Asia One Welcomes and Supports Freedom Flotilla 2 to End the Siege of Gaza!
On behalf of Asia One, we extend our solidarity for the Freedom Flotilla 2 – Staying Human that seeks to support the courageous people of Palestine in their struggle and resistance against the occupation of their land by attempting to end the naval siege of Gaza.
Asia One, as the Asia to Gaza Solidarity Land Caravan was popularly christened en route to Gaza in December 2010, is an alliance of peoples’ organisations, social movements, trade unions, and civil society institutions of Asia representing a broad-based struggle that is varied and multi-dimensional.
Since the historic journey of the Freedom Flotilla 1 and Asia One’s momentous journey across Asia into Gaza, an “Arab Spring” has swept across the region. In a significant shift, Egypt has decided to open the Rafah border, ease some restrictions and allow for easier passage to and from Gaza. Several Latin American countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Ecuador, and Uruguay have formally recognised the Palestinian state in the past one year in spite of Israeli efforts to block this process. Other Latin American countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Venezuela, already recognised Palestinian statehood several years ago. European countries such as UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Norway are also considering upgrading the status of the Palestinian representative’s office to that of a diplomatic “mission”. Meanwhile, respecting the desires and wishes of the Palestinian people, Fatah and Hamas took the important step of forming a unity government and plan to seek recognition of the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly later this year.
Yet for all these changes in the regional and international sphere, Israel has not ended the unlawful blockade of Gaza!
In the face of silence by imperialist powers and international organisations, it has again fallen upon people’s movements across the world to make heroic efforts to end the Siege of Gaza and focus world attention on the daily injustices faced by Palestinian people. In 2010, Freedom Flotilla 1 had six boats carrying over 600 people from 37 countries, Asia One comprised of 150 civil resisters from 17 Asian countries, and now Freedom Flotilla 2 will comprise of 11 boats carrying 200 passengers from 20 countries. Citizens around the world have responded to the plight of the Palestinian People and are taking action to help break the blockade which is suffocating the lives of the people of Gaza and denying them their very right to exist. Far from deterring people from seeking to bring that siege to an end, the Israeli assault on Freedom Flotilla 1 has spurred on even more people to take action to end the Siege of Gaza!
The tide of support and solidarity for the courageous struggle of the Palestinian people will not stop until the Palestinian people have the freedom to exercise their right to self-determination including their right to establish on all the territories that Israel has occupied an independent sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital. The structure of Zionist apartheid, based on ethno-religious discrimination that Israel has established, must be dismantled and it must grant equal rights to all its citizens, including the “Right of Return” to the Palestinians refugees. The freedom and peace loving people of the world and democratic states have to defeat this nefarious design. Palestine is today one of the defining struggles for freedom, democracy and equality for peoples and nations. Winning the right of self determination of Palestinian peoples is the most important struggle in the defence of democracy and struggle against imperialism. For this the people of the world need to unite for a global human demand to end the siege of Gaza and the occupation of the Palestinian land.
Asia One supports Freedom Flotilla 2 and wishes all the success to this endeavour. We reaffirm our commitment made in 2010 in the New Delhi Declaration to support:
- Palestinian Self-Determination
- Ending the Occupation
- Equal Rights for All within historic Palestine
- The Right of Return for Palestinian refugees
We call for solidarity action across India in support of Freedom Flotilla 2 – Staying Human and commit to holding demonstrations and candle light vigils on the date the Freedom Flotilla 2 enters the limits of Palestinian waters.
We unite with all peoples’ movements and national resistances, peace loving citizens and democratic states of the world for the establishment of a Sovereign, Independent and Democratic state of Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital.
End the Siege of Gaza • Freedom to Palestine • Boycott Israel
On behalf of Asia One,
K.M. Shaheen, Ashim Roy, K.M. Bishrudeen , K.P. Vishwavalsalan, Biraj Patnaik, Swapan Ganguly, Basheer Kollyath Hamsa, Abdul Samad, Sunil Kumar, Ramapisharody Damodaran, Swara Bhaskar, Damanan O.C., Mohan Kothekar, Badar Khan, J. Pradyumna , Rakhi Sehgal, Swapnil Sonawane