[HCCN] FW: ACTION ALERT: tell U.S. government to pressure Greece to release captain and boat!

Sun Jul 3 15:17:43 UTC 2011

Action Alert from US Boat to Gaza.
Please make calls.
Kathy Kelly and other passengers on Audacity of Hope begin open-ended fast
at US Embassy in Athens (scroll down).
Thank you.

------ Forwarded Message
From: "U.S. BOAT TO GAZA" <ustogaza at gmail.com>
Reply-To: <ustogaza at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2011 11:03:53 -0400 (EDT)
To: <judy at robbinsandrobbins.com>
Subject: ACTION ALERT: tell U.S. government to pressure Greece to release
captain and boat!

Action Alert: 
July 3, 2011

The U.S. Government Must Pressure Greece to Let U.S. Boat to Gaza Sail
Release Captain John Klusmire
and Our Boat Immediately!

The U.S. Boat to Gaza calls for pressure
on the U.S. State Department
 People around the world are rallying for the release of the boats that
Greece is preventing from sailing to Gaza. We call on you to show your
solidarity and support for the flotilla as a whole, and in particular for
the captain of the U.S. boat, John Klusmire.
 Over the past two weeks, two boats of the international flotilla to Gaza
have been sabotaged while docked at Greek ports.  No one has claimed
responsibility for the damage done to these boats.  The potential danger to
the U.S. boat was obvious to the captain, the crew and the passengers: there
was a clear possibility that the U.S. boat would be sabotaged next.

The departure of the U.S. Boat to Gaza - The Audacity of Hope - was first
delayed by a complaint filed by the Israel Law Center and shown to be
frivolous. Greek authorities then inspected the boat but, until the boat set
sail five days later the, the results of that inspection has not been shared
with the captain and his crew. Those results were not shared until the
Hellenic Coast Guard stopped The Audacity of Hope some 20 minutes after it
had left the dock on Friday, July 1. The Hellenic Coast Guard intercepted
the ship and ordered that the ship stop. This order was obeyed. Commandos
with drawn rifles ordered the ship to return.  It is now impounded at a
military dock in Athens and the captain has ben arrested.

Captain Klusmire faces two charges: disturbing sea traffic and endangering
passengers; and moving away from the dock in violation of an order not to do
so. He is being held in a cell without a bed and does not have access to
toilet facilities. The only food and water he has had has been brought in by
visitors. He has not been visited by anyone from the U.S. Embassy even
though he is entitled to such a visit by international law.

The U.S. Boat to Gaza campaign urges you to immediately take the following
actions. Even though it is a holiday weekend we urge you to make these calls
now, and if necessary to place calls again on Monday and Tuesday.

* Contact your members of Congress and urge him or her to pressure the Greek
authorities to drop the charges against Captain Klusmire.
* Contact the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Greece. Insist
that they fulfill their duty to advocate on behalf of Captain Klusmire and
that they demand the release of the U.S. boat by Greece so it can freely
sail to Gaza.
> * Sect. of State Hillary Clinton: 202-647-5291
> * Kim Richter, Consular Affairs, Overseas American Citizens Services, U.S.
> State Dept: 202-647-8308
> * Greek Desk, U.S. State Dept: 202-647-6113
> * U.S. Embassy in Athens: 011-30-210-721-2951, fax 011-30-210-645-6282,
> website: athens.usembassy.gov
> <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=wumi8ydab&et=1106376147152&s=8477&e=001Zn1keDIt
> UHg0SBsWFZWMOcuPHF4AlPabkjyaV0lToxxo41ySJIKLBLw5NpD44Z2bonc121djSPd8xnWTN9SyAi
> bqGgRYq7JwJc9gj2hWd7P4w6v2nXztUA==>
* Activate your emergency response network to publicly demonstrate support
for Captain Klusmire and our call for Greece to let the flotilla sail! Pass
along this action alert as widely as possible.
 Below is a copy of the latest press release from the U.S. Boat to Gaza.
 -----------------------
 July 3, 2011 Athens, Greece
 On eve of U.S. Independence Day, U.S. passengers on
flotilla start open-ended fast at U.S. Embassy in Athens

Demand that U.S. government pressure Greece to
free their boat and captain, and allow boat to sail to Gaza
 Members of the U.S. Boat to Gaza have begun an open-ended fast calling on
the U.S. government to defend our right to sail out of Greece. The fast has
begun in front of the U.S. Embassy at 91 Vasilisis Sophias Avenue in Athens.
Fasters delivered an urgent letter to the Embassy and plan to sleep
overnight outside the Embassy gates.

Passengers and U.S. boat organizers participating in the fast are: Medea
Benjamin, Ken Mayers, Paki Wieland, Kathy Kelly, Ray McGovern, Helaine
Meisler, Nic Abramson, and Carol Murry.
Passenger Kathy Kelly said, "We call on officials at the U.S. Embassy in
Athens to publicly acknowledge our right to sail and to call on the Greek
government to free our ship and its captain immediately."

There will also be a march in support of the flotilla beginning at 7 pm
organized by Greek activists who have been protesting the government's
austerity measures in Syntagma Square. The march will include a demand on
the Greek government to let all of the boats in the Freedom Flotilla 2 sail
to Gaza and to free the captain of the U.S. ship, who has been held in jail.

The departure of the U.S. Boat to Gaza - The Audacity of Hope - was first
delayed by a complaint filed by the Israel Law Center and shown to be
frivolous. Greek authorities then inspected the boat but, until the boat set
sail five days later, the results of that inspection has not been shared
with the captain and his crew.

The Greek Coast Guard stopped The Audacity of Hope some 20 minutes after it
had left the dock on Friday, July 1. The Coast Guard ordered the captain to
stop the ship, which he did. Commandos with drawn rifles ordered the ship to
return.  It is now impounded at a military dock in Athens and the captain
has ben arrested.

Over the past two weeks, two boats of the international flotilla to Gaza
have been sabotaged while docked at Greek ports.  The potential danger to
the U.S. boat was obvious to the captain, the crew and the passengers: there
was a clear possibility that the U.S. boat would be sabotaged next.

Greek consular officials in the United States, when besieged with calls by
angry Americans,  told callers that they should direct their protest to U.S.
officials because they were ultimately responsible.  "We know that the U.S.
government has been supporting Israel's underhanded efforts to thwart the
flotilla, and has been pressuring the Greek government to stop us. This is a
disgrace," said passenger/faster Medea Benjamin. "On July 4, it's time for
our government to declare independence from Israel and start supporting its
own citizens."

We note that on June 24, passengers on the U.S. Boat to Gaza visited the
Consul General in Athens, Deputy Consul General Kate Brandeis agreed that
the U.S. Boat "had a right to sail to Gaza."

Ms. Brandeis assured the passengers that the consulate was there to assist
U.S. citizens that run into difficulty while in Greece.  To date, we have
received no assistance from the U.S. Embassy and the captain of our boat, a
U.S. citizen, remains in jail and has yet to be visited by anyone from the
U.S. Embassy.

###

GET ON BOARD THE U.S. TO GAZA CAMPAIGN

VISIT WWW.USTOGAZA.ORG
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