"Today, Thursday, September 22, at 5.00 pm – a historical timing, on the eve of the UN debate – a special event will be held at 16 Rothschild Boulevard, opposite the building where the independence of Israel was proclaimed in 1948. On that spot there will be held a rally expressing support of Israeli and international recognition of the Palestinian state, and stating that the alternative to such recognition is going towards a new Masada. Among participants and speakers at the events will be Yael Dayan, Alon Li'el, Amos Oz, Yoran Kanyuk, David Tartakover, Yehuda Bauer and others. Participants will be invited to sign publicly the following manifesto:"
"In front of our very eyes, an insane drama is being acted out. The Prime Minister of Israel is leading his citizens to Masada. Human morality, Jewish history and the interests of Israel – all clearly show the way to being the first state in the world to recognize, in the United Nations, our neighbor state and them to enter into negations, based on equality, regarding territorial exchanges and security arrangements. After all, the Palestinian State recognizes the State of Israel in the "67 borders.
The Jewish People arose in the Land of Israel, there they developed their identity. The Palestinian People arose in Palestine, there they developed their identity.
Therefore, we sincerely welcome the expected declaration of independence by the Palestinian State, Israel's neighbor, and within the borders at the time of our independence which were determined at the end of the War of Independence in 1949; the borders more commonly known as the '67 borders. This is the natural right of both the Jewish and the Palestinian people – as written in Israel's Declaration of Independence "to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State".
The independence of both peoples strengthens one and the other, it is both a moral and basic necessity at one and, the same time, it is the foundation upon which good, neighborly relations are built.
We, the undersigned, call on all persons seeking peace and freedom, and upon all nations to join us in welcoming the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, to support it and to work and act together in order to encourage the citizens of both countries to live together in peace, based on the '67 borders and mutual agreement. A final and complete end to the occupation is a basic condition for the freedom of both peoples, for the realization of Israel's Declaration of Independence and a future of peaceful coexistence."
Initial list of signatories:
The huge wave of demonstrations that is sweeping Israel for the last month and half, including a demonstration of 300,000 protestors in Tel-Aviv on August 6th, presented a "very clear message".
"A very clear message: The Israeli working class in general, and young people in particular, revolts against the soaring prices of housing and basic commodities, and no longer agrees to silently abide to a social system that works against the interest of the vast majority, and for the interests of the few."
"This social protest movement, characterized by the setting-up of thousands of protest tents throughout the country, is led by young people, and raises demands that address the needs of the general population, but also specifically the needs of youth and students."
"The wave of revolutions in the Arab countries, which saw the unleashing of creative energy, against oppression and poverty, and for democracy and social justice, has long hit Europe, where young people took to the streets in Spain, Greece, and elsewhere. Now, we are now witnessing a similar struggle in Israel: Young people, many of which have been dormant and passive, are now taking interest in politics, mobilizing massively on the streets, and are involved in democratically discussing the strategy and tactics of this movement."
"The Young Communist League of Israel (YCLI) has supported this protest movement since its onset, as it expresses the interests of the great majority of young people in Israel, Jews and Arabs alike. Our commitment to social change, and our vast experience in organizing both cadres and masses, means that our Comrades are in the leadership of many local protest encampments, and are also present in the national leadership of the movement."
"We have a special responsibility in broadening the scope of the protest movement, bringing it into the periphery of the country, to poor neighborhood inside the big cities, and into small towns, far off from the metropolitan areas. This is most evident in Arab towns and villages, where we are the key player in this recent wave of struggle, leading the initiatives of building protest encampments and organizing demonstrations."
"As an integral part of this young, vibrant, dynamic and growing social movement, we raise immediate demands, which include:
"In addition to these – and other – immediate demands, YCLI contributes to the struggle on the ideological and on the political level.
Ideologically, we state, based on our Marxist-Leninist perspective, that this social struggle, in essence, is between two classes and two world outlooks: On the one hand, there's Prime Minister Netanyahu's capitalist world outlook, which is manifested in benefits for the ultra-rich, and in attacks on the rights of workers and students, under the slogans of privatization and "free market economy"; On the other hand, there is our socialist world outlook, that support an egalitarian, peaceful and socially just society, which will respect social, civil and national rights.
Politically, our contribution to this social movement is twofold:
First, we insist on making the connection between the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian people, and the enormous social, economic and moral cost that the Israeli society has to pay for marinating it. Our position that the struggle for social justice is intertwined with the struggle for peace, is becoming more accepted as people realize that the hundreds of millions of Shekels that are currently spent on building settlements and increasing the military budget, could have been spent on building kindergartens, schools, hospitals and libraries.
Second, we emphasize that the success of this movement could be achieved only through adoption of a joint Jewish-Arab character. The movement needs to address openly the unique problems of the Arab citizens of in Israel (who comprise more than 20% of its population), and must create a close cooperation, on a massive scale, between Jewish and Arab youth. This kind of cooperation can help consolidate a broad public behind our demand for complete national and civil equality for the Arab-Palestinian minority within Israel.
The protest movement brought into activism a broad layer of young people, Jews and Arabs, contributed to their politicization, and presented them with a perspective of deep social change. As such, it is a most important development that we, as Young Communists, need not only study and analyze, but also immerse ourselves in it, involve our cadre and sympathizers, and help consolidate a clear perspective on how to take the struggle forward. Doing this will contribute to the cause of Peace and Socialism, which we believe is to prevail."
Both sides to the ongoing conflict in Libya must ensure that detainees in their custody are not tortured or otherwise ill-treated, Amnesty International said today.
The call followed reports from Amnesty International's delegation in Libya on Tuesday, which has gathered powerful testimonies from survivors of abuse at the hands of both pro-Gaddafi soldiers and rebel forces, in and around the town of Az-Zawiya.
TESTIMONIES OF ABUSE COMMITTED BY REBEL FORCES:
___Against fighters loyal to Colonel Gaddafi
On Tuesday, Amnesty International met officials at Bir Tirfas School which is now being used to detain pro-Gaddafi soldiers, alleged foreign mercenaries, and suspected Gaddafi loyalists.
The officials said that they would not repeat the human rights violations of the former regime. They vowed to uphold the rights of the detainees to be treated with dignity and afforded fair trials.
In an overcrowded cell, where some 125 people were held with barely enough room to sleep or move, a boy told Amnesty International how he had responded to calls by al-Gaddafi’s government for volunteers to fight the opposition.
He said that he was driven to a military camp in Az-Zawiya, where he was handed a Kalashnikov rifle that he did not know how to use.
He told Amnesty International: “When NATO bombed the camp around 14 August, those who survived fled. I threw my weapon on the ground, and asked for refuge in a home nearby. I told the owners what happened, and I think they called the revolutionaries [thuuwar], because they came shortly after.
"They shouted for me to surrender. I put my hands up in the air. They made me kneel on the ground and put my hands behind by head. Then one told me to get up. When I did, he shot me in the knee at close range. I fell on the ground, and they continued beating me with the back of their rifles all over my body and face.
"I had to get three stitches behind by left ear as a result. In detention, sometimes they still beat us and insult us, calling us killers."
A member of the al-Gaddafi security forces, told Amnesty International how he was apprehended by a group of armed men near Az-Zawiya around 19 August as he was bringing supplies to pro-Gaddafi forces.
He said that he was beaten all over his body and face with the backs of rifles, punched and kicked. He bore visible marks consistent with his testimony. He told Amnesty International that in detention, beatings are less frequent and severe, but take place intermittently depending on the guards on duty.
___Against migrant workers
Detention officials in Az-Zawiya said that about a third of all those detained are "foreign mercenaries" including nationals from Chad, Niger and Sudan.
When Amnesty International delegates spoke to several of the detainees however, they said that they were migrant workers. They said that they had been taken at gunpoint from their homes, work-places and the street on account of their skin colour.
None wore military uniforms. Several told Amnesty International that they feared for their lives as they had been threatened by their captors and several guards and told them that they would be "eliminated or else sentenced to death".
Five relatives from Chad, including a minor, told Amnesty International that on 19 August they were driving to a farm outside of Az-Zawiya to collect some produce when they were stopped by a group of armed men, some in military fatigues.
The armed men assumed that the five were mercenaries and handed them over to detention officials despite assurances by their Libyan driver that they were migrant workers.
A 24 year-old man from Niger who has been living and working in Libya for the past five years, told Amnesty International that he was taken from home by three armed men on 20 August.
He said that he was handcuffed, beaten, and put in the boot of the car. He said: "I am not at all involved in this conflict. All I wanted was to make a living. But because of my skin colour, I find myself here, in detention. Who knows what will happen to me now?"
TESTIMONIES OF ABUSE COMMITTED BY PRO-GADDAFI FORCES:
Amnesty International's delegation uncovered evidence of rape being committed against inmates of Tripoli's notorious Abu Salim Prison.
Former detainees said they witnessed young men being taken from their cells at night – returning several hours later visibly distressed.
Two boys told cellmates that they had been raped by a guard. According to one former detainee: "One of the boys was in particularly bad shape after being brought back to his cell. His clothes were torn and he was almost naked. He told us that he had been raped. This happened to these two boys several times."
Thousands of men, including unarmed civilians, "disappeared" during the conflict, taken by pro-Gaddafi forces. Their relatives lived through months of anguish not knowing their fate.
Those recently freed brought back with them stories of torture and other ill-treatment in al-Gaddafi detention facilities in Sirte and Tripoli. They told Amnesty International how they had been beaten with metal wires, sticks and batons and electrocuted
Amnesty International delegates also met several men who said they had been shot by pro-Gaddafi forces after they had been caught, and clearly no longer posed a threat.
One man taken near the eastern frontline close to Ajdabiya on 21 March told us that his captors had inserted the barrel of a rifle into his anus, while he was blindfolded.
Elearningeuropa.info, the European reference portal on education and technology, launched on Thursday May 12, 2011 its new platform. It is designed and built user-centered and it contains participatory tools to communicate, share and discuss.
The new platform is the result of a year's work of careful planning and design, from the elearningeuropa.info team, with a focus on developing the technological solution most suited to user requests and aimed to facilitate a better flow of ideas and interaction.
The European Commission initiated elearningeuropa.info nine years ago, to support the transformation of education through technology. Available in 21 languages, it has now become a key forum for the generation and presentation of ideas.
elearningeuropa.info has more than 35.000 registered users with an average of 16.000 monthly visits. Thanks to this large user base the portal provides great opportunities for research and exchange of ideas and information amongst researchers, practitioners, students and policy makers across Europe. The portal re-launch will also benefit from the use of the latest cutting edge open source technology: A new Content Management System (CMS) has been deployed based on the award winning 'Drupal'.
The portal's online journal 'eLearning Papers' will be presenting its new visual identity and structure in the new platform. A leading publication in its field, the journals five annual issues are guided by an Editorial Committee chaired by Tapio Koskinen, Head of New Solutions at Aalto University Professional Development.
Some of the new sections the portal has launched are blogs, which offer users the chance to express their opinions and insight as well as a dedicated TV Channel which offers users the possibility to find the most relevant and highest quality videos about education and technology in one place.
In addition, users will be able to create communities and working groups around themes and topics of interest and use these privileged spaces to display their content to a wider audience. These communities are the ideal space for co-creation and sharing ideas. The first communities are up and running with discussions and insight into Language Learning and Social Media; Open Education virtual worlds and gaming. Join us to explore them and share your experience.
For further information, please contact:
'A new historical era opened three months ago with the popular uprisings in Tunisia and then Egypt, the first of the ‘Arab spring’ season. These rebellions brought hope to millions and youthful energy to societies suffering decades of repression, injustice, inequality, especially gender inequality, and increasing economic hardship. The Libyan revolt was inspired by these largely nonviolent victories, but, as the world has witnessed with dismay, has rapidly become militarized and is now embroiled in a full-scale civil war.'
"NO MORE ARMED INTERVENTIONS
The western powers’ fateful decision to push through the UN Security Council a resolution to authorize military strikes and a no-fly zone has transformed the situation into one reminiscent of the Iraq crisis of 2003. While supporting the objective of protecting the civilian population, in Benghazi and elsewhere, IPB condemns yet more armed attacks by western powers on yet another Muslim country. Have these same powers learned nothing from their disastrous failures over the last 10 years? It is clear that non-military methods have not been utterly exhausted. Were all economic sanctions imposed and enforced? Was massive electronic jamming put into operation? Were all oil and gas sales cancelled? – and will we ever be told?
WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?
Western media fascination with the minutiae of battle tends to obscure historical memory, without which any clear assessment is impossible. Have we all forgotten who sold arms to, and struck energy deals with, Col. Gaddafi in the first place? Do the phrases ‘no-fly zone’ and ‘air strikes’ not bring back painful memories of the slide into disastrous occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan?
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
There is no lack of alternative courses of action. In IPB’s view, the most urgent task, and the most effective way to carry out the UN-mandated ‘Responsibility to Protect’ the civilian population, is to engage immediately both the Gaddafi regime and the rebels in serious negotiations. These should focus, first on a genuine and multi-lateral ceasefire, and then on the foundations of a political settlement based on participatory democracy. The UN already has a special representative in place in Tripoli. Cynical or not, Gaddafi has made a ceasefire gesture – which could be used as a starting point. Western states, especially the US and the former colonial powers, should keep out. The UN Secretary-General and a panel of highly respected figures from the Muslim world should be invited to take part in whatever talks can be arranged. An offer to call off the air strikes could be used as a confidence-building measure. In the medium-term, consideration should be given to a UN-authorised peacekeeping presence, preferably not composed of western military forces, with a classical peace-keeping (not peace-enforcement) mandate. Why is it that investment in mediation, diplomacy, trust-building and similar efforts is always a tiny fraction of the money spent on armed intervention?
UNLOCKING CREATIVITY
Arab peoples have shown that they have the courage to break away from past habits and have demonstrated impressive discipline and dignity in confronting their oppressors. The western world should now respond by finding the courage to break with its own past habits, and to apply the enormous creativity of its own societies in the search for new ways of resolving conflicts. Success in Libya - or indeed elsewhere in the region - would offer tremendous inspiration to peoples locked in deadly conflict in other regions.
REVERSING COURSE
It is still not too late for those leading this latest military gamble to pull out of the quagmire that looms ahead. We urge the world to mobilise now against war and foreign intervention, and in favour of negotiated solutions.
What is done in the coming days and weeks will determine the possibilities for a long-term settlement. Foreign bombing only threatens a wider conflagration with unpredictable consequences.
WIDER ASPECTS
There are all kinds of wider considerations to be explored, and important lessons that need to be assimilated. In particular, that the five permanent members of the Security Council cannot continue to police the world as if we were still in 1945; and that it is time for a global outcry against the massive expenditure devoted to the military system ($1,500 billion per annum), and in particular the international arms trade, with its accompanying corruption and double standards.
The International Peace Bureau is clear on its own priorities. We need to disarm in order to develop. The basic needs of the population must be catered for as the absolute priority, not as a by-product of ‘national security’. We appeal to the arms-producing countries and industries to urgently start converting military research and production to civilian purposes. The world will never achieve the Millennium Development Goals if it fails to abandon the military-dominated way of thinking and action. We have learned in recent years that democracy cannot be imposed, and that regime change is only a matter for the population itself. The time is now ripe to assist the people in the Middle East/North Africa region in building societies based on the vision of a culture of peace, as hoped for by peoples everywhere. Such a programme was agreed by the UN in the preparation of the International Year for a Culture of Peace in 2000 and the following Decade on a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence that has just come to an end, and that must now be energetically renewed.
The International Peace Bureau is dedicated to the vision of a World Without War. We are a Nobel Peace Laureate (1910), and over the years 13 of our officers have been recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. Our 320 member organisations in 70 countries, and individual members, form a global network which brings together expertise and campaigning experience in a common cause. Our main programme centres on Sustainable Disarmament for Sustainable Development. We welcome your participation."
