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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| July 22, 2003 |
Piraeus, Greece – Peace March to the Israeli Embassy |
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| Peace Boat participants marching through Athens to the Israeli embassy |
In sweltering midday Athens, over 50 participants from Peace Boat, including International Students from Israel, Palestine, Cyprus and the United States, marched to the Israeli embassy to deliver a petition appealing for peace in Palestine. After hearing various lectures about the continued oppression of the Palestinian people, Peace Boat participants wanted to take some direct action against the injustice of the Israeli occupation.
Close to 400 hundred Peace Boat participants signed the petition which appeals for the withdrawal of the Israeli army and dismantling of the Israeli settlements from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem; the immediate cessation of construction of the inhumane separation wall designed to divide and isolate the Palestinian people; and the realization of the right to return for all Palestinian refugees. |
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| Outside the Israeli embassy appealing to the global community for peace in Palestin |
Carrying placards and banners saying, "End the Violence" and "Stop the Apartheid Wall", Peace Boat participants walked the streets of Athens playing drums and chanting "Free Palestine". The Greek police, used to demonstrations at the Israeli embassy, prevented the peace march from physically approaching the building, and informed the Embassy staff that Peace Boat participants wished to deliver a petition.
Refusing to meet face to face with any participants of the demonstration, the Embassy staff informed police that the petition could only be posted. Five heavily-armed policemen escorted two Peace Boat delegates to the front doors of the Embassy, whereupon the petition could be handed over. Regrettably, the Embassy staff refused the courtesy of even answering Peace Boat's call.
In order to end the systematic violation of human rights by the Israeli government in the shortest time possible, Peace Boat appeals to the United Nations, the United States, the Japanese government and global civil society to do everything in their respective powers to bring about peace in Palestine. |
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