IAWM Press Release June 29th 20.30

by MichaelY - iawm Fri Jun 29, 2007 21:49

Comments welcome

by hmmmmm Fri Jun 29, 2007 22:14

They had been deployed as part of the UNIFIL mission which followed the Israeli invasion last year. Reflceting the ethnic background of professional armies - three of the five were Colombian born. Their armoured personal carrier hadn't been equiped with frequency inhibitors and a car bomb of "Al Q" type technology detonated as they passed. Their unit had been engaged in landmine clearing. It is difficult to speak of "inflaming" a situation which has shown no sign of abating for a long time now. But certainly nothing is getting better. The Lebanese goverment assured telly viewers in Spain and through them beyond in the main catchment area of the Spanish army - Latin America that they are engaged in a war & they're taking their gloves off. Generally when people like that talk of taking their metaphorical gloves off you see many more months of civilian casualities and innocent suffering. But it is certain that Lebanon as other theatres of the Levant at present are enduring problems which are trans-national in nature. It is no longer a "pit-pat" simple question of clear territorial conflicts with overt proxy backers (US &c..,) Of course we mostly concur that had the Iraq war not begun - none of this would be happening now. The attack on the UN peacekeepers (recalling that Ireland rejecte a role in returning to that state or extending its mandate beyond its 06 end [ I seem to remember might be wrong]) means that quite a few "agents" or entities want this to explode. a long and evil game - the ITalian led UN mission's Spanish contigent now count on frequency inhibitors for their vehicles and have changed their tour of duty - but I see little hope of increased legal international intervention elsewhere in the Lebanon for the moment.

is that the sort of comment you were asking for MichaelY ? ;-) let's link to Caoimhe no?
maybe readers missed her last report from the region / state / country / camp -

by MichaelY - iawm Fri Jun 29, 2007 23:08

An intelligent and knowledgeable comment, very welcome it is too!
hmmmmm?
Did I get this right?
Thanks for the link to Caoimhe's article btw.
Your politial stance/position though is a bit hazy for my liking but then nobody is perfect.
Can u pls amplify....

by PaddyK Sun Jul 01, 2007 00:29

Does the IAWM think we should remove all our troops from Lebanon, in order to distance ourselves from the process you describe?
The action you promote in this article is a little vague, in fairness.

In relation to the Palestinian crisis does the IAWM have an analysis of the occurrences in Northern Lebanon? These are very complex issues. Perhaps, the Lebanese question is simply too complicated for productive analysis at this juncture.
In support of Palestinian Refugees and in response to atrocities and massacres perpetrated against them would it not be better to unambiguopusly Identify Palestinian Grass roots and provide the most consitent, continual support possible there? i.e in Palestine, with the elected representatives of the Palestinian people?

by MichaelY - per cap - iawm Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:10

Hi PaddyK,

U r asking some very relevant questions and I wish I could provide you with some straight answers reflecting a collective rather than a personal point of view. Unfortunately I cannot - at the moment. Discussion on developments in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan, is raging both inside the iawm but also the ipsc.
Fair to say there are a number of currents - from those leaning towards a straight support for the Hamas/Hezbollah axis ( I am saying this aware that the very definition of such an 'axis' is a wobbly one) to a few supporting the Fatah/Abbas line and to a large number somewhere in between arguing that for solidarity/peace organisations the job is not to take sides in such conflicts but to "support the people". The situation in Lebanon in general, but also inside the camps where over 300,000 Palestinians are 'imprisoned' is even more complex. We are working with our comrades in Lebanon in trying to understand what's going on before we even attempt to analyse it - just to let you know that very soon a good number of activists will be going to Lebanon for a few days.
The specific Press Release you are referring to was an almost spontaneous response to the events described, following a number of phone calls....interesting to note that not one mainstream electronic or print media operation not only did not reproduce the PR but not even reported the events off their own bat. That shows a certain attitude and indicates, if further proof was necessary, how important Indymedia is in this area.
The Press Release was not a policy statement....tomorrow Monday we will have a further meeting in the iawm to work out a more collective position. Also there are plans afoot to organise a large public national conference, with international guests and all the anti-war / solidarity constituencies present and arguing their positions. This is where we need, and here comes the marketing spill, people like yourself to work with us/alongside us.

Solidarity comrade

by hmmmmm Sun Jul 01, 2007 22:12

I haven't liked the word "legality" has been used in the last weeks in several contexts in the middle east, which is why I tried to bring attention to the west's wishes to bring the Hariri assassination to an international court of justice in the Hague. The death of the billionaire clearly illustrated the ending of "stability" so cherished by the billionaire class but was not in itself the starting point of any regional analysis or exceptionally worthy of the riduculous hypocritical outrage of the west. The death of south american soldiers serving a UN mission under a Spanish flag the state that withdrew from Iraq yet stepped up in afghanistan reminds us of both the global reach of the various theatres (of what we now mostly accept as interconnected conflicts & theatres of multiple inteference) and the nice cop nasty cop approach of the west to conflict management & intervention. But we have passed the post-cold war stage when western hegomony is thought to go unchallenged. The current annual tour of Chavez from moscow to buy arms then Bylerus and finally Tehran reminds us that the pernicious problem of the apartheid and militarised state of Israel and the woes of the Palestinians attract distant attention far beyond the consequential hinterlands than pro-zionist brooklyn or capitol hill. Lebanon's 2007 can all to oquickly be considered in the language set up in the last four years - "axis" or it can be seen as the result of a myriad other causes, injustices, unwarrented interventions and neccesary ones. I'm loath to offer a less tha hazy political analysis or position when one is not plausible. Thus I suggested listening closely to Caoimhe, and follow that by reminding all of the bottom line we globally agreed upon - sort out the palestinians & no war on Iraq and it seems to be that best may be served at the moment by not offering political futurology or deciding how many sides thare now to this problem. We must highlight the continued suffering of the palestinians in all their refugee locations but not only as enemies of one western alliance or the proxy of one war - because it's truly getting complicated. The apartheid model is extending - find that area which is not taken by one of the flags. that's where justice and rights and coexistence will take root. We can not talk of peace saleem shalom pax quite yet. Now michaelY I'm sorry again for not being able to take a clear position & leave it up to ye to organise your thread - I won't comment either intelligently or stupidly again.

solidarity- listen to caoimhe. repeat her message.

by tomeile Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:24

The IAWM needs to look at the reasons why 150,000 people marched in Dublin on Feb 15 2003 . Did they march in support of Hamas or in support of Fatah or in support of armed resistance to imperialism in Iraq or anywhere else ? No they did not . They marched because they were frightened by the war plans of Bush and Blair and because they feared that the world was going down a road that could lead to a third world war. That question is not being addressed by any group in Ireland at the moment . The IAWM seems to be trying to duplicate the role of the IPSC.

by PaddyK Tue Jul 03, 2007 14:08

Thanks for your response Michael,

However I dont see what good can be gleaned from the likes of me attending IAWM conferences to be a another little voice in the crowd trying to get heard over the longwinded speeches of those who know best. I' ve been to a couple of these type of events where lots of people nod and huff and blow but come quittin' time nobody's any the wiser.
I appreciate that the IAWM is not specifically a pro-Palestinian movement athough the intersections of interests between Anti-War and Palestinian-Israeli Conflict resolution will be abundant and apparent to those who take interest in these matters.

But with the clear and undeniable response to the ongoing harrowing plight of the Palestinians in Lebanon and Iraq being the recognition of the Right to Return to a sovereign Palestinian State as laid down historically in international Law, there does not seem to be any point in entering into convoluted debates. The answer is clear , unequivocal support for the elected representatives of the Palestinians who consistently demand that the Right of Return be a non-negotiable aspect to the conflict's solution.

The IAWM makes no statement in support or qualification of this on it's web page that I can see, which I suppose is unfortunate, but neither does the IPSC which, in my mind, is simply inexplicable.

In recognition of the fact that we are simply humans doing the best we feeI we can I do hope the delegation to Lebanon makes good headway with their activities and remains safe and well.

But I strongly feel that everyday that goes by at this crucial juncture with no concrete statements forthcoming from, particularly the IPSC, but also the IAWM in relation to specific political support for a single ideological direction in support of the Palestinians is damaging to the Palestinian cause in the collective psyche of Irish Society and also for the credibility of organisations that claim Solidarity with the Palestinian cause.