MISDADEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGVERWOESTING VAN GAZA
MISDADEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGVERWOESTING VAN GAZA
BITTEREBIJPRODUCTEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTING: DE NEDERZETTINGEN
BEZETTINGSTERREUR foto Oda Hulsen Hebron 2 mei 2017/Verwijst naar foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die tegen de muur wordt gezet doorIsraelische soldaten, die hem toeriepen ”Where is your knife!”/Later vrijgelaten
NB Het is dus NIET de foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die bij de kraag wordt gegrepen
Suriname opent op termijn een ambassade in Jeruzalem. Het land heeft nu een consulaat in Tel Aviv. De datum van de opening is nog onbekend. De Israëlische minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Lapid maakte het nieuws in een tweet bekend na een ontmoeting met zijn Surinaamse collega Ramdin. “Dank u wel Suriname!”, zette hij er in het Nederlands bij.
Een dergelijke verplaatsing ligt internationaal gevoelig omdat de status van Jeruzalem omstreden is. Tijdens de Zesdaagse Oorlog in 1967 veroverde Israël het oostelijke stadsdeel. Tegenwoordig beschouwt Israël heel Jeruzalem als Israëlisch grondgebied en als de eeuwige en ondeelbare hoofdstad van het land. De Palestijnen zien Oost-Jeruzalem als de hoofdstad van een toekomstige Palestijnse staat.
Lees hier meer over deze kwestie in ons artikel Een stad, twee realiteiten: vijf vragen over Jeruzalem.
“Jeruzalem is het bestuurlijk centrum en daarom willen we daar een ambassade. We willen de functionele, technische en commerciële samenwerking met Israël versterken. Er moet niet emotioneel op gereageerd worden, we moeten nuchter blijven”, zegt de Surinaamse minister Ramdin tegen de NOS.
Directeur-generaal Peled van het Israëlische ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken zegt dat het bezoek van de Surinaamse minister aan zijn land een mijlpaal is in de onderlinge betrekkingen. “Israël zal betere toegang krijgen tot het Caraïbisch gebied en Suriname krijgt toegang tot onze technologie en investeerders”, zegt hij in de Israëlische krant The Jerusalem Post.
Vier landen
Tot nu toe hebben alleen Amerika, Guatemala, Honduras en Kosovo een ambassade in Jeruzalem. De aankondiging van de verhuizing van de Amerikaanse ambassade in Israël leidde in 2017 tot woedende reacties in het Midden-Oosten. De Nederlandse ambassade is sinds 1980 gevestigd in een buitenwijk van Tel Aviv. Er zijn geen plannen voor een verhuizing.
Latijns-Amerikacorrespondent Nina Jurna:
Suriname was tot nu toe vrij neutraal in hun buitenlandbeleid. Daarom is deze stap opmerkelijk te noemen. De relatief nieuwe regering van president Chan Santokhi voert op dit dossier duidelijk een ander beleid. Economische belangen zullen voor Suriname ook een belangrijke rol spelen. Suriname is praktisch failliet en heeft belang bij samenwerking met financieel sterkere landen, ondanks de politieke gevoeligheid.
Correspondent Ties Brock in Tel Aviv:
Het overgrote deel van de landen ziet Oost-Jeruzalem als bezet Palestijns gebied. Voor Israël is het dan ook een diplomatieke opsteker als landen deze stap zetten omdat dit de status van Jeruzalem als de hoofdstad van Israël bevestigt. Ook als relatief kleine landen -die geopolitiek weinig gewicht in de schaal leggen- dit doen ziet Israël dat als een kleine diplomatieke overwinning.
Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin is making the first visit to Israel of any top official from his country since it established diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 1976.
Suriname plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem, making it one of a small number of countries that are willing to push back against international objections to such a stand.
“Today, during our meeting in Jerusalem, Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin informed me that his country plans to soon open an embassy in Jerusalem,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted on Monday after the two men met.
Ramdin is making the first visit to Israel of any top official from his country since it established diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 1976.
The bulk of the international community has refused to recognize that any part of Jerusalem falls within Israel’s border.
A smaller number of countries agree that western Jerusalem is part of Israel while they hold that the eastern part of the city should be part of the future borders of a Palestinian state.
Most countries believe that the status of Jerusalem, in general, should be determined through a two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and as a result, most of the embassies in Israel are located in Tel Aviv.
Suriname does not currently have an embassy in Israel and so opening such an office would be a first for the Latin American country that was once a Dutch colony.
Israel does not have an embassy in Suriname but services it out of its embassy in Panama.
The small Dutch-speaking country has a population of some 600,000 people, a majority of whom are Christians and a minority who are Muslims, and as such is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Suriname’s interests in Israel
Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General Yoni Peled, who heads the Latin American and Caribbean desk, said that Suriname”is interested in improving relations with Israel.” They are particularly interested in its technology with respect to agriculture and water.
Israel plans to send Suriname humanitarian assistance to help victims of the recent flooding in its country.
Suriname has newly discovered oil and natural gas reserves, which offer new investment opportunities for Israelis.
This visit marks “a milestone in our relationship with Suriname which will benefit both countries. Israel will have better access to the Caribbean states and Suriname will have the opportunity to access Israeli technology, know-how and investment,” Peled said.
Het omstreden plan van Suriname een ambassade te openen in Jeruzalem staat op losse schroeven. Tijdens een tumultueuze parlementsvergadering is forse kritiek geuit. Vicepresident Brunswijk zei dat er nog geen regeringsbesluit is, terwijl minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Ramdin het voornemen gisteren als een voldongen feit presenteerde.
Volgens persbureau ANP ziet de Surinaamse regering zelfs af van het openen van een ambassade in de Israëlische stad. “Ik zal op korte termijn met tekst en uitleg komen”, zegt minister Ramdin in een reactie aan de NOS. Hij laat in het midden wat de status van het plan is.
Een partijgenoot van Ramdin dreigde vandaag uit fractie VHP te stappen als er daadwerkelijk een ambassade wordt geopend in Jeruzalem. Ook door de Surinaamse Islamitische Vereniging is verontwaardigd gereageerd, die vraagt de regering het voornemen “in ernstige heroverweging te nemen”. Zo’n 20 procent van de Surinaamse bevolking is moslim.
De status van Jeruzalem is omstreden, daarom hebben verreweg de meeste landen hun ambassade in de stad Tel Aviv. Slechts vier landen hebben een ambassade in Jeruzalem: de VS, Honduras, Guatemala en Kosovo.
Israël heeft het oostelijke deel van Jeruzalem bezet en beschouwt de hele stad als Israëlisch grondgebied. Maar de Palestijnen zien Oost-Jeruzalem als hoofdstad van de toekomstige Palestijnse staat.
VHP-parlementslid Barkat Mohab-Ali stelt volgens nieuwssite Starnieuws dat zijn telefoon “op springen staat”. In de parlementsvergadering maakte hij duidelijk dat hij zich niet meer thuis zou voelen in de fractie als het plan doorgaat.
Voorzitter van het parlement Marinus Bee (ABOP) kreeg applaus toen hij zei: “We willen niet dat er een ambassade komt in Jeruzalem. We weten wat de consequenties zijn.” Vicepresident Brunswijk, eveneens ABOP-lid, bracht de gemoederen tot bedaren door te zeggen dat het plan niet rond is. Suriname houdt wel degelijk rekening met de gevoelens van diverse religieuze groepen, zei hij volgens Starnieuws.
Lees hier meer over deze kwestie in ons artikel: ‘Een stad, twee realiteiten: vijf vragen over Jeruzalem’.
Zodra Ramdin terug is in Suriname wordt er duidelijkheid verwacht. De minister maakte het omstreden ambassadeplan bekend op staatsbezoek in Israël. “We willen de functionele, technische en commerciële samenwerking met Israël versterken. Er moet niet emotioneel op gereageerd worden, we moeten nuchter blijven”, zei Ramdin toen.
”OPENING SURINAAMSE AMBASSADE IN JERUZALEM SCHOFFERING
INTERNATIONAAL RECHT”
Ingezonden Stuk
Geachte Redactie,
Het bericht is verbijsterend:
De Surinaamse regering is voornemens een ambassade te openen
in Jeruzalem, zoals kennelijk is besproken door de Surinaamse minister
van Buitenlandse Zaken Ramdin met zijn Israelische collega Lapid tijdens
Ramdin’s bezoek aan Israel.
Ten eerste had dat bezoek van Ramdin aan Israel uberhaupt niet moeten
plaatsvinden, omdat dat een steun is aan Israel’s sinds 1967 gevoerde bezetting van de Palestijnse gebieden met als bittere bijproducten de landroof via de illegale
nederzettingen, de voortdurende onderdrukking, de [sinds 2007] illegale Gaza Blokkade, de militaire acties, met
name in Gaza en daaraan inherent mensenrechtenschendingen
en oorlogsmisdaden.
Maar er is meer:
Een ambassade openen in Jeruzalem is een regelrechte schoffering
van het Internationaal Recht, sinds Israel in 1980 Jeruzalem [zowel
West als het in 1967 bezette Oost-Jeruzalem] heeft uitgeroepen
tot hoofdstad van Israel [de zogenaamde ”Jeruzalemwet], daarmee de facto bezet Oost-Jeruzalem
annexerend, wat tegen het Internationaal Recht ingaat [aan de status
van bezet gebied mogen geen geografische veranderingen mogen
uitgevoerd, artikel 55 van het Haags Verdrag 1907 en de Geneefse Conventies]
Vandaar dat in VN Veiligheidsraadsresolutie 478 [1980] de Staten met diplomatieke posten in Jeruzalem werden opgeroepen, hun posten te
verplaatsen, wat door de meesten werd gedaan, namelijk naar Tel Aviv.
Helaas is er een kentering gekomen, nadat ex president Trump Jeruzalem
heeft erkend als Israelische hoofdstad en had aangekondigd, de Amerikaanse
ambassade van Tel Aviv weer naar Jeruzalem te verplaatsen.
Van groot belang is het, dat Suriname deze schoffering van het Internationaal
Recht niet navolgt.
Gelukkig schijnt er binnen het Surinaamse parlement [De Nationale Assemblee]
forse kritiek op dit voornemen te zijn en is het te hopen, dat dit
onzalige plan nog wordt teruggedraaid.
Juist van Suriname als ex kolonie en een land met een misdadig slavernijverleden mag solidariteit met het bezette en onderdrukte Palestijnse
volk worden verwacht.
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
EINDE INGEZONDEN STUK
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Opening Surinaamse ambassade in Jeruzalem schoffering Internationaal Recht/Ingezonden Stuk
MISDADEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGVERWOESTING VAN GAZA
BITTEREBIJPRODUCTEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTING:
BEZETTINGSTERREUR foto Oda Hulsen Hebron 2 mei 2017/Verwijst naar foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die tegen de muur wordt gezet doorIsraelische soldaten, die hem toeriepen ”Where is your knife!”/Later vrijgelaten
NB Het is dus NIET de foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die bij de kraag wordt gegrepen
SURINAME OPENT AMBASSADE IN JERUZALEM/SURINAME’S FOUTE
STEUN AAN ISRAEL’S ANNEXATIE EN APARTHEIDSPOLITIEK
AAN
DE MINISTER VAN BUITENLANDSE
ZAKEN VAN DE REPUBLIEK SURINAME
Tav
De heer A Ramdin
Onderwerp:
De opening van een ambassade door de Republiek Suriname
in Jeruzalem
”Werkend houden w’in gedachten
Recht en waarheid maken vrij Al wat goed is te betrachten Dat geeft aan ons land waardij.” Slotregels Surinaams Volkslied Oude Stijl
Geachte Excellentie,
”Werkend houden w’in gedachten
Recht en waarheid maken vrij”Waardige Eindregels van het Surinaamse VolksliedOude Stijl [1], die iedereen zouden moeten inspireren.Zeer teleurstellend echter om te moeten constateren,dat nu er is afgerekend met de presidentschappenvan de voormalige dictator D. Bouterse en ex president en dezeopnieuw is veroordeeld in verband met de in 1982 gepleegde Decembermoorden [2],de nieuw aangetreden regering Santokhi, van wie ondergetekendeen vele anderen ”Recht en Waarheid” verwachtten, internationaalernstig, tot zeer ernstig in de fout dreigt te gaan! WANT:-u las het al- ik protesteer ten zeerste tegen het feit,dat Suriname heeft besloten, een ambassade te openen in Jeruzalem! [3]Dit is een ernstige schoffering van het Internationaal Recht,
en vooral-en dat vind ik nog wel het ergste, een ondersteuning van Israel’s bezettings
en annexatiepolitiek, waarmee u, als minister van Buitenlandse Zaken
en hoofdverantwoordelijke, het bezette Palestijnse volk een Klap
in het Gezicht geeft!
ACHTERGROND:
De feiten zijn u bekend, maar ik zet ze nogmaals op een rijtje:
Zoals u uiteraard weet, is Israel sinds 1967 bezettende Macht in de Palestijnse
gebieden, De Westelijke Jordaanoever, Oost-Jeruzalem en Gaza [4]
ondanks VN Veiligheidsraadsresolutie 242, die Israel in 1967 opriep,
zich terug te trekken uit de Bezette Gebieden.
Ik hoef u niet te vertellen, dat er sindsien sprake is geweest
[zoals bij alle bezettingen] van onderdrukking, mensenrechten
schendingen, oorlogsmisdaden, vooral ook tijdens de Israelische
militaire acties in Gaza. [5]
De nederzettingenpolitiek kent u ook, die neerkomt op platte
landroof!
Ook weet u, dat die nederzettingen in strijd zijn met het Internationaal
Recht [6]
JERUZALEM
Nu over Jeruzalem en het voornemen van de Surinaamse regering,
een ambassade in Jeruzalem te openen.
In de eerste plaats moet u bekend zijn, dat bij VN AV Resolutie 181, 1947, die de verdeling van het toenmalige Britse Mandaatgebied Palestina op de kaart zette, Jeruzalem een internationale
status kreeg van corpus separatum
Zie hierover noot 7
Dat was dus de status quo, Jeruzalem als corpus separatum
Na de oorlog van 1948, die volgde op de nasleep van VN Resolutie 181, ten
onrechte de Israelische ”Onafhankelijkheidsoorlog” genoemd
[de autochtone bevolking, die eeuwenlang gekoloniseerd was geweest
waren immers de Palestijnen, maar dat even daargelaten], die uitmondde in de grootschalige etnische zuivering van meer dan
750 000 Palestijnen [8], werd West Jeruzalem gevoegd bij de
nieuwe Joodse Staat israel [veroverd door de Israelische troepen] en Oost-Jeruzalem bij het pas
onafhankelijke Jordanie [veroverd door de Arabische troepen]
Maar internationaalrechtelijk was Jeruzalem nog steeds een corpus separatum
1980/JERUZALEMWETIk schreef al over de Israelische bezetting van de Palestijnse gebiedenin 1967.Een van die bezette gebieden was, zoals vermeld [en bij u bekend] Oost-JeruzalemHiermee kwam dus, na West-Jeruzalem, ook Oost-Jeruzalem onderIsraelische controle, zij het als ”bezet gebied”, waarop de Conventievan Geneve van toepassing is en het Haags Verdrag van 1907 [9]Dat was EEN ding:In 1980 ging Israel nog een stapje verder, door de zogenaamdeBasic Law [oftewel de ”Jeruzalemwet] af te kondigen, waarbij werdverklaard, dat ”het complete en verenigde Jeruzalem”, werd uitgeroepentot de hoofstad van Israel. [10] DIT WAS ANNEXATIE!Niet alleen was dit een schending van de internationale statusvan Jeruzalem [corpus separatum], bovendien werd de facto bezetgebied [Oost Jeruzalem] geannexeerd!En volgens het Internationaal Recht [en here comes het Haagse Verdragin, artikel 55] mogen er geen geografische veranderingen worden aangebrachtin bezet gebied! [11] Uiteraard liet de Internationale Gemeenschap het er niet op zittenen is Israel hiervoor door middel van twee VN Veiligheidsraadsresoluties,te weten 476 en 478 [12]Voor deze brief is met name van toepassing VN Security Resolution478, omdat daarin Israel niet alleen wordt veroordeeld vanwege dede facto annexatie van Oost-Jeruzalem en de uitroeping van Jeruzalemtot hoofdstad van Israel [opvolgende Resolutie 476], maar ook,omdat alle Staten worden opgeroepen hun diplomatiekemissies uit Jeruzalem terug te trekken!! Ik citeer uit Resolutie 478 ”
5. Decides not to recognize the “basic law” and such other actions by Israel that, as a result of this law, seek to alter the character and status of Jerusalem and calls upon:(a) All Member States to accept this decision;(b) Those States that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions from the Holy City;” [13] SURINAME IN DE FOUT! En wat doet de Surinaamse regering, wat doet u, o ministervan Buitenlandse Zaken? Tegen deze duidelijke internationaalrechtelijke veroordelingen,die nooit door Israel zijn nagevolgd, opent Surinameeen ambassade in Jeruzalem!SCHANDE! Want hiermee steunt de Surinaamse regering de facto de Israelische bezettings en annexatiepolitiek in casu debarbaarse onderdrukking van het Palestijnse volk.En dat door een Land, Suriname, dat zelf eeuwenlangheeft geleden onder slavernij en kolonisatie! [14]Mag dan niet, juist van Derde Wereld ex kolonieeensolidariteit worden verwacht met dat andere gekoloniseerdevolk, de Palestijnen? [15]
EPILOOG Minister Ramdin, Suriname kan dit niet doen!Suriname kan en mag geen ambassade in Jeruzalem openen,waarmee zij niet alleen openlijk het InternationaalRecht aan haar laars lapt [zie bovenstaande], maarde facto de kolonisatie en bezettingspolitiek van bezettingsstaatIsrael steunt!Zeker als ex kolonie, maar ook als nalever van hetInternationaal Recht en de gewone, menselijke waardenvan Gelijkheid en Broederschap, zou Suriname geen MILLIMETER steun moeten geven aan ApartheidsstaatIsrael! [16]Dus minister Ramdin, doe wat in uw Macht is en draai deze Beslissing terug en gezwind Zodat Suriname weer echt de woorden in het Volkslied mag waarmaken:
”Werkend houden w’in gedachtenRecht en waarheid maken vrij Al wat goed is te betrachten Dat geeft aan ons land waardij.’
Surinaams volkslied- Het officiële volkslied met Nederlands en Surinaams couplet
God zij met ons Suriname Hij verhef ons heerlijk land Hoe wij hier ook samen kwamen Aan zijn grond zijn wij verpand Werkend houden w’in gedachten Recht en waarheid maken vrij Al wat goed is te betrachten Dat geeft aan ons land waardij.
Opo kondreman oen opo! Sranan gron e kari oen Wans ope tata komopo Wi moe seti kondre boen Stre de f’stre wi no sa frede Gado de wi fesi man Eri libi te na dede Wi sa feti gi Sranan.
* * *
Surinaams volksliedSamenvatting
Het officiële volkslied met Nederlands en Surinaams couplet.
Toelichting
In 1893 werd door de lutherse predikant C.A. Hoekstra een tekst gemaakt voor een Surinaams volkslied. Hiervoor koos men als melodie een compositie die in 1876 met een geheel ander doel was geschreven door de Friese onderwijzer J.C. de Puy.
Oude tekst tot 1959:
Suriname ’s trotse stromen, Suriname ’s heerlijk land, Suriname ’s fiere bomen, Trouw zijn wij aan U verpand Mochten weer de vloten varen, Dat de handel welig bloei’ Dat fabrieken welvaart baren Dat hier alles welig groei’
In 1959 besloot de Surinaamse regering ‘vlag, wapen en volkslied’ officieel vast te stellen. Voorgesteld werd de melodie van het traditionele volkslied te handhaven en het tweede couplet van de door Hoekstra geschreven Nederlandse tekst tot officiële tekst te verheffen.
De Raad van Ministers achtte het wenselijk een couplet in het Surinaams toe te voegen. Minister Essed benaderde de dichter Trefossa met het verzoek een Surinaams couplet te dichten dat de eenheid van het Surinaamse volk en de verbondenheid met het grondgebied zou benadrukken.
Op 7 december 1959 werd de tekst met algemene stemmen aangenomen. Trefossa heeft echter bovendien de tekst van het eerste couplet in dezelfde richting bewerkt. Bij landsverordening trad het volkslied op 15 december 1959 in werking en is bij het onafhankelijk worden in 1975 in dezelfde vorm gehandhaafd.
De Surinaamse krijgsraad heeft voormalig president Desi Bouterse opnieuw veroordeeld tot 20 jaar cel voor zijn rol in de Decembermoorden. Bouterse was in verzet gegaan tegen de uitspraak van de krijgsraad uit 2019, maar die komt nu tot dezelfde conclusie als destijds. Volgens de krijgsraad zijn er geen nieuwe feiten boven tafel gekomen.
De veroordeling van Bouterse is niet definitief. Er is nog beroep mogelijk tegen de uitspraak. Bouterses advocaat Irvin Kanhai heeft al aangekondigd dat hoger beroep te zullen aantekenen.
De verzetszaak werd behandeld door dezelfde rechters die Bouterse ook in eerste aanleg veroordeelden, maar de beroepszaak zal worden behandeld door het Hof van Justitie.
Net als bij de vorige uitspraak, toen hij nog president was, was Bouterse niet aanwezig. Hij had zich ditmaal ziek gemeld. De krijgsraad heeft geen gevangenneming van Bouterse bevolen, meldt de Surinaamse website Starnieuws.
EINDE NOS BERICHT
STARNIEUWS
BREAKING: BOUTERSE VEROORDEELD TOT 20 JAAR GEVANGENISSTRAF
Desi Bouterse is zojuist in verzet veroordeeld tot 20 jaar gevangenisstraf voor medeplegen van moord op 15 personen op 8 december 1982. De Krijgsraad onder leiding van president Cynthia Valstein-Montnor kwam tot het wettige en overtuigend bewijs voor moord. Hiermee is het verstekvonnis door de Krijgsraad bevestigd. Er is geen gevangenneming gelast door de Krijgsraad. Bouterse was niet aanwezig op de zitting. Hij heeft zich ziek gemeld. De zitting heeft heel kort geduurd. Er zijn geen nieuwe feiten naar voren gekomen, concludeerde de Krijgsraad.
Bouterse was in verzet gegaan tegen het verstekvonnis. Auditeur-militair Manro Danning heeft in de verzetszaak, net als in de verstekzaak 20 jaar gevangenisstraf geëist. Nadat hij zijn requisitoir op de vorige zitting had gehouden, hield raadsman Irvin Kanhai zijn pleidooi. Er volgde daarna repliek en dupliek en vervolgens het laatste woord van Bouterse. De Krijgsraad stelde toen de zaak uit tot vandaag voor uitspraak. Hij is door dezelfde samenstelling van rechters – Valstein-Montnor, Suzanne Chu en Rewita Chaterpal – op 29 november 2019 veroordeeld tot 20 jaar gevangenisstraf.
In zijn laatste woord zei Bouterse dat de voormalige kolonisator, Nederland, niets onbenut heeft gelaten om de ingezette ontwikkeling te keren, en dat met een toenemende mate van meedogenloze gemeenheid en escalerend geweld. De eerste acties waren nog gericht op de liquidatie van de revolutionaire leiding en van hem in het bijzonder.
Hij voerde aan dat er een buitenlandse militaire invasie moest zorgen voor een volledige ‘regime change’, waarbij de dood van ettelijke honderden burgers als een aanvaardbare onvermijdelijkheid werd gezien. Hij is er volgens hem sprake van Nederlandse beïnvloeding in de rechtspraak tegen hem. Tijdens het proces heeft Bouterse gebruik gemaakt van zijn zwijgrecht.
Raadsman Irvin Kanhai heeft eerder aangegeven dat hij beroep zal aantekenen tegen het vonnis. Hij had verwacht dat het eerdere vonnis zou worden bevestigd vandaag. Hoger beroep zaken worden door het Hof van Justitie behandeld. Kanhai was niet persoonlijk aanwezig op de zitting. In 14 dagen kan er hoger beroep worden aangetekend.
EINDE BERICHT STARNIEUWS
AD
DESI BOUTERSE IN BEROEP TEGEN VONNIS DECEMBERMOORDEN
De Surinaamse oud-president Desi Bouterse is zoals aangekondigd in beroep gegaan tegen zijn veroordeling tot twintig jaar celstraf in het zogenoemde 8-decemberproces. Zijn advocaat Irwin Kanhai heeft op 3 september beroep aangetekend, bevestigde hij vandaag tegenover het ANP.
De Surinaamse krijgsraad legde de 75-jarige Bouterse op 30 augustus opnieuw twintig jaar celstraf op voor zijn betrokkenheid bij de moord op vijftien politieke tegenstanders in 1982. Dit vonnis is gelijk aan dat van eind 2019. Omdat Bouterse tijdens dat proces nooit aanwezig was, werd hij bij verstek veroordeeld. Daarna tekende hij verzet aan, waardoor de krijgsraad zijn zaak dit jaar opnieuw in behandeling moest nemen. Hij kreeg daardoor ook de mogelijkheid in beroep te gaan.
Suriname opent op termijn een ambassade in Jeruzalem. Het land heeft nu een consulaat in Tel Aviv. De datum van de opening is nog onbekend. De Israëlische minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Lapid maakte het nieuws in een tweet bekend na een ontmoeting met zijn Surinaamse collega Ramdin. “Dank u wel Suriname!”, zette hij er in het Nederlands bij.
Een dergelijke verplaatsing ligt internationaal gevoelig omdat de status van Jeruzalem omstreden is. Tijdens de Zesdaagse Oorlog in 1967 veroverde Israël het oostelijke stadsdeel. Tegenwoordig beschouwt Israël heel Jeruzalem als Israëlisch grondgebied en als de eeuwige en ondeelbare hoofdstad van het land. De Palestijnen zien Oost-Jeruzalem als de hoofdstad van een toekomstige Palestijnse staat.
Lees hier meer over deze kwestie in ons artikel Een stad, twee realiteiten: vijf vragen over Jeruzalem.
“Jeruzalem is het bestuurlijk centrum en daarom willen we daar een ambassade. We willen de functionele, technische en commerciële samenwerking met Israël versterken. Er moet niet emotioneel op gereageerd worden, we moeten nuchter blijven”, zegt de Surinaamse minister Ramdin tegen de NOS.
Directeur-generaal Peled van het Israëlische ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken zegt dat het bezoek van de Surinaamse minister aan zijn land een mijlpaal is in de onderlinge betrekkingen. “Israël zal betere toegang krijgen tot het Caraïbisch gebied en Suriname krijgt toegang tot onze technologie en investeerders”, zegt hij in de Israëlische krant The Jerusalem Post.
Vier landen
Tot nu toe hebben alleen Amerika, Guatemala, Honduras en Kosovo een ambassade in Jeruzalem. De aankondiging van de verhuizing van de Amerikaanse ambassade in Israël leidde in 2017 tot woedende reacties in het Midden-Oosten. De Nederlandse ambassade is sinds 1980 gevestigd in een buitenwijk van Tel Aviv. Er zijn geen plannen voor een verhuizing.
Latijns-Amerikacorrespondent Nina Jurna:
Suriname was tot nu toe vrij neutraal in hun buitenlandbeleid. Daarom is deze stap opmerkelijk te noemen. De relatief nieuwe regering van president Chan Santokhi voert op dit dossier duidelijk een ander beleid. Economische belangen zullen voor Suriname ook een belangrijke rol spelen. Suriname is praktisch failliet en heeft belang bij samenwerking met financieel sterkere landen, ondanks de politieke gevoeligheid.
Correspondent Ties Brock in Tel Aviv:
Het overgrote deel van de landen ziet Oost-Jeruzalem als bezet Palestijns gebied. Voor Israël is het dan ook een diplomatieke opsteker als landen deze stap zetten omdat dit de status van Jeruzalem als de hoofdstad van Israël bevestigt. Ook als relatief kleine landen -die geopolitiek weinig gewicht in de schaal leggen- dit doen ziet Israël dat als een kleine diplomatieke overwinning.
Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin is making the first visit to Israel of any top official from his country since it established diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 1976.
Suriname plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem, making it one of a small number of countries that are willing to push back against international objections to such a stand.
“Today, during our meeting in Jerusalem, Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin informed me that his country plans to soon open an embassy in Jerusalem,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted on Monday after the two men met.
Ramdin is making the first visit to Israel of any top official from his country since it established diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 1976.
The bulk of the international community has refused to recognize that any part of Jerusalem falls within Israel’s border.
A smaller number of countries agree that western Jerusalem is part of Israel while they hold that the eastern part of the city should be part of the future borders of a Palestinian state.
Most countries believe that the status of Jerusalem, in general, should be determined through a two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and as a result, most of the embassies in Israel are located in Tel Aviv.
Suriname does not currently have an embassy in Israel and so opening such an office would be a first for the Latin American country that was once a Dutch colony.
Israel does not have an embassy in Suriname but services it out of its embassy in Panama.
The small Dutch-speaking country has a population of some 600,000 people, a majority of whom are Christians and a minority who are Muslims, and as such is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Suriname’s interests in Israel
Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General Yoni Peled, who heads the Latin American and Caribbean desk, said that Suriname”is interested in improving relations with Israel.” They are particularly interested in its technology with respect to agriculture and water.
Israel plans to send Suriname humanitarian assistance to help victims of the recent flooding in its country.
Suriname has newly discovered oil and natural gas reserves, which offer new investment opportunities for Israelis.
This visit marks “a milestone in our relationship with Suriname which will benefit both countries. Israel will have better access to the Caribbean states and Suriname will have the opportunity to access Israeli technology, know-how and investment,” Peled said.
[4]
GAZA IS NOG STEEDS BEZET GEBIED!
LEES: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHISRAEL: ”DISENGAGEMENT” WILL NOT END GAZA OCCUPATION
Israeli Government Still Holds Responsibility for Welfare of Civilians 28 OCTOBER 2004
The Israeli government’s plan to remove troops and Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip would not end Israel’s occupation of the territory. As an occupying power, Israel will retain responsibility for the welfare of Gaza’s civilian population.
Under the “disengagement” plan endorsed Tuesday by the Knesset, Israeli forces will keep control over Gaza’s borders, coastline and airspace, and will reserve the right to launch incursions at will. Israel will continue to wield overwhelming power over the territory’s economy and its access to trade.
“The removal of settlers and most military forces will not end Israel’s control over Gaza,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division. “Israel plans to reconfigure its occupation of the territory, but it will remain an occupying power with responsibility for the welfare of the civilian population.”
Under the plan, Israel is scheduled to remove settlers and military bases protecting the settlers from the Gaza Strip and four isolated West Bank Jewish settlements by the end of 2005. The Israeli military will remain deployed on Gaza’s southern border, and will reposition its forces to other areas just outside the territory.
In addition to controlling the borders, coastline and airspace, Israel will continue to control Gaza’s telecommunications, water, electricity and sewage networks, as well as the flow of people and goods into and out of the territory. Gaza will also continue to use Israeli currency.
A World Bank study on the economic effects of the plan determined that “disengagement” would ease restrictions on mobility inside Gaza. But the study also warned that the removal of troops and settlers would have little positive effect unless accompanied by an opening of Gaza’s borders. If the borders are sealed to labor and trade, the plan “would create worse hardship than is seen today.”
The plan also explicitly envisions continued home demolitions by the Israeli military to expand the “buffer zone” along the Gaza-Egypt border. According to a report released last week by Human Rights Watch, the Israeli military has illegally razed nearly 1,600 homes since 2000 to create this buffer zone, displacing some 16,000 Palestinians. Israeli officials have called for the buffer zone to be doubled, which would result in the destruction of one-third of the Rafah refugee camp.
In addition, the plan states that disengagement “will serve to dispel the claims regarding Israel’s responsibility for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” A report by legal experts from the Israeli Justice Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the military made public on Sunday, however, reportedly acknowledges that disengagement “does not necessarily exempt Israel from responsibility in the evacuated territories.”
If Israel removes its troops from Gaza, the Palestinian National Authority will maintain responsibility for security within the territory—to the extent that Israel allows Palestinian police the authority and capacity. Palestinian security forces will still have a duty to protect civilians within Gaza and to prevent indiscriminate attacks on Israeli civilians.
“Under international law, the test for determining whether an occupation exists is effective control by a hostile army, not the positioning of troops,” Whitson said. “Whether the Israeli army is inside Gaza or redeployed around its periphery and restricting entrance and exit, it remains in control.”
Under international law, the duties of an occupying power are detailed in the Fourth Geneva Convention and The Hague Regulations. According to The Hague Regulations, a “territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised.”
”1391, or 63%, of the 2,202 Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in Operation “Protective Edge” did not take part in the hostilities. Of these, 526 – a quarter of all Palestinians killed in the operation – were children under eighteen years of age. These are some of the figures published today by Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem to mark two years since the operation, which took place in July-August 2014.
OVER DE ILLEGALITEIT VAN DE ISRAELISCHE NEDERZETTINGEN,VOLGENS HET INTERNATIONAAL RECHT HET INTERNATIONALE RODE KRUIS:
”It is unlawful under the Fourth Geneva Convention for an occupying power to transfer parts of its own population into the territory it occupies. This means that international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of settlements, as these are a form of population transfer into occupied territory”
When a territory is placed under the authority of a hostile army, the rules of international humanitarian law dealing with occupation apply. Occupation confers certain rights and obligations on the occupying power.
Prohibited actions include forcibly transferring protected persons from the occupied territories to the territory of the occupying power. It is unlawful under the Fourth Geneva Convention for an occupying power to transfer parts of its own population into the territory it occupies. This means that international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of settlements, as these are a form of population transfer into occupied territory. Any measure designed to expand or consolidate settlements is also illegal. Confiscation of land to build or expand settlements is similarly prohibited.
EINDE VERKLARING INTERNATIONALE RODE KRUIS
”The establishment of the settlements contravenes international humanitarian law (IHL), which states that an occupying power may not relocate its own citizens to the occupied territory or make permanent changes to that territory, unless these are needed for imperative military needs, in the narrow sense of the term, or undertaken for the benefit of the local population.”
The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations. The Trusteeship Council shall be designated to discharge the responsibilities of the Administering Authority on behalf of the United Nations.”
1. The complete and united Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The seat of the President, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court
2. Jerusalem is the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government, and the Supreme Court. Protection of the Holy Places
3. The Holy Places shall be protected against desecration, and any other violation, and against anything that is liable to violate the freedom of access of members of the various religions to the places sacred to them, or to their feelings towards those places. The development of Jerusalem
4.
(a) The Government shall pursue the development and prosperity of Jerusalem, and the welfare of its inhabitants, by allocating special resources, including a special annual grant to the Municipality of Jerusalem (Capital City Grant), with the approval of the Knesset Finance Committee.
(b) Jerusalem shall be granted special priorities in the activities of the State authorities for the development of Jerusalem in market and economic issues, and in other issues.
(c) The Government shall set up a special body or bodies to implement this article.
BLADZIJDE 2
The confines of the territory of Jerusalem (Amendment No.
1) 5. The limits of Jerusalem include, for the purpose of this BasicLaw, inter alia, the whole area described in the addendum to the declaration of the expansion of the limits of the Jerusalem municipality of 20 Sivan 5727 (June 28, 1967), that was issued under the Municipalities Ordinance. Prohibition to delegate powers (Amendment No. 1 & 2) 6. No powers concerning the limits of the Jerusalem Municipality area, including the area described in the addendum on the expansion of the area of the municipality of Jerusalem on 20 Sivan 5767 (June 28, 1967) that was issued under the Municipalities Ordinance, and all as was in force on the day of the beginning of Basic-Law: Jerusalem the Capital of Israel (Amendment No. 2), shall be transferred to a foreign political or governing power, or to another similar foreign authority, whether permanently or for a given period. Rigidity (Amendments No. 1) 7. The provisions of article 6 are not to be changed, save by a basic law adopted by a majority of eighty Knesset Members. The provisions of this article are not to be changed except by means of a majority of Knesset Members. BASIC-LAW: JERUSALEM THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL (Amendment) (Adopted on December 7, 2000)
Intention
1. This Basic-Law is designed to lay down in Basic-Law: Jerusalem the Capital of Israel, a limitation on a change of the confines of the territory of Jerusalem, and the application of the law, jurisdiction and administration of the State of Israel in this territory, and is also designed to prohibit the transfer of any sort of governmental or municipal authority, relating to the territory of Jerusalem, to anybody, which does not act by force of a law of the State of Israel.
2. [The amendment was integrated into articles 6 and 7 of the main law.]
BLADZIJDE 3
Retention of laws
3. Nothing in the provisions of this Basic-Law shall detract from the provisions of the Law for the Implementation of the Interim Agreement Regarding the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (limitation of activity) 5755-1994, or any previous legal provision.
De Staat, die een gebied bezet heeft, mag zich slechts beschouwen als beheerder en vruchtgebruiker der openbare gebouwen, onroerende eigendommen, bosschen en landbouwondernemingen, welke aan den vijandelijken Staat behooren en zich in de bezette landstreek bevinden. Hij moet het grondkapitaal dier eigendommen in zijn geheel laten en die overeenkomstig de regelen van het vruchtgebruik beheeren.
ANNEX TO THE CONVENTION: REGULATIONS RESPECTING THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND – SECTION III : MILITARY AUTHORITY OVER THE TERRITORY OF THE HOSTILE STATE – REGULATIONS: ART. 55.Art. 55. The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.
Reaffirming again that the acquisition of territory by force is inadmissible,
Deeply concerned over the enactment of a “basic law” in the Israeli Knesset proclaiming a change in the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, with its implications for peace and security,
Noting that Israel has not complied with resolution 476 (1980),
Reaffirming its determination to examine practical ways and means, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, to secure the full implementation of its resolution 476 (1980), in the event of non-compliance by Israel,
1. Censures in the strongest terms the enactment by Israel of the “basic law” on Jerusalem and the refusal to comply with relevant Security Council resolutions;
2. Affirms that the enactment of the “basic law” by Israel constitutes a violation of international law and does not affect the continued application of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967, including Jerusalem;
3. Determines that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which have altered or purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and in particular the recent “basic law” on Jerusalem, are null and void and must be rescinded forthwith;
4. Affirms also that this action constitutes a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East;
5. Decides not to recognize the “basic law” and such other actions by Israel that, as a result of this law, seek to alter the character and status of Jerusalem and calls upon:(a) All Member States to accept this decision;(b) Those States that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions from the Holy City;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the implementation of the present resolution before 15 November 1980;
7. Decides to remain seized of this serious situation.
”Resolutie 476 van de Veiligheidsraad van de Verenigde Naties werd op 30 juni 1980 uitgevaardigd. Deze resolutie werd goedgekeurd door 14 voor-stemmen en één onthouding, van de Verenigde Staten, en verklaarde weer dat de bestuurlijke wijzigingen die Israël had doorgevoerd in Oost-Jeruzalem nietig waren en riep op deze terug te draaien.”
SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 476 (1980) [TERRITORIES
OCCUPIED BY ISRAEL]
https://www.refworld.org/docid/3b00f1776b.html
Resolution 476 (1980) of 30 June 1980
The Security Council,
Having considered the letter of 28 May 1980 from the representative of Pakistan, the current Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, as contained in document S/13966 of 28 May 1980,
Reaffirming that acquisition of territory by force is inadmissable,
Bearing in mind the specific status of Jerusalem and, in particular, the need for protection and preservation of the unique spiritual and religious dimension of the Holy Places in the city,
Reaffirming its resolutions relevant to the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, in particular resolutions 252 (1968) of 21 May 1968, 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969, 271 (1969) of 15 September 1969, 298 (1971) of 25 September 1971 and 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980,
Recalling the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
Deploring the persistence of Israel, in changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and the status of the Holy City of Jerusalem,
Gravely concerned over the legislative steps initiated in the Israeli Knesset with the aim of changing the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem,
1. Reaffirms the overriding necessity to end the prolonged occupation of Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem;
2. Strongly deplores the continued refusal of Israel, the occupying Power, to comply with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly;
3. Reconfirms that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which purport to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and also constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East;
4. Reiterates that all such measures which have altered the geographic, demographic and historical character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council;
5. Urgently calls on Israel, the occupying Power, to abide by this and previous Security Council resolutions and to desist forthwith from persisting in the policy and measures affecting the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem;
6. Reaffirms its determination in the event of non-compliance by Israel with this resolution, to examine practical ways and means in accordance with relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations to secure the full implementation of this resolution.
Adopted at the 2242nd meeting by 14 votes to none, with 1 abstention (United States of America).
[13]”
5. Decides not to recognize the “basic law” and such other actions by Israel that, as a result of this law, seek to alter the character and status of Jerusalem and calls upon:(a) All Member States to accept this decision;(b) Those States that have established diplomatic missions at Jerusalem to withdraw such missions from the Holy City;”
THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS, UKRAINIAN REFUGEES AND REFUGEES, TRAPPED BETWEEN POLAND AND BELARUS/DO YOU TREAT THEM WITH EQUAL ATTENTION, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS?
ASTRID ESSED LETTER!
TO
THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
PRESIDENT AND ASSEMBLY
Subject:
Questions about the International Red Cross attitude against
Ukrainian refugees versus refugees trapped between Belarus and
Poland
Your mission as International Red Cross
”The work of the ICRC is based on the Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols, its Statutes – and those of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – and the resolutions of the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The ICRC is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.
https://www.icrc.org/en/who-we-are/mandate
[When you are pressed with time, go directly to the part below:
”QUESTIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS”]
Dear President
Dear members of the Assembly,
Firstly my great appreciation for your fantastic and indispensable Work
through the whole world!
Without your humanitarian involvement and the sometimes great risks
your co workers take, life would be extremely difficult, if not impossible,
for the millions of people you are helping day after day.
But even the best of organisations need critical attention and have their
flaws and that’s precisely the reason of this letter.
For in my opinion the International Red Cross attention for the Ukrainian
refugees, who have crossed the Polish Border is far more greater than the attention for the refugees, who tried to cross the Polish Border and are still trapped between the borders of Poland and Belarus.
Now I will not say, that the International Red Cross did nothing for these refugees.
On the contrary:
My great appreciation for the Good Work of the Finnish Red Cross, that
helped those people wonderfully! [1]
I also appreciate the emergency calls and involvement
of the American Red Cross, The Belarus Red Cross, the Poland Red Cross,
the Lithuanian Red Cross and the other Red Cross departments [2]
Thank you, Finnish Red Cross [which gets this letter cc also]
and thank you, the other mentioned and peerhaps not mentioned Red Cross departments !
Also a Shout out to all those anonymous Polish people,
who helped refugees! [3]
And I express my appreciation to the president of the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies mr F Rocca, who
stated, that thee should be no difference in the reception and protection
of refugees, whether they are Ukrainians or coming from other countries.
I quote him:
”“The political, public and humanitarian response to the Ukraine crisis has shown what is possible when humanity and dignity comes first, when there is global solidarity and the will to assist and protect the most vulnerable,”and”
“This must be extended to everyone in need, wherever they come from. Ethnicity and nationality should not be deciding factors in saving lives.” [4]
UKRAINIAN REFUGEES VERSUS REFUGEES, TRAPPED BETWEEN
POLAND AND BELARUS
I referred to the great attention of the International Red Cross to the Ukrainian
refugees [5] and don’t get me wrong:
I appreciate that very much and I think it is of the utmost importance to stand
for these people, who were the victims of the Russian invasion and had to flee their countries under so dramatic circumstances.
I sympathise with all refugees whoever they are and where they came from
and I know the International Red Cross does the same.
And yet, according to me, sometimes things go wrong.
Too often I learn from people from the field: Volunteers who do their utmost
to help those. who are trapped between the borders of Belarus and Poland, that
the Red Cross is not, or not enough, present to help the between border refugees”:
I quote something that made great impression on me:
It’s from mrs Anna Albot, a spokeswoman for the Polish Minority
Right Group [also mentioned in cc] and member of the Grupa Granica:
Quote: [first in Dutch, then translation in English]:
”Waar is het Rode Kruis, de Internationale Organisatie voor Migratie van de VN en de VN-vluchtelingenorganisatie? Die organisaties die zelfs in oorlogsgebieden opereren? Die voedsel en water naar de gevaarlijkste criminelen brengen? Is Elina, 5, gevaarlijker of minder waard? ” [6]
In English:
”Where is the Red Cross, The International Organisation for Migration
of the UN and the UNHCR?
Those organisations which even operate in warzones?
Which bring food and water to the most dangerous criminals?
Is Elina, 5, more dangerous and worth less?
Mrs Albot also published this article in the Guardian [8 december 2021]
QUESTIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
This was in december 2021
And to my knowledge, the situation of the refugees, trapped
in the Polish-Belarussian border is yet inhuman, as is the
situation of the refugees, who reached Poland and are in
Polish detention centres in dire conditions.
See the statement of Amnesty International [7]
Now I had the impression, that on this moment, the main attention
of the International Cross goes to the Ukrainian refugees and that the
trapped refugees between Poland and Belarus are somewhat forgotten.
When I am wrong, please send me the information about
your involvement in the no one land between those borders.
When I am NOT wrong, please explain to me, why the International
Red Cross shows less attention to those refugees:
Are you being hindered in your activities, something volunteers have experienced in the past months? [8]
And if that’s so, what did you do, as an International Organisation, to
address to this situation?
Did you write to the Polish and Belarussian authorities?
Did you gave press conferences about this?
Did you try to visit the Polish detention centres, where, according to the
information of Amnesty International, the border refugees are being
mistreated and denied their right to asylum? [9]
If not, why not?
Because you are hindered in your activities?
And again the question:
If you are hindered in your activities, what did you do to protest and get access anyway, as
is your right and obligation as the International Red Cross?
And when, suppose you HAD access to the mentioned detention centres and
were not hindered in your activities, why did you give more attention
to the Ukrainian refugees then to those trapped between Belarus and
Poland.
Again, I don’t say you on purpose neglected those between borders refugees, I only had the impression more attention went to the Ukrainian refugees, who have, of course, the full right to your attention, only not more then
others.
EPILOGUE
Dear president, members of the International Red Cross, I hope you
forgive me my bold and critical questions, but they were necessary:
Like Amnesty International [10] I am very concerned about the
inhuman situation of the refugees between the border, as their reception in
Poland, that is quite different from the warm welcome
the Ukrainian refugees received, as it should be for all refugees.
You as a great humanitarian organisation can make the difference and
show the World and especially the European leaders, that all refugees
must be treated and received humanely, regardless where they came from
or what their origins are.
Do your best.
The refugees count on you!
And if you’re pressed with time and can’t answer me, no problem
All I want is that you do your humanitarian task to all refugees,
The situation of migrants trying to enter the EU at the border of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus is alarming. Thousands of migrants have been stuck on the border region since early autumn. The situation of people sleeping without shelter is expected to worsen as the winter approaches.
The Belarusian, Polish and Lithuanian Red Cross organisations are helping migrants at the borders by distributing food, clean water, hygiene supplies, clothes and blankets and by offering essential health care.
The health of the people sleeping rough is at continuous risk. At least 10 people are known to have died. Among them, a 14-year-old boy who died of hypothermia.
“There are hundreds of children at the border, many of whom have been separated from their families. The are also pregnant women and disabled people among the migrants. Their situation is worsening by the hour as the crisis drags on and nights become colder,” says the Director of International Operations at the Finnish Red Cross Tiina Saarikoski.
“All states are obliged to ensure that humanitarian aid gets through to its target. People have the right to necessary protection, care and safety, regardless of whether they are granted the right to stay in the country or not.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross helps migrants establish contact with their family members.
The Finnish Red Cross maintains preparedness for large-scale migration as part of its continuous readiness. As agreed with the authorities, the Red Cross is permanently prepared to establish and maintain reception centres and temporary accommodation units at the request of the authorities.
The Finnish Red Cross has not received official requests in relation to the situation in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus.
“The most important thing right now is to deliver necessary aid to the migrants in unsafe conditions and allow humanitarian operators to provide aid,” Saarikoski emphasises.
The Red Cross is urgently providing relief efforts as thousands of people risk their lives in freezing conditions along the Belarus-Poland border. At least 10 people have died and an estimated 2,000 people are living in makeshift camps near the border between Belarus and neighboring countries Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) urges unhindered access to the border be provided to help the men, women and children risking their lives for a safer future.
Belarus Red Cross has been coordinating aid from partners since last week, distributing food, water, blankets and warm clothes. Staff and volunteers are involved in a continuous response to the situation, sorting and distributing packages, as well as helping authorities set up heating tents for women and children. Assistance was also provided for three children who were hospitalized.
“We are concerned about the increasingly serious situation on the Poland-Belarus border, after large groups of migrants arrived there on November 8. We call for access for the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations so that all people in need, at the border and other locations, can receive medical treatment, humanitarian assistance and protection services,” said Andreas von Weissenberg, IFRC Europe’s head of Disasters, Climate and Crises.
“While Belarus Red Cross has thankfully been given some access to provide vital life-saving aid to people enduring hunger and freezing conditions, we need that access to be regular and also get access on the other side of the border. People need to be treated humanely,” von Weissenberg said.
The Polish Red Cross has been responding to this crisis for several weeks, delivering blankets, sleeping bags and clothes. Local branches are supporting migrants in provinces near the border with food, water and hygiene kits, as well as providing first aid and helping people trace family members.
Lithuanian Red Cross teams have also been supporting migrants close to the border with water, hygiene kits, footwear and clothing, as well as toys for children. In five large reception centers, volunteers provide food and other humanitarian aid, offer psychological support and legal assistance and help people reconnect with their loved ones by providing mobile phones and SIM cards.
IFRC is in the process of providing the Belarus Red Cross, Polish Red Cross and Lithuanian Red Cross with emergency funding to support the migrants with food, clothes, hygiene items, first aid and family reunification services.
“Humanitarian organizations must be granted unconditional and safe access to all people in need, irrespective of their legal status. People are crossing the border with just the clothes on their backs. They need food, medicine, hygiene items, clothing, and protective equipment against COVID-19. We must be allowed to deliver critical assistance and we want to see a peaceful, humane and rights-based solution to the situation,” von Weissenberg concluded.
[3]
24/7 NEWS BULLETIN
IT’S HEART BREAKING: HOW POLISH VOLUNTEERS
RESCUE POVERTY STRICKEN MIGRANTS AT
THE BELARUSIAN BORDER
11 NOVEMBER 2021
https://247newsbulletin.com/politics/4802.html
While the official Warsaw refuses to let in the migrants who have accumulated on the Belarusian border, not wanting to recognize them as refugees, many Poles express a desire to help people in difficult situations.
In the Polish media, you can see lists of various NGOs that are involved in helping migrants, as well as talk about ways to help them. One of the most popular is called a financial donation, but it is also suggested to become a volunteer working with refugees. The monetary contributions are spent on humanitarian transportation, shelter, medical and legal assistance, and integration with the host society.
“You don’t have to be at the border to help refugees,” writes Gazeta Wyborcza. “We can’t do much on this issue, but here’s exactly what we can: offer a blanket, a sleeping bag or waterproof clothing.”
Among the organizations that help refugees and migrants, mention is made, for example, of Caritas Polska, which carries out humanitarian aid campaigns both in Poland and abroad. This organization operates centers for refugees and migrants in Szczecin, Kalisz and Warsaw, providing systematic assistance in the field of intercultural integration, career counseling, psychological and legal assistance, classes in community centers and educational packages. Since the beginning of the current migration crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border, Caritas Polska has been organizing humanitarian transfers to centers where foreigners arrive, providing migrants with food, detergents, hygiene items, and blankets.
Helping migrants and the Polish Red Cross collecting material gifts for aid packages for migrants. Donations are accepted at Red Cross offices throughout Poland. Currently, the most in demand are: jackets, sweaters, thick socks, warm shoes, hats, scarves, blankets and sleeping bags. At the same time, clothes and shoes must be new or used, but in good condition. High-energy products are accepted (bars, chocolate, dried fruits), as well as other food products (pies and other canned poultry, canned fish, crackers, waffles, etc.).
The Polish non-governmental humanitarian organization Grupa Granica, which monitors the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, believes that refugees need to be rescued as soon as possible. Indeed, if the Polish border police finds injured migrants before doctors, they send them back to Belarus, explaining this step by the fact that their health condition may deteriorate at any time, and the risk of death in such conditions is great.
The Guardian tells how 15 Iraqi Kurds ended up in the forests of the Polish village of Narewka after they managed to cross the border of Belarus and the European Union. All migrants had early signs of hypothermia. One woman could hardly walk. They had no choice but to turn to volunteers for help. A team from Grupa Granica, before the border guards, found migrants who found themselves in completely extreme conditions. It was already starting to get dark, and the temperature dropped to almost zero degrees. Volunteers distributed blankets and hot tea to people.
After some time, the police arrived in the forest. Up to this point, volunteers have explained to the frozen migrants how to properly apply for asylum.
“We have about eight teams operating near the border and a total of about 40 people,” Anna Albot, a spokeswoman for the Polish Minority Rights Group and member of Grupa Granica, told The Guardian. – Whenever we receive calls from migrant families, we send a request to our teams and check who is closest to the place. People often ask for food, water, a doctor, or clothing. The other day I met a Syrian family who didn’t even have shoes. ”
Anna Chmielewska, coordinator of the Center for Assistance to Foreigners in Warsaw, noted that “it is difficult to work in the border zone for several reasons”. First, the Polish police stop the cars of the volunteers a few kilometers before the Kuznitsa checkpoint on the Polish-Belarusian border. The fact is that three kilometers from the border begins the territory on which the state of emergency is in force, so access to it is prohibited.
“We cannot get into this zone and help the people who are there,” she added. “Only local residents can do this.” According to her, volunteers only have the opportunity to contact migrants only when they can pass the border zone: “But not everyone succeeds in doing this. Winter is coming and people are not ready to stay outside in the cold day after day. We are afraid that bad weather will lead to more deaths. It’s heartbreaking for us. “
In addition, the activist said that border police officers often behave quite aggressively. “We are not doing anything illegal, but they make us feel like we are violators,” Khmelevska said. “Helping people is okay. But in the current situation we seem to be engaged in secret activities. “
According to a representative of another non-governmental Polish organization, Medycy na granicy (Doctors at the Border – MK), border guards periodically obstruct the provision of medical assistance to migrants.
On their official Facebook page, the volunteers reported that before going on another call, they found that the ambulance’s wheels had been deflated. In addition, the doctors found “people in uniform” at the service car, and an olive-colored car with registration numbers beginning with the letters denoting the off-road vehicles of the Polish army stood nearby, the report said.
The doctors added that they tried to talk to the people sitting in the car, but they left almost immediately. Then they turned to the Ministry of National Defense of Poland with a request to “urgently provide clarification regarding this shameful incident.”
The department gave a response almost immediately. “The soldiers of the Polish army have no relation to the damage to the ambulance at the border,” the ministry’s press service informed. “They have much more serious questions than the denial of fake news in the media space.”
At the same time, such situations do not lead volunteers astray. They continue to provide assistance to refugees. On their social networks, doctors posted a post in five languages – English, French, Arabic, Persian and Kurdish – with the following content: “If you or someone from your family needs any humanitarian or medical assistance on the Polish-Belarusian border, write US. We will connect you with the right people. “
Those wishing to help migrants have to face not only opposition from the authorities. After one of the theaters in the city of Legnica began collecting gifts for refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border, it was attacked by haters on the Internet. “But there are more people willing to help,” says one of the initiators of the action.
In this regard, Polish volunteers are pleased to know that activists from Germany are trying to help migrants stranded on the Polish-Belarusian border. According to the Polish Internet resource Oko.press, a group of German volunteers came to Poland to deliver parcels for refugees to local organizations, show solidarity with immigrants and protest against the actions of the Polish authorities and the inaction of German politicians.
“We have free seats on the bus,” says one of the activists Ruben Neugebauer. “We could take people who need help with us. If only the German government would agree to this … We call on the German authorities to create humanitarian corridors on the Polish-Belarusian border. This should be one of the priorities of the government that is currently being formed in Germany. “
.
Source From: MK
[4]
IFRC PRESIDENT: ETHNICITY AND NATIONALITY SHOULD NOT
New York / Geneva, 16 May 2022 – President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Francesco Rocca calls on states to step up to their responsibility to save lives, no matter where people are from, ahead of the first review of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM).
Mr Rocca says: “When I was in Marrakech for the adoption of the GCM I made a statement that the world’s approach to migration is painfully broken – but that the GCM can fix it. As we begin the first review of the progress made since then, I am sad to say that this has not been the case so far. Not enough changes to policies and practices to ensure safe and dignified migration have taken place, and many more lives have been lost due to that failure to act.”
On the world’s deadliest sea migration route, the central Mediterranean, the number of deaths has in fact increased since the GCM was signed. The Ocean Viking ship, operated by SOS Mediterranée with IFRC providing humanitarian services on board, saves people in distress on this route.
“We need to carry out this work as state-coordinated search and rescue is absent in the area,” says Mr Rocca. “Our teams have already saved 1,260 people in the nine months we’ve been operating.”
The Ocean Viking is one of the 330 Humanitarian Service Points (HSPs) in 45 countries that supports the ambitions of the GCM, providing assistance and protection to people on the move irrespective of status and without fear of reprisal. The Romanian Red Cross implements HSPs in Bucharest to support people fleeing Ukraine, providing information, food, water, hygiene items and financial assistance, while the Hungarian Red Cross has been operating a HSP at the Keleti railway station 24/7 to welcome people arriving from Ukraine by train with information, food, hygiene items and baby care products.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colombian Red Cross Society has implemented HSPs at the border with Venezuela, offering essential services like healthcare, while Libyan Red Crescent volunteers have provided support to migrants and displaced people, operating HSPs that provided access to information, food, and other necessities, as well as restoring family links services.
At the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), the IFRC is calling for individual and collective efforts on search and rescue; ensuring access to essential services for migrants regardless of status; scaling up support to people affected of climate related displacement; and the inclusion of migrants in all aspects of society and decision making.
“The political, public and humanitarian response to the Ukraine crisis has shown what is possible when humanity and dignity comes first, when there is global solidarity and the will to assist and protect the most vulnerable,” says Mr Rocca. “This must be extended to everyone in need, wherever they come from. Ethnicity and nationality should not be deciding factors in saving lives.”
Three months into the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has distributed financial assistance totalling more than 4.3 million Swiss francs to thousands of people on the move.
IFRC Head of Emergency Operations for the Ukraine response, Anne Katherine Moore, said:
“The longer the conflict continues, the greater the needs become. The cost of basic necessities, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, is rising. Increases in the cost of fuel and apartment rentals are also being reported. Millions of people have lost their jobs and their savings are dwindling. Through a new mobile app, we have been able to ramp up our support to help people facing these financial challenges.”
The new technology makes it possible for the IFRC and responding National Societies to reach people at scale and to deliver cash assistance digitally. Successfully introduced in Romania, the mobile app allows refugees to self-register for assistance online, negating the need and cost involved of having to travel to a central location.
The app will soon be expanded to Poland and Slovakia, where cash assistance is already being provided through more traditional methods such as in-person registration, as well as Ukraine and other neighbouring countries.
“This is the fastest we have ever delivered cash at this scale. It has the potential to be a game-changer for our work not just in this response, but also in future operations,” Moore continued.
Cash assistance is a dignified and efficient way to support people impacted by the conflict, allowing them to purchase items specific to their individual needs, while also supporting local economies. It is one part of our integrated and wide-ranging Red Cross and Red Crescent response to the conflict that also includes the provision of health care, first aid, psychosocial support and the distribution of basic household necessities.
Speaking about next steps, Moore said: “There is no short-term solution to the needs of the more than 14 million people who have been forced to flee their homes. We know that even if the conflict was to end tomorrow, rebuilding and recovery will take years. People have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and access to timely healthcare. The IFRC, in support of local National Red Cross Societies in the region, will be there helping people now, and in the months and years to come.”
During the past three months:
Together, we have reached more than 2.1 million people with life-saving aid within Ukraine and in surrounding countries. This is 1 in 10 people who had to flee their homes because of the conflict.
Along the travel routes within and outside Ukraine, we’ve set up 142 Humanitarian Service Points in 15 countries to provide those fleeing with a safe environment. There, they receive essential services like food, hygiene items, blankets, clothing water, first aid, psychosocial support, information, and financial assistance.
In total, we distributed 2.3 million kilograms of aid.
71,000 Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers are responding to the crisis.
Due to the conflict escalation in Ukraine, millions of people have left their homes and crossed into neighbouring countries. The Ukrainian Red Cross is helping people affected by the conflict as the security situation allows. National Societies in surrounding countries, with support from the IFRC, are assisting people leaving Ukraine with shelter, basic aid items and medical supplies. People from Ukraine will need long-term, ongoing support. Our priority is addressing the humanitarian needs of all people affected by the conflict, inside and outside Ukraine.
8 dec 2021, door Anna Albot in the Guardian. Zij is met in Narewka, Polen, vlakbij de grens met Wit-Rusland.
Het helpen van vluchtelingen die verhongeren in de ijzige grensbossen van Polen is illegaal, maar het is niet de echte misdaad
Eén gedachte gaat constant door mijn hoofd: “Ik heb kinderen thuis, ik kan niet de cel in, ik kan niet de cel in.” De politiek ligt buiten mijn bereik of dat van de slachtoffers aan de grens tussen Polen en Wit-Rusland. Die gaat erom dat de vertrekkende Duitse kanselier Angela Merkel doordringt tot Alexander Loekasjenko, de president van Wit-Rusland. Het is ironisch dat deze grens meer dan 50 mediaploegen op de been heeft gebracht, maar Polen de enige plaats in de EU is waar journalisten niet vrijuit kunnen rapporteren.
Ondertussen nadert de strenge Noord-Europese winter en bevriezen mijn vingers in de donkere sneeuwnachten.
De grenssituatie laat de kloof zien tussen wat legaal is en wat moreel is. Hij beheerst de inspanningen van degenen die levens redden. Het enige wat wij, activisten in de bossen aan de grens tussen Polen en Wit-Rusland, kunnen doen is water, voedsel en kleding naar wanhopige mensen brengen. Maar deze fundamentele humanitaire daad, kan alleen in het geheim worden uitgevoerd. We moeten ons verstoppen en door de bossen sluipen. De aandacht trekken van grenswachten, politie of leger zou een nieuwe pushback kunnen forceren.
We ontmoeten bange ogen, uitgeputte gezichten, lichamen kapot door de kou … Bevroren, dorstige, hongerige mensen.
Ik heb verschillende groepen tussen de bomen ontmoet: gezinnen, moeders met kinderen, vaders met gehandicapte kinderen, ouderen en mensen uit de meest kwetsbare groepen ter wereld – etnisch, religieus en LGBTQ+. Ze zochten vrijheid, maar werden sinds augustus tot nu, december, vijf, tien en zelfs vijftien keer teruggedreven naar Wit-Rusland.
Tijdens mijn nachtelijke tochten ben ik uitgerust met een grote rugzak vol thermoskannen warme soep, sokken, laarzen, jassen, handschoenen, sjaals, mutsen, pleisters, medicijnen en powerbanks. Ik loop in het donker en verschuil me achter bomen als ik helikopters hoor of de felle lichten van de politie zie. Ik hoor het geplons van de soep in de kannen op mijn rug, ik hoor mijn kortademigheid – niemand heeft me geleerd om te sluipen en onzichtbaar te zijn als een beroepsmilitair. Ik heb jarenlang voor mensenrechten gewerkt, de meeste EU-grenzen en vluchtelingenkampen bezocht, maar ik was nooit bang om takken onder mijn voeten te laten kraken of voor het ritselen van de bomen boven mijn hoofd terwijl ik me voortbeweeg.
Uit persoonlijke verhalen en bewijzen verzameld door Minority Rights Group International en collega’s van Grupa Granica, een alliantie van 14 Poolse maatschappelijke organisaties die reageren op de crisis, weten we dat er minstens 5.000 mensen in de bossen zijn geweest en dat er momenteel minstens 1.000 zijn. We hebben met iedereen contact gehad: wanhopige slachtoffers van een walgelijk machtsspel tussen staten.
Elke keer dat we reageren op een telefoontje van iemand in nood, of hun moeder die nog in Irak of Afghanistan is, of een neef in Berlijn, hangen we onze rugzakken om en gaan. Dag en nacht – lang nadat de wereld zijn interesse heeft verloren. Soms zijn we uren op zoek naar mensen. Die veranderen voor de veiligheid vaak van locatie. Soms zijn bejaarde grootmoeders of de kleine kinderen die geen energie meer hebben om te lopen, gestrand in Poolse moerassen. Nu de bossen bedekt zijn met sneeuw en mensen ons niet kunnen bellen omdat hun telefoons zijn vernietigd door het Poolse leger, gebruiken we infrarood camera’s.
We ontmoeten bange ogen, uitgeputte gezichten, lichamen kapot door de kou, wanhopig verzwakt na weken in het ijzige, natte bos. Bevroren, dorstige, hongerige mensen. Ik had geen idee wat honger betekende. Ik gaf mijn kinderen wel eens een stuk chocola als ze klaagden voor het eten. Ik heb armoedestatistieken en geschiedenisboeken gelezen. Ik wist niets van honger.
Mensen aan de grens tussen Polen en Wit-Rusland hebben al weken niet gegeten. Om de paar dagen krijgen ze, als ze geld hebben, misschien een oude aardappel van een Wit-Russische soldaat na een gewelddadige pushback over het prikkeldraad. Die delen ze met de kinderen. Ze hebben dagenlang niets te drinken. Of drinken moeras- of regenwater, dat maagkrampen en een verlammende hoofdpijn veroorzaakt, waardoor ze verder verzwakken.
We wensen hen het beste aan het einde van onze ontmoeting. Voor een paar dagen voldoende voedsel en water achterlaten is onmogelijk: niemand heeft de kracht om zoveel te dragen. We kunnen geen mensen meenemen of naar een veilige plek brengen. Dat zou een strafbaar feit zijn. Maar het is geen misdaad om deze mensen langzaam dood te laten gaan…
Waar is het Rode Kruis, de Internationale Organisatie voor Migratie van de VN en de VN-vluchtelingenorganisatie? Die organisaties die zelfs in oorlogsgebieden opereren? Die voedsel en water naar de gevaarlijkste criminelen brengen? Is Elina, 5, gevaarlijker of minder waard? Ze heeft epilepsie, maar geen medicijnen. Ik ontmoette haar in het bos met negen andere Koerden, allemaal zonder laarzen. Ze hebben thuis oorlogen en luchtaanvallen overleefd, maar kunnen in het Poolse bos doodvriezen. Bij elke pushback pakken Poolse en Wit-Russische officieren alles af: geld, kleding en schoeisel.
Er was de groep van negen vrouwen uit de Democratische Republiek Congo, waarschijnlijk verhandeld. Toen ik ze de situatie uitlegde, huilden en huilden ze maar. Of de Yezidi-zussen, die zeven jaar geleden ontsnapten aan de genocide in Sinjar, Irak, maar nog steeds op zoek zijn naar een veilige plek. Of de jongens uit Jemen, die perfect Engels spreken. Of de drie homoseksuele mannen uit Iran, wanhopig om niet teruggestuurd te worden naar Wit-Russische soldaten.
We blijven contact houden. Als ze erin slagen hun telefoons te verbergen, kunnen we communiceren na een pushback. Ze delen foto’s en video’s van Wit-Russische honden. Laten me bijtwonden zien als we elkaar aan de Poolse kant ontmoeten. Zij huilen. Ze vragen om advies. Ze willen hun familie niet vertellen over hun benarde situatie, maar ze hebben iemand nodig om mee te praten.
“De vijfde pushback. Na de zesde pleeg ik zelfmoord.”
“Ik heb mijn zoon verloren, hij heeft astma. De laatste keer dat hij belde was drie dagen geleden. Weet je waar hij is?”
“Wanneer ben je hier? Heb je water? Al is het een druppel?”
Onderworpen aan een desinformatiecampagne krijgen de vluchtelingen tegenstrijdige berichten van Wit-Russische diensten, die formulieren verspreiden over de vestiging in Polen of Duitsland. Dit schept hoop op een veilige reis. Maar het echte doel is om ze aan de Poolse grens neer te zetten om druk uit te oefenen op de EU. Sommige verontrustende berichten suggereren dat migranten worden gedwongen om deel te nemen aan geweld als onderdeel van Wit-Russische pogingen om Poolse functionarissen te provoceren.
Met het risico van een escalatie van geweld willen wij, de activisten in de bossen, de wereld eraan herinneren dat vluchtelingen geen agressors zijn. Ze zijn gijzelaars van het regime van Loekasjenko, dat hen voor zijn agenda gebruikt.
Polen sturen me berichten: “Waar moet ik warme en donkere kleding naartoe sturen?” “Hoe is de situatie aan de grens? De media laten ons alleen video’s zien van het Poolse ministerie of de Wit-Russische autoriteiten.” “Ik huil als ik mijn kinderen in bed stop. Schrijf alsjeblieft iets dat kan helpen.”
Dunja Mijatović, de commissaris voor mensenrechten van de Raad van Europa, verbleef vier dagen in Polen en ging met ons mee het veld in. Ze zei: “De grootste kracht van de hulpbeweging voor vluchtelingen aan de grens tussen Polen en Wit-Rusland zijn de inwoners van de naburige steden – in de noodzone en ernaast. Het is hun compassie en empathie die het leven van mensen in het bos verlengt. Hun moed en onbaatzuchtigheid. Hun goedheid redt levens.”
Anderen zien het natuurlijk anders: mensen die aan de grens helpen zijn “vijanden van de natie”, “agenten van Loekasjenko”, “schuldig aan het vernietigen van Europese waarden”, “het uitnodigen van terroristen hier”.
We maken ons schuldig aan het achterlaten van pakken water in het bos voor de dorstigen. We maken ons schuldig aan het uitdelen van soep. Aan schoenen aan koude voeten doen die niet meer konden bewegen. Als helpen illegaal is, begrijpen we dan wel wat misdaad is?
Anna Alboth is vrijwilliger bij Minority Rights Group
[7]
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND/BELARUS: NEW EVIDENCE OF ABUSES HIGHLIGHTS
”HYPOCRISY” OF UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS
Poland/Belarus: New evidence of abuses highlights ‘hypocrisy’ of unequal treatment of asylum-seekers
Authorities violating rights of asylum-seekers, including strip searches and other degrading treatment, in overcrowded detention centres
Some people forcibly sedated during return
Pushbacks and arbitrary detention in stark contrast with welcome shown to those fleeing Ukraine
Spokespeople available
The Polish authorities have arbitrarily detained nearly two thousand asylum-seekers who crossed into the country from Belarus in 2021, and subjected many of them to abuse, including strip searches in unsanitary, overcrowded facilities, and in some cases even to forcible sedation and tasering, Amnesty International said today.
Additionally, after a hiatus during winter, more asylum-seekers are now trying to enter Poland from Belarus, where they are unable to access further funds due to international sanctions and risk harassment or apprehension by Belarusian police due their irregular immigration status. At the Polish border they face razor wire fences and repeated pushbacks by border guards sometimes up to 20-30 times.
“This violent and degrading treatment stands in stark contrast to the warm welcome Poland is offering to displaced people arriving from Ukraine. The behaviour of the Polish authorities smacks of racism and hypocrisy. Poland must urgently extend its admirable compassion for those entering the country from Ukraine to all those crossing its borders to seek safety.”
Arbitrary detention and abysmal detention conditions
Polish border guards have systematically rounded up and violently pushed back people crossing from Belarus, sometimes threatening them with guns. The vast majority of those who have been fortunate enough to avoid being pushed back to Belarus and to apply for asylum in Poland are forced into automatic detention, without a proper assessment of their individual situation and the impact detention would have on their physical and mental health. They are often held for prolonged and indefinite periods of time in overcrowded centres that offer little privacy and only limited access to sanitary facilities, doctors, psychologists, or legal assistance.
Almost all of the people Amnesty International interviewed said they were traumatized after fleeing areas of conflict and being trapped for months on the Belarusian-Polish border. They also suffered from serious psychological problems, including anxiety, insomnia, depression and frequent suicidal thoughts, undoubtedly exacerbated by their unnecessary metres. For most, psychological support was unavailable.
Retraumatized inside a military base
Many of the people who Amnesty spoke to had been in Wędrzyn detention centre, which holds up to 600 people. Overcrowding is particularly acute in this facility, where up to 24 men are detained in rooms measuring just eight square metres.
In 2021, the Polish authorities decreased the minimum required space for foreign detainees from three square meters per person to just two. The Council of Europe minimum standard for personal living space in prisons and detention centres is four square meters per person.
People held in Wędrzyn recounted how guards greeted new detainees by saying “welcome to Guantánamo”. Many of them were victims of torture in their home countries before enduring harrowing experiences both in Belarus and on the border of Poland. The detention centre in Wędrzyn forms part of an active military base. The facility’s barbed wire walls — and the persistent sound of armoured vehicles, helicopters and gunfire from military exercises in the area — only serves to retraumatize them.
In Lesznowola Detention Centre, detainees said that guards’ treatment left them feeling dehumanized. The staff called detainees by their case numbers instead of using their names and meted out excessive punishments, including isolation, for simple requests, such as asking for a towel or more food.
Nearly all those interviewed reported consistently disrespectful and verbally abusive behaviour, racist remarks and other practices that indicated psychological ill-treatment.
Men who Amnesty International interviewed uniformly complained about the manner in which body searches were conducted. When people were transferred from one detention centre to another, they were forced to undergo a strip search at each facility, even though they were in state custody at all times. In Wędrzyn, people recounted abusive searches. For example, all newly admitted foreigners are kept together in a room, required to remove all of their clothes and ordered to perform squats longer than necessary for a legitimate check.
Violent forcible returns
Amnesty International interviewed several people who were forcibly returned as well as some who avoided return and remain in detention in Poland. Many said the Polish border guards who conducted the returns coerced them into signing documents in Polish that they suspected included incriminating information in order to justify their returns. They also said that, in some cases, border guards used excessive force, such as tasers, restrained people with handcuffs, and even sedated those being returned.
Authorities attempted to forcibly return Yezda, a 30-year old Kurdish woman , with her husband and three small children. After being told that the family would be returned to Iraq, Yezda panicked and screamed and pleaded with the guards not to take them. She threatened to take her life and became extremely agitated. “I knew I could not go back to Iraq and I was ready to die in Poland. While I was crying like that, two guards restrained me and my husband, tied our hands behind our backs, and a doctor gave us an injection that made us very weak and sleepy. My head was not clear, but I could hear my children, who were in the room with us, crying and screaming.”
“We were asked to go through the airport security and the guards told us to behave on the plane. But I refused to go. I remember noticing that I didn’t even have any shoes on, as in the chaos at the camp, they slipped of my feet. My head was not clear, and I couldn’t see my husband or the children, but I remember that they forced me on the plane that was full of people. I was still crying and pleading with the police not to take us.” Yezda said that she broke her foot as she fought the guards who tried to put her on the plane. Yezda and her family were returned to Warsaw after the airline refused to take them to Iraq. They remain in a camp in Poland for now.
Volunteers and activists have been barred from accessing the border of Poland and Belarus, and some have even faced prosecution for trying to help people cross the border. In March, activists who had helped people both on Poland’s borders with Ukraine and with Belarus were detained for providing life-saving assistance to refugees and migrants on the Belarussian border, and now face potentially serious charges.
Stranded at the border
On 20 March, the Belarusian authorities reportedly evicted close to 700 refugees and migrants, including many families with young children and people suffering from severe illnesses and disabilities, from the warehouse in the Belarusian village of Bruzgi which had accommodated several thousand people in 2021.
People who were evicted from the warehouse suddenly found themselves stranded in the forest, trying to survive in sub-zero temperatures without shelter, food, water or access to medical care. Many remain in the forest and experience daily abuse from the Belarusian border guards, who use dogs and violence to force people to cross the border into Poland.
“Hundreds of people fleeing conflict in the Middle East and other parts of the world remain stranded on the border between Belarus and Poland. The Polish government must immediately stop pushbacks. They are illegal no matter how the government tries to justify them. The international community – including the EU – must demand that those trapped on Poland’s border with Belarus be afforded the same access to EU territory as any other group seeking refuge in Europe,” said Jelena Sesar.
END OF THE ARTICLE
REPORT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND: CRUELTY, NOT COMPASSION, AT EUROPE’S OTHER BORDERS
The rapid relief effort at the border, exceptional generosity of civil society and willingness of Polish authorities to receive people fleeing from Ukraine contrast starkly with the Polish government’s hostility toward refugees and migrants who have arrived in the country via Belarus since July 2021. Hundreds of people who crossed from Belarus have been arbitrarily detained in Poland in appalling conditions and without access to a fair asylum proceeding. Many have been forcibly returned to their countries of origin, some under sedation. In addition, hundreds of people remain stranded inside Belarus and face increasingly desperate conditions.
END OF THIS PIECE
FULL REPORT
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND: CRUELTY, NOT COMPASSION, AT EUROPE’S OTHER BORDERS
Doctors Without Borders removed its team on the Belarus-Poland border after Warsaw blocked access to migrants trying to enter the European Union. Camped in harsh conditions, several people have died on the EU’s doorstep.
Despite knowing people along the Belarus-Poland border were “in desperate need of medical and humanitarian assistance,” the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it withdrew its emergency response team from the region.
“Since October, MSF has repeatedly requested access to the restricted area and the border guard posts in Poland, but without success,” Frauke Ossig, the charity’s emergency coordinator for Poland and Lithuania, said on Thursday.
“We know that there are still people crossing the border and hiding in the forest, in need of support, but while we are committed to assisting people on the move wherever they may be, we have not been able to reach them in Poland,” Ossig added.
While many of the migrants received shelter in a logistics center, a number of people are reported to have died in the freezing, harsh conditions along the border.
Why can’t aid groups reach migrants and asylum-seekers?
On December 1, Poland’s Interior Ministry extended a state of emergency that prohibits all non-residents, including journalists and non-governmental aid groups, from the border area.
“People are being attacked and beaten at the hands of border guards, and yet state officials continue to allow the practice of pushing people between borders knowing that such maltreatment continues,” MSF said.
With thousands of people on the Belarusian side of the 400-kilometer (250-mile) stretch, Poland built a barbed-wire fence that it intends to replace with a permanent barrier and sent thousands of soldiers to the border, leaving the migrants stuck in camps in no man’s land and unable to apply for asylum in the European Union.
Polish border guards accused of illegal ‘pushbacks’
Polish border guards have been accused of forcibly pushing migrants and asylum-seekers back into Belarus — a move that breaches international law. At least 21 people have lost their lives in the attempt in 2021, MSF reported.
In December, the Polish civil society group Salam Lab reported that five Syrian and one Palestinian who managed to find their way outside Poland’s exclusion zone said they had been pushed back to Belarus several times by Polish authorities.
EU nations Latvia and Lithuania, which also share borders with Belarus, have also reinforced their border security and declared a state of emergency. MSF said it had not received access to migrants at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.
Belarus denies this and has urged the EU to take in the migrants.
“The current situation is unacceptable and inhumane,” Ossig said. “People have the right to seek safety and asylum and should not be illegitimately pushed back to Belarus.”
[9]
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND/BELARUS: NEW EVIDENCE OF ABUSES HIGHLIGHTS
”HYPOCRISY” OF UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS
Questions about the International Red Cross attitude against
Ukrainian refugees versus refugees trapped between Belarus and
Poland
Your mission as International Red Cross
”The work of the ICRC is based on the Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols, its Statutes – and those of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – and the resolutions of the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The ICRC is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.
https://www.icrc.org/en/who-we-are/mandate
[When you are pressed with time, go directly to the part below:
”QUESTIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS”]
Dear President
Dear members of the Assembly,
Firstly my great appreciation for your fantastic and indispensable Work
through the whole world!
Without your humanitarian involvement and the sometimes great risks
your co workers take, life would be extremely difficult, if not impossible,
for the millions of people you are helping day after day.
But even the best of organisations need critical attention and have their
flaws and that’s precisely the reason of this letter.
For in my opinion the International Red Cross attention for the Ukrainian
refugees, who have crossed the Polish Border is far more greater than the attention for the refugees, who tried to cross the Polish Border and are still trapped between the borders of Poland and Belarus.
Now I will not say, that the International Red Cross did nothing for these refugees.
On the contrary:
My great appreciation for the Good Work of the Finnish Red Cross, that
helped those people wonderfully! [1]
I also appreciate the emergency calls and involvement
of the American Red Cross, The Belarus Red Cross, the Poland Red Cross,
the Lithuanian Red Cross and the other Red Cross departments [2]
Thank you, Finnish Red Cross [which gets this letter cc also]
and thank you, the other mentioned and peerhaps not mentioned Red Cross departments !
Also a Shout out to all those anonymous Polish people,
who helped refugees! [3]
And I express my appreciation to the president of the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies mr F Rocca, who
stated, that thee should be no difference in the reception and protection
of refugees, whether they are Ukrainians or coming from other countries.
I quote him:
”“The political, public and humanitarian response to the Ukraine crisis has shown what is possible when humanity and dignity comes first, when there is global solidarity and the will to assist and protect the most vulnerable,”and”
“This must be extended to everyone in need, wherever they come from. Ethnicity and nationality should not be deciding factors in saving lives.” [4]
UKRAINIAN REFUGEES VERSUS REFUGEES, TRAPPED BETWEEN
POLAND AND BELARUS
I referred to the great attention of the International Red Cross to the Ukrainian
refugees [5] and don’t get me wrong:
I appreciate that very much and I think it is of the utmost importance to stand
for these people, who were the victims of the Russian invasion and had to flee their countries under so dramatic circumstances.
I sympathise with all refugees whoever they are and where they came from
and I know the International Red Cross does the same.
And yet, according to me, sometimes things go wrong.
Too often I learn from people from the field: Volunteers who do their utmost
to help those. who are trapped between the borders of Belarus and Poland, that
the Red Cross is not, or not enough, present to help the between border refugees”:
I quote something that made great impression on me:
It’s from mrs Anna Albot, a spokeswoman for the Polish Minority
Right Group [also mentioned in cc] and member of the Grupa Granica:
Quote: [first in Dutch, then translation in English]:
”Waar is het Rode Kruis, de Internationale Organisatie voor Migratie van de VN en de VN-vluchtelingenorganisatie? Die organisaties die zelfs in oorlogsgebieden opereren? Die voedsel en water naar de gevaarlijkste criminelen brengen? Is Elina, 5, gevaarlijker of minder waard? ” [6]
In English:
”Where is the Red Cross, The International Organisation for Migration
of the UN and the UNHCR?
Those organisations which even operate in warzones?
Which bring food and water to the most dangerous criminals?
Is Elina, 5, more dangerous and worth less?
Mrs Albot also published this article in the Guardian [8 december 2021]
QUESTIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
This was in december 2021
And to my knowledge, the situation of the refugees, trapped
in the Polish-Belarussian border is yet inhuman, as is the
situation of the refugees, who reached Poland and are in
Polish detention centres in dire conditions.
See the statement of Amnesty International [7]
Now I had the impression, that on this moment, the main attention
of the International Cross goes to the Ukrainian refugees and that the
trapped refugees between Poland and Belarus are somewhat forgotten.
When I am wrong, please send me the information about
your involvement in the no one land between those borders.
When I am NOT wrong, please explain to me, why the International
Red Cross shows less attention to those refugees:
Are you being hindered in your activities, something volunteers have experienced in the past months? [8]
And if that’s so, what did you do, as an International Organisation, to
address to this situation?
Did you write to the Polish and Belarussian authorities?
Did you gave press conferences about this?
Did you try to visit the Polish detention centres, where, according to the
information of Amnesty International, the border refugees are being
mistreated and denied their right to asylum? [9]
If not, why not?
Because you are hindered in your activities?
And again the question:
If you are hindered in your activities, what did you do to protest and get access anyway, as
is your right and obligation as the International Red Cross?
And when, suppose you HAD access to the mentioned detention centres and
were not hindered in your activities, why did you give more attention
to the Ukrainian refugees then to those trapped between Belarus and
Poland.
Again, I don’t say you on purpose neglected those between borders refugees, I only had the impression more attention went to the Ukrainian refugees, who have, of course, the full right to your attention, only not more then
others.
EPILOGUE
Dear president, members of the International Red Cross, I hope you
forgive me my bold and critical questions, but they were necessary:
Like Amnesty International [10] I am very concerned about the
inhuman situation of the refugees between the border, as their reception in
Poland, that is quite different from the warm welcome
the Ukrainian refugees received, as it should be for all refugees.
You as a great humanitarian organisation can make the difference and
show the World and especially the European leaders, that all refugees
must be treated and received humanely, regardless where they came from
or what their origins are.
Do your best.
The refugees count on you!
And if you’re pressed with time and can’t answer me, no problem
All I want is that you do your humanitarian task to all refugees,
The situation of migrants trying to enter the EU at the border of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus is alarming. Thousands of migrants have been stuck on the border region since early autumn. The situation of people sleeping without shelter is expected to worsen as the winter approaches.
The Belarusian, Polish and Lithuanian Red Cross organisations are helping migrants at the borders by distributing food, clean water, hygiene supplies, clothes and blankets and by offering essential health care.
The health of the people sleeping rough is at continuous risk. At least 10 people are known to have died. Among them, a 14-year-old boy who died of hypothermia.
“There are hundreds of children at the border, many of whom have been separated from their families. The are also pregnant women and disabled people among the migrants. Their situation is worsening by the hour as the crisis drags on and nights become colder,” says the Director of International Operations at the Finnish Red Cross Tiina Saarikoski.
“All states are obliged to ensure that humanitarian aid gets through to its target. People have the right to necessary protection, care and safety, regardless of whether they are granted the right to stay in the country or not.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross helps migrants establish contact with their family members.
The Finnish Red Cross maintains preparedness for large-scale migration as part of its continuous readiness. As agreed with the authorities, the Red Cross is permanently prepared to establish and maintain reception centres and temporary accommodation units at the request of the authorities.
The Finnish Red Cross has not received official requests in relation to the situation in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus.
“The most important thing right now is to deliver necessary aid to the migrants in unsafe conditions and allow humanitarian operators to provide aid,” Saarikoski emphasises.
The Red Cross is urgently providing relief efforts as thousands of people risk their lives in freezing conditions along the Belarus-Poland border. At least 10 people have died and an estimated 2,000 people are living in makeshift camps near the border between Belarus and neighboring countries Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) urges unhindered access to the border be provided to help the men, women and children risking their lives for a safer future.
Belarus Red Cross has been coordinating aid from partners since last week, distributing food, water, blankets and warm clothes. Staff and volunteers are involved in a continuous response to the situation, sorting and distributing packages, as well as helping authorities set up heating tents for women and children. Assistance was also provided for three children who were hospitalized.
“We are concerned about the increasingly serious situation on the Poland-Belarus border, after large groups of migrants arrived there on November 8. We call for access for the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations so that all people in need, at the border and other locations, can receive medical treatment, humanitarian assistance and protection services,” said Andreas von Weissenberg, IFRC Europe’s head of Disasters, Climate and Crises.
“While Belarus Red Cross has thankfully been given some access to provide vital life-saving aid to people enduring hunger and freezing conditions, we need that access to be regular and also get access on the other side of the border. People need to be treated humanely,” von Weissenberg said.
The Polish Red Cross has been responding to this crisis for several weeks, delivering blankets, sleeping bags and clothes. Local branches are supporting migrants in provinces near the border with food, water and hygiene kits, as well as providing first aid and helping people trace family members.
Lithuanian Red Cross teams have also been supporting migrants close to the border with water, hygiene kits, footwear and clothing, as well as toys for children. In five large reception centers, volunteers provide food and other humanitarian aid, offer psychological support and legal assistance and help people reconnect with their loved ones by providing mobile phones and SIM cards.
IFRC is in the process of providing the Belarus Red Cross, Polish Red Cross and Lithuanian Red Cross with emergency funding to support the migrants with food, clothes, hygiene items, first aid and family reunification services.
“Humanitarian organizations must be granted unconditional and safe access to all people in need, irrespective of their legal status. People are crossing the border with just the clothes on their backs. They need food, medicine, hygiene items, clothing, and protective equipment against COVID-19. We must be allowed to deliver critical assistance and we want to see a peaceful, humane and rights-based solution to the situation,” von Weissenberg concluded.
[3]
24/7 NEWS BULLETIN
IT’S HEART BREAKING: HOW POLISH VOLUNTEERS
RESCUE POVERTY STRICKEN MIGRANTS AT
THE BELARUSIAN BORDER
11 NOVEMBER 2021
https://247newsbulletin.com/politics/4802.html
While the official Warsaw refuses to let in the migrants who have accumulated on the Belarusian border, not wanting to recognize them as refugees, many Poles express a desire to help people in difficult situations.
In the Polish media, you can see lists of various NGOs that are involved in helping migrants, as well as talk about ways to help them. One of the most popular is called a financial donation, but it is also suggested to become a volunteer working with refugees. The monetary contributions are spent on humanitarian transportation, shelter, medical and legal assistance, and integration with the host society.
“You don’t have to be at the border to help refugees,” writes Gazeta Wyborcza. “We can’t do much on this issue, but here’s exactly what we can: offer a blanket, a sleeping bag or waterproof clothing.”
Among the organizations that help refugees and migrants, mention is made, for example, of Caritas Polska, which carries out humanitarian aid campaigns both in Poland and abroad. This organization operates centers for refugees and migrants in Szczecin, Kalisz and Warsaw, providing systematic assistance in the field of intercultural integration, career counseling, psychological and legal assistance, classes in community centers and educational packages. Since the beginning of the current migration crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border, Caritas Polska has been organizing humanitarian transfers to centers where foreigners arrive, providing migrants with food, detergents, hygiene items, and blankets.
Helping migrants and the Polish Red Cross collecting material gifts for aid packages for migrants. Donations are accepted at Red Cross offices throughout Poland. Currently, the most in demand are: jackets, sweaters, thick socks, warm shoes, hats, scarves, blankets and sleeping bags. At the same time, clothes and shoes must be new or used, but in good condition. High-energy products are accepted (bars, chocolate, dried fruits), as well as other food products (pies and other canned poultry, canned fish, crackers, waffles, etc.).
The Polish non-governmental humanitarian organization Grupa Granica, which monitors the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, believes that refugees need to be rescued as soon as possible. Indeed, if the Polish border police finds injured migrants before doctors, they send them back to Belarus, explaining this step by the fact that their health condition may deteriorate at any time, and the risk of death in such conditions is great.
The Guardian tells how 15 Iraqi Kurds ended up in the forests of the Polish village of Narewka after they managed to cross the border of Belarus and the European Union. All migrants had early signs of hypothermia. One woman could hardly walk. They had no choice but to turn to volunteers for help. A team from Grupa Granica, before the border guards, found migrants who found themselves in completely extreme conditions. It was already starting to get dark, and the temperature dropped to almost zero degrees. Volunteers distributed blankets and hot tea to people.
After some time, the police arrived in the forest. Up to this point, volunteers have explained to the frozen migrants how to properly apply for asylum.
“We have about eight teams operating near the border and a total of about 40 people,” Anna Albot, a spokeswoman for the Polish Minority Rights Group and member of Grupa Granica, told The Guardian. – Whenever we receive calls from migrant families, we send a request to our teams and check who is closest to the place. People often ask for food, water, a doctor, or clothing. The other day I met a Syrian family who didn’t even have shoes. ”
Anna Chmielewska, coordinator of the Center for Assistance to Foreigners in Warsaw, noted that “it is difficult to work in the border zone for several reasons”. First, the Polish police stop the cars of the volunteers a few kilometers before the Kuznitsa checkpoint on the Polish-Belarusian border. The fact is that three kilometers from the border begins the territory on which the state of emergency is in force, so access to it is prohibited.
“We cannot get into this zone and help the people who are there,” she added. “Only local residents can do this.” According to her, volunteers only have the opportunity to contact migrants only when they can pass the border zone: “But not everyone succeeds in doing this. Winter is coming and people are not ready to stay outside in the cold day after day. We are afraid that bad weather will lead to more deaths. It’s heartbreaking for us. “
In addition, the activist said that border police officers often behave quite aggressively. “We are not doing anything illegal, but they make us feel like we are violators,” Khmelevska said. “Helping people is okay. But in the current situation we seem to be engaged in secret activities. “
According to a representative of another non-governmental Polish organization, Medycy na granicy (Doctors at the Border – MK), border guards periodically obstruct the provision of medical assistance to migrants.
On their official Facebook page, the volunteers reported that before going on another call, they found that the ambulance’s wheels had been deflated. In addition, the doctors found “people in uniform” at the service car, and an olive-colored car with registration numbers beginning with the letters denoting the off-road vehicles of the Polish army stood nearby, the report said.
The doctors added that they tried to talk to the people sitting in the car, but they left almost immediately. Then they turned to the Ministry of National Defense of Poland with a request to “urgently provide clarification regarding this shameful incident.”
The department gave a response almost immediately. “The soldiers of the Polish army have no relation to the damage to the ambulance at the border,” the ministry’s press service informed. “They have much more serious questions than the denial of fake news in the media space.”
At the same time, such situations do not lead volunteers astray. They continue to provide assistance to refugees. On their social networks, doctors posted a post in five languages – English, French, Arabic, Persian and Kurdish – with the following content: “If you or someone from your family needs any humanitarian or medical assistance on the Polish-Belarusian border, write US. We will connect you with the right people. “
Those wishing to help migrants have to face not only opposition from the authorities. After one of the theaters in the city of Legnica began collecting gifts for refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border, it was attacked by haters on the Internet. “But there are more people willing to help,” says one of the initiators of the action.
In this regard, Polish volunteers are pleased to know that activists from Germany are trying to help migrants stranded on the Polish-Belarusian border. According to the Polish Internet resource Oko.press, a group of German volunteers came to Poland to deliver parcels for refugees to local organizations, show solidarity with immigrants and protest against the actions of the Polish authorities and the inaction of German politicians.
“We have free seats on the bus,” says one of the activists Ruben Neugebauer. “We could take people who need help with us. If only the German government would agree to this … We call on the German authorities to create humanitarian corridors on the Polish-Belarusian border. This should be one of the priorities of the government that is currently being formed in Germany. “
.
Source From: MK
[4]
IFRC PRESIDENT: ETHNICITY AND NATIONALITY SHOULD NOT
New York / Geneva, 16 May 2022 – President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Francesco Rocca calls on states to step up to their responsibility to save lives, no matter where people are from, ahead of the first review of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM).
Mr Rocca says: “When I was in Marrakech for the adoption of the GCM I made a statement that the world’s approach to migration is painfully broken – but that the GCM can fix it. As we begin the first review of the progress made since then, I am sad to say that this has not been the case so far. Not enough changes to policies and practices to ensure safe and dignified migration have taken place, and many more lives have been lost due to that failure to act.”
On the world’s deadliest sea migration route, the central Mediterranean, the number of deaths has in fact increased since the GCM was signed. The Ocean Viking ship, operated by SOS Mediterranée with IFRC providing humanitarian services on board, saves people in distress on this route.
“We need to carry out this work as state-coordinated search and rescue is absent in the area,” says Mr Rocca. “Our teams have already saved 1,260 people in the nine months we’ve been operating.”
The Ocean Viking is one of the 330 Humanitarian Service Points (HSPs) in 45 countries that supports the ambitions of the GCM, providing assistance and protection to people on the move irrespective of status and without fear of reprisal. The Romanian Red Cross implements HSPs in Bucharest to support people fleeing Ukraine, providing information, food, water, hygiene items and financial assistance, while the Hungarian Red Cross has been operating a HSP at the Keleti railway station 24/7 to welcome people arriving from Ukraine by train with information, food, hygiene items and baby care products.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colombian Red Cross Society has implemented HSPs at the border with Venezuela, offering essential services like healthcare, while Libyan Red Crescent volunteers have provided support to migrants and displaced people, operating HSPs that provided access to information, food, and other necessities, as well as restoring family links services.
At the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), the IFRC is calling for individual and collective efforts on search and rescue; ensuring access to essential services for migrants regardless of status; scaling up support to people affected of climate related displacement; and the inclusion of migrants in all aspects of society and decision making.
“The political, public and humanitarian response to the Ukraine crisis has shown what is possible when humanity and dignity comes first, when there is global solidarity and the will to assist and protect the most vulnerable,” says Mr Rocca. “This must be extended to everyone in need, wherever they come from. Ethnicity and nationality should not be deciding factors in saving lives.”
Three months into the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has distributed financial assistance totalling more than 4.3 million Swiss francs to thousands of people on the move.
IFRC Head of Emergency Operations for the Ukraine response, Anne Katherine Moore, said:
“The longer the conflict continues, the greater the needs become. The cost of basic necessities, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, is rising. Increases in the cost of fuel and apartment rentals are also being reported. Millions of people have lost their jobs and their savings are dwindling. Through a new mobile app, we have been able to ramp up our support to help people facing these financial challenges.”
The new technology makes it possible for the IFRC and responding National Societies to reach people at scale and to deliver cash assistance digitally. Successfully introduced in Romania, the mobile app allows refugees to self-register for assistance online, negating the need and cost involved of having to travel to a central location.
The app will soon be expanded to Poland and Slovakia, where cash assistance is already being provided through more traditional methods such as in-person registration, as well as Ukraine and other neighbouring countries.
“This is the fastest we have ever delivered cash at this scale. It has the potential to be a game-changer for our work not just in this response, but also in future operations,” Moore continued.
Cash assistance is a dignified and efficient way to support people impacted by the conflict, allowing them to purchase items specific to their individual needs, while also supporting local economies. It is one part of our integrated and wide-ranging Red Cross and Red Crescent response to the conflict that also includes the provision of health care, first aid, psychosocial support and the distribution of basic household necessities.
Speaking about next steps, Moore said: “There is no short-term solution to the needs of the more than 14 million people who have been forced to flee their homes. We know that even if the conflict was to end tomorrow, rebuilding and recovery will take years. People have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and access to timely healthcare. The IFRC, in support of local National Red Cross Societies in the region, will be there helping people now, and in the months and years to come.”
During the past three months:
Together, we have reached more than 2.1 million people with life-saving aid within Ukraine and in surrounding countries. This is 1 in 10 people who had to flee their homes because of the conflict.
Along the travel routes within and outside Ukraine, we’ve set up 142 Humanitarian Service Points in 15 countries to provide those fleeing with a safe environment. There, they receive essential services like food, hygiene items, blankets, clothing water, first aid, psychosocial support, information, and financial assistance.
In total, we distributed 2.3 million kilograms of aid.
71,000 Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers are responding to the crisis.
Due to the conflict escalation in Ukraine, millions of people have left their homes and crossed into neighbouring countries. The Ukrainian Red Cross is helping people affected by the conflict as the security situation allows. National Societies in surrounding countries, with support from the IFRC, are assisting people leaving Ukraine with shelter, basic aid items and medical supplies. People from Ukraine will need long-term, ongoing support. Our priority is addressing the humanitarian needs of all people affected by the conflict, inside and outside Ukraine.
8 dec 2021, door Anna Albot in the Guardian. Zij is met in Narewka, Polen, vlakbij de grens met Wit-Rusland.
Het helpen van vluchtelingen die verhongeren in de ijzige grensbossen van Polen is illegaal, maar het is niet de echte misdaad
Eén gedachte gaat constant door mijn hoofd: “Ik heb kinderen thuis, ik kan niet de cel in, ik kan niet de cel in.” De politiek ligt buiten mijn bereik of dat van de slachtoffers aan de grens tussen Polen en Wit-Rusland. Die gaat erom dat de vertrekkende Duitse kanselier Angela Merkel doordringt tot Alexander Loekasjenko, de president van Wit-Rusland. Het is ironisch dat deze grens meer dan 50 mediaploegen op de been heeft gebracht, maar Polen de enige plaats in de EU is waar journalisten niet vrijuit kunnen rapporteren.
Ondertussen nadert de strenge Noord-Europese winter en bevriezen mijn vingers in de donkere sneeuwnachten.
De grenssituatie laat de kloof zien tussen wat legaal is en wat moreel is. Hij beheerst de inspanningen van degenen die levens redden. Het enige wat wij, activisten in de bossen aan de grens tussen Polen en Wit-Rusland, kunnen doen is water, voedsel en kleding naar wanhopige mensen brengen. Maar deze fundamentele humanitaire daad, kan alleen in het geheim worden uitgevoerd. We moeten ons verstoppen en door de bossen sluipen. De aandacht trekken van grenswachten, politie of leger zou een nieuwe pushback kunnen forceren.
We ontmoeten bange ogen, uitgeputte gezichten, lichamen kapot door de kou … Bevroren, dorstige, hongerige mensen.
Ik heb verschillende groepen tussen de bomen ontmoet: gezinnen, moeders met kinderen, vaders met gehandicapte kinderen, ouderen en mensen uit de meest kwetsbare groepen ter wereld – etnisch, religieus en LGBTQ+. Ze zochten vrijheid, maar werden sinds augustus tot nu, december, vijf, tien en zelfs vijftien keer teruggedreven naar Wit-Rusland.
Tijdens mijn nachtelijke tochten ben ik uitgerust met een grote rugzak vol thermoskannen warme soep, sokken, laarzen, jassen, handschoenen, sjaals, mutsen, pleisters, medicijnen en powerbanks. Ik loop in het donker en verschuil me achter bomen als ik helikopters hoor of de felle lichten van de politie zie. Ik hoor het geplons van de soep in de kannen op mijn rug, ik hoor mijn kortademigheid – niemand heeft me geleerd om te sluipen en onzichtbaar te zijn als een beroepsmilitair. Ik heb jarenlang voor mensenrechten gewerkt, de meeste EU-grenzen en vluchtelingenkampen bezocht, maar ik was nooit bang om takken onder mijn voeten te laten kraken of voor het ritselen van de bomen boven mijn hoofd terwijl ik me voortbeweeg.
Uit persoonlijke verhalen en bewijzen verzameld door Minority Rights Group International en collega’s van Grupa Granica, een alliantie van 14 Poolse maatschappelijke organisaties die reageren op de crisis, weten we dat er minstens 5.000 mensen in de bossen zijn geweest en dat er momenteel minstens 1.000 zijn. We hebben met iedereen contact gehad: wanhopige slachtoffers van een walgelijk machtsspel tussen staten.
Elke keer dat we reageren op een telefoontje van iemand in nood, of hun moeder die nog in Irak of Afghanistan is, of een neef in Berlijn, hangen we onze rugzakken om en gaan. Dag en nacht – lang nadat de wereld zijn interesse heeft verloren. Soms zijn we uren op zoek naar mensen. Die veranderen voor de veiligheid vaak van locatie. Soms zijn bejaarde grootmoeders of de kleine kinderen die geen energie meer hebben om te lopen, gestrand in Poolse moerassen. Nu de bossen bedekt zijn met sneeuw en mensen ons niet kunnen bellen omdat hun telefoons zijn vernietigd door het Poolse leger, gebruiken we infrarood camera’s.
We ontmoeten bange ogen, uitgeputte gezichten, lichamen kapot door de kou, wanhopig verzwakt na weken in het ijzige, natte bos. Bevroren, dorstige, hongerige mensen. Ik had geen idee wat honger betekende. Ik gaf mijn kinderen wel eens een stuk chocola als ze klaagden voor het eten. Ik heb armoedestatistieken en geschiedenisboeken gelezen. Ik wist niets van honger.
Mensen aan de grens tussen Polen en Wit-Rusland hebben al weken niet gegeten. Om de paar dagen krijgen ze, als ze geld hebben, misschien een oude aardappel van een Wit-Russische soldaat na een gewelddadige pushback over het prikkeldraad. Die delen ze met de kinderen. Ze hebben dagenlang niets te drinken. Of drinken moeras- of regenwater, dat maagkrampen en een verlammende hoofdpijn veroorzaakt, waardoor ze verder verzwakken.
We wensen hen het beste aan het einde van onze ontmoeting. Voor een paar dagen voldoende voedsel en water achterlaten is onmogelijk: niemand heeft de kracht om zoveel te dragen. We kunnen geen mensen meenemen of naar een veilige plek brengen. Dat zou een strafbaar feit zijn. Maar het is geen misdaad om deze mensen langzaam dood te laten gaan…
Waar is het Rode Kruis, de Internationale Organisatie voor Migratie van de VN en de VN-vluchtelingenorganisatie? Die organisaties die zelfs in oorlogsgebieden opereren? Die voedsel en water naar de gevaarlijkste criminelen brengen? Is Elina, 5, gevaarlijker of minder waard? Ze heeft epilepsie, maar geen medicijnen. Ik ontmoette haar in het bos met negen andere Koerden, allemaal zonder laarzen. Ze hebben thuis oorlogen en luchtaanvallen overleefd, maar kunnen in het Poolse bos doodvriezen. Bij elke pushback pakken Poolse en Wit-Russische officieren alles af: geld, kleding en schoeisel.
Er was de groep van negen vrouwen uit de Democratische Republiek Congo, waarschijnlijk verhandeld. Toen ik ze de situatie uitlegde, huilden en huilden ze maar. Of de Yezidi-zussen, die zeven jaar geleden ontsnapten aan de genocide in Sinjar, Irak, maar nog steeds op zoek zijn naar een veilige plek. Of de jongens uit Jemen, die perfect Engels spreken. Of de drie homoseksuele mannen uit Iran, wanhopig om niet teruggestuurd te worden naar Wit-Russische soldaten.
We blijven contact houden. Als ze erin slagen hun telefoons te verbergen, kunnen we communiceren na een pushback. Ze delen foto’s en video’s van Wit-Russische honden. Laten me bijtwonden zien als we elkaar aan de Poolse kant ontmoeten. Zij huilen. Ze vragen om advies. Ze willen hun familie niet vertellen over hun benarde situatie, maar ze hebben iemand nodig om mee te praten.
“De vijfde pushback. Na de zesde pleeg ik zelfmoord.”
“Ik heb mijn zoon verloren, hij heeft astma. De laatste keer dat hij belde was drie dagen geleden. Weet je waar hij is?”
“Wanneer ben je hier? Heb je water? Al is het een druppel?”
Onderworpen aan een desinformatiecampagne krijgen de vluchtelingen tegenstrijdige berichten van Wit-Russische diensten, die formulieren verspreiden over de vestiging in Polen of Duitsland. Dit schept hoop op een veilige reis. Maar het echte doel is om ze aan de Poolse grens neer te zetten om druk uit te oefenen op de EU. Sommige verontrustende berichten suggereren dat migranten worden gedwongen om deel te nemen aan geweld als onderdeel van Wit-Russische pogingen om Poolse functionarissen te provoceren.
Met het risico van een escalatie van geweld willen wij, de activisten in de bossen, de wereld eraan herinneren dat vluchtelingen geen agressors zijn. Ze zijn gijzelaars van het regime van Loekasjenko, dat hen voor zijn agenda gebruikt.
Polen sturen me berichten: “Waar moet ik warme en donkere kleding naartoe sturen?” “Hoe is de situatie aan de grens? De media laten ons alleen video’s zien van het Poolse ministerie of de Wit-Russische autoriteiten.” “Ik huil als ik mijn kinderen in bed stop. Schrijf alsjeblieft iets dat kan helpen.”
Dunja Mijatović, de commissaris voor mensenrechten van de Raad van Europa, verbleef vier dagen in Polen en ging met ons mee het veld in. Ze zei: “De grootste kracht van de hulpbeweging voor vluchtelingen aan de grens tussen Polen en Wit-Rusland zijn de inwoners van de naburige steden – in de noodzone en ernaast. Het is hun compassie en empathie die het leven van mensen in het bos verlengt. Hun moed en onbaatzuchtigheid. Hun goedheid redt levens.”
Anderen zien het natuurlijk anders: mensen die aan de grens helpen zijn “vijanden van de natie”, “agenten van Loekasjenko”, “schuldig aan het vernietigen van Europese waarden”, “het uitnodigen van terroristen hier”.
We maken ons schuldig aan het achterlaten van pakken water in het bos voor de dorstigen. We maken ons schuldig aan het uitdelen van soep. Aan schoenen aan koude voeten doen die niet meer konden bewegen. Als helpen illegaal is, begrijpen we dan wel wat misdaad is?
Anna Alboth is vrijwilliger bij Minority Rights Group
[7]
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND/BELARUS: NEW EVIDENCE OF ABUSES HIGHLIGHTS
”HYPOCRISY” OF UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS
Poland/Belarus: New evidence of abuses highlights ‘hypocrisy’ of unequal treatment of asylum-seekers
Authorities violating rights of asylum-seekers, including strip searches and other degrading treatment, in overcrowded detention centres
Some people forcibly sedated during return
Pushbacks and arbitrary detention in stark contrast with welcome shown to those fleeing Ukraine
Spokespeople available
The Polish authorities have arbitrarily detained nearly two thousand asylum-seekers who crossed into the country from Belarus in 2021, and subjected many of them to abuse, including strip searches in unsanitary, overcrowded facilities, and in some cases even to forcible sedation and tasering, Amnesty International said today.
Additionally, after a hiatus during winter, more asylum-seekers are now trying to enter Poland from Belarus, where they are unable to access further funds due to international sanctions and risk harassment or apprehension by Belarusian police due their irregular immigration status. At the Polish border they face razor wire fences and repeated pushbacks by border guards sometimes up to 20-30 times.
“This violent and degrading treatment stands in stark contrast to the warm welcome Poland is offering to displaced people arriving from Ukraine. The behaviour of the Polish authorities smacks of racism and hypocrisy. Poland must urgently extend its admirable compassion for those entering the country from Ukraine to all those crossing its borders to seek safety.”
Arbitrary detention and abysmal detention conditions
Polish border guards have systematically rounded up and violently pushed back people crossing from Belarus, sometimes threatening them with guns. The vast majority of those who have been fortunate enough to avoid being pushed back to Belarus and to apply for asylum in Poland are forced into automatic detention, without a proper assessment of their individual situation and the impact detention would have on their physical and mental health. They are often held for prolonged and indefinite periods of time in overcrowded centres that offer little privacy and only limited access to sanitary facilities, doctors, psychologists, or legal assistance.
Almost all of the people Amnesty International interviewed said they were traumatized after fleeing areas of conflict and being trapped for months on the Belarusian-Polish border. They also suffered from serious psychological problems, including anxiety, insomnia, depression and frequent suicidal thoughts, undoubtedly exacerbated by their unnecessary metres. For most, psychological support was unavailable.
Retraumatized inside a military base
Many of the people who Amnesty spoke to had been in Wędrzyn detention centre, which holds up to 600 people. Overcrowding is particularly acute in this facility, where up to 24 men are detained in rooms measuring just eight square metres.
In 2021, the Polish authorities decreased the minimum required space for foreign detainees from three square meters per person to just two. The Council of Europe minimum standard for personal living space in prisons and detention centres is four square meters per person.
People held in Wędrzyn recounted how guards greeted new detainees by saying “welcome to Guantánamo”. Many of them were victims of torture in their home countries before enduring harrowing experiences both in Belarus and on the border of Poland. The detention centre in Wędrzyn forms part of an active military base. The facility’s barbed wire walls — and the persistent sound of armoured vehicles, helicopters and gunfire from military exercises in the area — only serves to retraumatize them.
In Lesznowola Detention Centre, detainees said that guards’ treatment left them feeling dehumanized. The staff called detainees by their case numbers instead of using their names and meted out excessive punishments, including isolation, for simple requests, such as asking for a towel or more food.
Nearly all those interviewed reported consistently disrespectful and verbally abusive behaviour, racist remarks and other practices that indicated psychological ill-treatment.
Men who Amnesty International interviewed uniformly complained about the manner in which body searches were conducted. When people were transferred from one detention centre to another, they were forced to undergo a strip search at each facility, even though they were in state custody at all times. In Wędrzyn, people recounted abusive searches. For example, all newly admitted foreigners are kept together in a room, required to remove all of their clothes and ordered to perform squats longer than necessary for a legitimate check.
Violent forcible returns
Amnesty International interviewed several people who were forcibly returned as well as some who avoided return and remain in detention in Poland. Many said the Polish border guards who conducted the returns coerced them into signing documents in Polish that they suspected included incriminating information in order to justify their returns. They also said that, in some cases, border guards used excessive force, such as tasers, restrained people with handcuffs, and even sedated those being returned.
Authorities attempted to forcibly return Yezda, a 30-year old Kurdish woman , with her husband and three small children. After being told that the family would be returned to Iraq, Yezda panicked and screamed and pleaded with the guards not to take them. She threatened to take her life and became extremely agitated. “I knew I could not go back to Iraq and I was ready to die in Poland. While I was crying like that, two guards restrained me and my husband, tied our hands behind our backs, and a doctor gave us an injection that made us very weak and sleepy. My head was not clear, but I could hear my children, who were in the room with us, crying and screaming.”
“We were asked to go through the airport security and the guards told us to behave on the plane. But I refused to go. I remember noticing that I didn’t even have any shoes on, as in the chaos at the camp, they slipped of my feet. My head was not clear, and I couldn’t see my husband or the children, but I remember that they forced me on the plane that was full of people. I was still crying and pleading with the police not to take us.” Yezda said that she broke her foot as she fought the guards who tried to put her on the plane. Yezda and her family were returned to Warsaw after the airline refused to take them to Iraq. They remain in a camp in Poland for now.
Volunteers and activists have been barred from accessing the border of Poland and Belarus, and some have even faced prosecution for trying to help people cross the border. In March, activists who had helped people both on Poland’s borders with Ukraine and with Belarus were detained for providing life-saving assistance to refugees and migrants on the Belarussian border, and now face potentially serious charges.
Stranded at the border
On 20 March, the Belarusian authorities reportedly evicted close to 700 refugees and migrants, including many families with young children and people suffering from severe illnesses and disabilities, from the warehouse in the Belarusian village of Bruzgi which had accommodated several thousand people in 2021.
People who were evicted from the warehouse suddenly found themselves stranded in the forest, trying to survive in sub-zero temperatures without shelter, food, water or access to medical care. Many remain in the forest and experience daily abuse from the Belarusian border guards, who use dogs and violence to force people to cross the border into Poland.
“Hundreds of people fleeing conflict in the Middle East and other parts of the world remain stranded on the border between Belarus and Poland. The Polish government must immediately stop pushbacks. They are illegal no matter how the government tries to justify them. The international community – including the EU – must demand that those trapped on Poland’s border with Belarus be afforded the same access to EU territory as any other group seeking refuge in Europe,” said Jelena Sesar.
END OF THE ARTICLE
REPORT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND: CRUELTY, NOT COMPASSION, AT EUROPE’S OTHER BORDERS
The rapid relief effort at the border, exceptional generosity of civil society and willingness of Polish authorities to receive people fleeing from Ukraine contrast starkly with the Polish government’s hostility toward refugees and migrants who have arrived in the country via Belarus since July 2021. Hundreds of people who crossed from Belarus have been arbitrarily detained in Poland in appalling conditions and without access to a fair asylum proceeding. Many have been forcibly returned to their countries of origin, some under sedation. In addition, hundreds of people remain stranded inside Belarus and face increasingly desperate conditions.
END OF THIS PIECE
FULL REPORT
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND: CRUELTY, NOT COMPASSION, AT EUROPE’S OTHER BORDERS
Doctors Without Borders removed its team on the Belarus-Poland border after Warsaw blocked access to migrants trying to enter the European Union. Camped in harsh conditions, several people have died on the EU’s doorstep.
Despite knowing people along the Belarus-Poland border were “in desperate need of medical and humanitarian assistance,” the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it withdrew its emergency response team from the region.
“Since October, MSF has repeatedly requested access to the restricted area and the border guard posts in Poland, but without success,” Frauke Ossig, the charity’s emergency coordinator for Poland and Lithuania, said on Thursday.
“We know that there are still people crossing the border and hiding in the forest, in need of support, but while we are committed to assisting people on the move wherever they may be, we have not been able to reach them in Poland,” Ossig added.
While many of the migrants received shelter in a logistics center, a number of people are reported to have died in the freezing, harsh conditions along the border.
Why can’t aid groups reach migrants and asylum-seekers?
On December 1, Poland’s Interior Ministry extended a state of emergency that prohibits all non-residents, including journalists and non-governmental aid groups, from the border area.
“People are being attacked and beaten at the hands of border guards, and yet state officials continue to allow the practice of pushing people between borders knowing that such maltreatment continues,” MSF said.
With thousands of people on the Belarusian side of the 400-kilometer (250-mile) stretch, Poland built a barbed-wire fence that it intends to replace with a permanent barrier and sent thousands of soldiers to the border, leaving the migrants stuck in camps in no man’s land and unable to apply for asylum in the European Union.
Polish border guards accused of illegal ‘pushbacks’
Polish border guards have been accused of forcibly pushing migrants and asylum-seekers back into Belarus — a move that breaches international law. At least 21 people have lost their lives in the attempt in 2021, MSF reported.
In December, the Polish civil society group Salam Lab reported that five Syrian and one Palestinian who managed to find their way outside Poland’s exclusion zone said they had been pushed back to Belarus several times by Polish authorities.
EU nations Latvia and Lithuania, which also share borders with Belarus, have also reinforced their border security and declared a state of emergency. MSF said it had not received access to migrants at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.
Belarus denies this and has urged the EU to take in the migrants.
“The current situation is unacceptable and inhumane,” Ossig said. “People have the right to seek safety and asylum and should not be illegitimately pushed back to Belarus.”
[9]
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
POLAND/BELARUS: NEW EVIDENCE OF ABUSES HIGHLIGHTS
”HYPOCRISY” OF UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF ASYLUM SEEKERS
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor The International Red Cross, the Ukrainian refugees and the refugees, trapped between Poland and Belarus/Do you treat them with equal attention, Red Cross?
MISDADEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGVERWOESTING VAN GAZA
MISDADEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGVERWOESTING VAN GAZA
BEZETTINGSTERREUR foto Oda Hulsen Hebron 2 mei 2017/Verwijst naar foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die tegen de muur wordt gezet doorIsraelische soldaten, die hem toeriepen ”Where is your knife!”/Later vrijgelaten
NB Het is dus NIET de foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die bij de kraag wordt gegrepen
VOMAR HARDLEERS/VOOR DE DERDE KEER/STOP MET DEVERKOOP VAN AVOCADO’S UIT BEZETTINGS EN APARTHEIDSSTAATISRAEL!
AANSUPERMARKT VOMARFILIAAL AMSTERDAMSE POORT Directie en Management Onderwerp:Uw herhaalde verkoop van avocado’s uit bezettingsstaat Israel
Geachte DirectieGeacht Management,
Ze zeggen weleens:Driemaal is Scheepsrecht, wat meestal in positieve zin wordt gebruikt [1]Bij u, Geachte Directie en Management, moet ik het echter in negatieve zingebruiken en het wordt hoog tijd, dat u zich diep gaat schamen!Want hoewel ik verder een tevreden klant ben, die uw filiaal graag enregelmatig bezoekt, moet ik nu constateren, dat u nu al voorde DERDE keer de fout in gegaan bent, door wederom avocado’s uit Israelte verkopen, waarover ik u nu al twee keer heb aangeschreven!De eerste keer was op 4 september 2021 [2], de tweede keer op 30 januari anno Domini 2022 [zie voor de volledige mail, geheel onderin, onder het notenapparaat] De tweede keer betrof mijn mail aan u op 30 januari anno Donini 2022,waarbij u dus weer in de fout ging.Zie deze uitgeschreven mail geheel onderin, onder het notenapparaat. En nu alweer, voor de derde keer!!Want afgelopen week, week 20, had u avocado’s in de aanbiedingen ik, als liefhebber van avocado’s, had ze al bijna gekocht, toen ik, net bijtijds, het land van herkomst zag: Israel!Bezettingsstaat Israel!Wat bezielt u, vraag ik mij af, nu u niet alleen door mij uitgebreid opde hoogte gesteld bent, maar via alle mogelijke media kanalen, maar ookvia mensenrechtenorganisaties als Amnesty International en Human Rights Watch [3] op de hoogte kan zijn van de intensiteit van deoorlogsmisdaden en mensenrechtenschendingen van de Israelischebezettingsstaat!Zie ook de Israelische mensenrechtenorganisatie Btselem! [4] Zoals ik in mijn vorige mail aan u [zie ook de link naar mijn website onder noot 5]reeds heb duidelijk gemaakt, maakt u zich met de verkoop van avocado’sen eventueel andere producten uit Israel [dat heb ik in dit Filiaal nogniet gezien, zo ja, dan zal ik u daarop zeker aanspreken], schuldigaan economische steun aan een nietsontziende bezettingsstaat,die niet alleen sinds 1967 de bezetting voert over de Palestijnse gebiedende Westelijke Jordaanoever, Oost-Jeruzalem en Gaza [6], maar zich-inherentaan iedere bezetting waar ook ter wereld-schuldigmaakt aan onderdrukking, oorlogsmisdaden en andere mensenrechtenschendingen. Ik licht uit de talloze te noemen voorbeelden de Israelische luchtaanvallen op Gaza in 2021, waarbij in korte tijd zeker 197 doden gevallen zijn, onder wie 58 kinderen en honderden mensen gewond geraakt zijn. [7] En dan nog in herinnering de Israelische militaire aanval op Gaza ”Protective Edge”,in 2014 waarbij Israel zich schuldig heeft gemaakt aan zware oorlogsmisdaden:In twee maanden tijd zijn meer dan 1400 mensen gedood [voornamelijkburgers], waaronder 526 kinderen, een VN school werd gebombardeerd, een ziekenhuis beschoten! [8] Dan heb ik het nog niet eens gehad over de illegale Israelische landroofvan Palestijns bezet gebied door middel van de Israelische nederzettingen,die in strijd zijn met het Internationaal Recht [9] en het voortdurendegeweld [vaak gesteund door de Israelische Staat] van de kolonisten[bewoners van de Israelische nederzettingen] tegen de bezettePalestijnse bevolking! [10] EPILOOG Zo kan ik eindeloos doorgaanIk kan u erop wijzen [uitgebreid in het nieuws geweest], datIsrael naast een bezettingsstaat ook een apartheidsstaat is[kijk maar bij Amnesty International en Human Rights Watch][11], maar ik meen al meer dan voldoende duidelijk gemaaktte hebben, dat het een schande is en moreel totaalverwerpelijk, dat u een illegale bezettingsmacht, dieonderdrukt, oorlogsmisdaden pleegt [zie bovenstaande] en foltertop de koop toe [12], economisch blijft ondersteunen. Ik eis dan ook, dat u per direct stopt met de verkoop vanavocado’s uit Israel of welke Israelische producten dan ook.Anders hebt u Bloed aan uw Handen en vindt u mijweer op uw Pad Vriendelijke groeten Astrid EssedAmsterdam VOOR UW GEMAK ZIJN DE NOTEN IN LINKS ONDERGEBRACHTGEHEEL ONDERIN MIJN MAIL VAN 30 JANUARI AAN U NOTEN NOTEN 1 T/M 3
AANSUPERMARKT VOMARFILIAAL AMSTERDAMSE POORT Directie en Management
Geachte DirectieGeacht Management, Als trouwe klant van de Vomar ben ik doorgaans tevreden, zowel overhet uitstekende aanbod/assortiment, als over de verleende service.Recentelijk is er echter iets gebeurd, dat mijn verontwaardiging heeft opgewekt, vandaar deze briefmail: Toen ik recentelijk [in Week 2 of Week 3, 2022, daar wil ik af zijn] Vomarbezocht, zag ik dat u een aanbieding van avocado’s had, een voor de prijsvan 0.74 cent.Omdat ik erg van avocado’s houd [mag u weten], verheugde ik mijhier al op en besloot er een of meer te kopen. Wie schetst echter mijn verbazing/teleurstelling, toen bleek [wantik check altijd het land van herkomst], dat deze avocado’s uit Israelbleken te komen!Des te groter was mijn teleurstelling, omdat dit bij u, in tegenstelling totbijvoorbeeld Albert Heijn [1], maar weinig voorkomt!Meestal komen uw avocado’s uit Zuid-Amerika of andere landen/continenten.Slechts een keer heb ik u betrapt op de mango verkoop uit Israelen dat hebt u dan ook van mij, via een briefmail, te horen/lezengekregen. [2] Dus nu gaat u WEER de fout inTerwijl u toch moet weten, wat Israel, zijnde een bezettingsstaat sedert1967 [3], allemaal uitspookt, waardoor het moreel en ook politiek-maatschappelijk, verwerpelijk is, zaken met haar te doen. GEHEUGENOPFRISSERTJE: ISRAEL, BEZETTINGSSTAAT U zult weten, hoort dat althans te weten, dat de Staat Israel reeds 1967 de Palestijnse gebieden de Westelijke Jordaanoever, Gaza [4] en Oost-Jeruzalem bezet houdt.En alsof dat al niet erg genoeg is, heeft die bezetting [zoals alle vreemde bezettingen, overal ter wereld] veroorzaakt onderdrukking, vernederingen,[oorlogs] misdaden. Ik kan en wil die hier niet allemaal opsommen [trouwens, die lijst is onuitputtelijk], maar ernstige voorbeelden zijn onder andere de Israelische luchtaanvallen op Gaza in 2021, waarbij in korte tijd zeker 197 doden gevallen zijn, onder wie 58 kinderen en honderden mensen gewond geraakt zijn. [5] Dit alles was een escalatie van huisuitzettingen van Palestijnse families in het bezette Oost-Jeruzalem, om plaats te maken voor kolonisten! [6] En zoals u zult weten, zijn kolonisten bewoners van in bezet gebied gestichte nederzettingen, die illegaal zijn volgens het Internationaal Recht [7] EN regelrechte landdiefstal, omdat zij worden gebouwd op gestolen Palestijns land of, zoals in het geval van Oost-Jeruzalem bij die uitgezette Palestijnse families, gestolen Palestijnse huizen .Waarbij Israelische kolonisten vaak ook nog eens verantwoordelijk zijn voor bijna dagelijks geweld tegen de bezette Palestijnse bevolking! [8] EN to add insult to injury, tijdens die confrontaties destijds mbt tot de huisuitzetingen in Oost-Jeruzalem heeft het Israelische leger ook nog eens de Al Aqsa Moskee bestormd! [9]Een Godshuis! En dan nog in herinnering de Israelische militaire aanval op Gaza ”Protective Edge”,in 2014 waarbij Israel zich schuldig heeft gemaakt aan zware oorlogsmisdaden:In twee maanden tijd zijn meer dan 1400 mensen gedood [voornamelijkburgers], waaronder 526 kinderen, een VN school werd gebombardeerd, een ziekenhuis beschoten! [10] Welcome in the House of Horrors!
ISRAEL, APARTHEIDSSTAAT Maar er is nog meer Ellende! Want Israel is een Apartheidsstaat, zoals ook is bevestigd doormensenrechtenorganisatie Human Rights Watch in een uitgebreid rapport. [11]I k ga dat hier niet uitgebreid bespreken [ik heb meer te doen en aanstippenl ijkt mij wel voldoende voor het doel van deze mail], maar een voorbeeld is wat Israel verstaat onder een ”rechtssysteem” Waar er in Israel sprake is van een gewoon rechtssysteem voor burgers, komen burgers in de Bezette Palestijnse Gebieden voor een Militaire Rechtbank! [12] Niet alleen een idiote rechtsongelijkheid en daardoor groffe discriminatie, maar sinds wanneer komen niet militairen voor een Militaire Rechtbank?
FOUT!FOUT!FOUT!/GEEN AVOCADO’S MEER UIT ISRAEL! U zult nu hopelijk begrijpen, hoe fout het is, dat u nog avocado’s en ook andere producten [ik heb bij uw filiaal in de Amsterdamse Poort, naast mango’s waarover u eerder bent aangeschreven[13], ook weleens aardappelen uit Israel gezien!] verkoopt uit een land, dat bezettingsmacht is, land van de [Palestijnse] bevolking steelt, Palestijnse burgers hun eigen huis uitzet, scholen en ziekenhuizen bombardeert, oorlogsmisdaden pleegt. En als klap op de Vuurpijl nog folterpraktijken als ondervragingstaktiek hanteert! [14]
And, to add insult to injury, probeert Israel Palestijnse boeren kapot te makendoor hun organisatie [en andere Palestijnse mensenrechten/burgerorganisaties kapot te maken [15]En recentelijk nog, omdat we het toch over huisuitzettingen hadden-de huisuitzetting van een Palestijns gezin, ja, uit bezet Oost-Jeruzalem,waar door de EU schande van werd gesproken! [16]
Wanneer u dus persisteert, producten uit een dergelijk land af te nemen, faciliteert u de bezettingseconomie en houdt u het Kwaad van bezetting en onderdrukking tot stand. Ik verwacht dus, neen ik EIS van u, dat u per direct stopt, producten uit Israel te verkopen. Mocht u daarmee doorgaan, dan vindt u mij op uw Pad en ook andere ,invloedrijkere mensen en instanties. Ik hoop dus, dat u aan mijn Oproep gehoor geeft. Vriendelijk bedankt voor het lezen van deze Brief
Vriendelijke groeten Astrid EssedAmsterdam
NOTEN Voor uw gemak hierbij de links naar de noten
SWEDISH IRANIAN NATIONAL SENTENCED TO DEATH/NO TO DEATH PENALTY!/LETTER TO THE IRANIAN AMBASSADOR IN BELGIUM
IMMINENT EXECUTION AT 21 MAY 2022!PREVENT THISWRITE TO THE IRANIAN EMBASSY IN BELGIUM MAILADRESS:secretariat@iranembassy.be
SAVE A LIFE!THANKS IN ADVANCE’ SEE ALSO [IN DUTCH] ”Volgens de bron van ISNA zou zijn executie plaatsvinden voor het einde van de Iraanse maand Ordibehesht, wat overeenkomt met 21 mei 2022”
https://www.amnesty-international.be/help-djalali
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
TO THE AMBASSADOR OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN Subject:The imminent execution of mr Ahmadreza Djalali Your Excellency, Hereby I want to draw your attention to the following:From reliable sources I’ve learnt about the imminent execution of the Swedish-Iranian academic, mr Ahmadreza Djalali [1] and I write to you with the urgent request to issue your influence to prevent thisexecution.Reason?Because I am of the opinion, that the death penalty is a cruel and inhumanepunishment, which is also irreversible. BACKGROUND: According to my information, mr Djalali was sentenced to death forthe charge of ”corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz) [2]and has given a 200 000 euro fine.According to my information, the court verdict states, thatmr Djalali worked with the Israeli government [3], which means espionage. However, I learnt, that his trial was, according tothe information of Amnesty International, ”grosslyunfair” [4] and also that he supposedly wastortured. [5]Of course you understand, that any confession, thatis made under torture, is illegal.
DEATH PENALTY But even when his trial has been fair and he was not tortured, I reqquest to you to urge your influence toprevent the death penalty.Not only, in my opinion, the ending of a human lifeis always illegal and wrong, whether done by theState, or by an individual, because all human beingshave the right to life, problem with the death penaly is also, that this is irreversible.What if the person turns to be innocent?When someone is sentenced to imprisonment,he can be released, but death is death.I bring in your memory two famous British flawsof Justice:The Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven [6]If there had been a death penalty in the United Kingdom,they couldn’t have been released. Your Excellency, this is very, very serious and grave, since it concerns a human lifeTherefore I took my time to write to you toprevent this execution, as I did so many times, whenit concerned executions in one of the headmen onthe area of executions, the USA, and also other countries. So I speak out hope, that you will do everything inyour Power to stop this.Time is pressing, since the execution is imminent[21 may] Human Life belongs to our Lord and Father God.Only He may end it.Not the State, not other human beings. Thanks for reading my LetterI hope you will help Kind regards Astrid EssedAmsterdam The Netherlands NOTES
Tortured Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali, arbitrarily detained in Tehran’s Evin prison, is at risk of imminent execution according to multiple Iranian state media reports that his death sentence for “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) will be carried out by 21 May 2022 at the latest. He was sentenced to death in 2017 following a grossly unfair trial that relied on torture-tainted “confessions.” The authorities must halt any plans to execute him and release him immediately.
The Iranian authorities must urgently quash the death sentence against Iranian-born Swedish resident and specialist in emergency medicine Ahmadreza Djalali, said Amnesty International today.
The medical doctor and university lecturer had studied and taught in Sweden, Italy and Belgium. Since his arrest in April 2016, several European officials have called for his release.
Zeynab Taheri, one of Ahmadreza Djalali’s lawyers, told Amnesty International that he was sentenced to death for the charge of “corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz), and has been given a 200,000 euro fine. The court verdict, which was shown to one of the lawyers, states that Ahmadreza Djalali worked with the Israeli government, who subsequently helped him obtain his residency permit in Sweden.
“Ahmadreza Djalali was sentenced to death after a grossly unfair trial that once again exposes not only the Iranian authorities’ steadfast commitment to use of the death penalty but their utter contempt for the rule of law,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“No evidence has ever been presented to show that he is anything other than an academic peacefully pursuing his profession. If he has been convicted and sentenced for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, including through his academic work, the authorities must immediately and unconditionally release him and drop all charges against him.”
Ahmadreza Djalali was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence officials in April 2016 and held without access to a lawyer for seven months, three of which were in solitary confinement. Even after that period, every lawyer he selected was rejected by the court.
In a voice recording that was published on YouTube on 22 October, Ahmadreza Djalali is heard saying that, while in solitary confinement, he was twice forced to make “confessions” in front of a video camera by reading out statements pre-written by his interrogators. He says that he was put under intense pressure through psychological torture and threats to execute him and arrest his children to “confess” to being a spy for a “hostile government”. In the recording, he says that his academic beliefs have been used to convict him and sentence him to death. He also denies the accusations against him and says they have been fabricated by Ministry of Intelligence interrogators.
“At a time when the Iranian authorities are actively strengthening ties with countries in the European Union, it is absurd that they are using Ahmadreza Djalali’s academic links to a European country as part of the ‘evidence’ against him,” said Philip Luther.
Ahmadreza Djalali’s wife Vida Mehrannia, who lives in Sweden with their two children, has told Amnesty International that his physical and mental health have sharply deteriorated since he was detained. She added: “We are calling for his release because he has not committed any crime.”
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. The death penalty is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
[3]
”The court verdict, which was shown to one of the lawyers, states that Ahmadreza Djalali worked with the Israeli government, who subsequently helped him obtain his residency permit in Sweden.”
”“Ahmadreza Djalali was sentenced to death after a grossly unfair trial that once again exposes not only the Iranian authorities’ steadfast commitment to use of the death penalty but their utter contempt for the rule of law,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.” AMNESTY INTERNATIONALIRAN: PROMINENT ACADEMIC SENTENCEDTO DEATH AFTER GROSSLY UNFAIR TRIAL23 OCTOBER 2017 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/10/iran-prominent-academic-sentenced-to-death-after-grossly-unfair-trial/
Tortured Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali, arbitrarily detained in Tehran’s Evin prison, is at risk of imminent execution according to multiple Iranian state media reports that his death sentence for “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) will be carried out by 21 May 2022 at the latest. He was sentenced to death in 2017 following a grossly unfair trial that relied on torture-tainted “confessions.” The authorities must halt any plans to execute him and release him immediately.
TOBUDIMEXTHE GREAT CONSTRUCTION GROUP, OPERATINGIN POLAND
BOARD OF DIRECTORSMANAGEMENT Subject:About your construction of a Wall between Poland and Belarus Demand:Stop earning blood moneyStop your cooperation with forced deportations, pushbacks andmistreatment of refugeesStop your cooperation with the violation of one of the most elementaryhuman rights!
Dear Board of DirectorsDear Management Sometimes reality seems worse than the most creepy horror movie.Not because horror movies can’t be frightening, but because they are just for amusement and not real, although made very realistic. But when you read and see actings in the real world, especiallyfrom politicians and their partners in crime, you realize that here arereal people involved, who really suffer and with them their families andother loved ones.That is the moment, that it is really freezing around me and others, who seekfor elementary justice. And you, board of directors and management, have violated the most elementary human rights by constructing a Wall between Poland and Belarus.The proof is in your own declaration, under P/S, before my notes. SHAME TO YOU! Because you know completely well the aim of this Wall:To prevent warstricken and hunted refugees to seek for a safe homeby building a Wall on the outskirts, the outer borders of the EU borders!Because that’s the aim of the Polish government [1] and you know thatfull well! ELEMENTARY RIGHTS Every human being has the right to ask for asylum, as written inthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 18 ofthe EU Charter of Fundamental Rights [2], but all the Polish government did was putting an armyon her border, not only preventing refugees, trapped between Belarusand Poland to enter the EU and ask for asylum, but also treatingthem very badly [3] and using evil and forbidden practices likepushbacks [4], such as was described in an Human Rights Watch Report ””DIE HERE OR GO TO POLAND”BELARUS’ AND POLAND’S SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FOR BORDER ABUSES [5] YOUR COOPERATION WITH HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES So I refer to illegal pushbacks of the Polish government, that doesn’t and didn”t care about the fact, that refugees nearly were freezing to death [6],that refugees actually DID die in that no mans land between Polandand Belarus [7], a government that also mistreated refugees [8] and whatis your role? Not only you are supporting the government in theie evil ways by constructingthis Wall of Death and Despair, and earning Blood Money, you even have the nerve only to care about the environmental value of the Bialowieza Forest!I quote you [SEE UNDER P/S]”We understand the emotions that surround the issue of the construction of the wall on the border between Poland and Belarus, in particular, in the Białowieża Forest section; therefore, our representatives consulted the local governments on 26 January 2022. The meeting was attended by military representatives, heads of five gminas located within the development project area, forest district representatives and the Staroste of the Hajnowski Poviat.”
And don’t get me wrong:I also care for and value the great value of the Bialowieza Forest as avery important primeval forest [9], but I value human lives more andwhen people are dying in that forest I think everyone should valuetheir lives in the first place. But you don’t care, because in your declaration [see under P/S]NOT A WORD ABOUT THE REFUGEES, WHO SUFFERED IN THEBIALOWIEZA FOREST, BECAUSE OF THE POLISH GOVERNMENT,WHICH DENIED THEM THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS! DEMAND I have referred to the great Injustice and the atrocities, done by the Polishgovernment to desperate refugees, mentioned in the Human Rights report andin a Statement of Amnesty International [10] Also I mentioned your supportive role and the Blood Money, you earn with yourconstruction of this Wall. I don’t know how many letters you have received to protest against yourpractices.I presume, not many and perhaps I am unimportant in your eyes, representingno government or great organisation. But that doesn’t matter, because each Voice counts. And trillion drops of water form an Ocean. Get back on your Path of Evil, because more protests will come. This is only the Beginning. You have chosen your Side. Change your construction of this Wall of Death, or else youwill be condemned by men or women of justice and in each case,by History.
Kind greetings Astrid EssedAmsterdamThe NetherlandsEurope P/S
On 25 January 2022, the Border Guards handed over to the contractors the construction site for the construction of the 186-kilometre wall on the border between Poland and Belarus. The contractor of the wall in the Białowieża Forest section is Budimex. The company makes every effort to ensure that works are carried out professionally and with respect for residents and the environment. Budimex will carry out works on the 100-kilometre section, and the border zone along the Białowieża Forest accounts for less than 40% of its length.
We understand the emotions that surround the issue of the construction of the wall on the border between Poland and Belarus, in particular, in the Białowieża Forest section; therefore, our representatives consulted the local governments on 26 January 2022. The meeting was attended by military representatives, heads of five gminas located within the development project area, forest district representatives and the Staroste of the Hajnowski Poviat.
During the meeting with the representatives of local governments, we confirmed that we have extensive experience in implementing projects in diverse environments. We carry out construction work, for example, in protected areas, including Natura 2000 areas in many places in Poland. The warehouses used to store our construction materials are and will be neutral for the environment. Our compliance with strict environmental standards is confirmed by numerous certificates – our construction sites have been issued with more than 100 BREEAM or LEED sustainable building certificates.
Although the contract does not require us to do so as a contractor, there will be external environmental supervision of the entire project. We understand that the Białowieża Forest is extremely valuable, and we want to work with respect for its ecosystem. The team assigned to the project has the highest level of competence to perform this task.
The works on the wall, transport and storage of raw materials will be carried out in accordance with the best construction and environmental standards. Our plan includes:
securing the soil with double and triple isolation to prevent leakage,
the use of spill kits,
covering and securing construction equipment repair points,
securing fuel tanks,
sorting and securing waste points,
preparation of separate points for hazardous waste,
fencing and monitoring of the area.
Our works will be carried out during the day, and the planned truck traffic at the construction location is several vehicles per hour. Upon completion, all roads will be restored to their original condition or will be improved.
Works on the entire project will take just six months. We are also on the list of strategic companies from a defence perspective. Therefore, we have a duty to act for the benefit of the country in the event of special situations from a security point of view. We responded in the same way to the calls for the construction of temporary hospitals or the completion of road and rail works after other general contractors had abandoned their contracts.
Our aim is to perform the contract through transparent subcontractor selection rules while respecting the interests of local communities and the environment. We make every effort to minimise the inconveniences for the residents and take into account the needs of the natural forest environment.”
Poland has started building a wall along its frontier with Belarus aimed at preventing asylum seekers from entering the country, which cuts through a protected forest and Unesco world heritage site.
The Polish border guard said the barrier would measure 186km (115 miles), almost half the length of the border shared by the two countries, reach up to 5.5 metres (18ft) and cost €353m (£293m). It will be equipped with motion detectors and thermal cameras.
Poland has accused Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, of deliberately provoking a new refugee crisis in Europe by organising the movement of people from the Middle East to Minsk and promising them a safe passage to the EU in revenge for the sanctions Brussels has imposed on his authoritarian regime.
Thousands of asylum seekers, mainly from Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan and Afghanistan, were caught attempting to cross the frontier and were violently pushed back to Belarus by Poland’s border guards, and hundreds of families were trapped in the forest between the two countries in the midst of a frigid winter.
At least 19 people have died since the beginning of the border standoff between Poland and Belarus. Most of them died of exposure to freezing temperatures.
The humanitarian emergency reached its peak in November when Belarusian authorities escorted thousands of asylum seekers to the Polish border. Dozens of refugees told the Guardian how Belarusian troops gathered groups of up to 50 people and cut the barbed wire with shears to allow them to cross.
“The construction of the barrier on the Polish-Belarusian border has started,” said a statement from the Polish border guard on Twitter. “It is the largest construction investment in the history of the border guard.”
The cost is approximately 10 times the whole budget of Poland’s migration department this year.
The news has raised human rights concerns among aid workers and charities worried that refugees fleeing conflicts and starvation will not be able to apply for asylum, and there are also environmental concerns. “This money could be used to build and launch [an] effective and humane migration, reception and asylum policy,” said a spokesperson for Ocalenie Foundation, which supports refugeesliving in Poland. “No wall in the history of the world stopped migration. Also, it would be a disaster for the nature in Białowieża area.”
The Białowieża forest world heritage site, on the border between Poland and Belarus, is an immense range of primary forest including conifers and broadleaved trees. It is home to the largest population of European bison.
Anna Alboth, of Minority Rights Group and a member of Grupa Granica, a Polish network of NGOs monitoring the situation on the border, said: “Walls are dividing, not protecting. The decision about building such a wall on the Polish-Belarusian border is not only lawless but also brings a risk of irreversible harm to the environment, in one of the most rich natural places of Poland and the whole of Europe.
“Instead of spending money on walls and private companies, it should be spending on developing a migration policy that prioritises human rights and safety of the people on the move, local people, animals and nature.”
A border guard spokesperson, Anna Michalska, told Poland’s PAP news agency that the “intention is for the damage to be as small as possible”. She said: “Tree felling will be limited to the minimum required. The wall itself will be built along the border road.” Contractors would only make use of existing roads, she said.
Last year Warsaw’s rightwing government quadrupled the presence of border guards and military personnel in the area, creating a two-mile deep militarised zone, and built a razor-wire fence, in a show of force unknown in the country since the end of the cold war. Dozens of checkpoints were placed along the perimeter of the so-called red zone, which is inaccessible to aid workers and journalists.
Last week Poland’s supreme court condemned the government for preventing reporters from accessing the area. Judges in Warsaw said the ban was incompatible with Polish law and that “there is no justification for admitting that this particular professional group represents a threat to steps taken”.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[2]
Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
The right to asylum shall be guaranteed with due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the status of refugees and in accordance with the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Treaties’).
On the outskirts of the Białowieża forest – which bestrides the border between south-east Poland and Belarus – a group of seven Iraqi Kurds make their weary way towards the Polish hamlet of Grodzisk.
The latest miles of their journey have been from Belarus – crossing back and forth twice, deported after their first and second attempts. Now a third time: through sub-zero temperatures, across the primeval forest’s marshy terrain. Among them are two children: an eight-month-old girl and a two-year-old boy. When we came upon them, they were afraid to get up off the ground and begged us not to call the police, whispering: “They’ll kill us.”
The infant was still, though not asleep. They looked like waxen figures, their faces blank, though one woman’s face was covered in bruises.
This is one group among the thousands of migrants trapped in a perilous purgatorial terrain between Belarus and Poland, as gateway to the European Union, where they seek refuge and asylum. That gate has slammed shut, claiming eight known migrant lives so far. Poland’s rightwing government has secured parliamentary authority to build a Donald Trump-style wall the length of its frontier with Belarus, and meanwhile patrols the territory with a force of some 17,000 border police reinforced by military personnel.
The Polish government argues that it is a deliberate policy by Belarus to undermine the EU’s south eastern border by encouraging refugees to pour in. The government has also established a two-mile militarised zone adjacent to the frontier, from which medical services, volunteer aid workers and reporters are banned. Crystal van Leeuwen, a medical emergency manager with Médecins Sans Frontières, told the Guardian last week that NGOs must urgently gain access to the secure zone for migrants’ claims and international protection to be respected.
The migrants are part not only of the exodus in flight from war and other tribulation where they began their journeys – across the Middle East and Africa – but also pawns in a game between Belarus and Poland. Many are lured by Belarusian travel bureaux, controlled by the authoritarian government of Alexander Lukashenko, which, as middlemen, organise trips from the Middle East to Minsk, promising passage to the EU.
The Iraqi Kurdish group is from Duhok, near the Turkish border. It is the scene of intense recent intra-Kurdish fighting, and Turkish strikes against the Kurdish PKK organisation. The mother of the children, 28-year-old Amila Abedelkader, said that the group was lured to Belarus by a travel agency that would arrange travel by plane from Istanbul to Minsk, and access to the Polish border.
Migrants are charged €15,000-€20,000 when they reach Belarus. Airport photos show their arrival wearing shorts and T-shirts, clearly unaware of the temperatures awaiting them. They are then installed in state hotels managed by the regime, from which officially assigned buses and even taxis transfer them to the Polish or Lithuanian border.
Belarusian border guards then shove them past the fence. “Some migrants we saw had their faces sliced with barbed wire,” says volunteer aid worker Katarzyna Wappa. “We have amateur films showing how the Belarusians drive the migrants forward. The border guards stand there with snarling attack dogs in full battle gear.”
Abdelkader says her group had made their first crossing into Poland in early October, but were forced back by guards. Trapped between borders, they were given nothing to drink or eat. “The Polish guards caught us and pushed us back. They said: ‘Go back to Belarus.’ And the Belarusian soldier said: ‘No, no go back to Poland.’ When the water was all finished, my brother asked Polish soldiers for some water to drink. Every day we asked about water. They say: ‘No, no.’” The guards refused to supply milk for the baby. The migrants drank rainwater or from puddles.
This was their third attempt. Whether they have since been successful is unclear.
But every morning we receive news on WhatsApp from people held in the border guards’ cells. Bulletins such as: “Yesterday a family and their sick son staying with us were taken by the police back to the border.” And: “We are so frightened of going to the border because my baby is too small. Please help us.”
Back home in the nearest town of Hajnówka, Wappa says: “We are creating a network, trying to do what we can, but it’s too much to bear. People are dying in the forest and the Polish state offers no help apart from bringing in more troops, rounding them up, and deporting them back to no man’s land. And if we reach those people, what can we give them? A flask of tea, some warm clothes, then leave them in the darkness and cold?”
In the forest last week, volunteers found Mustafa, a 46-year-old man from Morocco, taken in by a volunteer named Mila. Speaking Spanish, Mustafa told us: “As I made my way through the forest, I saw a man lying on the ground. I don’t know if he was alive or dead. I walked two nights until I could go no further. I was walking at night, trying to sleep during the day. I was in a vacuum.
“Belarusian soldiers beat people,” he continued. “They beat me in Belarus. There are gangs that stand behind the army and attack us. They beat you, take your money, and split it 50-50, part for the gangs, part for soldiers. This border is like a river of death. What are you to do? Where to go, I do not know.” Mustafa’s fate remains in the balance.
Once on the Polish side, migrants are tracked down by border guards, police, army, and territorial defence forces; in the Hajnówka region, practically every second car on the road belongs to law enforcement officers. Others have darkened windows – either protecting or smuggling the migrants.
“We’re in a parcelled-off, isolated world,” adds Kamil Syller, initiator of the Green Light project, which aims to put green lights in windows to signify homes where refugees can find help, discreetly, and not be handed over to the police.
At the Mantiuk Hospital in Hajnówka, a boy from Somalia tells how he watched his two brothers freeze to death. “It’s impossible to say where it happened,” he says.
“Apparently he’s losing contact with reality,” say the doctors. “He often asks: ‘But where am I?’” The refugees who reach the hospital receive professional medical care, yet the hospital is patrolled by border guards, and as soon as someone’s health is restored, guards take them back to the border and leave them in the forest.
Medics on the Border, a group of doctors with an ambulance, operates in the “open” areas, but are not allowed in the off-limits zone. Asked how they can be of help, they say: “We need passes to the zone,” says Jakub Sieczko, a paramedic. “But this is impossible.”Advertisement
“We have no access to the off-limits zone,” says a Polish Red Cross workerfrom the border area. “We can’t hand over aid packages ourselves.”
Syller says that the refugees are freezing, succumbing to hypothermia and shaking from fear and cold. “The children are having reactions similar to epileptic attacks. The suffering and terror here can only remind you of wartime,” he explains.
Wappa feels that she is “witnessing scenes like out of a war, but at least in a war things are clear. “This is worse, because here half the society denies what’s going on. They think it’s all a big sham, that there are politics behind it. People say of the refugees: ‘Why did they even leave home and why take their children?’”
This land is steeped in dark history of flight and deportation. And there are few reminders so cogent as in the village of Narewka, where a row of houses from before the second world war is adorned with enlarged photographs of the Jewish residents who lived here until the Holocaust.
The pictures show people posing in their finest clothes: an elderly couple, an Orthodox family, a girl in a polka-dot dress with bows in her hair, a sophisticated lady wearing a cap.
Now, past those houses in memoriam for Jews deported from here, military and police vehicles pass, carrying migrants for deportation.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[4]
PUSHBACKS ARE FORBIDDEN ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 19.EU CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS Article 18
Article 19 Protection in the event of removal, expulsion or extradition 1. Collective expulsions are prohibited. 2. No one may be removed, expelled or extradited to a State where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
”Polish pushback practices are also in violation of article 19 of the Charter and Protocol 4 of the ECHR, which both state unequivocally that collective or mass expulsions of aliens are prohibited” HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHPOLISH LEGISLATION AND VIOLATIONOF EU LAW A CHAPTER FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT”DIE HERE OR GO TO POLAND”BELARUS’ AND POLAND’S SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FOR BORDER ABUSES https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/11/24/die-here-or-go-poland/belarus-and-polands-shared-responsibility-border-abuses
”On the outskirts of the Białowieża forest – which bestrides the border between south-east Poland and Belarus – a group of seven Iraqi Kurds make their weary way towards the Polish hamlet of Grodzisk.
The latest miles of their journey have been from Belarus – crossing back and forth twice, deported after their first and second attempts. Now a third time: through sub-zero temperatures, across the primeval forest’s marshy terrain. Among them are two children: an eight-month-old girl and a two-year-old boy.”THE GUARDIANON THE FROZEN FRONTIERS OF EUROPE WITHTHE MIGRANTS CAUGHT IN A LETHAL GAME
”This is one group among the thousands of migrants trapped in a perilous purgatorial terrain between Belarus and Poland, as gateway to the European Union, where they seek refuge and asylum. That gate has slammed shut, claiming eight known migrant lives so far.”
THE GUARDIANON THE FROZEN FRONTIERS OF EUROPE WITHTHE MIGRANTS CAUGHT IN A LETHAL GAME
”“At least 10 people, including a one-year-old child, have died at the EU’s Eastern borders in recent weeks. Today the European Commission is bringing in measures which undermine rights and normalize the dehumanization and suffering of people at the EU’s borders.” AMNESTY INTERNATIONALEU ”EXCEPTIONAL MEASURES” NORMALIZE DEHUMANISATION OF ASYLUM SEEKERS’1 DECEMBER 2021
In response to today’s proposals from the European Commission which would allow Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to derogate from EU rules, including by holding asylum-seekers and migrants at the border for 16 weeks with minimal safeguards, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Office said:
“The arrival of people at the EU’s borders with Belarus is entirely manageable with the rules as they stand. Today’s proposals will further punish people for political gain, weaken asylum protections, and undermine the EU’s standing at home and abroad. If the EU can allow a minority of member states to throw out the rule book due to the presence of a few thousand people at its border, it throws out any authority it has on human rights and the rule of law.
“The current situation at the EU’s borders with Belarus is being used by some countries as an excuse to weaken protections of asylum-seekers and push their anti-migrant agenda. Holding asylum seekers in detention for four months, without the protection standards required by international law, is normalising de facto unlawful detention at the EU’s external borders.
“Asylum rules should be upheld, not allowed to be side-stepped by countries via so-called exceptional measures. Amnesty International is alarmed that the proposal will violate people’s rights, and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis at borders while continuing to expose the EU to further internal and external manipulation and blackmailing.
“While Lukashenka’s mistreatment and instrumentalization of migrants and asylum seekers is deplorable, he is exploiting the EU’s own tendency to treat people at their borders as a threat.
“At least 10 people, including a one-year-old child, have died at the EU’s Eastern borders in recent weeks. Today the European Commission is bringing in measures which undermine rights and normalize the dehumanization and suffering of people at the EU’s borders.”
END OF STATEMENT
POLAND-BELARUS REFUGEE CRISIS/LETTER TO THE EU/EU’S HUMAN OBLIGATIONS AGAINST THE REFUGEES
MISDADEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGVERWOESTING VAN GAZA
MISDADEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGVERWOESTING VAN GAZA
BEZETTINGSTERREUR foto Oda Hulsen Hebron 2 mei 2017/Verwijst naar foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die tegen de muur wordt gezet doorIsraelische soldaten, die hem toeriepen ”Where is your knife!”/Later vrijgelaten
NB Het is dus NIET de foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die bij de kraag wordt gegrepen
SUPERMARKT VOMAR STEUNT ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGSSTAAT/VOMAR, STOP MET DE VERKOOP VAN AVOCADO’SUIT ISRAEL! AANSUPERMARKT VOMARFILIAAL AMSTERDAMSE POORT Directie en Management
Geachte DirectieGeacht Management, Als trouwe klant van de Vomar ben ik doorgaans tevreden, zowel overhet uitstekende aanbod/assortiment, als over de verleende service.Recentelijk is er echter iets gebeurd, dat mijn verontwaardiging heeft opgewekt, vandaar deze briefmail: Toen ik recentelijk [in Week 2 of Week 3, 2022, daar wil ik af zijn] Vomarbezocht, zag ik dat u een aanbieding van avocado’s had, een voor de prijsvan 0.74 cent.Omdat ik erg van avocado’s houd [mag u weten], verheugde ik mijhier al op en besloot er een of meer te kopen. Wie schetst echter mijn verbazing/teleurstelling, toen bleek [wantik check altijd het land van herkomst], dat deze avocado’s uit Israelbleken te komen!Des te groter was mijn teleurstelling, omdat dit bij u, in tegenstelling totbijvoorbeeld Albert Heijn [1], maar weinig voorkomt!Meestal komen uw avocado’s uit Zuid-Amerika of andere landen/continenten.Slechts een keer heb ik u betrapt op de mango verkoop uit Israelen dat hebt u dan ook van mij, via een briefmail, te horen/lezengekregen. [2] Dus nu gaat u WEER de fout inTerwijl u toch moet weten, wat Israel, zijnde een bezettingsstaat sedert1967 [3], allemaal uitspookt, waardoor het moreel en ook politiek-maatschappelijk, verwerpelijk is, zaken met haar te doen. GEHEUGENOPFRISSERTJE: ISRAEL, BEZETTINGSSTAAT U zult weten, hoort dat althans te weten, dat de Staat Israel reeds 1967 de Palestijnse gebieden de Westelijke Jordaanoever, Gaza [4] en Oost-Jeruzalem bezet houdt.En alsof dat al niet erg genoeg is, heeft die bezetting [zoals alle vreemde bezettingen, overal ter wereld] veroorzaakt onderdrukking, vernederingen,[oorlogs] misdaden. Ik kan en wil die hier niet allemaal opsommen [trouwens, die lijst is onuitputtelijk], maar ernstige voorbeelden zijn onder andere de Israelische luchtaanvallen op Gaza in 2021, waarbij in korte tijd zeker 197 doden gevallen zijn, onder wie 58 kinderen en honderden mensen gewond geraakt zijn. [5] Dit alles was een escalatie van huisuitzettingen van Palestijnse families in het bezette Oost-Jeruzalem, om plaats te maken voor kolonisten! [6] En zoals u zult weten, zijn kolonisten bewoners van in bezet gebied gestichte nederzettingen, die illegaal zijn volgens het Internationaal Recht [7] EN regelrechte landdiefstal, omdat zij worden gebouwd op gestolen Palestijns land of, zoals in het geval van Oost-Jeruzalem bij die uitgezette Palestijnse families, gestolen Palestijnse huizen .Waarbij Israelische kolonisten vaak ook nog eens verantwoordelijk zijn voor bijna dagelijks geweld tegen de bezette Palestijnse bevolking! [8] EN to add insult to injury, tijdens die confrontaties destijds mbt tot de huisuitzetingen in Oost-Jeruzalem heeft het Israelische leger ook nog eens de Al Aqsa Moskee bestormd! [9]Een Godshuis! En dan nog in herinnering de Israelische militaire aanval op Gaza ”Protective Edge”,in 2014 waarbij Israel zich schuldig heeft gemaakt aan zware oorlogsmisdaden:In twee maanden tijd zijn meer dan 1400 mensen gedood [voornamelijkburgers], waaronder 526 kinderen, een VN school werd gebombardeerd, een ziekenhuis beschoten! [10] Welcome in the House of Horrors!
ISRAEL, APARTHEIDSSTAAT Maar er is nog meer Ellende! Want Israel is een Apartheidsstaat, zoals ook is bevestigd doormensenrechtenorganisatie Human Rights Watch in een uitgebreid rapport. [11]I k ga dat hier niet uitgebreid bespreken [ik heb meer te doen en aanstippenl ijkt mij wel voldoende voor het doel van deze mail], maar een voorbeeld is wat Israel verstaat onder een ”rechtssysteem” Waar er in Israel sprake is van een gewoon rechtssysteem voor burgers, komen burgers in de Bezette Palestijnse Gebieden voor een Militaire Rechtbank! [12] Niet alleen een idiote rechtsongelijkheid en daardoor groffe discriminatie, maar sinds wanneer komen niet militairen voor een Militaire Rechtbank?
FOUT!FOUT!FOUT!/GEEN AVOCADO’S MEER UIT ISRAEL! U zult nu hopelijk begrijpen, hoe fout het is, dat u nog avocado’s en ook andere producten [ik heb bij uw filiaal in de Amsterdamse Poort, naast mango’s waarover u eerder bent aangeschreven[13], ook weleens aardappelen uit Israel gezien!] verkoopt uit een land, dat bezettingsmacht is, land van de [Palestijnse] bevolking steelt, Palestijnse burgers hun eigen huis uitzet, scholen en ziekenhuizen bombardeert, oorlogsmisdaden pleegt. En als klap op de Vuurpijl nog folterpraktijken als ondervragingstaktiek hanteert! [14]
And, to add insult to injury, probeert Israel Palestijnse boeren kapot te makendoor hun organisatie [en andere Palestijnse mensenrechten/burgerorganisaties kapot te maken [15]En recentelijk nog, omdat we het toch over huisuitzettingen hadden-de huisuitzetting van een Palestijns gezin, ja, uit bezet Oost-Jeruzalem,waar door de EU schande van werd gesproken! [16]
Wanneer u dus persisteert, producten uit een dergelijk land af te nemen, faciliteert u de bezettingseconomie en houdt u het Kwaad van bezetting en onderdrukking tot stand. Ik verwacht dus, neen ik EIS van u, dat u per direct stopt, producten uit Israel te verkopen. Mocht u daarmee doorgaan, dan vindt u mij op uw Pad en ook andere ,invloedrijkere mensen en instanties. Ik hoop dus, dat u aan mijn Oproep gehoor geeft. Vriendelijk bedankt voor het lezen van deze Brief
Vriendelijke groeten Astrid EssedAmsterdam
NOTEN Voor uw gemak hierbij de links naar de noten
Een Koerdische familie uit Irak wacht met zestien leden uit drie generaties op de grenswachten. Al acht keer werden ze teruggestuurd naar Wit-Rusland, waarbij ze klappen kregen en door honden gebeten werden. Foto Wojtek Radwanski / AFP
Voertuigen die zich nabij de grens begeven worden streng gecontroleerd. Foto Marko Djurica / Reuters
Achtergebleven spullen van migranten in de bossen. Velen van hen krijgen met geweld en intimidatie te maken. Foto Marko Djurica / Reuters
Ondertussen proberen hulporganisaties de migranten waar mogelijk te helpen. Hier sorteert een Poolse vrijwilligster gedoneerde kleding in een brandweerkazerne. Foto Kacper Pempel / Reuters
Activisten van de Poolse ngo Grupa Granica houden foto’s omhoog van gestrande migranten, met de oproep hen hulp te bieden. Foto Marko Djurica / Reuters
Oekraïense nationalisten houden borden en flares omhoog in protest tegen de komst van migranten voor de Poolse ambassade in Kiev. Foto Sergei Supinsky / AFP
Medici verzorgen een gewonde migrant, terwijl anderen verderop door de Poolse politie worden ingerekend. De Poolse premier Mateusz sprak onlangs van „een brute schending van onze oostelijke grens (…) de ergste in dertig jaar”. Foto Woitek Radwanski / AFP
Migranten drommen samen om noodpakketten te ontvangen van de Wit-Russische krijgsmacht. Foto Stringer / EPA
Een migrant draagt zijn ontvangen noodrantsoen weg van het uitdeelpunt van het Wit-Russische leger. Veel migranten verblijven in het grensgebied onder erbarmelijke omstandigheden. Foto Stringer / EPA
Poolse militairen en politieagenten staan rechts paraat langs de grens met Wit-Rusland, terwijl links migranten te zien zijn in hun geïmproviseerde kampementen.
POLAND-BELARUS BORDER CRISIS/LETTER TO THE EU/”EU’S HUMAN OBLIGATIONS AGAINST THE REFUGEES, WHO ARE TRAPPED BETWEENTHE POLAND-BELARUS BORDER”
TO MRS Y JOHANSSONEU COMMISSIONER FOR HOME AFFAIRSRelating her responsibility for Migration and Asylum Subject:The Poland Belarus crisis on migrants:Eu’s obligations regarding universal human rights
Dear Mrs Johansson,[When you are pressed with time, just read the last piece”EU’s obligations”]
I am greatly concerned about EU’s recent attitude against refugees, who are trapped in the border between Poland and BelarusFirstly the EU waited months after months and allowing Poland to close andmilitarize its borders against those refugees, thus violating their right on asylum,violating their universal human rights by letting them try to survive in the freezingcold and, to add insult to injury, pushing them back from the border, fully knowing that push-backs are against International Law. [1]As a consequence, at least thirteen refugees died. [2]Instead of immediately demanding of Poland, to refrain from violatinghuman rights and giving those refugees entrance to Poland, all the EUdid was express solidarity with Poland and also denying the refugees their right to asylum:I quote from the statement from EU president, mrs von der Leyen, from 8th november 2021:”Finally, the Commission will explore with the UN and its specialised agencies how to prevent a humanitarian crisis from unfolding and to ensure that migrants can be safely returned to their country of origin, with the support of their national authorities.” [3] That’s inhuman. In her report ”Die Here or Go to Poland”, Human Rights Watch wrote among else:”Polish authorities should immediately halt all summary returns and collective expulsions to Belarus and stop all abuse by Polish officials of migrants. The government of Poland should also immediately allow humanitarian and other civil society organizations access to the area currently restricted under the state of emergency order for the purposes of saving lives. Journalists and other monitors should also be permitted access.” [4]Poland is a EU member and should apply toEU rules, among else consolidated in the Charter’for Fundamental Rights of the EU Union [5],in which the right to asylum is granted [article 18] [6] and pushbacks are forbidden [article 18, article 19,EU Charter of Fundamental Rights] [7] As long as Poland is an EU member, Poland has to conduct according toEU rules!And it is the EU task to remember Poland of its obligations. PROPOSAL OF THE EU COMMISSION FROM1 DECEMBER 2021 Not only that has not happened, now the EU Commission did proposals in the favour of Poland.Latva and Lithuania taking ”exceptional measures”I refer to the recent Statement from 1 december 2021, calling for measures of an ”of an extraordinary and exceptional nature” [8] According to my information from Amnesty International,EU Commission proposals ”normalize dehumanisationof asylum seekers” [9] Amnesty International writes among else: ”“The arrival of people at the EU’s borders with Belarus is entirely manageable with the rules as they stand. Today’s proposals will further punish people for political gain, weaken asylum protections, and undermine the EU’s standing at home and abroad. If the EU can allow a minority of member states to throw out the rule book due to the presence of a few thousand people at its border, it throws out any authority it has on human rights and the rule of law.
“The current situation at the EU’s borders with Belarus is being used by some countries as an excuse to weaken protections of asylum-seekers and push their anti-migrant agenda. Holding asylum seekers in detention for four months, without the protection standards required by international law, is normalising de facto unlawful detention at the EU’s external borders.” [10]
That’s clear language and I have nothing to add to this
EU’S OBLIGATION
Summarizing:
During the Poland-Belarus crisis on migrants,
all the EU really did was to express solidarity
with Poland, thus encouraging Poland in it’s
unlawful policy of denying the right to asylum and
practising illegal pushbacks and, to add insult
to injury, letting vulnerable refugee freezing in the cold,
without adequate provisions.
With this the EU has violated her own rules of
humanity, right to asylum and the prohibition
of pushbacks.
So it’s time, the EU acts again in accordance with it’s own Charter and Laws and not proposing ”extraordinary
measures” [11] which violate it’s own rules.
So I call the EU to require from Poland to admit the
refugees and give them a proper asylum procedure,
according to human rights and stop pushing them back.
Of course Belarus bears responsibility too for the
existing situation [12], but that doesn’t excuse
the EU from practising their own rules of
humanitarian protection of refugees, which is formally established in the EU Law.
Return to your own Laws and Charters, EU and stop
dehumanizing refugees.
That’s all I ask.
Kind regards
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
NOTES[1]
HUMAN RIGHTSHUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT”DIE HERE OR GO TO POLAND”BELARUS’ AND POLAND’S SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FORBORDER ABUSES
”I have spoken to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš to express the EU’s solidarity and discuss with them the measures the EU can take to support them in their efforts to deal with this crisis.”
”’Finally, the Commission will explore with the UN and its specialised agencies how to prevent a humanitarian crisis from unfolding and to ensure that migrants can be safely returned to their country of origin, with the support of their national authorities.”
The instrumentalisation of migrants for political purposes by Belarus is unacceptable.
The Belarusian authorities must understand that pressuring the European Union in this way through a cynical instrumentalisation of migrants will not help them succeed in their purposes.
I have spoken to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš to express the EU’s solidarity and discuss with them the measures the EU can take to support them in their efforts to deal with this crisis.
I am calling on Member States to finally approve the extended sanctions regime on the Belarusian authorities responsible for this hybrid attack.
Vice-President Schinas, in coordination with High Representative/Vice-President Borrell, will travel in the coming days to the main countries of origin and of transit to ensure that they act to prevent their own nationals from falling into the trap set by the Belarusian authorities.
The EU will in particular explore how to sanction, including through blacklisting, third country airlines that are active in human trafficking.
Finally, the Commission will explore with the UN and its specialised agencies how to prevent a humanitarian crisis from unfolding and to ensure that migrants can be safely returned to their country of origin, with the support of their national authorities.
[4]HUMAN RIGHTSHUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORTSUMMARY”DIE HERE OR GO TO POLAND”BELARUS’ AND POLAND’S SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FORBORDER ABUSES
Article 18 Right to asylum The right to asylum shall be guaranteed with due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the status of refugees and in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community. CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION https://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf
[7] Article 18 Right to asylum The right to asylum shall be guaranteed with due respect for the rules of the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the status of refugees and in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community. CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION https://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf
Article 19 Protection in the event of removal, expulsion or extradition 1. Collective expulsions are prohibited. 2. No one may be removed, expelled or extradited to a State where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION https://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf
”Notwithstanding any changes to Polish law, Poland’s pushbacks without due process violate EU law including the Charter of Fundamental Rights.[25] The Charter guarantees the right to asylum and standard international refugee law practice, under which any expression of intent to seek asylum should promptly be forwarded to the competent authorities for assessment based on the person’s individual grounds for seeking asylum.[26]”
Polish pushback practices are also in violation of article 19 of the Charter and Protocol 4 of the ECHR, which both state unequivocally that collective or mass expulsions of aliens are prohibited.[28]
The Commission is today putting forward a set of temporary asylum and return measures to assist Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in addressing the emergency situation at the EU’s external border with Belarus. The measures will allow these Member States to set up swift and orderly processes to manage the situation, in full respect of fundamental rights and international obligations, including the principle of non-refoulement. The proposal follows the invitation by the European Council for the Commission to propose any necessary changes to the EU’s legal framework and concrete measures underpinned by adequate financial support to ensure an immediate and appropriate response in line with EU law and international obligations, including the respect of fundamental rights. The measures, based on Article 78(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, will enter into force after their adoption by the Council. The European Parliament will be consulted. The measures will remain in force for a period of 6 months.
Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, said: “In the past weeks, we have managed to bring the EU’s collective weight to bear in face of the hybrid attack directed at our Union. Collectively, the EU made clear that attempts to undermine our Union will only solidify our solidarity with one another. Today we are giving living manifestation to that solidarity: in the form of a set of temporary and exceptional measures that will equip Latvia, Lithuania and Poland with the means needed to respond to these extraordinary circumstances in a controlled and swift manner and to operate in conditions of legal certainty.”
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said: “Although the EU’s intense efforts have brought rapid results, the situation remains delicate. Today, to protect our borders, and to protect people, we are giving flexibility and support to Member States to manage this emergency situation, without compromising on human rights. This should allow the Member States in question to fully uphold the right to asylum and align legislation with EU acquis. It’s also time limited and targeted. To make our response to hybrid threats future-proof, we activate the EU’s formidable diplomatic and legal capacity, to apply sanctions and persuade third countries to stop flights. We will soon propose a reform of the Schengen rules. Making progress now on the Pact on Migration and Asylum is essential.”
Provisional measures proposed
The measures included in this proposal are of an extraordinary and exceptional nature. They will apply for a period of 6 months, unless extended or repealed, and will apply to non-EU nationals who have irregularly entered the EU from Belarus and are at the vicinity of the border or those who present themselves at border crossing points. The main elements of the proposal are:
Emergency migration and asylum management procedure at the external borders:
The 3 Member States will have the possibility to extend the registration period for asylum applications to 4 weeks, instead of the current 3 to 10 days. The Member States may also apply the asylum procedure at the border to process all asylum claims, including the appeal, within a maximum of 16 weeks – except where adequate support for applicants with particular health issues cannot be provided. In doing so, well-founded claims and those of families and children should be prioritised.
Material reception conditions: Member States focus reception conditions on the covering of basic needs, including temporary shelter adapted to the seasonal weather conditions, food, water, clothing, adequate medical care, and assistance to vulnerable persons, in full respect of human dignity. It is important that Member States ensure close cooperation with UNHCR and relevant partner organisations to support individuals in this emergency situation.
Return procedure: Member States concerned will be able to apply simplified and quicker national procedures including for the return of people whose applications for international protection have been rejected in this context.
All procedures carried out in line with this proposal must respect fundamental rights and specific guarantees provided for by EU law, including the best interests of the child, emergency health care and needs of vulnerable people, the use of coercive measures and detention conditions.
Practical support and cooperation:
Support from EU agencies: EU agencies stand ready to help the Member States on request. The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) can help register and process applications, ensure screening of vulnerable people and support the management, design and putting in place of adequate reception. Further Frontex support is available for border control activities, including screening and return operations. Support from Europol is also available to provide intelligence to counter smuggling.
Continued cooperation: The Commission, the Member States and EU Agencies will continue their cooperation, including an obligation on the Member States to continue reporting relevant data and statistics via the EU Migration Preparedness and Crisis Management Network.
The Commission will regularly reassess the situation and may propose to the Council to prolong or repeal these provisional measures.
Next steps
Article 78(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU states that after consulting the European Parliament, the Council may adopt provisional measures for the benefit of the Member States concerned. This happens by qualified majority vote. Once agreed by the Council, in view of the urgency of the situation, this Decision should enter into force the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Background
Since the summer, the Lukashenko regime and its supporters have initiated a hybrid attack on the EU, especially Lithuania, Poland and Latvia, which have experienced an insidious new threat in the form of the instrumentalisation of desperate people.
In October 2021, the European Council invited the Commission to propose any necessary changes to the EU’s legal framework to respond to the state-sponsored instrumentalisation of people at the EU’s external border with Belarus. Article 78(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for the adoption of provisional measures in emergency migratory situations at the EU’s external borders.
Today’s proposal is the latest in a series of coordinated EU actions that include: targeted measures for transport operators that facilitate or engage in smuggling; diplomatic and external action; stepping up humanitarian assistance and support for border and migration management.
This proposal is in line with the comprehensive approach set out in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. It complements the Schengen Borders Code and the upcoming Schengen reform, in which the Commission intends to propose a permanent framework for addressing possible situations of instrumentalisation that may still confront the Union in the future.
Financing of this proposal will be accommodated within the budget of the existing EU funding instruments under the period 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 in the field of migration, asylum and border management. Where exceptionally necessary, if the situation aggravates further, the flexibility mechanisms within the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 could be used.
In response to today’s proposals from the European Commission which would allow Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to derogate from EU rules, including by holding asylum-seekers and migrants at the border for 16 weeks with minimal safeguards, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Office said:
“The arrival of people at the EU’s borders with Belarus is entirely manageable with the rules as they stand. Today’s proposals will further punish people for political gain, weaken asylum protections, and undermine the EU’s standing at home and abroad. If the EU can allow a minority of member states to throw out the rule book due to the presence of a few thousand people at its border, it throws out any authority it has on human rights and the rule of law.
“The current situation at the EU’s borders with Belarus is being used by some countries as an excuse to weaken protections of asylum-seekers and push their anti-migrant agenda. Holding asylum seekers in detention for four months, without the protection standards required by international law, is normalising de facto unlawful detention at the EU’s external borders.
“Asylum rules should be upheld, not allowed to be side-stepped by countries via so-called exceptional measures. Amnesty International is alarmed that the proposal will violate people’s rights, and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis at borders while continuing to expose the EU to further internal and external manipulation and blackmailing.
“While Lukashenka’s mistreatment and instrumentalization of migrants and asylum seekers is deplorable, he is exploiting the EU’s own tendency to treat people at their borders as a threat.
“At least 10 people, including a one-year-old child, have died at the EU’s Eastern borders in recent weeks. Today the European Commission is bringing in measures which undermine rights and normalize the dehumanization and suffering of people at the EU’s borders.”
SUPERMARKT VOMAR, STOP MET DE VERKOOP VAN ISRAELISCHEPRODUCTEN!
ISRAELISCHE BOMBARDEMENTEN OP GAZA IN MEI 2021/TERREUR EN BEZETTING/BRIEF AAN DE LEDEN VAN DE COMMISSIE BUITENLANDSE ZAKEN VAN DE TWEEDE KAMER
MISDADEN VAN DE ISRAELISCHE BEZETTINGVERWOESTING VAN GAZA
BEZETTINGSTERREUR foto Oda Hulsen Hebron 2 mei 2017/Verwijst naar foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die tegen de muur wordt gezet doorIsraelische soldaten, die hem toeriepen ”Where is your knife!”/Later vrijgelaten
NB Het is dus NIET de foto van een Palestijnse jongen, die bij de kraag wordt gegrepen
VOMAR, VERKOOP GEEN MANGO’S UIT ISRAEL! 1 11201×639
AANSUPERMARKT VOMARFILIAAL AMSTERDAMSE POORT Directie en Management
Geachte DirectieGeacht Management, Als trouwe klant van de Vomar ben ik doorgaans tevreden, zowel overhet uitstekende aanbod/assortiment, als over de verleende service.Recentelijk is er echter iets gebeurd, dat mijn verontwaardiging heeft opgewekt, vandaar deze briefmail. Toen ik afgelopen vrijdag de Vomar weer bezocht, deze keer uw filiaalAmsterdam Amsterdamse Poort, welgemoed en vrolijk, nam ik zoals gebruikelijkeen reclamefolder, lopend van zondag 29 augustus t/m zaterdag 4 september[zoals te doen gebruikelijk bij Vomar] en zag, dat er mango’s in deaanbieding waren [voor 0,99 cent, leuk, scherp prijsje!]Maar komend bij de groenteafdeling werd mijn woede opgewekt ISRAEL!Want zoals u al aan bovenstaande capital uitroep kunt zien, lasik op de doos waarin de mango’s zaten, dat deze uit Israel kwamen.En dat is ZO fout! Eigenlijk een schande, dat ik u in onderstaande moet uitleggen, hoe fout dat is! ISRAEL, BEZETTINGSSTAAT U zult weten, hoort dat althans te weten, dat de Staat Israel reeds 54 jaar de Palestijnse gebieden de Westelijke Jordaanoever, Gaza [1] en Oost-Jeruzalem bezet houdt.En alsof dat al niet erg genoeg is, heeft die bezetting [zoals alle vreemdebezettingen, overal ter wereld] veroorzaakt onderdrukking, vernederingen,[oorlogs] misdaden.Ik kan en wil die hier niet allemaal opsommen [trouwens, die lijst is onuitputtelijk], maar ernstige voorbeelden zijn de recente Israelische luchtaanvallen op Gaza, waarbij in korte tijd zeker 197 doden gevallenzijn, onder wie 58 kinderen en honderden mensen gewond geraakt zijn. [2] Dit alles was een escalatie van huisuitzettingen van Palestijnse families inhet bezette Oost-Jeruzalem, om plaats te maken voor kolonisten! [3]En zoals u zult weten, zijn kolonisten bewoners van in bezet gebied gestichtenederzettingen, die illegaal zijn volgens het Internationaal Recht [4] EN regelrechte landdiefstal, omdat zij worden gebouwd op gestolenPalestijns land of, zoals in het geval van Oost-Jeruzalem bij die uitgezettePalestijnse families, gestolen Palestijnse huizen.Waarbij Israelische kolonisten vaak ook nog eens verantwoordelijk zijnvoor bijna dagelijks geweld tegen de bezette Palestijnse bevolking! [5] EN to add insult to injury, tijdens die confrontaties mbt tot de huisuitzetingenin Oost-Jeruzalem heeft het Israelische leger in die tijd ook nog eensde Al Aqsa Moskee bestormd! [6]Een Godshuis! En dan nog in herinnering de Israelische militaire aanval op Gaza ”Protective Edge”,in 2014 waarbij Israel zich schuldig heeft gemaakt aan zware oorlogsmisdaden:In twee maanden tijd zijn meer dan 1400 mensen gedood [voornamelijkburgers], waaronder 526 kinderen, een VN school werd gebombardeerd, een ziekenhuis beschoten! [7]Welcome in the House of Horror! ISRAEL, APARTHEIDSSTAAT Maar er is nog meer Ellende!Want Israel is een Apartheidsstaat, zoals ook is bevestigd doormensenrechtenorganisatie Human Rights Watch in een uitgebreid rapport. [8]Ik ga dat hier niet uitgebreid bespreken [ik heb meer te doen en aanstippenlijkt mij wel voldoende voor het doel van deze mail], maar een voorbeeld is watIsrael verstaat onder een ”rechtssysteem” Waar er in Israel sprake is van een gewoon rechtssysteem voor burgers,komen burgers in de Bezette Palestijnse Gebieden voor een MilitaireRechtbank! [9]Niet alleen een idiote rechtsongelijkheid en daarvoor groffe discriminatie, maar sinds wanneer komen niet militairen voor een Militaire Rechtbank?
FOUT!FOUT!FOUT!/GEEN MANGO’S MEER UIT ISRAEL! U zult nu hopelijk begrijpen, hoe fout het is, dat u nog mango’s en ookandere producten [ik heb bij uw filiaal in de Amsterdamse Poort ookweleens aardappelen uit Israel gezien!] verkoopt uit een land, dat bezettingsmacht is, land van de [Palestijnse] bevolking steelt, Palestijnseburgers hun eigen huis uitzet, scholen en ziekenhuizen bombardeert, oorlogsmisdaden pleegt.En als klap op de Vuurpijl nog folterpraktijken als ondervragingstaktiekhanteert! [10] Populair gezegd:Een Gangsterregime, dat onderdrukt, steelt, bezet Wanneer u producten uit een dergelijk land afneemt, faciliteert u de bezettingseconomie en houdt u het Kwaad van bezetting en onderdrukking tot stand. Ik verwacht dus, neen ik EIS van u, dat u per direct stopt,producten uit Israel te verkopen. Mocht u daarmee doorgaan, dan vindt u mij op uw Pad en ook andere,invloedrijkere mensen en instantikes. Ik hoop dus, dat u aan mijn Oproep gehoor geeft. Vriendelijk bedankt voor het lezen van deze Brief Vriendelijke groetenAstrid EssedAmsterdam P/S Deze brief is tevens als link [te zien op mijn website] doorgestuurdnaar het contactformulier van de Vomar
[1] GAZA IS NOG STEEDS BEZET GEBIEDZIE WAT MENSENRECHTENORGANISATIE HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH HIEROVER ZEGT, GEBASEERD OP HET INTERNATIONAAL RECHT ”“The removal of settlers and most military forces will not end Israel’s control over Gaza,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division. “Israel plans to reconfigure its occupation of the territory, but it will remain an occupying power with responsibility for the welfare of the civilian population.” HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHISRAEL: ”DISENGAGEMENT” WILL NOT ENDGAZA OCCUPATION https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/10/28/israel-disengagement-will-not-end-gaza-occupation
[2] ”Volgens het Palestijnse ministerie van Volksgezondheid zijn sinds maandag 197 Palestijnen om het leven gekomen, onder wie 58 kinderen. Ook zijn er zeker 1235 gewonden gevallen.” NOSUREN NA TOESPRAAK NETANYAHU OPNIEUW ISRAELISCHE LUCHTAANVALLEN OP GAZA
[3] ”Huisuitzettingen Vrijdagavond escaleerde opnieuw het geweld tussen Israëlische politie en Palestijnse demonstranten in Jeruzalem, vooral vanwege de dreigende huisuitzettingen van Palestijnse families in Oost-Jeruzalem.” NRCFRUSTRATIES IN JERUZALEM BEREIKEN GEWELDDADIG KOOKPUNT
OVER DE ILLEGALITEIT VAN DE ISRAELISCHE NEDERZETTINGEN,VOLGENS HET INTERNATIONAAL RECHT HET RODE KRUIS:
”It is unlawful under the Fourth Geneva Convention for an occupying power to transfer parts of its own population into the territory it occupies. This means that international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of settlements, as these are a form of population transfer into occupied territory”
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY ABOUT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SETTLEMENTS
05-10-2010 FAQ
When a territory is placed under the authority of a hostile army, the rules of international humanitarian law dealing with occupation apply. Occupation confers certain rights and obligations on the occupying power.
Prohibited actions include forcibly transferring protected persons from the occupied territories to the territory of the occupying power. It is unlawful under the Fourth Geneva Convention for an occupying power to transfer parts of its own population into the territory it occupies. This means that international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of settlements, as these are a form of population transfer into occupied territory. Any measure designed to expand or consolidate settlements is also illegal. Confiscation of land to build or expand settlements is similarly prohibited.
”1391, or 63%, of the 2,202 Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in Operation “Protective Edge” did not take part in the hostilities. Of these, 526 – a quarter of all Palestinians killed in the operation – were children under eighteen years of age”
”Israël heeft een staakt-het-vuren afgekondigd in de Gaza-strook. Het leger spreekt van een ‘humanitair bestand’ dat op maandag geldt van 7 tot 14 uur.
Het volgt op scherpe wereldwijde kritiek op de Israëlische beschieting van een VN-school in Gaza. De Verenigde Staten reageerden buitengewoon scherp op de tweede raketaanval in een week op een VN-school in de Gaza-strook. Een woordvoerder van het Amerikaanse ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken zegt ‘geschokt’ te zijn door de ‘schandelijke beschieting van de VN-school’.
””Israel has maintained military rule over some portion of the Palestinian population for all but six months of its 73-year history. It did so over the vast majority of Palestinians inside Israel from 1948 and until 1966. From 1967 until the present, it has militarily ruled over Palestinians in the OPT, excluding East Jerusalem. By contrast, it has since its founding governed all Jewish Israelis, including settlers in the OPT since the beginning of the occupation in 1967, under its more rights-respecting civil law.”
RAPPORT
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
A TRESHOLD CROSSEDISRAELI AUTHORITIES AND THE CRIME OF APARTHEID AND PERSECUTION
”A new report published by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) outlines the nature of the legal regime currently operating in the West Bank. Two systems of law are applied in a single territory: one – a civilian legal system for Israeli citizens, and a second – a military court system for Palestinian residents. The result: institutionalized discrimination.”
ACRI [ASSOCIATION FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN ISRAEL]ONE RULE, TWO LEGAL SYSTEMS: ISRAEL’S REGIME OF LAWSIN THE WEST BANK
AANDe leden van de commissie-Buitenlandse Zaken van de Tweede Kamer Uw taakomschrijving:
De vaste commissie voor Buitenlandse Zaken behandelt de onderwerpen die te maken hebben met het beleid van de minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, behalve het interne beleid van de Europese Unie (EU). EU-onderwerpen worden namelijk behandeld door de commissie voor Europese Zaken. De commissie voor Buitenlandse Zaken overlegt regelmatig met de minister over actuele kwesties, zoals de situatie in conflictgebieden, mensenrechten en het uitzenden van Nederlandse militairen naar crisisgebieden. Ook behandelt de commissie de begroting van Buitenlandse Zaken, ontvangt ze internationale delegaties en gaat ze ieder jaar op werkbezoek naar het buitenland.
Onderwerp: Israelisch gewelddadig optreden tegen Palestijnse gevangenen [Deze mail is tevens gestuurd aan uw Tweede Kamer collegae],
Geachte dames en heren, Zoals u wellicht nog weet, wend ik mij wel vaker tot uw Tweede Kamer inverband met het onrecht in verband met het Midden-Oostenconflict, maar ookbetreffende andere onderwerpen, de mensenrechten betreffende [1]Meestal geef ik u dan een uitgebreide toelichting, waarin ik dieper inga opallerlei internatiionaalrechtelijke aspecten [2] In dit geval echter ga ik het kort[er] houden, omdat de zaak vrij simpel is:Het betreft hier een schokkend geval van mishandeling van Palestijnsegevangenen, waartegen u, binnen uw mogelijkheden uiteraard, moet optreden en wel nu! SCHOKKENDE BEELDEN/MISHANDELING PALESTIJNSE GEVANGENEN Mij bereikte het bericht over de schokkende mishandeling van Palestijnsegevangenen in de Israelische gevangenis Ketziot [3] en de beelden daarvan werden gepubliceerd door de Israelische krant de Haaretz in zijnHebreeuwse editie [4] Zie onder noot 5 de Beelden, die ook te zien zijn onder noot 6, op de sitevan The Rights Forum en waarvan afbeeldingen op de Hebreeuwse editievan de Haaretz, noot 7 Wat u ziet is overduidelijk:Gevangenen worden over de grond gesleept, op een hoop gegooid enmishandeld.Wat u ziet is onacceptabel! De zaak, die dateert uit 2019 [8] naar buiten is gebracht door de Haaretz [waarvoor van mijnkant waardering], werd ”onderzocht” ”Onderzocht”, schrijf ik tussen aanhalingstekens, omdat dat ”onderzoek”geen naam mocht hebben, waardoor de term ”in de doofpot stoppen”,beter gekozen is. In een redactioneel artikel schrijft de Haaretz daarover: ”It wasn’t only the Prison Service that looked the other way. In the Israel Police, Lahav 433’s National Prison Investigation Unit did as little as possible to probe the affair: Only one guard was questioned and even though he admitted that he had engaged in gratuitous violence, it wasn’t enough for the police or prosecutors to proceed with an indictment. This was a negligent investigation – with no real effort to identify the guards and no police lineup – which proves that even when such an unusual case of abuse has been fully documented, the police still prefer to sweep it under the rug. [9] EN ”It’s hard to believe that the investigation would have ended this way if the prisoners had been Jews. But in this case, the victims were Palestinian terrorists and security prisoners belonging to Hamas. Therefore, not only was the case closed on the grounds that “the offender is not known,” but the warden on duty at the time, General Avichai Ben-Hamo, was promoted to the rank of major general. The other guards allegedly involved in the incident remain at their jobs.” [10] STRUCTUREEL Hoewel dit incident al erg genoeg is, staat het niet opzichzelf, maar is dit Israelische gewelddadige optredenjegens Palestijnse gevangenen structureel.Amnesty International schrijft hierover in haar Jaaroverzicht 2020 onder andere:”The Israeli authorities arbitrarily detained in Israel thousands of Palestinians from the OPT, holding hundreds in administrative detention without charge or trial. Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, including children, were committed with impunity.” [11] Dit is zeer ernstigDaar moet tegen worden opgetreden, waarde Tweede Kamerleden,want ik hoef u niet uit te leggen dat het, los van de bestialiteit, ingaattegen alle mogelijke internationale Verdragen! [12]
UW INZET Van u als Kamerleden verwacht ik, dat u dit structurele Israelische’geweld tegen Palestijnse gevangenen, waarbij ook hoort structurelefoltering bij ondervraging [13], op alle u ten dienste staande middelenaankaart, zoals het stellen van Kamervragen en wat dies meer zij, zoalsijveren voor de opschorting van het Associatie Verdrag met Israel[dat een mensenrechtenclausule heeft] [14], mocht Israel hiermee doorgaan. Te lang heeft dit onrecht voortgeduurd en u kunt er niet van wegkijken.U hebt een Eed of Belofte afgelegd op de Grondwet, waarin artikel 90:”De Nederlandse regering bevordert de Internationale Rechtsorde” [15] Ik reken op uw inzet Vriendelijke groeten Astrid EssedAmsterdam
Tientallen gevangenen worden geboeid over de grond gesleurd, op een hoop gegooid en afgeranseld. De zaak verdween in de doofpot, en dat is geen uitzondering.
De beelden dateren uit 2019 en zijn naar buiten gebracht door de Israëlische krant Haaretz in zijn Hebreeuwse editie. Ze tonen de mishandeling van een kleine zestig Palestijnse gevangenen door zo’n vijftien gevangenisbewaarders in de C-vleugel van de Ketziot-gevangenis in de Negev/Naqab in Israël. De gevangenen worden geboeid over de betonnen vloer gesleept, boven op elkaar gegooid, geschopt en met wapenstokken geslagen. Vijftien gevangenen raakten zodanig gewond dat ze in het ziekenhuis belandden. De beelden roepen herinneringen op aan de mishandeling van Iraakse gevangenen door Amerikaanse militairen en CIA-medewerkers in de Abu Ghraib-gevangenis bij Bagdad in 2004.
Doofpot
In zijn redactioneel commentaar schrijft Haaretz dat het geweld kennelijk een wraakactie was voor het neersteken van een bewaarder elders in het gevangeniscomplex – volgens Wikipedia het grootste detentiecentrum van Israël en zelfs ter wereld. De Israel Prison Service maakte destijds bekend dat veiligheidstroepen op de bewuste dag ‘een opstand van gevangenen onder controle hadden gebracht’. Op de beelden is van een opstand echter niets te zien.
De zaak is door de autoriteiten in de doofpot gestopt, schrijft Haaretz. De Prison Service ‘keek de andere kant op’ en de onderzoeksafdeling van de Israëlische politie – de National Prison Investigation Unit – volstond met het ondervragen van één gevangenisbewaarder. Hoewel die toegaf zich schuldig te hebben gemaakt aan ‘onnodig geweld’, werd geen vervolging ingesteld. De zaak werd gesloten onder het mom dat ‘de dader onbekend is’.
De politie ‘veegde de zaak onder het tapijt’, concludeert Haaretz, en ook de openbaar aanklager kwam niet in actie. ‘Het is moeilijk voor te stellen dat het zo zou zijn gelopen als de gevangenen Joden waren geweest’, voegt de krant daaraan toe. In dit geval ging het echter om ‘terroristen en veiligheidsgevangenen die lid waren van Hamas’.
Geen uitzondering, maar regel
Overigens betekent dat niet dat de gevangenen daadwerkelijk lid waren van Hamas en een misdaad op hun geweten hebben. Afgelopen jaar besteedden wij in een brede analyse aandacht aan het oppakken van Palestijnen onder het mom van ‘betrokkenheid bij terrorisme’. Onder die noemer verdwijnen aan de lopende band Palestijnen uit de door Israël bezette gebieden in Israëlische gevangenissen. Het is onderdeel van ‘het intimideren en terroriseren van de bevolking door het Israëlische bezettingsregime’, concludeerden wij.
Daarop wijst vandaag ook de vooraanstaande Israëlische mensenrechtenorganisatie B’Tselem. In een persbericht schrijft het dat het ‘witwassen’ van de zaak door de autoriteiten geen uitzondering is, maar regel: de Israëlische overheersing van de Palestijnen is gebaseerd op geweld en het witwassen daarvan. De nu naar buiten gekomen zaak onderstreept volgens B’Tselem het belang van onderzoek en vervolging door internationale gerechtshoven als het Internationaal Gerechtshof en het Internationaal Strafhof in Den Haag:
Het Israëlische apartheidsregime is gebaseerd op constant, georganiseerd geweld tegen Palestijnen. Dat geweld is cruciaal voor zijn voortbestaan. Daarom is het regime noch bereid, noch in staat om degenen die het geweld plannen en uitvoeren te onderzoeken, laat staan te vervolgen. […] De zaak bewijst eens te meer dat Palestijnse slachtoffers van geweld van Israëlische veiligheidstroepen binnen het bestaande Israëlische systeem geen gerechtigheid kunnen krijgen, en alleen kunnen hopen op behandeling van hun zaken door internationale gerechtshoven.
Mishandeling schering en inslag
Het mishandelen en martelen van Palestijnse ‘verdachten’ en ‘veiligheidsgevangenen’ is in Israëlische ondervragings- en detentiecentra schering en inslag. Het Israëlische Hooggerechtshof staat echter ‘speciale ondervragingsmethoden’ toe als er sprake is van ‘bijzondere veiligheidsrisico’s’, en die bepaling biedt politiediensten, de Prison Service en de veiligheidsdienst Shin Bet een vrijbrief om verdachten te mishandelen zonder dat er een haan naar kraait. Het Israëlische Comité tegen Marteling (PCATI) diende tussen 2001 en 2020 circa 1300 officiële klachten wegens marteling door de Shin Bet in. Dat leidde in slechts één geval tot strafrechtelijk onderzoek, dat uitliep op seponering.
Het martelen van gevangenen is onder internationaal recht en de Universele Verklaring van de Rechten van de Mens strikt verboden en geldt in het oprichtingsverdrag van het Internationaal Strafhof – het Statuut van Rome – als een oorlogsmisdaad. Eerder dit jaar maanden zeven mensenrechtenexperts van de VN Israël zich aan het internationaal recht te houden en rigoureus een eind te maken aan de verboden praktijken. De autoriteiten dienen alle wetten, voorschriften, beleidslijnen en praktijken die zulke misdaden mogelijk maken met spoed te herzien. Staten zijn verplicht marteling en mishandeling te voorkomen en, in het geval zulk wangedrag toch plaatsvindt, te bestraffen. Slachtoffers dienen gerehabiliteerd en gecompenseerd te worden.
[6] YOUTUBE BEELDEN IN ARTIKEL THE RIGHTS FORUM ”De beelden dateren uit 2019 en zijn naar buiten gebracht door de Israëlische krant Haaretz in zijn Hebreeuwse editie. Ze tonen de mishandeling van een kleine zestig Palestijnse gevangenen door zo’n vijftien gevangenisbewaarders in de C-vleugel van de Ketziot-gevangenis in de Negev/Naqab in Israël. ”[YOUTUBE FILMPJE IN ARTIKEL THE RIGHTS FORUM]
The shocking video from Wing 3 of Ketziot Prison should have set off an earthquake in the Israel Prison Service, police and the State Prosecutor’s Office: Scores of Arab security prisoners were forcibly thrown down onto a concrete floor, sometimes on top of each other, as guards passed between them for long minutes, beating them with batons and kicking them randomly, without any resistance from their victims (as Josh Breiner reported Thursday).
The unrestrained violence is believed to have been carried out in revenge for the stabbing of a guard shortly beforehand near the wing. The guards’ act of revenge, which left 15 prisoners injured, was described by the Prison Service as “gaining control over a riot.” But the evidence clearly shows there was no riot, just the abuse of prisoners. The evidence was an open secret in the Prison Service: Top officials had viewed the video and knew exactly what occurred but acted as if nothing happened. The Prison Service knew that Ketziot’s officers turned a blind eye while at least 10 guards brutally beat the bound prisoners.
It wasn’t only the Prison Service that looked the other way. In the Israel Police, Lahav 433’s National Prison Investigation Unit did as little as possible to probe the affair: Only one guard was questioned and even though he admitted that he had engaged in gratuitous violence, it wasn’t enough for the police or prosecutors to proceed with an indictment. This was a negligent investigation – with no real effort to identify the guards and no police lineup – which proves that even when such an unusual case of abuse has been fully documented, the police still prefer to sweep it under the rug.
It’s hard to believe that the investigation would have ended this way if the prisoners had been Jews. But in this case, the victims were Palestinian terrorists and security prisoners belonging to Hamas. Therefore, not only was the case closed on the grounds that “the offender is not known,” but the warden on duty at the time, General Avichai Ben-Hamo, was promoted to the rank of major general. The other guards allegedly involved in the incident remain at their jobs.
Now, when the evidence has been revealed to the public, the affair can no longer remain behind prison walls. The state prosecutor must immediately order a thorough investigation that includes all the guards alleged to have been involved, and bring indictments. Any other outcome will only prove that from the state’s viewpoint, security prisoners don’t deserve to be treated like human beings.
Israel continued to impose institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians living under its rule in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). It displaced hundreds of Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as a result of home demolitions and imposition of other coercive measures. Israeli forces continued to use excessive force during law enforcement activities in Israel and the OPT. Israeli forces killed 31 Palestinians, including nine children, in the OPT; many were unlawfully killed while posing no imminent threat to life. Israel maintained its illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip, subjecting its residents to collective punishment and deepening the humanitarian crisis there. It also continued to restrict freedom of movement of Palestinians in the OPT through checkpoints and roadblocks. The Israeli authorities arbitrarily detained in Israel thousands of Palestinians from the OPT, holding hundreds in administrative detention without charge or trial. Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, including children, were committed with impunity. The authorities used a range of measures to target human rights defenders, journalists and others who criticized Israel’s continuing occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Syrian Golan Heights. Violence against women persisted, especially against Palestinian citizens of Israel. The authorities denied asylum-seekers access to a fair or prompt refugee status determination process. Conscientious objectors to military service were imprisoned.
Background
Israel held parliamentary elections in March, the third in just over a year. In May, the two largest parties in the Knesset, Likud and the Blue and White alliance, reached a power-sharing agreement that included an announcement that Israel would further annex territories in the occupied West Bank starting in July 2020. This followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement of his “deal of the century”, which included a formal extension of Israel’s sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the vast majority of the illegal settlements in the rest of the occupied West Bank in exchange for land currently inside Israel. Israel postponed the annexation plans following diplomatic deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in September. The parliament was again dissolved in December, triggering another round of elections in three months’ time.
Israel imposed lockdown measures in March and in September to contain the spread of COVID-19, triggering waves of protests calling on the Prime Minister to step down. The measures allowed the Israel Security Agency (ISA) to use surveillance capabilities usually reserved for Palestinians to trace COVID-19 infections. The Prime Minister’s trial on corruption charges began in May.
In February, the Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad fired around 80 rockets and mortar shells from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, causing minor injuries to over 20 people, after Israeli forces killed an Islamic Jihad operative. The Israeli army carried out multiple airstrikes in Gaza, injuring 12 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
In August and September, Israel launched artillery and airstrikes against Gaza in retaliation for incendiary balloons and kites launched from Gaza into Israel. Palestinian armed groups launched indiscriminate rockets into Israel in response.
In August, Israel launched airstrikes against Hizbullah targets in Lebanon after it said that shots were fired from Lebanon into Israel. Israel also launched airstrikes against Iranian and Hizbullah targets in Syria.
In July, a district court rejected a case to force the Ministry of Defense to revoke the export licence of spyware company NSO Group, dealing a blow to victims of unlawful and targeted international surveillance.
Forcible transfers, forced evictions and demolitions
Israel demolished 848 Palestinian residential and livelihood structures in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing 996 people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Israeli authorities said many of the demolished buildings lacked Israeli-issued permits, which are virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain, or were in closed military zones. The law of occupation prohibits such destruction unless necessary for military operations.
In other cases, Israel confiscated residential and livelihood structures, including some that were donated for humanitarian purposes. Israeli forces also punitively demolished at least six Palestinian homes, leaving 22 people, including seven children, homeless, according to B’Tselem. Punitive demolitions constitute collective punishment and are prohibited under international law.
On 5 March, Israeli forces demolished the homes of Walid Hanatsheh, in Ramallah, and Yazan Mughamis, in Birzeit, displacing six Palestinians, after an Israeli court rejected a petition by the families against the punitive demolition. On 11 March, Israeli forces punitively demolished the home of Qassam Barghouti in Kobar village near Ramallah. The three men are in prison in Israel for alleged involvement in an attack in August 2019 that killed an Israeli civilian and injured two others outside Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli settler organizations initiated, with the support of the Israeli authorities, forcible evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.
OCHA estimated in December that around 200 Palestinian households in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, had eviction cases pending against them, placing 800 adults and children at risk of displacement.
Israeli authorities demolished at least 29 residential and livelihood structures that belonged to Bedouin citizens living in “unrecognized” villages in the Negev/Naqab, according to the Negev Coexistence Forum, an Israeli NGO.
Discrimination
Israel continued to discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel in areas of planning, budget allocation, policing and political participation. According to the Adalah-The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Israel maintains over 65 laws that discriminate against Palestinians.
Local Palestinian councils in Israel went on strike to protest against discrimination in the distribution of the state budget for local councils. The vast majority of Palestinians in Israel, comprising over 20% of the total population, live in around 139 towns and villages. They received only 1.7% of the state budget for local councils.
In August, Adalah and the Arab Center for Alternative Planning filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court on behalf of 10 local Palestinian councils and dozens of Palestinian citizens of Israel against government policy discriminating against these communities in the distribution of housing, construction and land development benefits compared to neighbouring Jewish communities that enjoy higher socio-economic status and have access to such benefits.
Israel continued to deny Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza married to Palestinian citizens of Israel the right to nationality by enforcing the discriminatory Entry to Israel Law.
In December, the magistrate court in Krayot, near Haifa, rejected a petition for access to education by Palestinian citizens of Israel living in Karmiel, citing the discriminatory Nation State Law. The decision said that establishing an Arabic school in the town or funding transport for its Palestinian residents to study in Arabic schools in nearby communities would undermine the town’s “Jewish character”.
In December, the Israeli Health Ministry began the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines that excluded the nearly 5 million Palestinians who live under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Unlawful killings and excessive use of force
Israeli military and police used unnecessary and excessive force during law enforcement activities, including search and arrest operations, and when policing demonstrations.
Military and security forces killed at least 31 Palestinians, including nine children, in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, according to OCHA. Many were unlawfully killed by live ammunition or other excessive force when posing no imminent threat to life. Some of the unlawful killings appeared to be wilful, which would constitute war crimes.
Israeli forces frequently used excessive force against protesters in Kufr Qadum who continued weekly protests against settlements and settlement expansion. According to OCHA, 214 protesters and bystanders were injured during the year.
On 15 February, Israeli forces shot and injured in the eye nine-year-old Malek Issa while he was returning home from school in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya. No clashes were recorded at the time, according to OCHA. Israeli forces were maintaining a violent and intense police operation in Issawiya as a form of collective punishment.
Israeli forces frequently opened fire on fishermen and farmers in Gaza. According to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, 12 fishermen and five farmers were injured.
Freedom of movement
For the 13th consecutive year, Israel continued its illegal air, land and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, restricting the movement of people and goods in and out of the area, which continued to have a devastating impact on the human rights of Gaza’s 2 million inhabitants. Israel stopped the entry of construction materials and fuel into Gaza repeatedly. This shut down the only power plant in Gaza, leading to a further reduction in the supply of electricity, which had already been available for only about four hours a day. Israel also imposed a full maritime closure and repeatedly limited entry of goods to food and medicine only. The measures amounted to collective punishment at a time of increasing COVID-19 infections in Gaza.
On 2 February, following an exchange of attacks between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups, Israel cancelled the permits of 500 traders from Gaza that enable their holders to travel to Israel and the West Bank for business. The permits were reactivated on 18 February.
On 18 June, Omar Yaghi, a baby with a cardiac condition, died in Gaza after Israel denied the family a permit to enter Israel for a scheduled operation on 24 May at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan city.
In the West Bank, at least 593 Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks continued to heavily restrict the movement of Palestinians and access to rights, including health, education and work. Holders of Palestinian identification cards faced an ongoing bar on using roads built for Israeli settlers.
Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement continued to impede Palestinians’ access to health care, posing further threats to vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of access to hospitals and specialized clinics during the pandemic particularly affected Palestinian residents of the East Jerusalem neighbourhoods of Kufr Aqab and Shu’fat Refugee Camp, which are segregated from the rest of the city by military structures, including checkpoints, and the fence/wall.
Arbitrary detention
Israeli authorities conducted hundreds of raids throughout the West Bank to arrest Palestinians, usually at their homes at night. Those arrested were detained in prisons in Israel, along with thousands of other Palestinians from the OPT arrested in previous years. This violated international humanitarian law, which prohibits the transfer of detainees into the territory of the occupying power.
Israeli authorities used renewable administrative detention orders to hold Palestinians without charge or trial. Some 4,300 Palestinians from the OPT, including 397 administrative detainees, were held in Israeli prisons as of December, according to the Israel Prison Service. Many families of Palestinian detainees in Israel, particularly those living in Gaza, were not permitted entry to Israel to visit their relatives.
On 16 July, Israeli forces arrested Iyad Barghouti, an astrophysicist and professor at Jerusalem’s Al-Quds University, at a checkpoint near Jerusalem and placed him in administrative detention. He had previously been administratively detained in 2014 and 2016.
Israel held 157 Palestinian children in prison, including two in administrative detention, as of October. Defense for Children International Palestine said that children were interrogated without their parents present and placed with adults in prison. Under international law, detention of children should be a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time.
Unfair trials
Palestinian civilians, including children, from the OPT were prosecuted in military courts that did not meet international fair trial standards.
Torture and other ill-treatment
Israeli soldiers, police and ISA officers continued to torture and otherwise ill-treat Palestinian detainees, including children, with impunity. Reported methods included beating, slapping, painful shackling, sleep deprivation, use of stress positions and threats of violence against family members. Prolonged solitary confinement, sometimes lasting months, was commonly used as a punishment.
Israeli forces occasionally denied medical help for Palestinians injured during law enforcement activities.
Freedoms of expression and association
The authorities used a range of measures, including raids, incitement campaigns, movement restrictions and judicial harassment, to target human rights defenders who criticized Israel’s continuing military occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territories.
Israel continued to deny human rights bodies entry to the OPT, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the OPT.
On 30 July, Israeli forces arrested Mahmoud Nawajaa, a human rights defender and co-ordinator of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in the occupied West Bank, from his home in Ramallah. A prisoner of conscience, he was released without charge on 17 August.
On 13 November, the Jerusalem District Court rejected a petition by Amnesty International against the arbitrary and punitive travel ban imposed on its employee, human rights defender Laith Abu Zeyad. For undisclosed reasons, Israeli security forces continued to bar him from entering occupied East Jerusalem and from travelling abroad through Jordan.
Rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants
Israel continued to deny asylum-seekers access to a fair and prompt refugee status determination process, leaving many without access to basic services. About 31,000 asylum-seekers were living in Israel.
Gender-based violence
Violence against women persisted in Israel, especially against Palestinian citizens.
At least 21 women were killed as a result of gender-based violence.
Conscientious objectors
At least four Israeli conscientious objectors to military service were imprisoned. Hillel Rabin spent 56 days in military prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli army citing oppressive policies against Palestinians.
EINDE ARTIKEL
[12]
Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/g3bpppdi.htm
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/h2catoc.htm
[13]
BTSELEM
TORTURE AND ABUSE IN INTERROGATION
https://www.btselem.org/topic/torture
In interrogating Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories, the Israel Security Agency (ISA, also known by the Hebrew acronyms Shin Bet or Shabak) routinely used methods that constituted ill-treatment and even torture until the late 1990s. In doing so, the ISA relied on the 1987 recommendations of a state commission headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Moshe Landau. The commission had held that, in order to “prevent terrorism”, ISA interrogators were permitted to use “psychological pressure” and a “moderate degree of physical pressure”. This permission was grounded, in the commission’s opinion, in the “necessity defense” laid out in Israeli Penal Law. In practice, the interrogation methods used by the ISA during that time went far beyond a reasonable interpretation of the term “moderate physical pressure”.
This state of affairs persisted for years, despite the right not to be subjected to ill-treatment or torture – whether physical or psychological – being one of the few human rights that are considered absolute. As an absolute right, it may never be balanced against other rights and values and cannot be suspended or limited, even in difficult circumstances.
In September 1999, following a series of petitions filed by human rights organizations and by Palestinians interrogated by the ISA, Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) ruled that Israeli law does not empower ISA interrogators to use physical means in interrogation. The justices ruled that the specific methods discussed in the petitions – including painful binding, shaking, placing a sack on a person’s head for prolonged periods of time and sleep deprivation – were unlawful. However, they also held that ISA agents who exceed their authority and use “physical pressure” may not necessarily bear criminal responsibility for their actions, if they are later found to have used these methods in a “ticking bomb” case, based on the “necessity defense”. Following this ruling, reports of torture and ill-treatment in ISA interrogations did drop. However, ISA agents continued to use interrogation methods that constitute abuse and even torture, relying on the court’s recognition of the “ticking bomb” exception. These methods were not limited to exceptional cases and quickly became standard interrogation policy.
Several joint research reports published by B’Tselem and HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, based on hundreds of affidavits and testimonials given by Palestinians who underwent ISA interrogations after the HCJ ruling, indicate that the ISA still routinely employs psychological and physical abuse in interrogations. While interrogators steer clear of the specific methods that the court disqualified, the rationale is the same: using isolation from the outside world and harsh incarceration conditions, in addition to the interrogation itself, to psychologically pressure and physically weaken the individual. This combined use of holding conditions and interrogation methods constitutes abuse and inhuman, degrading treatment, at times even amounting to torture. It is regularly employed against Palestinians in ISA interrogations, in blatant violation of international law and basic moral standards.
According to the accounts of Palestinians who have undergone ISA interrogation, they are held in inhuman conditions, including narrow, windowless cells that are sometimes moldy and foul-smelling and are constantly lit with artificial lighting that is painful to the eyes. Some detainees reported being held in solitary confinement, completely cut off from their surroundings. Some reported exposure to extremes of heat and cold, as well as sleep deprivation. Many described abominable hygienic conditions; among other things, they stated that the prison authorities do not allow them to shower, change clothes, brush their teeth or even use toilet paper. The food is intentionally poor in quality and quantity, and detainees lose weight while in custody. In the interrogation room, they are forced to sit bound to a chair, without moving, for hours and even days on end. Interrogators threaten the detainees, including threats to harm their relatives, as well as shouting and employing violence against them.
Most Palestinians who are physically or mental abused in interrogation have no way to complain until the interrogation is over. This is because Palestinian detainees are regularly denied the right to meet with counsel, and HCJ petitions against the denial of this right have been repeatedly dismissed. Also, they usually cannot use the opportunity of coming before a judge in a remand hearing to air their grievances: Most hearings are extremely cursory and, in some of them, detainees are not represented or are denied the opportunity to confer with the lawyer representing them. Most detainees are not aware of the fact that they may approach the judge on their own initiative. In any case, they shy away from sharing what they are undergoing with the judge for fear of reprisal back in the interrogation room. Even when detainees do come forward, the authorities take no action, as years of monitoring by human rights organizations reveal. Since 2001, not a single criminal investigation has been launched into a complaint against an ISA interrogator, despite hundreds of complaints being lodged with the relevant authorities. Although formal changes have been made to the apparatus charged with looking into these complaints – including the appointment of an Inspector of Complaints by ISA Interrogees inside the ISA, and the subsequent transfer of the position to the Ministry of Justice – they have done nothing to alter the situation: Hundreds of complaints, zero criminal investigations.
This system of interrogation, which relies on a combination of holding conditions and interrogator conduct, was shaped by state authorities. It is not the personal initiative of any particular interrogator or prison guard, and the actions described here are not anomalies to be weeded out by the justice system. The cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees is inherent to the ISA’s violent interrogation policy. This policy is dictated from above, and not set by interrogators in the field.
While the ISA runs the system, a broad network of partners collaborates to facilitate it. The Israel Prison Service (IPS) adapts prison conditions to match the interrogation plan designed to break the detainee’s spirit. Medical and mental health personnel greenlight the interrogation of Palestinians who arrive at the facility – including in cases of poor health – and even hand detainees back to the interrogators after caring for physical and mental injuries they sustained in interrogation, knowing full well that they would be subjected to measures of abuse and torture; soldiers and police officers abuse detainees while transporting them to the ISA, with their commanders turning a blind eye and the MAG Corps and State Attorney’s Office not bringing them to justice or holding them fully accountable. Military judges almost automatically sign off on motions for remand in custody and effectively sanction the continued abuse and inhuman conditions. The State Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General have thus far provided ISA interrogators with full immunity. Finally, HCJ judges regularly reject petitions seeking to overturn the denial of detainee’s rights to meet with legal counsel, clearing the way for continued abuse.
All these are party, in one form or another, to the cruel, inhuman, degrading and abusive treatment to which Palestinians are subjected in ISA interrogations. By enabling the existence of this abusive interrogation regime, they all bear responsibility for the severe violations of interrogatees’ human rights and for the mental and physical harm inflicted on these individuals.
[14]
Article 2
Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.
EURO MEDITERRANEAN AGREEMENT
establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part
Vuur en rook boven Gaza-Stad na een Israëlische luchtaanval AFPHTTPS://NOS.NL/COLLECTIE/13864/ARTIKEL/2381067-UREN-NA-TOESPRAAK-NETANYAHU-OPNIEUW-ISRAELISCHE-LUCHTAANVALLEN-OP-GAZA
.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr27.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr16.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr18.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr11.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr26.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr9.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr28.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr3.jpg)
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2021/11/1211inbmigrantenpowr29.jpg)
