Honorable President of the United States – Mr. George W Bush Honorable President-Elect of the United States – Mr. Barak Obama Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives – Ms. Nancy Pelosi Honorable members of the Foreign Relations Committees Honorable members of the U S Senate Honorable Members of the U S House of Representatives
14 January
2009 Subj: SOLVE THE CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST NOW
Gentlemen/Madam:
We, the undersigned, on behalf of Voice for Justice, an international organization, are writing this letter to express our deep concern and outrage at the indiscriminate killings of Palestinians by the state of Israel. We further draw your attention to the urgent need for stopping the loss of innocent lives of unarmed civilians in Gaza. We urge you to find an equitable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problems to eliminate this recurring cycle of violence and murder. This asymmetric warfare works against global peace and prosperity and facilitates terrorism that affects the lives of millions all over the globe. The latest “War” was initiated by the State of Israel and justified by Israel as well as the western democracies as retaliation for the shelling of Israeli border areas by Hamas. The highly disproportionate Israeli response has so far killed 800 Palestinians including children, women, and the old and more than 3000 are injured.
You will recall that while Hamas maintained a truce with Israel up until early December 2008. During that time Israel killed 4 Palestinians, closed Gaza borders in all directions; separated job sites, markets, schools and pastures from people’s homes; subjected everyone to a minimum of 5 searches a day and reduced all supplies including food and medicine to a bare minimum and put a wall all around making the land “the largest prison in the world.” (Bob Simon, CBS News). We agree with Bill Moyers of Public Television that “…a war against an entire population inside a cage is morally and legally unacceptable.”
We support the rights of the state of Israel to exist as a free and peace loving nation. We also want to see an independent Palestine where the people of Palestine can live in peace with its neighbors. We declare our solidarity with the people of Israel, the people of Palestine, and also with the people of all other countries in the region – Jews, Christians, and others living side by side in peace and harmony.
We support the US initiatives against global terrorism and at the same time, we are appalled at the sight of Israeli Settlements that are dotted all across Palestine, built with our tax dollars and US loan guarantees for the purpose of eliminating hopes and aspirations for a viable Palestinian state. President Jimmy Carter lamented about the Settlements long after he was out of office and George H W Bush stopped those settlement briefly when he threatened to remove US loan guarantees. However, Israel knew all along that the US was solidly behind it - a fact which was affirmed again and again in the form of vetoes the US cast in the Security Council against public opinion in the entire world. Even at this critical moment, the United States refuses to participate in the ceasefire and declines to put any pressure on Israel to abide by the resolution passed by the Security Council. This self-evident truth that the United States has not been a neutral peace broker in the Middle East has been belatedly and graciously conceded by at least one US president. In our view, it is not helping the peace process in the Middle East.
If there are statesmen in the United States or in Israel who are able to take a lesson from history, they must see the wisdom of learning to live with the Palestinians. It should be recognized that the Palestinian problem is not a Jewish, Muslim or a Christian problem although it is rooted in the cultural diversity of the Region. Controlling the sources of Middle Eastern oil may be the dominating motive in super power alignment with Israel. In spite of this, a fair and realistic solution to this problem upholding international law is in the best interest of all the parties.
We, at the Voice for Justice strongly recommend the following for immediate cessation of hostilities and a permanent solution of the Palestinian crisis:
1. Stop this invasion and send Israeli troops to their barracks immediately. 2. Open the borders of Gaza and the West Bank so food, medicine and other supplies can come in without interference. 3. Israel must relinquish all land ceased since the 1967 War without any conditions. 4. Remove all Settlements and take back 300,000 Israelis inside the agreed Israeli border. 5. Give adequate and fair compensation to all refugees who settled in other countries after 1948 war. 6. The Saudi proposal for a two-state solution in return for recognition of Israel without preconditions should be the basis for demarcating new boundaries for two states 7. Dismantle the Israeli wall over the hearts of Palestinians. An international conference for such action with initiatives taken by the United States and the European Union should be called for.
We at VFJ appeal to you that as leaders of a great nation not to be passive witnesses to the raging massacres in Palestine. You, as the only remaining super power have the means and the moral imperative to stop Israeli barbarism and promote fair and just political solutions in the Middle East. Future generations will judge you and the entire western civilization for your action or lack thereof for the sake of justice and peace.
Signed:
1. Dr. Hasanat Husain, Voice for Justice, London, U.K.: hasanathusain@yahoo.co.uk 2. Dr. Wali I. Mondal, Voice for Justice, San Diego, CA: mondal@asbbs.org 3. Dr. Mahbub Khan, Voice for Justice, Los Angeles, CA: mahbubkhan@ieee.org. 4. Taufiq I. Chowdhury Esq., Voice for Justice, New York: taufiq@gmail.com 5. Lutfur Rahman Chowdhury Esq., Voice for Justice, Dhaka, Bangladesh: 6. Enamul Choudhury Esq., Voice for Justice, Stockholm, Sweden: nacrone@inbox.com 7. Dr. Hasan Z Rahim, San Jose/Santa Clara, CA, USA: hasanzr@msn.com 8. Dr. Matin Ahmed, Voice for Justice, San Francisco Bay Area: matinahmed@sbcglobal.net 9. Alhaj Zillur Rahman Chowdhury Esq. Voice for Justice, East London, UK 10. Syed Fazlur Rahman Esq. Voice for Justice, New York, USA: antismoking@earthlink.com 11. Dr. Abdur Rahman, Voice for Justice, Limerick, Ireland: Abdur.rahman@ul.ie 12. Dr. Asghari Maqsood, Voice for Justice, Islamabad, Pakistan: asgharimaqsood@yahoo.com 13. M. A. Malek Esq., Voice for Justice, Spain: marianuria786@yahoo.com 14. Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury Esq. Voice for Justice, Dhaka, Bangladesh: observer@dhaka.net 15. Dr. Abdul Momen Chowdhury, Voice for Justice, Massachusetts, USA: abdul_momen@hotmail.com 16. Hasan Mahmud, Voice for Justice, Toronto, Canada: hasan.mahmud@hotmail.com 17. Dr. Sajedur Rahman, Voice for Justice, Sydney, Australia: sajed.rahman@bigpond.com
Voice for Justice is an international peace organization headquartered in London, U.K.
This Letter has been circulated to Government Officials of the United States, various other countries and the UNO.
|