CJME Action Alert #15

Action Alerts > CJME Alert #15

Occupation Double Standards
Take 30 minutes to write letter to Kansas City Star

The Issue:

Every major Palestinian and Israeli speaker that Citizens for justice in the Middle East has hosted over the past two years says the essentially same thing -- the cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the 38-year long occupation of Palestinian territories.

On March 8, 2005 President Bush said "the time has come for Syria to fully implement Security Council Resolution 1559. All Syrian military forces and intelligence personnel must withdraw before the Lebanese elections."

On March 8 the Kansas City Star echoed this demand "for complete withdrawal" giving the Bush administration "credit for putting the spotlight on the Syrian occupation."

No matter how you describe Syria's involvement in Lebanon the course of Mideast peace requires a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Neither Bush nor the Star could bear to call for Israel to honor much stronger UN resolutions 242 and 338. To comply with resolutions 242 and 338 Israel would have to evacuate 150 settlements in the West Bank; relocate 400,000 illegal Israeli settlers from Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; tear down the Wall; remove 700 roadblocks, checkpoints and obstructions; and remove 250 miles of "Israeli-only" bypass roads located in the Palestinian territories.

What You Can Do:

1. Write a letter to the Kansas City Star or opinion article for your local newspaper demanding that the United States end its support for Israel’s illegal military occupation of Palestinian lands.

Kansas City Star -- E-mail: letters@kcstar.com / Phone: (816) 234-4636 / Fax: (816) 234-4926 / Address: 1729 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108-1458

2. Send an email to info@cjme.org and let us know that you wrote to the KC Star on this issue.

Background:

President Discusses War on Terror, 3/8/05, http://themoderntribune.com/full_text_bush_speech_war_on_terror_march_8,_2005.htm
Kansas City Star editorial, 3/8/05, "Keep Pressure on Syria"
Article: "Single minds, double standards, and plural societies: One month on in Lebanon," Laurie King-Irani, The Electronic Intifada, 3/13/05 - "Claims that Lebanon cannot have elections while under Syrian occupation sound surreal, even hilarious, when juxtaposed with the fact that the Bush administration pressed for elections to proceed in Iraq and Palestine under conditions of military occupation. No one will believe Washington's lofty rhetoric about ballots and freedom while the US continues to excuse or ignore Israel's ongoing, massive and systematic human rights abuses... Were the US truly concerned about attaining democracy and human rights in the Middle East, there is no better place to start than in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, where US funds, diplomatic support and weaponry ensure that everyday life is a living hell for millions of innocent people."
For more information about Israel’s illegal occupation, its violations of international law, and the role of the United States in supporting them, please see
> "Ending the Occupation: It’s the Law" -- http://endtheoccupation.org/downloads/fact_sheet_2.pdf
> "Dual Occupations: If It’s Wrong in Palestine, Why is the U.S. Doing it in Iraq?" -- http://endtheoccupation.org/downloads/dual_occupations.pdf

Keep Pressure on Syria - March 8, 2005 Kansas City Star editorial

Syria's long stranglehold on Lebanon appears to be weakening in what could become another victory for democracy in the Middle East. But the United States, Europe and Arab reformers must continue to push Syria to withdraw all of its occupation troops and secret police from Lebanon.

Hezbollah, the terrorist organization that supports the Syrian occupation, should be dismantled and its leaders prosecuted for their crimes.

On Monday Bashar Assad, the Syrian ruler, summoned his chief puppet, Lebanese president Emile Lahoud, to Damascus. There Lahoud dutifully testified to the wisdom of Assad's plan to move Syrian forces around in Lebanon rather than ordering a complete withdrawal.

Demands for complete withdrawal have come from Washington, the United Nations and tens of thousands of courageous Lebanese people, who were inspired this year by seeing two long-pitied groups - the Palestinians and the Iraqis - march to the polls and elect their own political leaders.

Assad is fighting a rear-guard action, suggesting that in a few weeks he would start moving his troops east toward the Syrian border, into Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. There they can remain a bargaining chip with the international community, however, while protecting their Bekaa terrorists and continuing to threaten the Lebanese opposition movement.

Some Syrian officials mention the possibility of a complete withdrawal from Lebanon later. Beirut's protesters are understandably skeptical.

The Bush administration deserves credit for putting the spotlight on the Syrian occupation and adopting a tough line that obviously has Damascus worried. But Assad is trying to figure out what he can get away with; the White House must keep the pressure on.