UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor has called on “all EU states” including Ireland to challenge Israel‘s refusal to provide travel documents to Palestinian activist due to speak in Dublin this month.
Omar Barghouti, cofounder of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, is due to speak at the Robert Tressell Festival in Liberty Hall on May 24th.
The festival, named after the Irish author of The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists, is also due to hear from US senator Bernie Saunders and British trade unionist Mick Lynch.
Mr Barghouti remains in Israel however unable to leave as authorities have failed to renew his travel documents, in apparent contravention of a 2017 order by Haifa District Court that his documents must be renewed annually.
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Though a permanent resident of Israel, Mr Barghouti is based in Amsterdam where he is completing a Phd. He is legally required to renew his documents each year and to return to Israel to do so.
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He travelled from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv on March 25th to renew documents which expired in April 9th, and visit family in Acre, planning to return to Europe on April 12th. Despite repeated visits to the relevant authority, however, his documents have not been renewed.
Mr Barghouti, co-recipient of the 2017 Ghandi peace award, told The Irish Times on Thursday: “Apartheid Israel is punishing me yet again with this de facto travel ban to intimidate me into silence about its genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza – the world’s first live-streamed genocide.
“As a Palestinian human rights defender for over four decades, I worry about my safety, of course, but I do not get bullied or deterred easily. They cannot stop me from advocating for ending the genocide and dismantling apartheid.”
Asked about missing the Robert Tressell festival, he said it was “very important” to him that he should attend.
“I am being denied a right to participate. It is my right. It is not a charitable act they give me.”
Asked if the Irish Government could intervene, he said: “I expect a lot from the Irish Government but not on my case. I would not want them to worry about me, if they could just end their complicity with Israel – all the planes flying though Shannon and so on.”
Ms Lawlor said on Mr Barghouti: “Of course he should be allowed to travel. The question is why are Israel preventing him from doing so?
“He is a human rights defender. The human rights violations that Israel is committing on this massive scale against the Palestinians are only possible with international complicity.
“Omar has been one of the lead voices speaking against that for years. All states who say they support human rights defenders, and all EU States say they do, should be calling for his freedom of movement to be respected.”
Ethel Buckley, deputy general secretary of Siptu said the union was “very concerned about the refusal of the Israeli authorities to provide the visa documents required to allow Omar Barghouti to travel to Ireland to attend an event in Liberty Hall this month.
“Omar is a prominent human rights and peace activist and has been a regular participant at SIPTU conferences over recent years. He is widely respected for his work as co-founder of the BDS campaign.
“He has been a key spokesperson globally on behalf of the people of Palestine and particularly in opposition to the ongoing and genocidal war on Gaza.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs has been contacted for comment.
The Israel embassy in Dublin has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, Irish activists due to board an aid ship bound for Gaza that was attacked by drones off the coast of Malta on Friday are all “safe”, a spokeswoman for the campaigners said.
The vessel, named the Conscience and operated by international NGO the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was anchored in international waters off the Maltese coast when the incident occurred shortly after midnight – early on Friday morning – local time. A fire broke out on board but no casualties were reported.
The Cork Palestine Solidarity campaign said a number of Irish activists had been due to board at around the time of the attack. It did not provide the Irish activists’ names.
“The drone strike appears to have deliberately targeted the ship’s generator, leaving the crew without power and placing the vessel at great risk of sinking,” the group said.
The Israeli embassy has been contacted for comment.
