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ANNOUNCEMENT

Regarding statements of government officials in the U.S. and Israel about diplomatic initiatives on impeding the “Freedom Flotilla II - Stay Human” mission to Gaza, Palestine.

June 9, 2011

Proper diplomacy does not exclude proper humanitarian action and it’s impossible to be aiming at preventing just action by an international community of active citizens; on the contrary, diplomacy must pursue such actions and encourage them.

It is, therefore, a provocation to call “provocation” the humanitarian action taken by movements supporting human rights. It is a provocation that those who support and exert military violence call “provocation” the non-violent action of free citizens.

It is a provocation that powerful states and International Organizations, such as the U.S., Israel, the U.N., are asking from society to be silent and not to react to violations of law and the disdain of universal values.

It is a provocation that an indifferent and discriminating international diplomacy demands that solidarity action from people to people be stopped; it is a provocation that an international peaceful action is threatened with violence and the powerful of the earth “wash their hands”, it is a provocation that those powerful justify a priori a sacrifice of civilians, such as the one that took place one year ago, only to condemn afterwards with a few words another international crime.

The action of movements and civilian organizations that defend Freedom, Justice and the Human Rights, is not destined just to denounce humanitarian disasters, clashes, occupation and violent oppression of social movements.

But it must be present, direct, pro-active and transcending the political process of handling and resolving crises, which governments and international organizations carry out slowly, indecisively and, above all, with self-interesting ends.

This is the case with the grossly unjust and unlawful blockade of the Gaza Strip and the whole of Land of Palestine, in general.

The Freedom Flotilla II mission is a healthy reaction to the apathy of the international political community, and is moving to confront the humanitarian crisis with action, and to uphold the universal values in Gaza and Palestine. This mission, in its own way, arraigns all those who, for many years, watch passively the drama of Palestine, and, mainly, those who directly or indirectly concur to it.

The action of movements and civilian organizations that uphold Freedom, Justice and the Human Rights, such as the action of Freedom Flotilla II, not only builds a different level of conscience, but is, and has to be, an active conscience.

April 15, 2011 (London)

The murder of human rights activist, Vittorio Arrigoni, is a tragedy for his family, for those of us who knew him, and for the Palestinians who loved and admired him. The Steering Committee of Freedom Flotilla 2 condemns this senseless murder and the people who are behind it. They took the life of one of the most passionate supporters of justice for Palestine. This murder is damaging to the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice as well as our work in support of that struggle.

In his honor, we are naming our next voyage, FREEDOM FLOTILLA – STAY HUMAN.