International Protesters Beaten in Cairo: Organizers and death of a French citizen

International Protesters Beaten in Cairo: Organizers

Al Manar

31/12/2009 Police punched and kicked international activists during scuffles in the Egyptian capital on Thursday which left one person with broken ribs, protest organizers said. “Members of the Gaza Freedom March are being forcibly detained in hotels around (Cairo) as well as violently forced into pens in Tahrir Square by Egyptian police and additional security forces,” a statement from the organizers said.

Scuffles erupted between the police and the protesters which saw “women being kicked, beaten to the ground and dragged into pens, at least one confirmed account of broken ribs and many left bloody,” they said.

Witnesses at the protest outside the Cairo Museum told AFP that police punched several activists in the face.

At least 200 international activists had gathered in central Cairo on Thursday as part of a series of week-long demonstrations to protest at Egypt’s refusal to let 1,300 members of the Gaza Freedom March from 42 countries into the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday 86 international activists were allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt after intervention by First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, but organizers say they went as individuals and not in the name of the Gaza Freedom March. “Some of them have family in Gaza so they went, but the Gaza Freedom March rejected the offer to let only a few in,” one of the organizers, Portuguese Ziyaad Lunat said, adding that those left behind in Cairo were still trying to get into the impoverished enclave.

Israel and Egypt have sealed the Gaza Strip off from all but vital humanitarian aid since June 2007.
(AFP)

French Gaza Freedom March activist killed in Cairo

Thu, 31 Dec 2009, Press TV

Organizers of the “Gaza Freedom March” report the death of a French citizen from injuries sustained at the hands of security forces during a demonstration in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Marie Renee died in the Cairo Hospital. She was traveling with a French delegation of approximately 300 nationals, Ma’an news agency reported.

The French delegates had earlier been camped out on the grounds surrounding the French Embassy in Cairo, reportedly flanked by two lines of Egyptian police.

Hundreds of activists with the “Gaza Freedom March” have continued demonstrations and sit-ins in Cairo to protest the Egyptian government’s refusal to allow them to cross the border into the besieged Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, Egyptian security allowed 84 of the 1,300 who registered to participate in the Gaza Freedom March into the impoverished Palestinian coastal enclave All were traveling with the Codepink delegation, which organized two earlier trips into the blockaded Palestinian coastal sliver since the Israeli war on Gaza last year.

Another 1,200 activists from about 40 states remained in Cairo after Egypt refused entry for the group because of what they called the “sensitive situation” in the Palestinian territory.

The “Gaza Freedom March” activists were hoping to march into Gaza on the anniversary of Israel’s 22-day offensive on the territory as a sign of solidarity with its people, carrying with them aid and supplies.

Israel has continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The illegal Israeli imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the coastal enclave.

Some 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education. Poverty and unemployment rates stand at approximately 80% and 60% respectively in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt with the Palestinian Authority’s blessings has sealed its borders with the Gaza Strip, effectively cutting off the coastal enclave from the rest of the world.

Egyptian police attack pro-Gaza activists

Thu, 31 Dec 2009, Press TV

Egyptian police have attacked some 1,200 international activists who had gathered at the Rafah border crossing to protest against the Israeli-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The activists say their protest was a “non-violent” gathering, aimed at showing the rest of the world how badly the people of Gaza are suffering.

At least one of the activists was injured in the attack.

On Wednesday, 86 international activists were allowed to enter the enclave from Egypt via the Rafah crossing, but other members of the Gaza Freedom March say they are being forcibly held in their hotels.

Egyptian officials say the activists were banned from entering Gaza because of what they called the “sensitive situation” in the Palestinian territory.

The activists were joined by a few hundred Palestinians as they marched from northern Gaza to the Erez crossing with Israel.

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