LEWISHAM STOP THE WAR COALITION

Joan Ruddock is evidently receiving so many letters on Gaza that she is using a standard letter. It is unfortunate that she is not answering the specific questions, but it's as important as ever to keep sending letters.

Same reply received by

Michael Coulston

Judith Wright

Amina Mangera

Ian Crosson

Early Day Motions on Gaza and Palestine

(These might be referred to, but one might not agree with all statements in them.)

EDM 477 Nick Harvey

EDM 469 Eddie McGrady

EDM 464 Andrew Dismore: horrible

EDM 457 Mohammad Sarwar

EDM 455 Angus MacNeil

EDM 423 Mark Durkan

EDM 408 Richard Burden

EDM 393 Jeremy Corbyn

EDM 378 John Hemming

EDM 370 Jeremy Corbyn

EDM 112 John Austin

LETTERS ON AFGHANISTAN, SUMMER 2009

Lewisham Stop the War to Mayor and all Councillors (by email) August 2009

(We would encourage all members to write their own letters. Details of Councillors can be found at the Find Your Councillor page.)

Dear <councillor name>

I am writing to you on behalf of Lewisham Stop the War which is affiliated to the national Stop the War Coalition.

As you probably know, the Stop the War Coalition ran a well supported campaign against the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and has continued to campaign vigorously against the occupation which followed. However, it was originally set up in response to the targeting of Afghanistan in 2001.

With the build up of troops in Afghanistan, the uncounted number of Afghan deaths and the number of deaths of British soldiers now exceeding 200, the Coalition is continuing to campaign strongly for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

Locally, Lewisham Stop the War Coalition has organised events such as a vigil on 22 August for British soldiers and Afghan civilians who have been killed, and a public meeting on Afghanistan on Tuesday 8 September, while nationally Stop the War Coalition has called a demonstration for 24 October.

As you will be aware, the war in Afghanistan is very unpopular with the British public with 52% calling for the immediate withdrawal of British troops according to a recent poll carried out by the Independent.

With this in mind, Lewisham Stop the War Coalition is asking all locally elected representatives for their views on Afghanistan and whether they support the Coalition in its demands for the withdrawal of troops and an end to war in Afghanistan.

If you do support our aims, perhaps you would like to become involved in the campaign locally? Perhaps you might also be able to provide a statement of your views which could be reported at the public meeting on 8 September?

I look forward to hearing your views.

______________________________

Councillor Andrew Milton (Liberal Democrat) 1 September 2009

I personally support the speedy withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan. However, this is not the policy of the Liberal Democrat party nationally. This, together with the fact that I am a civil servant advising Government Ministers in my 'day job', means that I would not be able to be involved actively in your campaign locally. But I wish it well.

______________________________

Councillor Stephen Padmore (Labour) 1 September 2009

Yes I am in support in stopping the war. Committing our troops to this war makes no sense; it's only costing lives. It is time Afghanistan troops fight their own war and we bring our boys Home.

______________________________

Mayor Steve Bullock (Labour) 2 September 2009

I am happy to share my views on the British presence in Afghanistan. I can understand the parallels that are made with Iraq but do not accept them. It was always my belief that while a justification for intervention in Iraq could be made the intervention that took place was without any clarity about what it was for and what would happen afterwards.

In the case of Afghanistan I think that there was some clarity about purpose although there may have been too much optimism about what could be achieved and how quickly. I believe that the concerns about the British presence in Afghanistan arise for quite different reasons to the response to Iraq. These include most obviously the increasing numbers of casualties but also a sense that British Troops are not being given the full measure of support and equipment they need.

I visited British Troops in Afghanistan recently and was impressed not only by their courage and professionalism but also by their commitment to and concern for the ordinary people of that country. I believe that we should not withdraw and that to do so would not only threaten the progress that has been made so far but would render pointless the sacrifices made by British servicemen and women.

You will appreciate from the foregoing that I am unable to support your campaign,

______________________________

Councillor Chris Flood, also on Behalf of Ian Page (Socialist) 3 September 2009

The Socialist Party is affiliated to the Stop the War coalition, and nationally and locally has consistently opposed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and calls for the troops to be withdrawn immediately.

As Socialist Party councillors we have taken part in national and local anti-war demonstrations and have participated in many Socialist Party street stalls against both wars. We supported the school and college student strikes that took place in Lewisham on "Day X", the day the war in Iraq began. These strikes were led in Lewisham by Socialist Party members as part of International Socialist Resistance's Youth Against the War campaign. We will be helping to build for the national demonstration on 24th October.

We did not agree with those who, such as the Liberal Democrats, called themselves anti-war in 2001, but actually would have supported the war in Afghanistan had it been waged under the aegis of the United Nations, and who said they had to "support our troops" once the war began. We have always maintained the view that the best way to support our troops is to bring them home immediately.

The tragic deaths of British young soldiers has aroused new questioning about the war, about the lack of equipment which caused so many soldiers' deaths, and about why they are still fighting this war.

The war on Afghanistan and the "war on terror" followed the terrible 9/11 attacks on New York in 2001. Despite the quick declaration of victory in 2001, the death toll has continued. Over 4,000 people died in 2008. The elected government barely holds power in the capital Kabul, never mind the rest of Afghanistan. The warlords who replaced the Taliban, and the government, enrich themselves while most Afghans live in abject poverty. These warlords are just as oppressive as the Taliban and women are still treated brutally and denied basic rights. Ordinary Afghans oppose the US-led foreign armies but also fear the Taliban and warlords.

The "war on terror" has led to a human catastrophe. Tens of thousands of innocent Afghans and Iraqis have died, with millions made refugees. Young US and UK soldiers have died needlessly. Rather than stamping out terror, the wars have led to an increase in terrorist attacks and have made ordinary working people in the West more vulnerable to attack. These wars have not destroyed al-Qa'ida or the Taliban. Instead, they have helped increase the hatred felt in Asia and the Middle East towards US and British imperialism. This has generated more recruits for terrorist organisations as people turn in desperation to these misguided methods.

The Socialist Party believes that the troops are there in the interests of the ruling classes that sent them, and not in those of the people of Afghanistan. It is only through their own mass action that the working class and oppressed people of Afghanistan can end the reign of terror inflicted upon them from all sides.

I should add that myself and Ian Page also moved a resolution in Lewisham council opposing the expenditure of £75billion on Trident. This made Lewisham the first council in the country to oppose Trident and send a message that the money should be spent on homes and public services.

______________________________

Green Party Councillors 7 September 2009

Lewisham's Green Party councillors welcome the opportunity to add their voices to Lewisham Stop the War's call for an end to the war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of British troops. We would be delighted for you to report our views at the 8 September public meeting, and would welcome updates from you on opportunities to support the campaign locally. The party has always been strongly represented at anti-war demonstrations on Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan over the years, and we expect to see Green Party placards at the 24 October rally too.

The Green Party of England and Wales position is in favour of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, and has just agreed a new policy motion at its annual conference on 4 September 2009, which reads:

"The war being conducted by the UK and NATO forces in Afghanistan is according to all informed military sources an unwinnable one. Furthermore, it has had the effect of destabilising the entire Afghanistand and Pakistan region, with the consequent danger of the collapse of the Pakistani state itself. It is taking the lives of countless UK troops and diverting resources at a time when the government should be concentrating resources into job creation, health and the educational sector among others. Furthermore, the government supported by NATO and backed by the military forces is widely discredited and corrupt and has lost the trust of the Afghan people. The continuation of the current military intervention increases the risk significantly of a terrorist attack on the UK and a massive increase in refugees fleeing from war and oppression.

"Since that time the war has escalated and claimed the lives of many more Afghan civilians, UK and other NATO troops, as well as those of civilians working for NGOs. There is now a need to reiterate this call as the war is now being stepped up by the new US administration and there is widely recognised to be a need for a new regional peace agreement, as without the co-operation of the regional powers, any secure peace and administration will be impossible to secure in Afghanistan.

"We there for call upon GPEx [Green Party executive committee] and our elected representatives in the European Parliament to campaign for:

"1) An immediate withdrawal of all UK forces from Afghanistan.

"2) The withdrawal of all UK forces from Afghanistan.

"3) "A peace conference as soon as possible with the aim of establishing a new Afghan government which will have the support of the all the Afghan people."

"4) Continued support from the EU, UN and other international bodies to support the rebuilding of Afghanistan and the provision of international aid.

"5) The protection of all women and minorities in Afghanistan and the upholding of human rights to be an essential part of any peace agreement reached with the regional powers, the UN and the people of Afghanistan.

"6) The issue of Afghan refugees in neighbouring states and elsewhere, and their long term settlement and humanitarian support to be a central feature of any peace agreement."

Green Party conference called for withdrawal of UK troops as long ago as Spring 2002, its first conference following the start of the war, when it also argued that NATO forces' attempt to destroy the Afghan opium trade was likely to undermine any efforts to win local 'hearts and minds', and called instead for the industry to regulated, licensed and channelled into legitimate trade in morphine for the benefit of terminally ill patients in the developing world and for the benefit of Afghan livelihoods.

The Green Party also has a policy of banning weaponry such as the depleted uranium used in Afghanistan, and Green Party MEPs have taken a close interest in and campaigned hard for the rights of refugees of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, most recently this July over plans to deport thousands from a camp near Calais when they wrote to the European Commission asking it to suspend the operation.

MEP and Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said then: "Many migrants into France and the UK are fleeing from the consequences of the West’s foreign policy mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Given this reality, you might imagine these governments would take their responsibilities to the international community more seriously."

She has argued strongly against the ill-logic underpinning the 'war on terror', writing last year: "The global economy has failed miserably to deliver global justice. Around one billion people in the world live fairly comfortably – the remaining five billion do not. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu explains, "the real threat to global peace is failing to recognise our interdependence", and we do this at our peril. As worldwide recession takes hold and the consequences of environmental crises like climate change are felt, many hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people will be marginalised even further.

"History shows that when this happens, violent social movements can materialise, often provoking a repressive backlash in return. In other words, self-fulfiling cycles of violence are established, breeding terrorism rather than countering it. ... Increased international efforts to solve festering conflicts and strengthen failed states, development assistance, promoting democracy and equality, effective and equitable resource management, consensus building, multilateral activity and strengthening the UN apparatus all have a role to play too. Surely the war on terror will only ever be won when we replace a culture of fear with one of respect, engagement, vigilance and solidarity?"

______________________________

Councillor Pete Pattisson on Behalf of Liberal Democrats 8 September 2009

The Lewisham Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned about the war in Afghanistan. After eight years of conflict, too little progress has been made, and too many lives have been lost.

We believe British troops should leave Afghanistan as soon as possible, but that an immediate withdrawal could lead to even more conflict and suffering for Afghan civilians.

The war is a tragedy on many fronts. It’s a tragedy for the over 200 British, 700 American and thousands of Afghan Army soldiers who have been killed. Nothing can sufficiently compensate for their loss, nor honour their sacrifice. It’s a tragedy for the many Afghan civilians who have been killed by suicide bombs, Western air strikes and the inevitable but inexcusable crossfire of war.

But it’s also a tragedy for the millions of Afghans who continue to suffer some of the worst humanitarian statistics in the world. For example, almost 20 percent of Afghan children die before their fifth birthday – a figure that’s higher now than in 2001.

The West has always pursued a three-pronged approach in Afghanistan

- security, development and governance. Little progress has been made in all areas, but it is the failure to achieve significant improvements in development – in the daily lives of Afghans - that has fatally undermined our efforts in the country.

Even if the West’s strategy is logical, it’s implementation has been flawed. We still hear of promises of schools, that are never built; salaries, that are never paid and health care, that is never offered. They only way to defeat the Taliban is to offer Afghans something better, and we have failed to do that so far.

Instead of fighting against the Taliban, we want to see Western forces fighting for civilians. We would like to see a massive investment in humanitarian and civil infrastructure, which may fatally undermine support for the Taliban.

This would involve a gradual re-deployment of British soldiers from frontline-fighting to peace-building, and then in due course a withdrawal from the country entirely.

Alongside this, we support diplomacy and dialogue with all parties and feel that engagement with local Taliban fighters and negotiations at a local level may be essential if this conflict is to be brought to an end.

Nevertheless, while our troops remain in the country we urge the British Government to ensure they have the equipment necessary to carry out this role, and the right level of support when soldiers return home, especially those who are injured.

______________________________

LETTERS ON GAZA, EARLY 2009

Sarah Sheriff to London MEPs 3 December 2008

Dear John Bowis OBE, Jean Lambert, Mary Honeyball, Gerard Batten, Charles Tannock, Robert Evans, Claude Moraes, Baroness Sarah Ludford and Syed Kamall,

On 23rd Novembe I was able to attend a meeting organised by Britain Palestine Twinning Network.It was held at Warwick Hall, St. Mary's Church, Bromley. I heard speeches from a Palestinian Municipal Leader and a woman from Oxfam who had just returned from a voluntary trip to Jerusalem. Frankly I was shocked and horrified by what I heard - and the situation in Gaza must be even worse.

As a member of your constituency and as a concerned citizen of the world, I urge you to vote against the EU-Israel Association Agreement on December 4. This agreement involves the strengthening of a broad spectrum of ties with Israel - including economic, trade, academic, security and diplomatic relations - at a time when the European Union should be challenging Israel and holding it accountable for its persistent violations of human rights and international law.

The EU is well aware of Israel's ongoing illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the massive colonization of the latter; after all, the EU member-states have regularly voted for UN resolutions condemning Israel's human rights violations, collective punishment and construction of settlements and the Wall. Moreover, in 2002 the EU Parliament voted to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement on the grounds of Israel's violations of human rights. Since these violations are still ongoing, there is no reason for the EU to change its decision to suspend the agreement.

Israel has continuously disregarded basic human rights by the enclosure and forced displacement of entire Palestinian communities behind the illegal Wall, the imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians without trial, and its policy of extra-judicial assassination. Israel has also stubbornly refused, for over 60 years and despite its obligations under international law, to recognize and implement the right of millions of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, as stipulated in UNGA resolution 194. Last, but certainly not least, for 60 years, Israel has enacted a system of state-sanctioned racial discrimination against Palestinians with Israeli citizenship in vital domains, including land ownership and employment, simply because they are "non-Jews."

As such, I am appalled that the EU refuses to take concrete action to condemn Israel on any of these accounts. Instead, the EU is proposing to turn a blind eye to Israel's violations of Palestinian rights by deepening its relations with the occupying power. These sorts of cooperation agreements that increase Israel's relationships with the international community are one of Israel's primary means of its ongoing occupation, the displacement of and systematic racial discrimination against the Palestinian people. By engaging in this agreement, the EU sends the message that it effectively condones the Israeli apartheid regime, and that it will not challenge Israel on its massive violations of Palestinian rights.

I therefore urge you, as a representative of the European Union and as a global citizen of conscience, to vote against the EU-Israel Association Agreement. In so doing, you would be heeding the call from the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), which represents the entire spectrum of Palestinian civil society, and which has been endorsed by over 100 international organizations, to exert pressure on Israel and to isolate it, rather than to strengthen ties with it (http://bdsmovement. net/?q=node/ 179). This call was taken up by Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, President of the UN General Assembly, who urged the United Nations to consider following the lead of this generation of civil society who are calling for a campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions to pressure Israel to end its violations. I believe it is high time that the EU adopt this position as well.

At the very least, the EU should be using its leverage in the Israeli interest in this new arrangement to demand a change in its policies. Your vote is an important one in suspending the agreement, thereby standing up to injustice in Palestine. I urge you to listen to your constituents, and to the hundreds of civil society organizations from around the world who call upon the EU to stop rapprochement with Israel, and instead to hold it accountable for its ongoing violations of human rights and international law.

Sincerely

Sarah Sherif

______________________________

John Bowis MEP (Conservative) to Sarah Sheriff 4 December 2008

Dear Sarah Sheriff

Thank you very much for writing to me about Palestine and Israeli actions there. I very much agree with many of the points you make.

You may perhaps not know I am a member of the European Parliament's Palestine Delegation. I was there a few months ago and saw for myself the cruelty of the wall and the impact of the financial and trade freeze on that country.

I was also in Gaza the day Israel resumed its indiscriminate bombardment there and I had earlier visited the main hospital with the WHO representative and seen the appalling wounds of men, women and children, including the evidence that experimental weapons had been used against them. The actions of the Israeli government are wholly disproportionate, as they were when they conducted brutal assaults on civilian targets in Lebanon and in the whole ethos of the wall and the ghettoisation policy throughout Palestine .

I voted yesterday to take the Israel proposal off the agenda and we were successful in this.

With best wishes

John Bowis MEP

Update from John Bowis follows.

Thank you for passing on the EU point. I agree but there is a very strong pro-Israel lobby in the Parliament, supported in particular by German MEPs, This makes it difficult to win votes to penalise, as opposed to criticising, Israel. Our recent success in blocking the enhancement of the EU/Israel Agreement is threatened because the Liberal democrats now say they have changed their minds. But the ground invasion, on top of the air attacks, may now persuade more members to support us.

______________________________

Charles Tannock MEP (Conservative, horrible) to Sarah Sheriff 4 December 2008

Dear Ms Sheriff

Dr Tannock is very familiar with the situation in Israel and the occupied territories, and the suffering of many innocent Palestinians caught up in the terrorist actions of Hamas and Israeli counter attacks and his party is committed to a peace based on the Oslo Peace accords, the road map for peace and Quartet criteria with a viable two state solution based on roughly the 1967 borders with land for peace swaps.

Therefore Conservatives oppose any new settlement building in the occupied territories. Nevertheless he supports an enhanced agreement between the EU and Israel as Israel as a country shares many of our common western democratic values including free elections, a free press, independence of its judiciary and upholding the rule of law and is at the front line in fighting the existential threat of islamist terrorism.

He also believes the security fence for all its problems has considerably reduced the ability of suicide bombers to cross over and kill innocent Israeli civilians who are still subject to Hamas rockets launched from Gaza. He will of course work for reconicilation and a lasting peace in the region as will all Conservative MEPs.

Kind Regards

Silvia Janicinova

Assistant to Dr. Charles Tannock MEP

______________________________

Jean Lambert MEP (Green) to Sarah Sheriff 9 December 2008

Dear Sarah,

Thank you for contacting me about the EU-Israel agreement.

The vote was due to take place on the 4th December, on a legislative proposal to further enhance Israel's involvement in European Community programmes. However, yesterday the Parliament voted to postpone this vote. The Green Group requested the postponement and it was passed by 194 votes in favour to 173 against. The future date for the vote has not been set.

Our reason for requesting a postponement was that it is difficult to support the further involvement of Israel in European Community programmes when it has so far failed to demonstrate a genuine willingness to meet the conditions that are part of any such relationship with the EU. Most pressing is the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In February 2008, I was part of a European Parliament fact-finding mission to Israel and Palestine, including Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. This allowed me to witness the situation in Gaza at first hand.

We felt the postponement was the most pragmatic course of action with regards trying to find a solution for Gaza. By postponing a decision on the upgrading of the EU-Israel agreement, the Parliament maintains an important means to pressure Israel to improve the situation, with the prospect of an enhanced relationship at some future time as a powerful incentive for action.

I recognize that there is an urgent need to establish a working agreement which, at minimum, upholds the basic human rights of Palestinian citizens. In the longer term, I firmly believe in a two-state solution and that open, constructive, and facilitated dialogue is the only means to progress in resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

For your future reference, the Parliament's plenary sessions are broadcast live on the Parliament's website www.europarl.europa.eu. This will allow you to follow the debate online, when this issue returns to the agenda.

Thank you again for writing to me on this crucial issue. Please be assured that I will continue to vocally oppose violence against civilians and to work for peaceful political solutions through dialogue.

Yours sincerely,

Jean Lambert MEP

Green Party Member of the European Parliament for London

______________________________

Syed Kamall MEP (Conservative) to Sarah Sheriff 19 December 2008

Dear Sarah,

Thank you for your email. I apologise for the delay in replying.

I have received a number of similar emails on this issue. Since I have both Israeli and Palestinian friends and wish to adopt a balanced view, I have raised the issue of the EU's relationship with Israel with the European Commission. My question and the answer are below.

30 September 2008

WRITTEN QUESTION by Syed Kamall (PPE‑DE) to the Commission

Subject: The European Commission's relationship with Israel

I am writing on behalf of a number of constituents, including an Israeli citizen, who have expressed concern about the European Commission putting forward proposals to create a more 'enhanced' and 'privileged' relationship with the State of Israel under the EU's Euro-Med proposals. The constituents who have contacted me suggest that Israel is ignoring international law by increasing settlements in the occupied West Bank, announcing the building of new homes in what they term 'occupied' East Jerusalem, increasing the size of the separation fence/wall and by human rights abuses in the occupied territories which my constituents claim have been documented by the Israeli human rights organisation 'Bt' selem', Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

They would like to know if the European Commission has or will put any pressure on Israel to comply with international law and improve human rights in the occupied territories before awarding it a 'privileged' status.

19 November 2008

Answer given by Mrs Ferrero-Waldner on behalf of the Commission On 16 June 2008, at the EU‑Israel Association Council, the decision to start a process of developing a closer relationship between the EU and Israel in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was taken by all the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the European Union. The Commission, from its side, fully supports the above decision which will entail developing possible actions in a number of areas of common interest for Israel and the EU. The Commission's approach is guided by its communications on the ENP which outline that such a process is in principle open to all ENP partners both willing and able to strengthen relations with the EU.

This process does not take place in a vacuum. In the Commission's opinion, progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will markedly enhance the EU's ability to develop relations further. The Commission trusts that the process of strengthening our bilateral relations will have a bearing on our role in the Middle East peace process, since an intensification of relations also implies intensified dialogue on issues of concern to both sides, including on conflict-related matters.

The positive signal the EU gave to Israel on 16 June 2008 is more an incentive than a reward. The EU‑Israel partnership allows issues of concern, such as those mentioned by the Honourable Member's constituents, to be raised and thus Israel will be urged to meet its obligations under the Roadmap and under international humanitarian law.

I hope this helps to answer your question.

Regards,

Syed

SYED KAMALL

Conservative MEP for London

______________________________

Michael Coulston to Joan Ruddock MP 4 January 2009

Dear Joan Ruddock,

As you must be aware, many people are deeply concerned about the Israeli onslaught on Gaza and the effects on the safety of the world.

You probably have no choice but to go along with pretending that it is a "defensive" action and to express a desire for "both sides" to stop

their actions, as if both are equal. Rather than waste time producing such a response from you, I just have a few specific questions.

Firstly, do you believe that the UK government is supporting democracy by refusing to recognise Hamas, the only democratically-elected government in the Arab world, just because such democracy is disliked by the surrounding brutal monarchies and dictatorships, not to mention the apartheid regime in Israel?

Secondly, do you think that rocket attacks on Israel would continue if Israel recognised the democratically elected government in Gaza, ceased its blockade of food and medicines and seriously began the dismantling of the apartheid system?

Thirdly, do you think that rocket attacks and hatred for Israel in general will cease as a result of the bombardment and invasion?

Fourthly, can you see any way in which the current Israeli actions can succeed if they fall short of wiping out the entire Palestinian population? Can there be any logical objective other than genocide?

I would like to ask you, as a concerned resident of this constituency, to lobby for the UK to distance itself from the Israeli actions. Breaking off diplomatic relations is an absolute minimum.

The images of slaughter in Gaza will inspire a new generation of terrorists to attack those they see as responsible, and that means us.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Coulston

______________________________

Joan Ruddock MP to Michael Coulston 12 January 2009 (standard letter)

Dear Mr Coulston

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the current situation in Gaza. I am angry and appalled by the loss of civilian life and I am grateful to you for letting me know of your concerns.

I have written to David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary to emphasis the strength of feeling on this issue and I will let you know what response I receive.

Having been to Palestine on several occasions I know just how terrible life must be there at the moment and I hope that the situation will improve as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Ms Joan Ruddock MP

______________________________

Hugh Shrapnell to Joan Ruddock MP 5 January 2009

Dear Ms Ruddock

I wish to protest in the strongest possible way against the Israeli bombing and invasion of the Gaza strip. As you know this has already resulted in the deaths of over 500 Palestinian civilians, including whole families just wiped off the face of the earth.

As is becoming increasingly apparent, a humanitarian crisis on a vast scale is rapidly looming and nothing can justify this kind of military action on a tiny strip of land in which a million and a half people live. As the 'Guardian' has pointed out, many women and children have been killed, and half of Gaza's ambulances have been destroyed. This negates Israel's claim to be aiming only at military targets; such a ruthless onslaught on such a densely populated area can only result in many ordinary civilians being killed and maimed. I would also like to point out, as many others have, that Hamas is not just a military faction, but a government elected by the Palestinian people. The economic blockade has already caused terrible hardship for the people living in Gaza.

I also wish to protest in the strongest possible way the refusal of our government to condemn this military assault by Israel. I would be interested to know your own position on this matter and whether you can use your influence as a Government minister to persuade Gordon Brown to come out openly to condemn this action of the Israeli's and demand that Israel immediately stops its offensive so that peace negotiations can take place. If Gordon Brown does think that the Israeli action is justified, then he should come out openly and give his reasons.

Yours sincerely

Hugh Shrapnel

______________________

Jim Dowd MP (Labour) to Dr Tippu S Sheriff 7 January 2009

Dear Dr Sheriff

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the current crisis and humanitarian disaster in Gaza. I have been contacted by a number of my constituents about the current military conflict in Gaza and I fully understand the strength of feeling that many people have over this serious situation.

As your member of Parliament I can advise you that I have publicly called for an end to the slaughter in Gaza by signing a statement along with over 100 UK Parliamentarians. The statement below calls for an immediate ceasefire, an embargo on the supply of military equipment to both sides and for urgent intervention by the international community to stop the humanitarian catastrophe which is unfolding.

STOP THE SLAUGHTER IN GAZA

Israel's continuing massive military strikes on Gaza are an outrage that the international community must not allow to continue. Palestinian rocket attacks which traumatise the lives of communities in Southern Israel are also utterly unacceptable. Both sides must cease fire.

Israel's actions are disproportionate and counter productive to achieving either security for the people of Israel or peace in the Middle East. Physicians for Human Rights (Israel) have warned that "targeting of civilians and of medical facilities is a breach of international humanitarian law. The targets chosen by the Israeli military include also clearly civilian installations."

Gaza is one of the poorest and most densely populated places on earth. For the last two years, the blockade and previous Israeli strikes had already disrupted electricity supplies and access to clean water. Even before the current attack, Gaza's health system was near collapse. Hospitals are short of medicines, blood and essential equipment. Only half of Gaza's 58 ambulances are functioning.

We call on the international community, and especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to intervene to stop the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. We call for an immediate ceasefire by all parties and for an embargo on the supply of military equipment to both sides. The international community must also assert unambiguously that there is no military route to peace in the Middle East and redouble its efforts to create a secure and independent state of Palestine alongside a secure and independent Israel.

Signatories:

HOUSE OF COMMONS: Nick Ainger, Danny Alexander, John Austin, Norman Baker, Anne Begg, Roger Berry, Clive Betts, Roberta Blackman-Woods, Peter Bottomley, Colin Breed, Lyn Brown, Karen Buck, Richard Burden, Lorely Burt, Alistair Carmichael, David Chaytor, Katy Clark, David Clelland, Harry Cohen, Michael Connarty, Derek Conway, Frank Cook, Jeremy Corbyn, Ann Cryer, Jim Devine, Jim Dobbin, Frank Dobson, Jim Dowd, David Drew, Mark Durkan, Clive Efford, Natascha Engel, Paul Flynn, Hywel Francis, Neil Gerrard, Ian Gibson, Roger Godsiff, Nia Griffith, Nick Harvey, John Hemming, David Heyes, Simon Hughes, Brian Iddon, Eric Illsley, Lynne Jones, Sir Gerald Kaufman, Sally Keeble, Peter Kilfoyle, Susan Kramer, Norman Lamb, Mark Lazarowicz, John Leech, David Lepper, Tom Levitt, Martin Linton, Tony Lloyd, Andy Love, Judy Mallaber, Rob Marris, Chris McCafferty, John McDonnell, Anne Moffat, Madeleine Moon, Michael Moore, Doug Naysmith, Edward O'Hara, Nick Palmer, Andrew Pelling, Steve Pound, Ken Purchase, Andy Reed, Alan Reid, Linda Riordan, Martin Salter, Mohammad Sarwar, Alison Seabeck, Virendra Sharma, Jim Sheridan, Clare Short, Marsha Singh, Andy Slaughter, Andrew Smith, Angela C Smith, Sir Peter Soulsby, Phyllis Starkey, Jo Swinson, Ian Taylor, David Taylor, Sarah Teather, Robert Walter, Steve Webb, Mike Weir, Alan Whitehead, Stephen Williams, Hywel Williams, Derek Wyatt, Tim Yeo.

HOUSE OF LORDS: Bishop of Winchester, Lord Cope of Berkeley, Lord Luce, The Right Reverend Michael Scott-Joynt, Lord Hylton, Lord Wright of Richmond, Baroness Northover, Baroness Tonge, Lord Sheikh of Cornhill.

I have also been in contact with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, to express my outrage at the continuing loss of life in Gaza and endorse their call for an immediate ceasefire. I can assure you of my continuing pressure for an immediate halt to hostilities and a lasting resolution to the current problems.

I hope this response is helpful and thank you, once again, for bringing your concerns to my attention.

Yours sincerely

Jim Dowd

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Gurbash Garcha to three Lewisham MPs 8 January 2009

Dear friends

I am hugely concerned by the callous disregard by the EU and especially our own government regarding what is going on in Gaza. Such brutality is unmatched in the civilised world. Considering the condemnation and righteous anger we had displayed over Kosovo and Georgia, Israel has been treated like a victim rather than a cruel bully. Are we going to keep quiet and encourage international criminals like the Israeli government in future? In that case what are we doing in Iraq and Afghanistan? Was David Milliband shedding crocodile tears over Georgia? Is 'double standards' our established foreign policy now? Why should anybody take any notice of what we say if we are so dishonest and hypocritical in our pronouncements?

Very reluctantly, I have to agree with Nick Clegg and with the contents of the letter to Gordon Brown by the representatives of the British Muslim Organisations. Please forward this to the PM from one of your disgusted constituents.

Are we going to ignore the evidence of some one like Richard Falk below and he is not the only one.

We do not deserve a happy new year.

Gurbash Garcha

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Anne O'Connor to Harry Cohen MP 11 January 2009

Sir,

I'm an ordinary person living in London, and I see what's happening in Gaza, and I feel sick at the UNFAIRNESS of it all.

In a world where my, and most people's parents brought them up to show repect to other people, what's happened?

Please, Mr Cohen, do whatever you can to influence your boss to just look at the fairness/unfairness of the situation.

Your constituent, Anne O'Connor

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Harry Cohen MP to Anne O'Connor 12 January 2009

Last week I spoke at a special meeting of the Waltham Forest Council of Mosques, I will also be attending their peace march this coming Saturday.

For information, here's a copy of a letter I've sent to the Foreign Secretary and a draft of a public letter to the press I've signed along with other MPs.

Harry Cohen MP

Rt Hon David Miliband MP

Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street

London

SW1A 2AH

30 December 2008

Dear Secretary of State,

I am extremely concerned at the Israeli military assault on the inhabitants of Gaza which has already killed (murdered) around 300 individuals, including many women and children, and injured around 2,000 more.

It is both disproportionate and illegal as a response to the ending of the cease-fire and the random rocket firing, also wrong and unacceptable, from the Gaza Strip.

I strongly favour an immediate cease-fire and cessation of all hostilities, but you must also be aware that the blockade of Gaza, including the stopping of humanitarian aid and basic necessities like medicines, has also cost the lives of many inhabitants, most of whom were innocent women and children. This 'strangulation' was plainly the reason Hamas ended the cease-fire. It cannot be a prevailing state of affairs.

In these circumstances, I believe that the Government's response to date, including the statement by the Prime Minister, was weak and ineffectual. It was also not the appropriate response ("concern" rather than "condemnation" or even "the strongest objection") when considering the loss of life and illegality.

I also consider that the Israeli barbarism could act as a recruiting sergeant for extremist acts of 'vengeance' in other parts of the world and in the UK. I understand that you have alluded to this aspect yourself in your comments.

A weak UK response is not acceptable in these circumstances and I urge a UK Government position that publicly and privately, unequivocally demands the immediate end of the Israeli military action and blockade of Gaza.

Your early response on this would be appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Harry Cohen MP

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Robert Evans MEP (Labour) to Sarah Sheriff 13 January 2009

Dear Ms Sherif

Thank you for contacting me about this very serious matter. As a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Human Rights I take a close interest in Middle East affairs. I have for a long time been concerned about Israel's blockade of the Gaza strip. While I condemn Hamas for firing rockets into Israeli territory, I firmly believe that the actions of the Israeli government in response have been incredibly disproportionate. The entire population of the Gaza strip is now suffering unnecessarily for which there is no justification.

It is also incredibly worrying that civilian and UN targets have been hit. I assure you that I am giving my absolute support to calls for an immediate end to the violence and the provision of emergency humanitarian assistance to save lives.

The European Parliament has been involved in intensive diplomatic pressure to achieve these aims. The Socialist Group in the European Parliament, of which the Labour Party is a member, has published its own statement, which I have attached to this email. The President of the Party of European Socialists, the European political party to which the Labour Party is affiliated, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, has written to the Israeli Defence Minster, Ehud Barak, calling for an immediate ceasefire agreement. I have also attached this letter to this email. The whole European Parliament will debate this matter tomorrow afternoon at our plenary session in Strasbourg.

Our Labour Government in Britain has been equally determined to use all means to press for an immediate ceasefire, and has expressed its grave concern at the tragic loss of innocent life, that the current actions are fuelling the extremists and that there has to be a political and not a military solution in order to achieve Middle East peace.

The EU response has been an active one. A high level European Union delegation was dispatched to Egypt, Israel, Palestine and Jordan from the 4th-6th January, comprising EU High Representative Javier Solana, European Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner, and the Czech, French and Swedish Foreign Ministers, seeking to bring about conditions for an early ceasefire and an easing of the humanitarian situation. The President of the EU Parliament , Hans-Gert Pöttering, has also issued a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The European Parliament was scheduled to vote on the EU-Israel Association Agreement on 4 December 2008. This concerns the country's participation in EU policies and programmes, as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy's regular review of action plans for all countries in the region. This does not constitute an 'upgrading' of relations with Israel as some people have asserted. Nonetheless, my Labour colleagues and I successfully sought to defer the vote until Israel lifted its blockade of the Gaza strip. The vote has now been postponed indefinitely in light of the current crisis.

In 2008, the EU provided more than 73 million euro (£70 million) in humanitarian aid for victims of the crisis in the Palestinian Territories, more than half of it in the Gaza Strip. Last week the EU announced that it will provide a further £2.9 million in urgent humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. Food, emergency shelter repairs and medical aid will be provided through the United Nations to Gaza Palestinians.

You can be assured that my Labour MEP colleagues and I will be doing our utmost to ensure that any upgrading of political relations between the EU and Israel in future must be strongly conditioned on respect for international humanitarian law, on real commitment to a comprehensive peace settlement, on the end of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and on respect for full implementation of the EC-PLO Interim Association Agreement.

As long as the situation remains so critical the Socialist Group will maintain its opposition to the European Parliament's vote of assent to the further participation of Israel in European Community programmes.

I firmly believe that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A lasting, comprehensive, peace agreement based on the two States solution is long overdue. I very much hope that the EU, in co-operation with the incoming US-administration and Arab and Muslim countries, will work towards this goal.

Thank you again for contacting me about this very important matter. I will be sure to take your views into account when I attend the plenary session debate on Israel tomorrow.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Evans MEP

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Michael Coulston to London MEPs 17 January 2009

Dear Syed Kamall, Claude Moraes, Robert Evans, Mary Honeyball, Baroness Sarah Ludford, John Bowis OBE, Jean Lambert, Gerard Batten and Charles Tannock,

I am completely mystified and bewildered as to how Israel meets the criteria for a special trade agreement with the EU.

Please can you explain why a country in breach of so many UN resolutions, exporting produce from illegally-occupied territory and currently engaged in activities described by the UN as "war crimes" is not the subject of an embargo, rather than being given preferential treatment?

What is your personal understanding of how this situation is possible?

Yours sincerely,

Michael Coulston

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John Bowis MEP (Conservative) to Michael Coulston 17 January 2009

Dear Michael Coulston,

Thank you very much for writing to me about Palestine and Israeli actions there. I very much agree with you. Each day the news is more horrific, not least with new evidence of the 110 people forced into a house that was then shelled and 30 killed.

I was also in Gaza the day Israel previously resumed its indiscriminate bombardment there and I had earlier visited the main hospital with the WHO representative and seen the appalling wounds of men, women and children, including the evidence that experimental weapons had been used against them. The actions of the Israeli government are wholly disproportionate, as they were when they conducted brutal assaults on civilian targets in Lebanon and in the whole ethos of the wall and the ghettoisation policy throughout Palestine. Tragically the same has now happened again and the innocents, including children lie dead and wounded.

I voted recently in the Parliament to take the proposal to enhance relations with Israel off the agenda and we were successful in this, although the Council of Ministers, including the British Government, is trying to ignore this! You may want to write to them through your local MP. Sadly too the British Government is the only government in the European Union who has sought to defend the Israeli action. There has not in fact been any vote this week and we now understand the Commission has put the proposal on ice..

You may like to see the report below I have just received from NGOs in the area. I have also been receiving reports about Dignity and now Spirit of Humanity. The last one is also below.

With best wishes

John Bowis MEP

(Report here BowisReport.htm)

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Robert Evans MEP (Labour) to Michael Coulston 19 January 2009

Dear Mr Coulston

Thank you for contacting me about this very serious matter. As a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Human Rights I take a close interest in Middle East affairs. I have for a long time been concerned about Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. While I condemn Hamas for firing rockets into Israeli territory, I firmly believe that the actions of the Israeli government in response have been incredibly disproportionate. The entire population of the Gaza Strip has suffered unnecessarily for which there is no justification..

It is also incredibly worrying that civilian and UN targets have been hit. I have given my absolute support to calls for an immediate end to the violence and the provision of emergency humanitarian assistance to save lives. I very much hope that the current ceasefire will be permanent.

The European Parliament has been very active in the last few weeks in its attempts to achieve a ceasefire. The Socialist Group, which includes Labour MEPs, published its own statement, attached to this email, expressing its "deepest outrage" at the violence in the Gaza Strip. The President of the Party of European Socialists, the European political party to which the Labour Party is affiliated, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, wrote to the Israeli Defence Minster, Ehud Barak, calling for an immediate ceasefire agreement. I have also attached this letter to this email.

The European Parliament debated the current situation at our plenary session in Strasbourg last week. The session opened on Monday with a statement from the President of the EU Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, expressing his "deepest regret" over the Gaza conflict and calling for an "immediate end to the violence on both sides". The debate itself was held on Wedneday afternoon. The vast majority of speakers called for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated truce. MEPs expressed their shock at the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza and deplored the fact that civilian and UN targets had been hit during the attacks.

MEPs agreed on the need to re-open the crossing points, lift the blockade and prevent smuggling of illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition. MEPs also urged the Israeli authorities to allow the international press into the Gaza Strip and reiterated the need to guarantee a continuous and sufficient flow of aid through humanitarian corridors. There were expressions of sympathy for the civilian population affected by the violence in both Gaza and Southern Israel.

MEPs also stressed the need to renew efforts to achieve total inter-Palestinian reconciliation based on the Mecca agreement of February 2007, which implied the acceptance of previous agreements including the right of Israel to exist, and the need for a permanent geographical connection between a reunified Gaza Strip and West Bank.

On Thursday a joint resolution was adopted by the European Parliament, supported by the Socialist Group, calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. More specifically it calls on Israel to fulfil its obligations under international law and international humanitarian law, and for Hamas to end rocket attacks and assume its own responsibilities by committing itself to a political process aimed at restoring inter-Palestinian dialogue and contributing to the ongoing process of negotiations with Israel..

The resolution also calls for a negotiated truce that should be guaranteed by a mechanism - to be set up by the international community coordinated by the Quartet and the Arab League - which could include the dispatching of a multinational presence.

Furthermore, in 2008, the EU provided more than 73 million euro (£70 million) in humanitarian aid for victims of the crisis in the Palestinian Territories, more than half of it in the Gaza Strip. Last week the EU announced that it will provide a further £2.9 million in urgent humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. Food, emergency shelter repairs and medical aid will be provided through the United Nations to Gaza Palestinians.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Evans MEP

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Sarah Ludford MEP (Liberal Democrat) to Michael Coulston 4 February 2009

This reply was in the form of a link to a standard statement at http://www.sarahludfordmep.org.uk/news/001151/chance_for_progress_as_obama_prioritises_middle_east.html

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Jean Lambert MEP (Green) to Michael Coulston 25 February 2009

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your email.

Israel's recent actions in Gaza were hugely disproportionate and unjustifiable, causing immense suffering. This is no time for the EU to be upgrading relations with Israel and there is a case for examining the existing agreements. As you might know, in December 2008 the Green Group in the European Parliament requested and managed to secure a postponement on a vote which proposed to further enhance Israel's involvement in certain European Community programmes. EU Member States have since decided to press ahead in those areas which Parliament cannot prevent.

Personally, I would support the suspension of the EU-Israel Trade Agreement until we have seen ongoing positive action from the Israeli Government towards resolving the conflict and progress towards a just settlement.

I was in Gaza almost a year ago, where I witnessed the severe suffering of Palestinians as a result of the siege, and a lack of medical equipment and other essential supplies. Along with colleagues in the Green Group, I have continued to press for the EU to play a more constructive role to secure a just settlement, which is respectful of human rights. This will only work if it involves all parties. I firmly believe in a two-state solution and that open, constructive, and facilitated dialogue is the only means to progress in resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Two of my colleagues in the Greens here in the Parliament, one of whom is the Chairwoman of the sub-committee on Human Rights, have just returned from an official Parliamentary delegation visit to Gaza where they met with the UN and various humanitarian organisations. They have provided a detailed report back to my political group on the current situation on the ground.

Last month, Greens in the European Parliament succeeded in securing an exceptional statement from the Council and Commission and an urgent debate on the crisis which took place on Wednesday 14 January 2009.

Furthermore, despite opposition from the EPP (the largest group in the Parliament), at the opening of the Parliament's session in Strasbourg the Greens succeeded in securing a resolution on the crisis to accompany the debate so that the Parliament not only discussed the issue but also came out with a clear statement on its position.

As a result, a resolution on the situation in Gaza was adopted on 15 January 2009. You can read the full text of the resolution on the European Parliament website, at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2009-0025+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN.

However, a resolution is a statement of position and has no legal weight - the issue being discussed and voted on was the recent situation in Gaza and not on the enhancement of Israel's involvement in European Community Programmes - a date for a vote on this report, following its postponement in early December has not yet been rescheduled.

The UK government also has an important role to play, along with other EU member states. The UK government should revoke its support for any new agreements with Israel and immediately inform the Czech Presidency of the EU and urge other member states to take the same action. The European Parliament should refuse to endorse any extension of existing agreements and try to stop any upgrades of EU benefits to Israel until it abides by its international legal and humanitarian obligations.

I shall continue to raise these issues where I can, and to press for international actions to secure justice and peace. You can read my statement on this issue at: http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/news_detail.php?id=397.

To read my press release condemning the attacks on Gaza, please visit: http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/news_detail.php?id=398.

I attended the demonstration in London on 3 January 2009, and was one of the speakers at the subsequent demonstration on 10 January.

On 30 January, I delivered a letter to the Israeli Embassy in London, demanding a full refund of the €53 million of EU aid spent on Gaza's infrastructure over the past ten years.

You can read more about this on my website:

http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/news_detail.php?id=408

Please consider attending any future demonstrations and continue to raise these issues with your other MEPs and Member of Parliament in Westminster. In particular, I suggest you ask the UK Government to oppose upgrading EU-Israel relations, in the light of recent events.

Thank you again for writing.

Yours sincerely,

Jean Lambert MEP

Green Party Member of the European Parliament for London

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