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US Press Ignores Egyptian Suppression of Gaza Freedom March
Dec 29, 2009
Cairo - The government of Egypt is taking a spectacularly hard line
against international solidarity efforts in support of civilians in
Gaza on the one-year anniversary of the Israeli invasion, blocking
peace marchers from the U.S., Canada, and Europe from even approaching
the Egyptian border with Gaza and blocking an aid convoy that has the
support of the Turkish government from entering Egypt at Nuweiba. Even
a peaceful protest at UN offices in Cairo was largely walled
off from public view by Egyptian police.
It seems that any pretense of Egyptian government concern for the
suffering of Palestinian civilians has been dropped, along with the
pretense that there is anything less than 100% cooperation from Egypt
and its US and European patrons with Israel's program of punishing
Gaza's population for the political crime of having provided majority
support to the Hamas movement in a legislative election.
Meanwhile there is largely a U.S. press blackout of these striking
developments. A search of the New York Times and the
Washington Post only turns up a tiny AP story on the
websites of the Times
and the Post.
As has frequently been the case, Agence France-Presse [AFP]
pays more attention to these developments. On Monday, AFP reports
that Hedy Epstein and other members of the Gaza Freedom March have begun
a hunger strike to press the Egyptian government to allow them to
enter Gaza:
An 85-year-old Holocaust survivor was among a group of
grandmothers who began a hunger strike in Cairo on Monday to protest
against Egypt's refusal to allow a Gaza solidarity march to proceed.American activist Hedy Epstein and other grandmothers participating in
the Gaza Freedom March began a hunger strike at 1000 GMT."I've never done this before, I don't know how my body will react, but
I'll do whatever it takes," Epstein told AFP, sitting on a chair
surrounded by hundreds of protesters outside the United Nations
building in Cairo.
On Sunday, AFP
reported on the efforts of the Viva Palestina aid convoy to
enter Egypt, with the support of the Turkish government:
An aid convoy trying to reach the blockaded Gaza Strip
through Egypt was still stranded in Jordan on Sunday amid Cairo's
refusal to let it cross through its territory.Members of the convoy, which is led by British MP George Galloway,
were however hoping for a solution thanks to mediation by Turkey to
enter Gaza through the Red Sea port of Nuweiba, the most direct
route.
The British-initiated aid convoy has at least been mentioned by
the BBC, but NPR has not reported on the
U.S.-initiated Gaza Freedom March.
Wouldn't you be a little bit curious to know what explanations the
New York Times and the Washington Post would provide
for ignoring these developments? Why not send them
a little note?
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Robert Naiman is Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy. Naiman has worked as a policy analyst and researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. He has masters degrees in economics and mathematics from the University of Illinois and has studied and worked in the Middle East.
Cairo - The government of Egypt is taking a spectacularly hard line
against international solidarity efforts in support of civilians in
Gaza on the one-year anniversary of the Israeli invasion, blocking
peace marchers from the U.S., Canada, and Europe from even approaching
the Egyptian border with Gaza and blocking an aid convoy that has the
support of the Turkish government from entering Egypt at Nuweiba. Even
a peaceful protest at UN offices in Cairo was largely walled
off from public view by Egyptian police.
It seems that any pretense of Egyptian government concern for the
suffering of Palestinian civilians has been dropped, along with the
pretense that there is anything less than 100% cooperation from Egypt
and its US and European patrons with Israel's program of punishing
Gaza's population for the political crime of having provided majority
support to the Hamas movement in a legislative election.
Meanwhile there is largely a U.S. press blackout of these striking
developments. A search of the New York Times and the
Washington Post only turns up a tiny AP story on the
websites of the Times
and the Post.
As has frequently been the case, Agence France-Presse [AFP]
pays more attention to these developments. On Monday, AFP reports
that Hedy Epstein and other members of the Gaza Freedom March have begun
a hunger strike to press the Egyptian government to allow them to
enter Gaza:
An 85-year-old Holocaust survivor was among a group of
grandmothers who began a hunger strike in Cairo on Monday to protest
against Egypt's refusal to allow a Gaza solidarity march to proceed.American activist Hedy Epstein and other grandmothers participating in
the Gaza Freedom March began a hunger strike at 1000 GMT."I've never done this before, I don't know how my body will react, but
I'll do whatever it takes," Epstein told AFP, sitting on a chair
surrounded by hundreds of protesters outside the United Nations
building in Cairo.
On Sunday, AFP
reported on the efforts of the Viva Palestina aid convoy to
enter Egypt, with the support of the Turkish government:
An aid convoy trying to reach the blockaded Gaza Strip
through Egypt was still stranded in Jordan on Sunday amid Cairo's
refusal to let it cross through its territory.Members of the convoy, which is led by British MP George Galloway,
were however hoping for a solution thanks to mediation by Turkey to
enter Gaza through the Red Sea port of Nuweiba, the most direct
route.
The British-initiated aid convoy has at least been mentioned by
the BBC, but NPR has not reported on the
U.S.-initiated Gaza Freedom March.
Wouldn't you be a little bit curious to know what explanations the
New York Times and the Washington Post would provide
for ignoring these developments? Why not send them
a little note?
Robert Naiman
Robert Naiman is Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy. Naiman has worked as a policy analyst and researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. He has masters degrees in economics and mathematics from the University of Illinois and has studied and worked in the Middle East.
Cairo - The government of Egypt is taking a spectacularly hard line
against international solidarity efforts in support of civilians in
Gaza on the one-year anniversary of the Israeli invasion, blocking
peace marchers from the U.S., Canada, and Europe from even approaching
the Egyptian border with Gaza and blocking an aid convoy that has the
support of the Turkish government from entering Egypt at Nuweiba. Even
a peaceful protest at UN offices in Cairo was largely walled
off from public view by Egyptian police.
It seems that any pretense of Egyptian government concern for the
suffering of Palestinian civilians has been dropped, along with the
pretense that there is anything less than 100% cooperation from Egypt
and its US and European patrons with Israel's program of punishing
Gaza's population for the political crime of having provided majority
support to the Hamas movement in a legislative election.
Meanwhile there is largely a U.S. press blackout of these striking
developments. A search of the New York Times and the
Washington Post only turns up a tiny AP story on the
websites of the Times
and the Post.
As has frequently been the case, Agence France-Presse [AFP]
pays more attention to these developments. On Monday, AFP reports
that Hedy Epstein and other members of the Gaza Freedom March have begun
a hunger strike to press the Egyptian government to allow them to
enter Gaza:
An 85-year-old Holocaust survivor was among a group of
grandmothers who began a hunger strike in Cairo on Monday to protest
against Egypt's refusal to allow a Gaza solidarity march to proceed.American activist Hedy Epstein and other grandmothers participating in
the Gaza Freedom March began a hunger strike at 1000 GMT."I've never done this before, I don't know how my body will react, but
I'll do whatever it takes," Epstein told AFP, sitting on a chair
surrounded by hundreds of protesters outside the United Nations
building in Cairo.
On Sunday, AFP
reported on the efforts of the Viva Palestina aid convoy to
enter Egypt, with the support of the Turkish government:
An aid convoy trying to reach the blockaded Gaza Strip
through Egypt was still stranded in Jordan on Sunday amid Cairo's
refusal to let it cross through its territory.Members of the convoy, which is led by British MP George Galloway,
were however hoping for a solution thanks to mediation by Turkey to
enter Gaza through the Red Sea port of Nuweiba, the most direct
route.
The British-initiated aid convoy has at least been mentioned by
the BBC, but NPR has not reported on the
U.S.-initiated Gaza Freedom March.
Wouldn't you be a little bit curious to know what explanations the
New York Times and the Washington Post would provide
for ignoring these developments? Why not send them
a little note?
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