FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For More Information, please contact:
(Gaza) Ewa Jasiewicz, +970 598 700 497 / freelance@mailworks.org
(Gaza) Huwaida Arraf, +970 599 130 426 / Huwaida.Arraf@gmail.com
(Cyprus) Greta Berlin, +357 99 081 767 / Iristulip@gmail.com

(Gaza Port, Gaza, 20 December 2008) The DIGNITY pulled into Gaza Port at 8:00 am today after the Israeli Navy threatened to board them and take the two Israelis off the boat. “We know you have Israelis on board, so either turn back, or we will board and take them off,” said the voice on the radio.

“We are going to Gaza,” Huwaida Arraf, the delegation leader, replied.

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WIKILEAKS PRESS RELEASE
Fri Dec 19 19:52:51 GMT 2008

For Immediate release.

The head of the BND, Germany’s equivalent to the CIA, has threatened Wikileaks with “immediate criminal prosecution” if it does not remove all “files or reports related to the BND”.

The spy chief claims to have already engaged the BND’s legal machinery.

Last month an international scandal broke out after three BND secret agents were arrested and deported from Kosovo after photographing a bomb site.

The spy agency threats, made by BND President Ernst Uhrlau, were triggered by the Wikileaks publication of an article by Tom Burghardt, a US journalist, on the BND’s bungled Kosovo operation, together with a classified BND dossier on senior Kosovo figures from 2005–both of which were specifically named by Mr. Uhrlau.

Wikileaks, an international organization, has a presence in many countries, including Germany (http://wikileaks.de/).

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Frank Donaghue of Physicians for Human Rights writes:

Last week McClatchy Newspapers reported that mass graves at Dasht-e-Leili in Northern Afghanistan, first discovered by PHR researchers in January 2002, have been destroyed. According to witnesses, the remains buried there are of prisoners who surrendered to Northern Alliance and US forces in November 2001, following the fall of the city of Kunduz. The victims of the Dasht-e-Leili massacre allegedly died from suffocation inside cargo containers.

Experts from PHR’s International Forensic Program examined the site for the UN in 2002. Since then, PHR has advocated for the mass graves to be protected, for the Afghan Government, with the UN’s support, to launch a full investigation, and for the Bush Administration and Congress to conduct a public inquiry into this potential war crime.

With these new revelations of alleged destruction of war crimes evidence in Afghanistan—which is itself a war crime—PHR is again the leading voice calling for NATO to support Afghan forces in protecting the site, and for Afghan, US, and UN officials to launch a comprehensive investigation.

Our investigation of war crimes at Dasht-e-Leili continues, with more developments yet to come. We’ve set up an online clearinghouse, where you can find more background information and follow our updates on the changing situation:

http://afghanistan.phrblog.org

When I arrived in Israel as a UN representative I knew there might be problems at the airport. And there were

Richard Falk, guardian.co.uk, 19 December 2008

On December 14, I arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel to carry out my UN role as special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories.

I was leading a mission that had intended to visit the West Bank and Gaza to prepare a report on Israel’s compliance with human rights standards and international humanitarian law. Meetings had been scheduled on an hourly basis during the six days, starting with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, the following day.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date : 12-18-2008

For More Information, please contact:
(Gaza) Ewa Jasiewicz, +970 598 700 497 / freelance@mailworks.org
(Gaza) Huwaida Arraf, +970 599 130 426 / Huwaida.Arraf@gmail.com
(Cyprus) Greta Berlin, +357 99 081 767 / Iristulip@gmail.com

(Larnaca, 18 December 2008) At 17:00 on Friday, December 19, the Free Gaza Movement boat, the Dignity, sends another ton of medicine, baby formula and gifts to Gaza. This time, the donations come from the people of Qatar, and two envoys from that nation will accompany the supplies.

The envoys from Qatar will assess hospitals, schools and civilian centers and will return with recommendations on how to help the beleaguered Palestinians rebuild the infrastructure that Israel has destroyed. One of the much-needed projects is fixing the sanitation system, which Gazans have been unable to do since Israel refuses the entry of vital supplies such as lumber, steel and cement. The only way these supplies will be able to come to Gaza will be via the sea in large ships.

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