The “red carpet” welcome, planned by Egyptian activists and opposition parliamentarians, to receive George Galloway’s “Viva Palestine” caravan, has been canceled.
The activists learned tonight that Mr. Galloway has made arrangements with Mubarak’s NDP, and will be received by Ahmad Ezz, steel industry monopolist, senior NDP henchman, and the target of several anti-corruption campaigns. After calling on the Egyptian army to overthrow Mubarak in January, Galloway the political clown and maverick is now more than happy to hug and embrace the worst elements of this Mubarak dictatorship.
الزملاء الأعزاء
بعد اجتماعين تحضيرين عقدا بغرض استقبال وفد وقافلة “تحيا فلسطين”، شاركت به العديد من القوى الشعبية المصرية ومن بينها اللجنة الشعبية لدعم الشعب الفلسطيني، نما إلى علم أحد القوى المشاركة بشكل مباشر من النائب البريطاني جورج جالاواي أنه قد تم التنسيق مع الحزب الوطني ليقوم باستقبال قافلة “تحيا فلسطين” وأن أحمد عز، أمين لجنة السياسات سوق يشارك في الحدث.
كان قد تخطط أن يتحرك أتوبيسان من أمام نقابة المحامين يوم الأربعاء يضم ممثلين للقوى الداعمة لأي مبادرات من شأنها إعلاء شأن المقاومة، إلا أن المعلومة الأخيرة أسفرت عن إلغاء خطة استقبال قوى شعبية مصرية للوفد الأوروبي.
الحزب الوطني الحاكم أخذ قرارا بغلق معبر رفح في وجه معاناة الشعب الفلسطيني قبل الحرب الوحشية على قطاع غزة وبعدها، رفض دخول الأغذية والملابس عبر المعبر، تبنى كافة المواقف التي تضعف المقاومة وحق الشعب الفلسطيني في التحرر، اعتقل مئات المتظاهرين تضامنا مع غزة، واستصدر أحكاما بالسجن عبر محاكمه العسكرية في حق أناس طالبوا بفتح معبر رفح وساندوا حق الشعب الفلسطيني في فك الحصار.
القوى الشعبية المصرية التي شاركت في التحضير لاستقبال الوفد الأوروبي ، لم تكن تعلم عن أي تنسيق جاري ما بين الوفد الأوروبي والحزب الوطني، وما أن علمت قامت بإلغاء خطة الاستقبال.
UPDATE: A report by Sarah Carr:
An Egyptian activist group has cancelled its involvement in a Palestine aid convoy because of alleged coordination between the convoy organizers and members of Egypt’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). “After two meetings organized in preparation for welcoming the Viva Palestina convoy … one of the groups involved [in the meetings] learnt directly via British MP George Galloway that coordination has taken place with the NDP, who will welcome the convoy, and that secretary of the [NDP’s] Policies Committee Ahmad Ezz will take part in this,” a statement issued on Monday by the Egyptian Popular Committee for the Support of the Palestinian People reads. “It had been planned that two buses would move from outside the Lawyers’ Syndicate on Wednesday. … This latest information has however resulted in the cancellation of Egyptian popular movements’ plans to receive the European delegation,” the statement continues. The Viva Palestina aid and solidarity convoy started its journey in the UK on Feb. 14, 2009 and has so far crossed through Europe, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The convoy, which is now made up of some 300 vehicles, is currently in Libya and due to cross into Egypt on Friday. However, in a telephone interview with Daily News Egypt from Libya, Sabah El-Mokhtar, a British lawyer, and one of the organizers of the Viva Palestina convoy, denied coordination with any political parties in Egypt. “With the greatest respect to him, none of us know who this Ahmad Ezz is. We are not involved in the domestic politics of Egypt and categorically deny that we have coordinated with political parties,” said El-Mokhtar, who is also the head of the Anglo-Arab Lawyers Association in the UK. The Egyptian Popular Committee for the Support of the Palestinian People explains in its statement that the decision to cancel involvement with the convoy is based on the position of the Egyptian government towards the Rafah Crossing and Gaza solidarity activists. “The ruling NDP took the decision to close the Rafah Crossing in the face of the suffering of the Palestinian people both before and after the savage war in Gaza, refused to allow food and clothes to go through the Crossing, consistently took positions weakening the resistance and the right of the Palestinian people to liberation, detained hundreds of protesters expressing solidarity with Gaza, and handed down prison sentences via military courts to people demanding the opening of the Rafah Crossing,” said the statement. El-Mokhtar, however, emphasized that they have to deal with the state’s authorities in order to get through Egypt. “Our coordination has been with these bodies only,” he said. “If a state wants to send representatives to greet the convoy, that is entirely a matter for that state. In the states we have passed through already, like Algeria, we were greeted by many people and sometimes we didn’t know who they were — whether they were official figures or not.” He also said that the convoy has “indications” that the Rafah Crossing, which is currently closed, will be opened in order to let the convoy into Gaza. Attempts by Egyptian activists to deliver aid to Gaza have been repeatedly thwarted by the Egyptian authorities. Most recently, two activists, Magdy Hussein and Ahmad El-Douma, were convicted of illegally crossing into Gaza by a military court and imprisoned. “[Opening of the Crossing] is obviously a matter for the Egyptian authorities. We are in contact with them and have sufficient indications that the border may be opened,” El-Mokhtar said. “We hope that the authorities will understand that we have zero political allegiances. We are a civil society group based in the UK delivering humanitarian aid to our brothers in Gaza.” Writing on his blog “Egypt and Beyond” Swedish journalist Per Bjorklund quotes news sources which would seem to indicate that Galloway has coordinated with the Libyan regime via its Qaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation. Bjorklund is critical of what he terms Galloway’s becoming a “propaganda tool for authoritarian regimes”. Galloway has in the past been a vocal critic of the Egyptian regime; earlier this year he called on Egyptians to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak. “Arguably, coordinating with the regimes in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt is probably the only way to have such a caravan pass through the North African countries, and to ensure its entry into Gaza from Egypt. But if Galloway hadn’t designed this campaign in order to ensure the maximum possible media attention for himself, he could have considered other ways to support Palestine — without becoming a propaganda tool for authoritarian regimes,” Bjorklund writes. “This is particularly offensive in the case of the Egyptian regime, since it was widely criticized in the region for its stance during the war, its participation in the blockade, and the heavy crackdowns on pro-Gaza demonstrations.”
UPDATE: A report by the Guardian.
UPDATE: The convoy arrived in Egypt.
NDP gathered people from schools and government offices to meet the “Viva Palestina ” convoy. Seems to be very similar to NDP propaganda campaign during elections .. People are summoned for a purpose and then dismissed.
MB activists tried to meet with George Galloway but were prevented from even entering Salloum by state security.
Because of the split in the opposition, even the political forces that decided to meet up with him were too late to do so.
shame shame shame on him
Sad and partly predictable, on both sides. Egyptian activists should have been in a position, or seized the position, to veto any such arrangements, and ought to be strong enough to block the Mubarak regime from taking advantage of, and ultimately hijacking, as now, efforts to get aid to Gaza; even, if necessary, to discredit and block the caravan in the event that it makes a political compromise that sets back the wider and deeper struggle. The Palestinians I know know that Palestine is an Arab issue: they wouldn’t lose sight of that for the sake of 130 trucks of aid. At any rate, the caravan has not arrived. The meeting with Ezz has not yet happened. Perhaps local activists can still veto this from happening.
1. Can this be verified please? At the moment it looks a like a rumour. We also need to also be aware that there are many elements who for their own reasons would like to smear and derail the convoy and sow discord and internal strife to prevent it from ever reaching Gaza.
2. Whatever one’s opinion of George Galloway may be, we should also not lose sight of the fact that the convoy is a humanitarian mission staffed by volunteers, of working class cities in the UK, with a predominance of British Muslims. They have driven 5,000 miles to show solidarity with the people of Gaza, and to contribute to easing their horrible suffering under his inspiration and leadership,but not for him personally and not for anyone’s political ends.
By all means, let’s get behind George Galloway, the freedom fighter who worships despots while lining his pockets. A very entertaining orator though. Maybe he can orate the Rafa border into opening. I think I saw him doing that on Celebrity Big Brother.
Why is this surprising?
Galloway is a political leper in the UK (for good reason), but it’s a shame that it’s only taken this incident, on a mission that is otherwise admirable, for foreign leaders in “Arab” nations to realise it. If this is true (the lawyer seems to be contradicting reports), then this should have been an initiative with no involvement or collusion with any such states, other than to verify a way of passage into Gaza.
No self-respecting person in the UK supports him… oh, but I forget, he DOES like stop-the-war-slash-free-palestine-slash-free-gaza! marches once wars are on, which far too many Muslims happily follow without thought. Nice to know he’s wasting our taxes, in addition to making a healthy income and political image for himself in the Middle East.
I think only Lesley has grasped the issues here and as someone involved in organising the convoy from Manchester and Lancashire I can confirm that this is volunteer operation from working class communities in the area and across the country
The only person with the chutzpa to pull off the Convoy idea was George Galloway, those willing to post sniping comments here and point an any other British or for that matter European MP with a better idea at the present, then please share it. No other person on the British political scene travelled the length of the country speaking night after night at meetings on Palestine during January and February
I suppose for some people this convoy will only be worthwhile if it frees Western Sahara, fights the Algerian civil war, ferments uprising in Tunisia and everyone gets shot or imprisoned in Egypt.
“I suppose for some people this convoy will only be worthwhile if it frees Western Sahara, fights the Algerian civil war, ferments uprising in Tunisia and everyone gets shot or imprisoned in Egypt.” No it’s the job of these locals to free their own country, not Galloway, who has licked the ass of every single dictator on the road, for the sake of self promotion and oh, to deliver aid to the Gazans, who are imprisoned in the first place by those dictators. I and the rest of the Palestine solidarity activists sincerely wish Galloway a nice time and reception by the same persons who imprison, torture and abuse arab solidarity activists…
What a fucking hypocrite you are…
nice one Hossam, in your race to slag off George Galloway you have just insulted the efforts of those across the UK who helped put this convoy together in a matter of a few weeks and their desire to help the palestinian cause.
Should we have stayed at home then ?
“in your race to slag off George Galloway”
When Galloway does a good thing, I’m the first to applaud him. When he fucks up by using the Palestinian cause for self promotion and dealing hypocritely with those who opress the Palestinians and torture solidarity activists like Mubarak’s NDP, then I’ll be the first to kick his butt.
“you have just insulted the efforts of those across the UK who helped put this convoy together in a matter of a few weeks and their desire to help the palestinian cause.Should we have stayed at home then ?”
If you are stupid enough to take this as an insult to pro-Palestinian activists, then it’s your problem..
The Palestine solidarity movement in Britain is impressive. Student occupations are fantastic, mass demos on the streets in front of the Egyptian and ISraeli embassies are very powerful, effective and source of inspiration.. But to do this, screwing local solidarity activists, and working hand in hand with those who torture them, then you would have been more useful indeed by you staying at your homes instead of fucking up in this way.. Galloway and those around indeed have no shame.. I can’t believe he goes around making this empty rhetoric about the “arab masses” and then go make arrangements with those who lock, imprison, torture the arab masses whenever they say the word “Palestine” or “democracy”…
What this guy did is basically tarnish all the great efforts that sincere British activists are doing… away from any hypocrite dealings
Dear Richard:
The Galloway led convoy can still prove itself by declining to be quietly ushered through the Egypt Delta and heading straight for, and passing through, Cairo, defiant of the hypocritical attempts of the Egyptian regime to both ‘welcome’ and silence the convoy by keeping it away from the Egyptian masses.
If the convoy were to take this position it could not lose: if blocked by the Egyptian regime, local and international media would be obliged to focus on why the convoy was blocked (turning attention to Egypt’s role in keeping Gaza under siege and in suppressing pro-Palestinian sentiment in the masses – attention that could only help the Palestinian resistance and cause and expose Egypt’s role as a US-Israel ally and proxy). If not blocked (the chances of which heighten because of the moral strength the convoy could claim in declining to accept the regime’s conditions, particularly its route conditions, and in light of the risks to that regime of being seen as blocking a convoy that has travelled so far, across so many other states, including Arab states), the passage through Cairo would be a fillip to local Palestine solidarity groups, and potentially a protective umbrella for them.
As I said above, no Palestinian I know would damage the integrity of the Palestinian cause, and that cause as an Arab cause, for the sake of any number of aid trucks. This, indeed, is the very reason why the siege has gone on for so long: because Palestinians refused to be broken or cowed by it. By political tactic you may claim to be solely humanitarian, but everyone knows that this is not solely a humanitarian effort. It is sad to see the political potential diluted (indeed the effort discredited, if allegations of direct collusion with the Egyptian regime are true) at the last minute, or at any time.
Finally, please do not use the imperative of delivering the aid to excuse political compromise. Ask the Palestinians if they accept aid at any cost. There’ll be more certainty in their answer than any bargain struck with the Egyptian regime.
salam,
If they are going to travel from the UK and end up treating those risking their lives to fight Mubarak’s regime, complicit in the Palestinian suffering in the first place, with this level of disrespect and contempt, then I’m sorry but this whole mission suddenly turns into one holding the attitude of “White Man’s Burden”. Treating Arab activists with this much contempt is something I never thought I would see Galloway do.
Awf ya Hossam!… seems like you have cut the lion’s tail, again! Lol.
“Tonight, El Arich will experience something special when the people of this town will witness at first hand the arrival of the saviours of Gaza.”
This latest from Yvonne Ridley on the Viva Palestina blog…
“Saviours of Gaza”!
What the fuck?
Who are these arrogant people who declare themselves “saviours”.
A7aaaaaaaa! You gotta be shitting me!
It’s a shame that the convoy has been sucked into the orbit of Mubarak’s criminal regime but I guess being a good Catholic George G is able to compartmentalise these things.
So on the one hand he calls for the overthrow of Mubarak at demos in London but when it comes to getting the convoy through to Gaza he is willing to sup with the devil. It’s a bit like going to confession for Catholics – it’s not OK to sin but if you go to confessional and make your peace with god (or at least the priest) then everything will be alright.
The convoy was always going to face the problem of having to deal with corrupt states and whether to submit to their wishes, formally or informally, for the convoy not to ‘get involved in local politics’.
But as Ian says above, the convoy leaders could have thrown down the gauntlet and dared those regimes that wished to use the convoy for their own purposes of strengthening internal control, to block it from getting to Gaza.
Having said that we surely need to be careful to remember who the main enemy is. Galloway is on our side, Mubarak obviously is not. The central question is whether he has joined the other side by negotiating with the regime. I don’t think he has – but he has allowed himself and the convoy to be used. And now we hear the governor of Sinai says most of the convoy will have to enter Gaza through Israel, which suggests the supping with the devil wasn’t worth it.
The people quick to attack Galloway in the UK are the same crowd that attack the anti-war movement in general. We should consider why it was that the Guardian newspaper here in the UK chose to run with the story – they wanted to undermine Galloway and his solidarity initiative, but have not written about the convoy before then. The UK media continues with its media blackout of the convoy.
I was once in the same organization as Galloway (Respect) but the other organization I am a member of – the Socialist Workers Party -split from it for various reasons. Nevertheless it does not mean we have to adopt a sectarian and hostile attitude to everything he does.
Sure, like lots of politicians, he has a big ego and perhaps even gets a buzz from ‘negotiating’ with ambassadors and presidents etc but our criticisms should be fraternal.
For Egyptian activists and comrades with direct experience of Mubarak’s repression the sight of him in meetings with NDP apparatiks must be nauseating and explains the reluctance of opposition organizations to get involved, but Galloway’s love-in with Mubarak is likely only to last as long as it takes to cross the border. I bloody well hope so anyway.
To be honest my enthusiasm for the convoy has been dented, but I still salute the integrity and commitment of the volunteers and activists involved.
i really have to disagree hossam
first of all,this is not “galloway’s convoy” this is the convoy of hundreds of british people who have crossed thousands of miles to help the people of gaza
second, we have no right to trial someone based on our own agneda, i dont think i would rather see galloway or any of the convoy’s organizers playing the role of the hero to please you and challenge the mubarak regime and risks the convoy being stopped at rafah or even confistcated
what matters to me is that this convoy reaches the people who are in need of any possible help, even if the mubarak regime uses it to improve its ugly image
British MP Galloway’s activists clash with Egyptian security at Gaza border
Al-Zaher: So we’ll give the Palestinians aid that will allow them to survive for one day, and give the Arab regimes political capital that will allow them to continue the Gaza siege for the rest of the year?
Gary: That’s what happens when you do deals with thugs. You are bound to get fucked at some point. But don’t worry, they’ll be allowed in the end…
Is it Galloway who makes all the decisions of the convoy, or is there some form of democratic process among the paticipants…?
Anyone know the answer?
من مدونة سيناء حيث أنا http://alanany.wordpress.com/
بعد الجدل الذي اثير أمس عن ادعاءات باعتداء الامن علي بعض أثنين من الناشطين المرافقين لقافلة النائب البريطاني جورج جالاوي واتضح فيما بعد من تصريحات لنائب منسق القافلة مع قناة الجزيرة عدم صحة ذلك وأن من قام بالاعتداء جماعة يدعون أنهم يتبعون حركة فتح وأن القافلة ومعها النالشطين سيدخلون جميعاً من معبر رفح ، وهو ما بدأ يحدث فمنذ قليل وفي تمام الساعة الحادية عشر والربع عبرت مجموعة من سيارات القافلة ومعها الناشطون مدينة الشيخ زويد في اتجاه معبر رفح في حراسة الامن المصري
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyP15bDaXj0
“hey, it’s all about Egypt.”
No, It’s all about Galloway election campaign.