| de vredessite / midden-oosten 2011 | Open letter by Delegations on the Dutch-Italian boat to Gaza Open letter to: Georgios A. Papandreou Prime Minister of Greece Corfu, 3rd of July Dear Mr. Papandreou, We, members of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla II, are outraged by your government´s decision to close the ports of Greece to our humanitarian initiative, even by force if needed. From all parts of the world we have come to the shores of Greece, leaving behind our work places and families, in order to peacefully put into practice our solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza. This decision not only violates the consecrated principle within international law of the freedom of the seas and the ancient tradition of freedom of the Mediterranean, but also disregards the claims for democracy and self-determination of the people of Palestine as well as of the non- governmental organizations we represent. It is totally incomprehensible to us and fills us with just wrath that the Greek government closes the ports to our ships at the very moment in which you, Mr. Papandreou, have been constantly expressing the need for solidarity with the Greek people. You and your government acting as an ally of Israel in the Palestinian question means you also seem to have forgotten the struggle against the military dictatorship in your own country. The members of this international peace mission therefore demand, on behalf of the people of Gaza, for us the same right to move that has been granted for centuries to the Greek people in our countries. MR. PAPANDREOU, LET US SAIL! Nourdin el Ouali Ibrahim Belaidi Rafiq Fris Amar Harraoui Anne de Jong Manu van Kersbergen Marloes Kuijer Max van Lingen Chris Verweij Delegation from The NETHERLANDS Immad Kareem Delegation from AUSTRALIA Leo Gabriel Delegation from AUSTRIA Monder Nemri Delegation from BELGIUM Ines Mizic Delegation from BOSNIA Antonio Padron Delegation from CUBA Dr. Samir Kazkaz Delegation from GERMANY Ewa Jasiewicz Delegation from GREAT BRITTAIN, POLAND Fintan Lane Delegation from IRELAND Vauro Senesi Delegation from ITALY Nooravman Samsuddin Delegation from MALAYSIA Gunnar Rutle Delegation from NORWAY Nadia Kevorkova Delegation from RUSSIA Fernando Jose Forsthuber Delegation from SPAIN Giovanni Esposito Delegation from SWITZERLAND Khalid Tuhraani UNITED STATES OF AMERICA terug/back | de vredessite / midden-oosten 2011 | |