[Reader-list] [Announcements] New Delhi: Citizens protest Israel's disproportionate war against Lebanon and Gaza

[Monica Mody]

[It has been suggested by some of that post-protest, this letter be
handed over to the embassies of Israel, US and UK, perhaps also the
embassies of Lebanon and Palestine.

In the interest of transparency, would also like to share that there
have been some objections to the demand for US and UK to be prosecuted
for war crimes. Just to clarify that these two countries have been
included in the demand as they have provided logistical support to
Israel's ongoing war in Lebanon and Gaza, by sending bombs (US) via
their own airports (UK) with the knowledge that these are likely to
cause civilian deaths. This is a war crime.

As the letter would be in final form only on Saturday morning, when we
will print it and carry to the protest, please do continue to send in
your signatures or to retract them!]



CALL TO PROTEST ISRAEL'S DISPROPORTIONATE WAR AGAINST LEBANON AND GAZA

Dear friends,

We have watched with horror as Israel's disproportionate use of force
against the citizens of Lebanon and Palestine has increased daily and
with impunity in light of sanction for Israel from the United States
of America and the United Kingdom. Israel's aggression continues in
open defiance of calls from the rest of the international community
for an immediate cease-fire, and continues to take a heavy toll of
innocent life.

Until today, the 2nd of August, 850 Lebanese including 290 children
have been killed and 9,00,000 Lebanese refugees have been displaced in
response to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah 22
days ago. The number of Israeli dead in the conflict thus far is 55,
including 19 civilians, as Hezbollah continues to target Israel with
rockets.

Despite this, yesterday, the European Union too provided implicit
sanction to Israel's disproportionate actions by failing to call for
an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Almost immediately, Israel
has launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, involving tens of
thousands of troops.

We, the undersigned, condemn this brutal targeting of unarmed civilian
populations and the systematic destruction of the infrastructure of
Lebanon and Gaza. We demand an immediate and unconditional cease-fire
in Lebanon and in Gaza and that the leaders of Israel, the US and the
UK be tried for war crimes against the Lebanese and Palestinian
people. We mourn the loss of innocent Lebanese, Palestinian and
Israeli lives.

We urge groups and individuals to join in a citizen's protest against
Israel's targeting of civilians which goes against all laws of war and
ethics of combat.

Do come with banners, slogans and solidarity. Please do forward widely
information about the protest on all activist lists, and to the media.

When
Saturday 5th, 11 am
Where
Israeli Embassy, 3, Aurangzeb Road

(As police do not permit protests outside the embassy, the rendezvous
point is the UPSC building)

In solidarity,

1. Aarti Sethi, editor
2. Ahtushi Deshpande, travel writer
3. Aman Sethi, journalist
4. Amar Kanwar, filmmaker
5. Anand Vivek Taneja, researcher-writer
6. Aniruddha Shankar, concerned citizen
7. Anita Roy, editor
8. Anita Vasudev, writer
9. Annie Zaidi, journalist
10. Anubhav Gupta, writer
11. Apoorvanand, teacher and writer
12. Ashwin Aishwaria, artist
13. Bindu Menon, educator
14. Charu Soni, journalist
15. Colin Fernandes, journalist
16. Danish Husain, actor and writer
17. Gautam Bhan, activist
18. Gayatri Reddy, educator
19. George Kurian, filmmaker
20. Harpreet Anand
21. I. Priya Thangarajah, student
22. Indira Pathak, activist
23. Jaya Sharma, activist
24. Jeet Thayil, writer
25. Julia Dutta, journalist
26. Kanchana Natarajan, educator
27. Kaushiki Rao, concerned citizen
28. Kishore Kumar Singh, freelance consultant
29. Lesley A. Esteves, journalist
30. Madhu Mehra, human rights lawyer
31. Mario D'Penha, historian-activist
32. Maya Sharma, Parma
33. Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, writer
34. Monica Mody, writer
35. Mujtaba Farooq
36. Dr NK Afandi
37. Narayani Gupta, consultant INTACH
38. Neelima Sharma, theatre activist
39. Niharika Gupta, editor
40. Nishant Natya Manch, New Delhi
41. Ponni Arasu, activist
42. Pranav Kumar Singh, lawyer
43. Prism, New Delhi
44. Radhika Kolluru, lawyer
45. Samit Basu, writer
46. Sanjay Kak, filmmaker
47. Shabnam Hashmi, social activist
48. Shakti Bhatt, editor
49. Dr. Shamsul Islam, theatre activist
 50. Shivam Vij, blogger-journalist
51. Shuddhabrata Sengupta, media practitioner
52. Siddharth Narrain, journalist
53. Subasri Krishnan, filmmaker
54. Sumit Baudh, lawyer
55. Sumit Roy, filmmaker
56. Sunil Gupta, photographer
57. Susan M Koshy, writer
58. Vaibhav Vats, student
59. Vineeta Bal, peace activist

Suggested placards/ slogans

No to the War
Amir Peretz-They Wait for You in the Hague
No to the Destruction in Gaza and Lebanon
Children in Beirut and Haifa Deserve to Live
Listen up, soldier – it's your duty to refuse
Save Lebanon, Stop Israel
Lebanese children are not terrorists
Israel pulverises, US supervises
Israel kills UN observers, world remain mute expectator
Innocents killings, US dealings
Jang to khud hi ek maslaq hai
Jang kya mas-alon ka hal degi
Jang, jangon ke phalsafe ke khilaf
Aman pur aman zindagi ke liye
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