[PAA-Discuss] Green Party Calls for Release of McKinney BREAKING

[Bart Boyce]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, 
June 30, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 
202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty at greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media 
Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at gp.org


Green Party: President 
Obama and the US State Dept. must demand release of Cynthia McKinney and 20 
other human rights activists on Free Gaza relief boat seized by Israeli 
gunboats

• The Free Gaza's 'Spirit of Humanity' was delivering medical 
and other supplies following Obama's call for relief to wartorn Gaza; the boat 
was in international waters


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders are 
calling on the White House and US State Department to intervene and demand the 
immediate release of 21 human rights activists, including former US Rep. Cynthia 
McKinney and Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire, who were taken prisoner by the 
Israeli navy after gunboats surrounded and seized the Free Gaza Movement relief 
boat 'Spirit of Humanity' on Monday.

"This is an outrageous violation of 
international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on 
a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip," said Cynthia McKinney, the Green 
Party's 2008 candidate for President of the United States. "President Obama just 
told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that's 
exactly what we tried to do. We're asking the international community to demand 
our release so we can resume our journey."

Ms. McKinney had earlier sent 
appeals to the White House and State Department for assurances of protection for 
the relief mission. The Spirit of Humanity was sailing in international waters 
when it was seized. Greens stressed that the relief boat represents no threat to 
Israel and must be allowed to continue its voyage to Gaza.

For more 
information and updates, see the Free Gaza Movement web site (http://www.freegaza.org), including the latest release on the 
seizure of the relief boat (http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/hope-fleet-news/976-israel-attacks-justice-boat-kidnaps-human-rights-workers-confiscates-medicine-toys-and-olive-trees).

For communications and 
updates from Cynthia McKinney, visit her Green Party page (http://www.gp.org/cynthia/index.php) and blog (http://dignity.ning.com).

The Spirit of Humanity was 
carrying medical supplies, cement, olive trees, and children's toys to Gaza 
after the Israeli invasion in December and January damaged or destroyed 50,000 
homes, 800 industrial properties and 200 schools damaged or destroyed, 39 
mosques, and two churches. The supplies were confiscated by the Israeli 
navy.

The Green Party of the United States condemned the massacre and has 
endorsed the call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel until 
the Israeli government guarantees full human rights, including political rights 
and democracy, for all Palestinians and non-Jewish Israelis.


MORE 
INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 
202-319-7193
• Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign 
information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page 
http://www.gp.org/2008-elections
• International Committee of the Green 
Party: http://www.gp.org/committees/intl

Green Party releases:
• "Breaking 
news: Cynthia McKinney aboard detained Free Gaza Movement relief boat," June 25, 
2009 http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=228
• "Greens join Global Day of 
Action for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions on March 30 to end the Israeli 
occupation," March 26, 2009 http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=192
• "Green Party: 
Israel-Palestine truce must include end of Israeli occupation and observance of 
international law or violence is likely to resume," January 19, 2009 http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=169

2009 Annual National 
Meeting of the Green Party, Durham, NC, July 23-26 http://www.gp.org/2009-ANM
• North Carolina page http://ncgreenparty.org/2009-ANM.html
• Media credentialing page http://www.gp.org/forms/media

Green Pages, Vol. 13, No. 1
The 
official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://paa-tx.org/pipermail/discuss_paa-tx.org/attachments/20090630/ae6802da/attachment.htm>