Release Leonard Peltier | Hunger for Justice | People Want To Talk About Unity.

 

ReleaseLeonard Peltier

Last week Iposted a Christmas card to Leonard Peltier. I dont know if he will receiveit.  Or the numerous other notes and cards I have sent over the years. At80 years of age Leonard, a native American rights activist and victim of amiscarriage of justice; has been imprisoned for 48 years. This makes him one ofthe longest serving political prisoners in the world.

Like so oftenbefore there was a lobby for President Biden to use his Presidential power toinclude Leonard among those to be pardoned as he leaves office. On 12 Decemberthe White House announced that 39 people were to be granted pardons and almost1500 others had their sentences commuted. Leonard was not on the list.

The nativeAmerican activist was convicted in 1977 of the killing of 2 FBI agents at thePine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota. He has always protested hisinnocence. A few years ago James H. Reynolds the former US Attorney Generalwhose office prosecuted Leonard appealed for his sentence to be commuted. InOctober 2022 Amnesty International appealed to President Biden to grant Leonard Peltier clemencyon “humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice.” 

Calls forLeonard Peltier’s release have also been supported by international figures,including the late Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former IrishPresident Mary Robinson.

With Israel’sgenocidal assault on Gaza and the occupied west Bank; its invasion of Lebanonand events in Syria there are huge humanitarian crises across the world but ifyou have a moment remember Leonard Peltier and write him a letter or send him acard.

LeonardPeltier

#89637-132 USPColeman

USPenitentiary PO Box 1033

Coleman,

FL, 33521

USA

 

Hunger forJustice 

Well done toall of those – 1600 at the last count – who last week participated in theHunger for Justice fast - Troscadh ar son na Córa – in support of the people ofPalestine. Over €100,000 has been raised. As well as individual contributionsscores of vigils and protests were held across the island of Ireland.

The decisionin recent days by the Irish government to finally support the case againstIsrael at the International Court of Justice case, is a welcomedevelopment but should have been taken months ago. More critically the incomingIrish government must now set down a clear marker that its intention is torobustly defend international humanitarian law. This means passing the OccupiedTerritories Bill and enacting meaningful sanctions against Israel. This alsohas to include passing into law the Illegal Israeli Settlements DivestmentBill; provide no more approvals of export licences for Dual Use products, whichhave a military application; take steps to ensure that Irish sovereign airspaceand our airports are not being used to transport weapons of war and intensifyefforts to suspend the EU-Israel Association agreement.

As Israel’sallies continue to arm and politically defend the apartheid regime scores ofcivilians die each day in Israel’s relentless slaughter. As we in Irelandprepare for Christmas the people of Palestine prepare for more genocide andmore repression. 

The baldstatistics of death and life in Gaza at this Christmas time make grim reading:

·       Over45,000 people have been killed. Many thousands more are believed buried beneaththe rubble.

·       Almost17,000 of these were children. Children loved by their parents and families androbbed of life.

·       1.9million people have been forcibly displaced – most several times.

·       2million people, many of them children, suffering from acute food insecurity.

·       Thehealthcare system is almost non-existent.

·       Nota single hospital remains fully operational, and fewer than half arefunctioning at all. 

·       Medicalcare for the sick and injured is critically scarce.

Educationprovision for our children is something we all take for granted. But not inGaza or the west Bank. The Gaza Strip has been especially hard hit. The schoolsand Universities that once housed over 600,000 students are gone. They havebeen deliberately targeted by the Israeli military. According to the UnitedNations: “More than 625,000 students have been out of learning sincethe war began, half of them were going to UNRWA schools. They have all lost ayear of education and learning to the war, risking becoming a lost generation.They have all witnessed unimaginable atrocities no child should go through.”

The 782,000students in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem are also impacted by Israel’sapartheid and military policies. And yet in the midst of this devastationthe strength, courage and resilience of the Palestinian people still inspires.This is especially true in the determination of parents, teachers,educationalists and students to provide a measure of education for the youngpeople of Gaza. Tent classrooms have been established into which scores ofchildren of all ages are packed with teachers working hard to provide somemeasure of education.  

ForPalestinians education has always played a vital role in the sustaining theirculture, their history, identity, language, and values. The schools anduniversities have also been critical in empowering Palestinian resistance toIsrael’s apartheid policies and it is for these reasons that the educationsystem in Gaza and in the occupied territories is being targeted by Israel.

The closureof its Dublin Embassy by the Israeli Government is a compliment to the peopleof Ireland. Of course it is not aimed at us. It is aimed at all those otherstates who need to raise their voices in support of international law andagainst genocide. It is aimed at the incoming Trump administration. Will hewelcome An Taoiseach and others to celebrate Irelands national day in Marchwhile his allies in Israel rail against Ireland. We will see. One thing is forsure. We must never be silent in support of peace in the Middle East and insupport of the right to freedom of the people of Palestine. 

 

Peoplewant to talk about Unity

On MondayUachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald TD joined National Party ChairpersonDeclan Kearney, in publishing the report of the work of the party’s Commissionon the Future of Ireland. The Commission was established to undertake agrassroots engagement by providing citizens with a space in which they can havetheir say on the future of Ireland.

The extensivework of the Commission is clearly evident in the twenty-one public events, thethousands who have attended; the breadth of speakers who have participated,including those from the Protestant/Unionist section of our people; and thehundreds of written submissions that have been made.

The currentlevel of discussion on constitutional change is remarkable. As well as SinnFéin other groups have also been discussing Irish Unity. Theseinclude Ireland's Future; Gaels le Chéile; Constitutional Conversations;Belfast Women's Assembly; Trade Unions for Irish Unity; the SDLP’s New IrelandCommission; Labour for Irish Unity and the Women's Assembly (Hosted by MaryMcAleese in conjunction with the National Women's Council).

TheOireachtas Good Friday Agreement Committee published a landmark report onPerspectives on Constitutional Change; another report on Women andConstitutional Change and last Friday 'The Women's Charter for InclusiveConstitutional Futures' by Fidelma Ashe and others was published.

All of theseare part of the dynamic driving forward the debate on Irish Unity. TheCommission’s report highlights the fact that people want to be part of theconversation on the future of Ireland, on the shape of constitutional changeand how best to navigate the next length of the journey toreunification. They like to be asked and when given the opportunity arepleased to be part of this process of dialogue.

If Sinn Féinand others can facilitate dialogue on constitutional change how much moreeffective and inclusive would the discussion be if the Irish governmentfulfilled its constitutional responsibilities and obligations and took up amore positive role. The next government in Dublin must prioritise planning forreunification and for the unity referendums provided by the Good FridayAgreement.

Mary Lou inher remarks to the launch pointed to the practical steps proposed by Sinn Féinthat the incoming Irish government should take to advance preparations for thefuture. Key to this is a Citizen’s Assembly.

It isirresponsible of those in political leadership, especially in the Irishgovernment, to refuse to advance what is the most important conversation of ageneration.

TheCommission report demonstrates what can be done when one party prioritises anopen conversation about the future. Just imagine what is possible, what can beachieved if a government did this?