activists who were arrested were
released. The IOF targeted International activists in order to arrest and deport them. One
international activist was arrested while in the toilet! According Abir's last update from
about 5 hours ago, the international activists are being passed tomorrow to Israeli
immigration in order to deport them.
http://t.co/9i5HXMsP
http://www.flickr.com/photos/activestills/7562431204/


Ni'ilin

50 Palestinians, around 12 internationals and one Israeli/International participated in
the weekly Friday demonstration today. Following a sermon and prayers on the land, the
demonstrators marched to the gate in the wall. Tires were set on fire next to the wall
itself. After a period of quiet, the fired a few dozen tear gas canisters. The wind was
blowing in a direction beneficial to the demonstrators, so they were able to continue the
action. No injuries and no arrests occurred, since the soldiers never crossed the wall.
After around 45 minutes, the demonstration ended. The internationals walked back to the
village, where they heard a description of recent work done by the Youth committee in the
village.

Qaddum

Nine Israelis some internationals and about three hundred Palestinians participated today
in a Friday demonstration.
The demo began as usual with a parade and speeches and so we walked in the s crouching
heat of a midsummer noon towards the forbidden road.
This week the army surrounded the village on all sides and immediately began firing gas in
extraordinary quantities. Volley after volley of tear gas cannisters
Without interruption, and stun grenades as well. Towards the middle of the demonstration,
they sprayed the skunk water to assist the harassment. The skunk car withdrew and returned
while the army constantly firing more and more tear gas. The Shabab responded as usual
with stones and burning tires.
At the end of the demonstration that was a little longer than usual, the army retreated
and we began to victory march.
One woman suffered from gas inhalation and treated at the scene. One of Palestinians was
wounded by a tear gas canister and was rushed to hospital in
Qalqilya. Another one was wounded in the head and was treated on the spot.


South Hebron Hills

On Saturday, four activists were arrested in Susya for cleaning graffiti reading ?death to
Arabs? and ?price tag?. The activists were held in detention for more then 24 hours. After
being brought before a judge, they were restricted from the entire southern West Bank for
30 days.
Last Friday, three children aged 9, 11 and 13 who were shepherding their families herds
were detained by soldiers in Rechiya. The children were put in an army jeep, handcuffed
and blindfolded. They were released only after an intervention by activists.
In addition, the thereat of demolitions still hang over the tent and shacks of hundreds of
people in Susya and other khirbes.
In light of this deterioration, there as a special need for activists for accompaniment of
farmers and shepherds in south Hebron hills this Saturday (July 14)


Social Struggle

Tel Aviv Saturday late evening, more than 5000 participated in the central demo. Few
hundreds were lured by a scam competition demo.
youtu.be/Bwzy6JdDGpM - Protest for social justice, Tel Aviv, Israel, 14.7.2012 52 years
old activist in a dire distress - Moshe Silman, set himself on fire at the end of the
Saturday protest for social justice.

Sunday night, hundreds converged at the state offices in protest of the treatment that
lead to Moshe Silman setting himself on fire. They joined gradually by an additional 1000
and marched to the social security offices. Then they continued to the south and back
blocking main roads. More than 1000 still marching along the Begin road and do sit ins for
the last two hours - reporting live on the Parliament TV channel.
Israel Puterman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwzy6JdDGpM http://youtu.be/sOaCtnaBaS8


Jerusalem - more than 1000 marched and blocked some roads on the way. When police arrested
few, the demonstrated threatens with retaliation and the police gave way and released the
detainees.

Sunday night, in protest of the treatment that lead to Moshe Silman setting himself on
fire, protesters converged at the independence park and marched to the prime minister
dwelling.

Demos were also in Haifa, Be'er Sheva,
Demo in Haifa too on Sunday night.
------------------------
See http://awalls.org
See Previous reports about the joint struggles the Anarchists Against the Wall take part
in at: http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com

short report from the newly opened camp in Pastrogor‏

On July 5th a group of activists from Sofia went to Pastrogor, a small village close to the Bulgarian-Turkish border, where the newly opened transit center for foreigners is situated. The center is also known as an “open camp,” which is provoked by the somewhat free regime of movement, namely the fact that the foreigners who are being accommodated in the camp can go out of it between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. At first glance the open camp is a state of art in the complex of reception and transit centers that have been spreading like a wild mushroom all around Europe and beyond in the past decades. When one looks closer however, a hybrid between alleged humanitarian assistance and strict security handling has taken shape. The so called open camp provides the foreigners with brand new bulk beds, clean bathrooms, a library, praying rooms, and quite a lot of green space, where the people can rest and enjoy the fact that they are out of Lyubimets – a detention center nearby.  Beyond these “humanitarian” conditions however, one can also see strict security control at the gate of the center, bars on the windows, and barbed wire on the walls of the camp. Those on the inside but also those on the outside are constantly reminded that behind the gate of the camp lies a “problem” that requires strict security measures. The people who are held there have committed a crime: they have escaped political persecutions, bombs, gun fire, and poverty. The crime is amplified by their decision to cross an external border of the European Union.



The idea behind visiting Pastrogor was to meet with the local to the village people and the immigrants themselves. An interest provoked by perhaps an unhealthy understanding and desire to extend solidarity and ease the situation of those who cross the Bulgarian border but to also support and hear the people that have lost their children and loved ones in emigration that was provoked by stir de-industrialization and privatization in the last 22 years. Nothing much can be done. Both processes are the symptoms of the larger system that reigns over the world today.



As of right now there are around 80 people accommodated in the center (including families with children and unaccompanied minors) who come mostly from Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. We were told by the security guards in Lyubimets that around 10 people are being transferred from the detention center to Patrogor each week. This was confirmed by those staying in the open camp in Pastrogor. Many in Lyubimets are being returned “voluntarily.”



A persisting problem in Pastrogor is the lack of translators and lack of information provided for the immigrants. They have no idea what is happening to them and what will happen to them. As many see Bulgaria only as a transit country they naively believe that they could go elsewhere in order to apply for asylum. They do not have any understanding of how the asylum system works in Europe and that this is not possible. Once they re-cross the Bulgarian border and caught in Western Europe they will be immediately returned back to Bulgaria. If they are caught to “illegally” cross the border again they will not have the “luxury” to be detained in Lyubimets: they are sent straight to a Bulgarian prison, where they could be held for five years. We tried to break through this myth but it is quite hard. Most of the people have seen a lawyer only once (some of them for 2 minutes only, literally). A migrant told us that the human rights organizations that come to visit the center do not talk to them but only monitor the conditions in the center itself. An informational campaign is much needed.



Reaction from the locals

People in Pastrogor complain that nobody asked them if they wanted such center or not. They also complain because despite the promises for employment, such was never provided to them. They are as poor as they were yesterday. Not only that permanent employment is not an option but also many of those who have worked during the construction of the center never received their salaries for the last three months of employment. Despite these however, their attitude towards the migrants is good. To a certain degree, one could say that mistrust exists but in general people understand the reasons why the migrants cross the border. The fear comes mostly from the uncertainty of what might happen (e.g. violence, stealing) and from the very genuine realization that the migrants have nothing to do in this small village, they are bored and this might very well lead to negative consequences (such fear exists among the migrants themselves).



The mayor of the village told us that the local people often refer to the migrants as “the Talibans.” We heard it ourselves. She talks to her co-villagers and explains to them that this is in fact offensive but it seems like there is not much receptivity on part of the locals. The latter is not surprising as even the local media refers to the migrants as “talibans.” No media has gone to talk to the migrants or the local people. Absolute invisibility is being imposed.



The situation of the migrants

The open center is in the middle of nowhere. It is 8 km away from Svilengrad and 1 km away from the village itself. The migrants have to walk in order to reach any of these places. This is not helped by the extreme heat that is in the region as of right now and it will be a pretty big challenge once the cold weather comes (last winter the region was hit pretty badly by snow storms). The migrants receive 65 leva (around 33 Euros) monthly and this is hardly enough for food let alone transportation. The center does not provide provisions for them. They are not allowed to cook in the center either and there is no kitchen. Usage of electric appliances for cooking is strictly prohibited.

Sometimes there is no electricity in the center as they “fix” it 2 or 3 times weekly.



There is a nurse in the center but the medical services provided are under question at best. People need to pay for medicines and if they seek medical help elsewhere. There is no psychological help for those “accommodated” and some shared that they are in a daring need to see a psychologist.



There are many snakes in the region and already an Iraqi man was bitten. He was forced to sleep in front of the gates of the center as he came back after 11 p.m. The man was unfortunate to lie down next to a snake. The security guard called an ambulance immediately however, and he was taken to Svilengrad. The man had to pay for the medical service (11 leva; approximately 5 Euros).



Some of the migrants are afraid to walk around the forest (which is behind the center) and to go to the river because of the snakes and other animals. In addition, mosquitoes and bugs put in extra pressure. Many among the migrants complain that the center is bug infested to such an extent that they cannot sleep at night.



There are no Bulgarian lessons provided, which further complicates the communication between them and the locals. There is a library in the center but the books are in Bulgarian. We bought English - Bulgarian phrasebooks, dictionaries, textbooks for learning Bulgarian, notebooks, and pens. As we could not find Arabic – Bulgarian and Farsi – Bulgarian phrasebooks in Svilengrad we will have to buy them from Sofia and mail them to the center.



There is no internet anywhere in the village. Even if we buy internet flashcards this won’t help as the mayor have been told that internet will be provided for the village in two years. This adds to the great pressure that migrants have to go through. They cannot communicate with the outside world in any way.



We want to buy bikes so the migrants can go to Svilengrad. We are not sure just of yet how we are going to achieve this 1) because it is quite costly 2) because going to Pastrogor is a complicated issue.



The paradox

Some of the migrants told us that they felt much better in Lyubimets (detention center) as compared to Pastrogor. This comes mainly from the impossibility to afford food.

. . .

We organized two events in Pastrogor: movie screening (July 6th) and a dinner (July 7th). The dinner took place in the local pub and it went really well. The local choir sang traditional Bulgarian songs in order to extend their welcome to the immigrants. This was taken quite well and hopefully it broke through some of the fear, mistrust, and uncertainty that have been taking place ever since May.

Bron : No Border  Bulgarian

Vietnam: Free Catholic Activists

• 
  
  [clockwise from top left] Catholic activist Chu Manh Son; Catholic activist Dau Van Duong; Catholic activist Hoang Phong; Catholic activist Tran Huu Duc
  All photos © 2012 Thanh Nien Cong Giao

• 
  Vigil Prayer for Catholic activists Chu Manh Son, Dau Van Duong, Hoang Phong and Tran Huu Duc at Thai Ha church in Hanoi on May 20, 2012
  © 2012 J.B Nguyen Huu Vinh

It’s absolutely shameful that the Vietnam government is putting these Catholic activists on trial, and may send them to prison for years for nothing more than expressing their views and distributing leaflets. Prosecuting these four activists shows the contempt Vietnam has for freedom of religion and expression.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director

Four Advocates Facing Trial for Social Activism

(Bangkok) – Vietnamese authorities should immediately release four Catholic activists accused of conducting propaganda against the state and drop the charges against them. The People’s Court of Nghe An is scheduled to hear the cases against them on May 24, 2012.

The four– Dau Van Duong, Tran Huu Duc, Chu Manh Son, and Hoang Phong – come from the Catholic community of Vinh in Nghe An province. Authorities arrested them for allegedly distributing pro-democracy leaflets.

“It’s absolutely shameful that the Vietnam government is putting these Catholic activists on trial, and may send them to prison for years for nothing more than expressing their views and distributing leaflets,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Prosecuting these four activists shows the contempt Vietnam has for freedom of religion and expression.”

In the past, the four activists had participated in volunteer activities, including encouraging women not to have abortions, donating blood, and volunteering to help orphans and victims of natural disasters. Authorities arrested Dau Van Duong, 24, a student at the Nghe An Trading and Tourism Vocational College, and his cousin Tran Huu Duc, 24, a student at the Vietnam-German Vocational Technical College of Nghe An, on August 2, 2011. The next day, authorities arrested Chu Manh Son, 23, a student from the Vinh Medical University. Hoang Phong, 25, a recent graduate from the Vinh University of Technology Education, was arrested on December 29.

The Vietnamese government often uses article 88 of the penal code, “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” to imprison bloggers, critics, and activists arbitrarily.  Article 88 calls for punishment of between 3 and 20 years in prison for such acts as “propaganda,” “circulating documents or cultural products,” or “psychological warfare” against the government.

In 2011 Vietnamese courts used this provision to convict at least 10 bloggers and activists for expressing their views including the legal advocate Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu, bloggers Vi Duc Hoi, Lu Van Bay,Ho Thi Bich Khuong, Nguyen Ba Dang, and others.

In March 2012 the People’s Court of Nghe An convicted two other Catholic activists, Vo Thi Thu Thuy and Nguyen Van Thanh, under article 88. State media reported that the two were affiliated with Father Nguyen Van Ly, and were accused of distributing anti-government leaflets. Vo Thi Thu Thuy was sentenced to five years in prison, and Nguyen Van Thanh to three years.

Three prominent bloggers, Nguyen Van Hai (a.k.a Dieu Cay), Phan Thanh Hai (a.k.a Anhbasg), and Ta Phong Tan, have also been indicted under article 88. The three are founding members of Club for Free Journalists, established in September 2007 to promote independent journalism and freedom of expression.

At least another 12 Catholic bloggers and activists, including the prominent bloggers Ta Phong TanandLe Van Son, are in detention pending investigation or waiting trial. Many of those arrested are affiliated with the Redemptorist Thai Ha church in Hanoi and Ky Dong church in Ho Chi Minh City. Over the last year, both churches have regularly held prayer vigils calling for the safety of activists in prison or in detention. On May 20, Thai Ha church held a vigil for the four activists who will be tried on May 24.

“Article 88 is the equivalent of a legal buzz-saw, designed to cut down those who freely criticize or question the government,” Robertson said. “Vietnam’s leaders should repeal this draconian law and listen to their people, rather than muzzling and imprisoning them for thinking differently.”

Bron : Human Rights Watch