International activists vowed Monday to try to organize a flotilla to bring aid to locked-in Gaza Strip in defiance of a Greek ban on any such ship movements from Greece, coupled with Athens' offer to help organize aid shipments with the UN.
Members of the group “Flotilla 2 – stay human” told the German Press Agency dpa that they would still seek to set sail from Greek ports with aid for Gaza.
<!— fac-gd2-fc-fail —><!— gd2-status-2 —><!—cCat has invalid value—><!—cCat has invalid value—><!—cCat has invalid value—><!—cCat has invalid value—><!—QYZ ,;300x250;ipbtf;;2;—> But they did not say when or how this might take place.
But they did not say when or how this might take place.The defiant stance came amid an offer by Greece to help organize sea shipments to Gaza together with the United Nations.
At the same time, Greece warned the activists of the dangers, after Israel had clearly said it would use force against ships trying to break the sea blockade of Gaza.
“We hope that reason will keep the upper hand,” Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delaverkouras told journalists Monday.
“There is a direct danger to human life. We don't need this,” he added.
“We will explain to the activists how we aim to take their humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Delaverkouras said. Athens was also informing the ambassadors of Arab states, he said, while noting that Cyprus, France and Turkey had also imposed a ban on Gaza aid vessels departing from their ports.
Earlier, Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis said that UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had welcomed Athens' idea of Greece cooperating with the UN to organize aid shipments to Gaza.
The UN chief had welcomed it and said this could help lead to a reducing of tensions in the Middle East region, Lambrinidis said.
Greek President Giorgos Papandreou made the proposal on Sunday in a telephone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who for his part pledged his support.
The new Gaza aid flotilla effort aims to set sail with smaller vessels from a number of smaller Greek ports – Perama and Keratsini near Piraeus, Agios Nikolaos and Kolymbari on Crete, and from Corfu.
On Saturday, the Greek coast guard arrested a US ship captain who with his vessel “Audacity of Hope” aimed to defy the Greek ban and set sail for Gaza from Keratsini.
Greek radio reports said upwards of 50 passengers were also on board the ship. On Sunday, the Greek foreign ministry then made written offer to activists to cooperate with the UN in transporting aid goods to Gaza.
On Sunday evening, some 50 activists staged protests outside the Israeli and US embassies in Athens to protest against Israel's naval blockade of Gaza.
The new Gaza flotilla effort to break the Israeli blockade comes a little more than a year after the first one, during which nine activists on one vessel were killed by Israeli military commandoes.
© 2011 McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Truthout has licensed this content. It may not be reproduced by any other source and is not covered by our Creative Commons license.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy