All Africa
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (Cairo)
ANHRI denounces the ongoing blockade on Gaza strip by the Egyptian authorities invested in the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), which succumbs to the Israeli and Western dictates against an Arab people. ANHRI considers that a perpetuation of Mubarak’s mindset towards the besieged Gaza strip.
Over the past two days, the Egyptian security authorities have prevented Arab and foreign delegations from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Turkey, and other 17 countries from entering Gaza. The delegations include nearly 150 people, mostly businessmen and women and parliamentarians who were planning to participate in an investment forum held in Gaza in partnership with the residents of the West Bank as well.
The Egyptian authorities have explained its action by claiming that the delegations have not obtained the necessary approvals. The participants, however, affirmed that they had notified the Egyptian security services and coordinated with them many days before coming all the way to Egypt.
ANHRI is quite surprised at how the situation exacerbated to the extent of holding the delegations’ members in the hotel they were staying at in the city of Ismailia and preventing them from getting out.
“Apparently, SCAF has reneged on all its promises with regard to the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza. After it had announced the opening of the Rafah crossing to passage from the two sides few days following the ouster of Mubarak, it closed the crossing again or just nominally kept it open by maintaining the same old security and bureaucratic obstacles that collectively torment and stifle the people of Gaza,” said ANHRI.
“The blockade of Gaza is a crime punishable by international law. The participation of Egypt in this crime illustrates SCAF’s submissiveness to the Israeli and Western dictates in this regard, and its unwillingness to fight any battles for the most basic rules of justice and human rights,” added ANHRI.
It is worth noting that the United Nations has been calling for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza strip since June 2010. Legal experts in the United Nations consider this blockade amounts to the classification of “a war crime”.
ANHRI calls on SCAF to adhere to international covenants and conventions on freedom of movement and travel, immediately cease its policy of besieging Gaza, and allow freedom of movement through the Rafah crossing to Palestinians and to those who wish to visit the strip.
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