Follow the Women

March 17th, 2010 • Action, Events, News
Tags: Action, charity, cycle, follow the women, peace, women

This inspirational charity completed their 5th bike ride last October with nearly 250 women from more than 30 countries travelling through Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. They were joined by many more local women along the route. Reading PSC attended a talk given by FTW this week.

The Follow The Women cycle ride is the brainchild of 2001 European Woman of the Year and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Detta Regan. In April 2004 she gathered together 270 women from all over the world, including America, Palestine, Britain and Iraq, to ride bicycles for over 300 kilometres through Lebanon, Syria and Jordan to campaign for peace and an end to violence in the region.

“We were told that we would not be able to do it because women do not ride bicycles in the Middle East. They said that the men would throw stones at us and it was too dangerous. That just made us more determined to do it. To show the women in the region that we were not afraid and that we stood with them. In the end the men were giving us flowers and holding out their babies for us to kiss.”

News stories: Pedalling home a message of peace & Inspirational Detta cycles for Middle Eastern peace

If you would like to support them or even join the next trip, scheduled for April 2011, check out their website:

www.followthewomen.com
Other countries: USA / Turkey / Iran / Australia / Denmark / Portugal / Estonia

ACTION! No Reward for War Crimes

March 16th, 2010 • Action, Awareness, News
Tags: Action, ashton, commission, EU, EU Israel Association Agreement, EUIAA, FCO, israel, miliband, rompuy

via PSC:

One of Europe’s decision making body, the Council of the EU, will be discussing upgrading the EU-Israel association agreement next Tuesday 23rd March 2010. The agreement had been due for an upgrade in December 2008, but was suspended following Israel’s massacre in Gaza.

Since 2000, the EU Israel Association Agreement (EUIAA) has promoted strong trade, business and cultural ties between Israel and the EU. An upgrade to ‘special status’ will cement even stronger relations– allowing greater scope for collaboration (e.g. academic exchanges), input in a number of key EU policies and increased access to EU funding.

Israel is also in gross breach of Article 2 of the EUIAA, which requires countries to ‘respect human rights and democratic principles’.

Britain will be represented at the meeting by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Israel must not be rewarded for violating international law and continuing its illegal occupation.

We urge you to contact the following and ask them to reject an upgrade for Israel. Email:

David Miliband
Foreign Secretary: msu.correspondence@fco.gov.uk
Herman Van Rompuy
President of the European Council: ec.president@consilium.europa.eu
Commissioner Cathy Ashton
HR for the Union of Foreign Affairs: catherine.ashton@ec.europa.eu

Please copy your letters to your MEP’s also.

PSC Weekly Update – Thursday 7 January 2010

January 7th, 2010 • 1 comment News
Tags: Action, gaza, PSC, siege

Convoy Reaches Gaza!

WE HAVE BROKEN THE SIEGE!

The Viva Palestine and PSC aid convoy arrived in Gaza last night at about 7:00pm, with thousands of Palestinians greeting and cheering the convoy to welcome them.

Congratulations to everyone taking part in the convoy and all of those here who raised funds for the trip to become a reality. This has been a tremendous achievement and its importance is political as well as practical.

Thanks of course to the Reading PSC, Waltham Forest PSC, York PSC for their blogs and information which have kept us informed throughout the journey, we look forward to welcoming them and all the other participants back to Britain. We hope that branches around the country will invite them to speak to get their message about Gaza out to the public. Well done, Viva Palestina and Palestine Solidarity Campaign.