HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/18_09_02/art1.asp The Daily Star (Lebanon) September 18, 2002 'It is time to end the suffering of the refugees� Europeans mark 20th anniversary of massacres Activist urges equal civil rights with locals for Palestinians forced to live in exile Hala Kilani Daily Star staff European delegations visiting Lebanon on Monday to mark the 20th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres criticized themselves for �not doing enough� to help the Palestinian cause and urged greater activism on regional issues. The delegations consisted mainly of representatives of nongovernmental organizations and journalists from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, France and Belgium, who spoke at a news conference organized by As-Safir newspaper at the Press Federation. The delegates expressed their solidarity with impoverished Palestinian refugees, prevented by Lebanese laws from owning property, practicing various professions and from associating. �In our countries at the time being, there�s a massive campaign against Palestinians in particular and Arabs in general. We as journalists should do more to give the right information,� said Stefano Kiarini, a journalist for the Italian daily Il Manifesto. Referring to recent threats by Israel against Lebanon over plans to pump water from the Wazzani Springs, he added: �We reject these constant threats targeted at Lebanon for the water issue, and at the Syrian and Iraqi people.� Kiarini assured those present that he and his colleagues would do their best to enlighten the world and expressed anger at �racist and discriminatory� foreign policies. He added that �1.5 million Iraqis died just because they were born in Iraq. We have to stop this.� Brian Espensen of Denmark, who lives in Shatila and assists in the work of Norwegian People�s Aid (NPA), said his country was not doing enough to end the Palestinians� plight. �There�s a good reason to lash out our anger at the criminal Israeli and US foreign policies. It�s clear to all of us that these foreign policies are forcing Palestinians to flee from their land and are causing them to suffer, but I can also criticize my country because it (contributes) too much talk and no action in championing Palestinians� rights,� Espensen said. He said that the basic civil rights of Palestinians should be respected and the right of return should be a condition of any peace deal. Espensen earlier told The Daily Star that Arabs should unite and focus on their �dangerous common enemy.� �I would like to see the Arabs unite; I hate to see them disagree,� he said. Christine Eskelon, representing the NPA, criticized her government for taking an �unclear� position on the right of return and criticized the Lebanese state for discriminating against the refugees. �Unfortunately, in the Oslo process, the rights of refugees were ignored and the NPA, as a Norwegian organization, deeply regrets that the position of the Norwegian government is unclear on this point,� she said. Eskelon said Norway did not make clear to the UN General Assembly whether it supports UN Resolution 194 relating to the right of return, or not. �Our government seems to consider the Palestinian refugee issue to be a humanitarian issue, not a political one. This we regret,� Eskelon said. Turning her attention to Lebanon, Eskelon said: �The Palestinian refugees do not demand Lebanese citizenship, but they do ask for dignity. This means that they should be given the same civil rights as the rest of the population: the right to work, the right to associate, the right to own property and the right to social and health benefits. In short, the right to live as ordinary human beings.� Eskelon said her organization works against all kinds of discrimination, adding that, because immigrants in Norway are given equal treatment to Norwegians, they think the same should apply here. �It is time to end the suffering of the refugees. It is time the Western states told Israel that the right of return is sacrosanct � 54 years of suffering is enough,� she concluded. Salah-Eddine Dabbagh, of the Palestinian NGO Forum, said the Palestinian refugees feel �ostracized from the human community.� �The solidarity you have extended touched our hearts, it gave us hope and assurance that we really exist,� Dabbagh said. The delegation also visited Soha Beshara, detained in Khiam detention center for attempting to kill South Lebanon Army leader Antoine Lahd, and Kifah Afifi, detained by Israel for carrying out a resistance operation in the South in 1988. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
