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

[iram at sarai.net]

Dear Monica,
Its very commendable to have initiated and put together a letter of protest
against the present situation in Lebanon. However I would request you and
other signatories to rethink the word 'dispropotionate'. Is a propotionate
war justified? - An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a dead child for a
dead child, a wounded soldier for another wounded soldier. It is not and I
have a feeling that you and eveyone else who has signed the petition will
agree with me.
Yet including the word 'dispropotionate' in what seems like a carefully
worded call for protest does not seem like an oversight on the part of the
drafting team. In fact it reads like a statement of sorts. Though what's
being implied is not very clear to me. Perhaps someone will shed light on
this, before Saturday.
Best
Iram




On 9:14:15 am 08/03/06 "Monica Mody" <monica.mody at gmail.com> wrote:
> [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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