Presented to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs, India
Respected Sir,
The Indian civil society, in general and Indian Muslims in particular, are horrified by the unfolding events in the open air prison called “Gaza”, housing 1.5 million people, which the Israeli occupying power has condemned to slow death by imposing a complete siege since 20th January 2008. This was the culmination of the policy of throttling Gaza into death unleashed by the occupying power since June 2007.
We asks the Government of India, UN and world powers to immediately take steps to lift the ever-tightening siege of Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces before it is too late. Patients are already dying due to lack of medicines and prohibition on travel outside even for medical attention. People will soon start dying due to lack of food and other essentials.
We note that the last electricity generation facility in Gaza was been shut down on 21st January because of the Israeli denial of fuel and all humanitarian aid while 70 percent of all Gazans are already jobless due to this policy, all factories and workshops have been shuttered due to lack of raw materials as a result of the continuing siege. We demand the Indian Government to ask the UN Security Council to rise to its duty in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis of proportions unseen in recent times.
We also note that the problem in Gaza is the 40-year old occupation and the rejection of the results of the free and fair elections in January 2006 by Israel , Ramallah-based Authority and their western supporters. Moreover, 75 percent of the residents of Gaza are Palestinians made refugees by Israeli armed gangs in 1948. The blame for Israeli war crimes is shared by the UN which created the Jewish State in the first place and has since failed to force its own creation to honour even a single UN resolution. Also to blame are the western forces which blindly support the Israeli occupation and war crimes while blaming the occupied and suppressed victims for using their natural and legitimate right of resistance.
We call upon the UN and world powers to move swiftly to lift the inhuman siege of Gaza and also to solve the Palestinian problem by implementing the UN resolutions in letter and spirit so that the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people since 1948 is brought to an end.
We are horrified that the Government of India has failed to take notice of the crushing seige aimed at humbling a brave people and has failed to condemn the illegal actions by the occupying power which were condemned by Prof. John Dugard, the UN rapporteur in the Occupued Palestinian Territory in his official report to the UN on 18th January 2008 as a “serious war crime” demanding the prosecution of the Israeli political and military leaders responsible for it. Our government has has instead intensified its questionable relations with Israel by launching its intelligence satellite which will spy on countries friendly to India . We demand immediate action by our own government and foreign powers, especially the UN Security Council to intervene immediately to avert this crisis manufactured by the Israeli occupation power.
We have staged at sit-in near Parliament House at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to demonstrate our solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza , to protest against the shameless silence on part of our own government and other world powers and to demand quick intervention to avert the looming crisis of hitherto unseen proportions in peace times.
Joint Committee of Muslim Organisations
All India Muslim Majlis e Mushawarat- Jamiat e Ulema Hind- Jamat e Islammi hind- Muslim Political council of India- Movement for Empowerment on Muslim Indians- Students Islamic Organisation- Majlis fikr o Amal- Milli v Talimi foundation- Majlis Ulema e Hind- Shia Conferance- Popular Front of India- Sha Wali ullah Institute- Momin Conferance- Milli Gazaett- Afkar e Milli
New Delhi, 29 January 2008