Free Gaza the Third... Press Release
For Immediate Release
Source: Free Gaza
Larnaca: Tomorrow at 5:00 pm, the DIGNITY leaves for the third time for the shores of Gaza. This time, eleven past and current members of parliaments of Europe are on board, with Al Jazeera International and The Independent journalists.
These dignitaries were among the 53 Parliamentarians denied entrance by Egypt at the Rafah checkpoint. "Egypt did not allow us to enter Gaza via the Rafah terminal, but this will not stop us from visiting the area," Lord Nazir Ahmad, head of the European delegates stated, "We will sail to Gaza, we are determined to break the siege".
Ms Clare Short MP emphasized, "The Egyptian refusal to grant us access through Rafah Crossing is insulting to all of us, and Egypt should open the crossing now."
They will be on a three-day fact finding tour organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the European Campaign to End the Siege as well as several of the organizations in Gaza who have worked with the Free Gaza Movement on the past two voyages.
On the past trips, Israel has threatened to stop the DIGNITY, arrest its passengers and tow the boat to Israel. The government has been silent on its plans this time, perhaps out of respect for the dignitaries on the voyage. Members of the two organizations stress that the DIGNITY has no intention of going anywhere near Israeli waters but will enter Gaza through its own coastal waters.
The port authorities have asked media to come between 3:30 pm and 5:00 pm Friday at Larnaca Port to see the boat leave and to conduct interviews.
The passenger list (see below) and biographies are posted at Free Gaza's website, www.freegaza.org. Photos are freely downloadable at: www.flickr.com/photos/29205195@N02/
Ahmed, Nazir (Lord) (Pakistan/UK), Andrews, Christopher (Ireland), Bartlett, Eva (Canada), Bolos, Nikolas (Ireland), Healey, Denis (UK), Elhag, Sami Moheildin Mohamed (Sudan), Graham, Derek (Ireland), McNeill, Pauline (Scotland), Morena, Fernando (Spain), Nacer, Mohamed (UK), O'Donnell, Hugh (Scotland, UK), ÓSnodaigh, Aengus (Ireland), Rossi, Fernando (Italy), Arraf, Huwaida (US), Sharp, Rob (UK), Schermerhorn, David (USA), Shoukri, Dr. Arafat (Palestine, UK), Short, Clare (UK), Thomas, Rhodri Glyn (Wales, UK), Tonge, Dr. Jenny (Baroness) (UK), White, Sandra (Scotland, UK), Zisyadis, Josef (Switzerland)
Contact: Mary Hughes, Cyprus +357 96 75 00 59
Greta Berlin, Cyprus: +357 99 08 17 67
Osama Qashoo, +44 78 33 38 16 60
Angela Godfrey Goldstein, Jerusalem: +972 547 366 393
Dignity Boat Arrives in Gaza
Saturday November 08, 2008.
By Popular Committee Against the Siege
Source: IMEMC
The third Free Gaza ship, the SS Dignity, anchored in the Gaza harbor on Saturday morning after setting sail from Cyprus Friday evening. Aboard were several European Parliamentarians from England, Italy and Switzerland as well as several Arab leaders, Human rights activists and Journalists.
This marks the fourth ship within three months to successfully arrive in Gaza. The voyages, organized by the Free Gaza movement, aim at breaking the Israeli siege on the area by opening the coastal border so Gazans can move freely in and out of the country.
The crew reported that a few kilometers off the Gaza shore an Israeli naval gunboat approached cutting across the bow of the boat then "falling back and tracking it for about an hour."
Then the gunboat radioed the ship and "asked who they were and where they were going," then asked for the passenger list. One crew member responded:
"Our passengers are listed on our Free Gaza website for everyone to see. You're welcome to visit it any time. And… while you're there, feel free to make a donation." After a pause, then a laugh, the voice on the other end said, "Have a nice day."
The Gazan governmental committee for against the siege, which is affiliated with the de facto government, announced that a special agenda has been prepared for the solidarity delegation. They will give presentations and tours of some of the hardest hit areas in the Gaza Strip, particularly camps and hospitals.
The crew of the latest voyage brought with them one metric ton of medicines, most of which are varieties of basic pain killers and aspirin. These medications were said to be in desperately short supply, and mostly unavailable in local pharmacies.
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