August/September 2005

http://alawda.newjerseysolidarity.org

Protest to Greet Sharon at United Nations Speech on Sept. 15

Zionist Prime Minister and War Criminal to Address Body on Sabra/Shatila Anniversary

"Israeli" Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, reviled internationally as a war criminal for his leading role in numerous massacres of Palestinians, from Qibya in 1956 to Sabra and Shatila in 1982 to Jenin in 2002, and continuing to this day, will, nevertheless, be speaking before the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Thursday, September 15. Sharon's speech to the General Assembly, where he is expected to be lauded as a "man of peace" for his role in the Gaza so-called "disengagement," comes on the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres of 1982, in which thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon were brutally murdered by Phalangist forces under the overseeing eye of "Israeli" Defense Forces troops commanded by Sharon.

Protestors against Sharon's speech will gather from 3-6 PM at Dag Hammerskjold Plaza, across the street from the United Nations, to express their outrage that such a notorious war criminal will be speaking as an honored guest before the General Assembly on the anniversary of one of his most horrific massacres. "While the Right to Return, specified in U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194, is still being denied to Palestinian refugees everywhere around the world, a man such as Sharon, who has played a primary role for decades in attempting to destroy the Palestinian nation through brutal warfare, colonization and "settlement" building, and a proud violator of all U.N resolutions as they apply to Palestine, is being lauded at the United Nations," said Charlotte Kates of Al-Awda New York.

Sharon's presence is part of a three-day "World Summit" that will be attended by rulers from around the world, including the Philippines' Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the U.S.-backed president embroiled in a corruption scandal, and Britain's Tony Blair, a key supporter of George Bush's imperialist wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Sharon's presence, however, on the anniversary of one of his most notorious and brutal actions, is an insult not only to all Palestinians, but to all who are concerned for justice. Ariel Sharon should not be in New York on a stage of honor; if anywhere, he should be in the Hague, on trial for his numerous war crimes.

Evidence indicates that Sharon's speech is not an isolated incident; on the contrary, it is part of an ongoing strategy by the Zionist propaganda machine to redirect the United Nations to stand in full support of Zionist and imperialist attacks upon Palestinians and all Arabs. While the "Israeli" state stands in violation of dozens of United Nations resolutions, including Resolution 194 (acceptance of which was required in order for the Zionist state to be accepted into the United Nations), its ambassador, Dan Gilerman, will serve as one of the Vice Presidents of the General Assembly in the 60th General Assembly, which opens this year with the World Summit. Gilerman has, in the past, stated his commitment to overturning the long string of resolutions which demonstrate the responsibility of "Israel" for its numerous assaults upon Palestinian life and Palestinian existence. In addition, he has stated his dedication to ending "Middle East Briefings" at the United Nations, and to dismembering the Committee in Support of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in order to make the United Nations an even more friendly place for the Zionist state.

The protest against Sharon's speech will begin at 3 PM at Dag Hammerskjold Plaza, on Second Avenue at 47th St, on Thursday, September 15. Palestinians and their allies are encouraged to come and to bring as many as possible to show that New York City rejects the butcher Ariel Sharon, demands that justice, especially the right to return of Palestinian refugees, be implemented, and remembers the martyrs of Sabra and Shatila.