Fw: CofC Middle East Statement

["john hunter gray" <hunterbear@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Date: Friday, October 20, 2000 2:37 PM
Subject: CofC Middle East Statement


>
>STATEMENT ON THE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS
>
>by the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism
>
>
>
>We are pained and outraged at the carnage in the Middle East, which has now
>claimed over one hundred lives, overwhelmingly Palestinian.  While every
>death must be mourned, there is absolutely no moral equivalence between
>Israel's use of its heavy weapons and advanced sniper equipment against
>largely unarmed civilians.  No rationalization or media spin can justify
this
>one-sided use of force, unprecedented in the history of the region, to
>vanquish stone-throwers.
>
>
>WE DEMAND:
>
>1. The US Administration must urgently prevail upon Israel to honor a cease
>fire, pull back its troops from confrontation points, and end the massacre
>that its armed forces have been carrying out.
>
>The United States is Israel's one and only patron.  There is no way Israel
>can resist even a minimal exertion of US will.  In 1998 Israel received
$2.8
>billion in economic aid, more than any other country.
>
>
>2. In view of the now-obvious failure of the US-brokered Oslo peace
process,
>the focus of mediation between Israel and the Palestinians must promptly
>revert to the United Nations and be carried out according to the terms of
the
>new Security Council resolution (no. 1322, adopted October 7), which
>incorporates relevant earlier resolutions.
>
>The Oslo Peace Accords were signed by Israel and the PLO in September 1993
>after being negotiated secretly under Norwegian auspices.  The Accords did
>begin a needed dialogue, but were fatally undermined when the United States
>assumed control over the negotiations.  This contributed to a long term
>process whereby the US has been drawing responsibility for Middle East
issues
>out of the hands of the UN, the international authority whose Partition
>Resolution of 1947 had provided for two states to be set up in Palestine.
>The Oslo Accords postponed into the indefinite future implementation of UN
>Resolutions 242 and 338.  Adopted in 1967 and 1973, these resolutions
called
>unambiguously for Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territories it
had
>occupied in 1967.  The new Security Council resolution reaffirms these
older
>resolutions as the basis for "a just and lasting solution" of the conflict.
>
>The Oslo Accords were adopted by negotiating partners severely unequal in
>power.  Washington did nothing to maintain a balance in the negotiations.
>This was to prove disastrous for peace; the Israeli Right was emboldened to
>warp the negotiations so that the prospects for a sovereign Palestinian
state
>withered.  The final outcome was intact Israeli control over vanquished
>Palestinians, who were to have limited "self rule" within an area carved by
>Israeli roads and surrounded by Israeli settlements.  The Palestinians were
>left with no state, no capital in East Jerusalem, no adequate access to
water
>and no right of return for refugees who had been expelled.  The
frustration,
>humiliation and anger wrought by unemployment, expulsions, home demolitions
>and jailings without trial under the occupation finally burst on September
>28.  On that day, Ariel Sharon, organizer a generation earlier of the
>massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, was allowed by the Barak
>leadership to venture with over 1,000 armed police onto Haram al Sharif, an
>Islamic holy place, to emphasize Israel's claimed sovereignty over all
>Jerusalem.  And Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, alone among world
>leaders, was unable to condemn this action or comprehend the explosion of
>anger by the Palestinians.
>
>
>3.  There must be an international investigation.  On October 9 Amnesty
>International called on the UN to "establish urgently an independent
>international investigation, to include criminal justice experts known for
>their impartiality and integrity, to investigate all killings of civilians
>that took place since 29 September in Israel, the Occupied territories and
>South Lebanon."  In the context of strong support, we also urge that the
>scope of the investigation be enlarged to include responsibility for the
>crisis as a whole.
>
>Finding the truth is essential for ending the conflict and bringing peace
>with justice to the peoples of the region.  Accordingly, the emergency
summit
>on October 17 provided for the US to preside over an investigation.
However,
>the US, having demonstrated its bias many times over in the past, is not a
>fit arbiter in the new situation.
>
>The National Executive Committee of the CofC urges its members--and
>activists everywhere--to send this statement to local media, reprint it
>for distribution at local meetings and discussions, and to publicize this
>point of view wherever possible.
>
>October 20, 2000
>
>


<HTML><FONT  BACK="#ffffff" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 
PTSIZE=10><BR>
STATEMENT ON THE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS<BR>
<BR>
by the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
We are pained and outraged at the carnage in the Middle East, which has now <BR>
claimed over one hundred lives, overwhelmingly Palestinian.  While every <BR>
death must be mourned, there is absolutely no moral equivalence between <BR>
Israel's use of its heavy weapons and advanced sniper equipment against <BR>
largely unarmed civilians.  No rationalization or media spin can justify this 
<BR>
one-sided use of force, unprecedented in the history of the region, to <BR>
vanquish stone-throwers.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
WE DEMAND:<BR>
<BR>
<B>1. The US Administration must urgently prevail upon Israel to honor a cease 
<BR>
fire, pull back its troops from confrontation points, and end the massacre <BR>
that its armed forces have been carrying out.</B><BR>
<BR>
        The United States is Israel's one and only patron.  There is no way 
Israel <BR>
        can resist even a minimal exertion of US will.  In 1998 Israel received 
$2.8
<BR>
        billion in economic aid, more than any other country.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
2. In view of the now-obvious failure of the US-brokered Oslo peace process, 
<BR>
<B>the focus of mediation between Israel and the Palestinians must promptly <BR>
revert to the United Nations </B>and be carried out according to the terms of 
the <BR>
new Security Council resolution (no. 1322, adopted October 7), which <BR>
incorporates relevant earlier resolutions.<BR>
<BR>
        The Oslo Peace Accords were signed by Israel and the PLO in September 
1993 <BR>
        after being negotiated secretly under Norwegian auspices.  The Accords 
did <BR>
        begin a needed dialogue, but were fatally undermined when the United 
States
<BR>
        assumed control over the negotiations.  This contributed to a long term 
<BR>
        process whereby the US has been drawing responsibility for Middle East 
issues
<BR>
        out of the hands of the UN, the international authority whose Partition 
<BR>
        Resolution of 1947 had provided for two states to be set up in 
Palestine.  <BR>
        The Oslo Accords postponed into the indefinite future implementation of 
UN <BR>
        Resolutions 242 and 338.  Adopted in 1967 and 1973, these resolutions 
called
<BR>
        unambiguously for Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territories 
it had
<BR>
        occupied in 1967.  The new Security Council resolution reaffirms these 
older
<BR>
        resolutions as the basis for "a just and lasting solution" of the 
conflict.<BR>
<BR>
        The Oslo Accords were adopted by negotiating partners severely unequal 
in <BR>
        power.  Washington did nothing to maintain a balance in the 
negotiations.  <BR>
        This was to prove disastrous for peace; the Israeli Right was 
emboldened to
<BR>
        warp the negotiations so that the prospects for a sovereign Palestinian 
state
<BR>
        withered.  The final outcome was intact Israeli control over vanquished 
<BR>
        Palestinians, who were to have limited "self rule" within an area 
carved by
<BR>
        Israeli roads and surrounded by Israeli settlements.  The Palestinians 
were
<BR>
        left with no state, no capital in East Jerusalem, no adequate access to 
water
<BR>
        and no right of return for refugees who had been expelled.  The 
frustration,
<BR>
        humiliation and anger wrought by unemployment, expulsions, home 
demolitions
<BR>
        and jailings without trial under the occupation finally burst on 
September <BR>
        28.  On that day, Ariel Sharon, organizer a generation earlier of the 
<BR>
        massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, was allowed by the 
Barak <BR>
        leadership to venture with over 1,000 armed police onto Haram al 
Sharif, an
<BR>
        Islamic holy place, to emphasize Israel's claimed sovereignty over all 
<BR>
        Jerusalem.  And Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, alone among 
world <BR>
        leaders, was unable to condemn this action or comprehend the explosion 
of <BR>
        anger by the Palestinians.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<B>3.  There must be an international investigation.  On October 9 Amnesty <BR>
International called on the UN to "establish urgently an independent <BR>
international investigation, to include criminal justice experts known for <BR>
their impartiality and integrity, to investigate all killings of civilians <BR>
that took place since 29 September in Israel, the Occupied territories and <BR>
South Lebanon."  In the context of strong support, we also urge that the <BR>
scope of the investigation be enlarged to include responsibility for the <BR>
crisis as a whole.</B><BR>
<BR>
        Finding the truth is essential for ending the conflict and bringing 
peace <BR>
        with justice to the peoples of the region.  Accordingly, the emergency 
summit
<BR>
        on October 17 provided for the US to preside over an investigation.  
However,
<BR>
        the US, having demonstrated its bias many times over in the past, is 
not a <BR>
        fit arbiter in the new situation.<BR>
<BR>
The National Executive Committee of the CofC urges its members--and<BR>
activists everywhere--to send this statement to local media, reprint it<BR>
for distribution at local meetings and discussions, and to publicize this<BR>
point of view wherever possible.  <BR>
<BR>
October 20, 2000<BR>
<BR>
</FONT></HTML>