By John Ballard
Thanks to the diligence of Chirpinator we have this report from Dana's tweetstream.Paragraph and time breaks are mine, simply to make reading smoother.
Journalist Joseph Dana gives a fascinating firsthand account of preparations for the flotilla to Gaza and the tensions surrounding the situation, all against the dramatic backdrop of protests in Athens.
Central Athens is in lock down ahead planned demonstrations. Today is the start of a general strike in Athens The general strike in Athens could have profound implications for the US boat to Gaza and if it can leave port.
The US boat to Gaza is under constant surveillance by Greek authorities while in port in Athens US boat people say that the seaworthiness test on the boat is clearly coming from above. They are looking for reasons to stop the boat. They said that the boat has recently been sea tested and that it is "a perfect and good choice for the task at hand" We have been informed that a list of several changes has been given to the boat in order for it to be 'sea worthy' but I have not seen it
In other news, the communications equipment seems to be working on the boat. Naturally, I will be tweeting up until the very last minute. I will also be filing a report for The Nation from the sea voyage. The journalists on board are working together to ensure our collective safety during the attack on the boat It is a nice episode of press cooperation to get an important story out to the international community. What would be ideal is if Israel released a statement saying that the press will be allowed to keep their footage and work from the ship
I think that by all accounts, the US boat will be boarded and taken over. The level of force I am not sure about. Naturally, we will only see when this happens but if I was a betting man, I would say it is a safe bet that the Israelis will stop the boat Israel has repeatedly stated in public that it will use any and all military means necessary to stop and board the US boat to Gaza. As a journalist wanting to do his job, I have to hold Israel to its word and prepare for the worst on this boat trip
I will now tell a small story about the strange 'pressure' on the US boat while in port. It will only take a few tweets.
Yesterday evening I visited the boat with CNN, there were two oddly placed fisherman on the deserted port fishing. The boat is in port in what is easily the worst place to fish in the every Mediterranean sea but these two guys were sitting there fishing They had no net and one was talking on his phone..the entire day. They has been fishing in this area since morning, right next to the boat
I asked some questions and they said they do not speak English. Through a translator from Greek, they said they were Georgian policemen who had been in Greece for 7 years, with papers. Asked if they got any fish, the answer was no.
I have no idea who they were but they were clearly out of place in the deserted port, fishing on a Monday with no net or real equipment. This type of occurrence is taking place around the clock, organizers tell me. I thought I would share the story I witnessed. (Sorry about taking over the time line. My micro tweeter report is now finished )
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Now I am off to check out the demonstrations in Athens, see the boat again and do some more interviews. More updates later this afternoon.
I do not know who these people were around the US boat last night. They were clearly out of place and their presence felt 'official"
I think that the story is a good window into the scene surrounding the US boat. There are Greek harbor police surrounding the boat, who quickly phone their superiors when ever new people show up at the port. I think that the beauty of social media is that I can share this experience because I would not include it in my next piece for the Nation It is like you are along with me as I am trying to track down what is actually happening with the US boat and the flotilla.
The journalists on board the US boat are top notch. There needs to be a campaign to make sure their work, videos, photos gets to the world. As a rule, my tweets mainly concern the US boat. I am on that board and watching only the US boat passengers only. Some are asking about other boats and at this point I have little or no contact with them but occasionally I hear updates about them.
I am trying to convey the panic of the situation here in Athens. The organizers are fearful that they will be stopped or are being stopped As Israel releases every possible public statement imaginable about the flotilla, the US boat is under surveillance and Greek pressure Greek pressure is in the form of the detailed the sea worthy test and the surveillance comes from police watching the boat 24/7
(Late for interviews now, I must be off. See you later.)
The city of Athens if basically covered in a cloud of tear gas. You can smell the pungent odor everywhere Since I am about to cover the flotilla, I have little patience for street demos and tear gas in Athens. The protests are very serious. I am quite far away from the demonstrations now and the smell of tear gas is strong Ports are closed in Athens because of the general strike. Surly this will have an effect on the flotilla and its ability to leave
Parts of the city sound like a very large and lively football match and everything smells like tear gas The sun is starting to sink and the temperature is cooling back down to something reasonable I really can't resist. I am going to go have a look at the situation on the ground once more. More updates to follow from #athens later
?At an internet cafe just off of the parliament square in #athens. There is a proper protest taking place in the Greek capital. Tear gas simply filling the streets of the downtown commercial area. I spoke with a number of Greeks, some calling themselves 'organizers'. They said that over one million people are expected to protest tomorrow It was a first for me to see riot police using tear gas in the correct way i.e. not firing directly at demonstrators like in my home country I asked ppl if they saw police fire gas directly at demonstrators. They looked at me like I was crazy and from another planet
The mix of people of interesting. Young, old and in the middle. There were mutilate sandwich trolleys in the middle of the demo in #athens Protesters were chanting no to the IMF and no to Austerity measures in Athens
The US has, in effect, said that Israel can use military action against unarmed American civilians in Int'l waters. Pretty big story. What do your employers think about your support of shooting unarmed American civilians by a foreign army @jstrevino ? It is sad when Israelis have to 'think' about press freedom. It is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy.
One that does agree that journalists have a place covering the flotilla and should not be protected does not care about Israeli democracy The level of the debate around the Flotilla which the Israeli govt and media is pushing is boarding on insanity and we all buy into it Press should do their job. They should not be threatened and intimidated. This is a cornerstone of democratic society
Back to check out the demonstrations in Athens. it is getting dark. Let's see what happens. One week in Athens and I am ready to starting to get home or on the boat and witness what happens. I am confident that the next days are crucial for the ability of the boat to leave given the depth of the Greek general strike in Athens Off to do some work and sleep.
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Thanks for staying tuned through my Athens adventure. Impossible to get firm information from organizers today about when or if the US boat will leave port in Greece The pressure has taken its tool on the US boat and within the next day, I am told, there will big decisions about whether this boat is going I can hear the demonstrations and chanting from my hotel rooftop in #athens Most of the boats in the flotilla are ready and just waiting to set sail with the US boat It is safe to say that the US boat has been targeted and got the most pressure not to leave in athens
If this was done by 'Israeli divers' what crimes are they breaking in Greece? Serious question http://t.co/2fAxDlX
Yediot's senior defense analyst: IDF lied about the flotilla http://t.co/ReaFk5q
It looks like the Israeli are trying to buy time with baseless accusations about the violence of the flotilla boats. See more in last tweet Yossi Gurvitz on new laws against boycott inside Israel http://t.co/0rwA7wM
Amira's latest piece in Haaretz about the situation with the flotilla in Athens http://t.co/ISCltTN
Israel has said everything about the flotilla and how they are going to deal with it. By saying everything they have in effect said nothing.
Breaking news from Athens: Organizers are saying that the Irish boat has not yet sail from Athens. Apparently, the French boat has set sail and is now somewhere in the Mediterranean sea Like yesterday, I can hear the chants of the demonstration in downtown Athens and I can even smell the tear gas. As I am writing my next Nation piece, I can hear round after round of tear gas in downtown Athens. In a word, surreal 23 Helicopters now in the sky in Athens. Smell of tear gas still looming large over the city. 23 Content from Twitter Updates (added by @nofrills)
The more I read about the last week and the flotilla, the more it is starting to sound surreal http://t.co/D8D3wnw
The NYT has published its first account from Athens http://t.co/HdwbwQ5
The NYT piece is more of a dispatch but they are running pieces by their reporter here in Athens. Interesting when reporters create fake facebook identities for data mining purposes especially when they use their real photos & fake names
Athens sounds like a city under siege. Clashes are breaking out all over the city and the sound and smell of tear gas is everywhere US boat organizers have told me that a number of passengers have had their cellphones stolen inside and outside their hotels in Athens Because the thieves have only gone after their cellphones which are mostly cheap Nokias, they feel that they are being targeted
The amount of tear gas in Athens is shocking. The police are not violent, they are just using incredible amounts of tear gas
The Greeks have approved the Austerity measures. The protest is going to get a lot more violent I do not have a smartphone with me and so I shuttling between Internet cafes and the front line. Going out to the frontlines now and I will be back soon with updates. Off to the demonstrations now 21
Tweeting through @kissmykishkas. In central Athens 1 block from Parliament young masked #greek's just took over a construction site, took out all materials and setting them on fire as barricades.Thousands in street ... youth just took all construction helmets and are throwing them on the fire ... exploded Molotov cocktails all over the street ...all of parliament covered in teargas... youth a preparing to set construction site ablaze ...roving motorcades of cops on moterbikes ...confrontation between protests, with some being call undercovers ...bonfires of tar paper are now closing streets all around... Bank being trashed, activists chanting "The Greek government are fascists" ... Bank has been barricaded to keep cops out as they trash it ... small group of activists throw bricks and Molotov's at ATE bank as thousands watch...The cops are getting their ass kicked...activists tearing down closed circuit video cameras and setting them on fire. Photos soon to follow 20
Ok. It is Joseph writing again. I am an internet cafe just off the square The activists on the ground are being very smart about how they are going to destroy central Athens They are enclosing targets with major bonfires and then destroying the target. Mostly banks at this point. The destruction is profound. Railings to subways are being ripped apart to use to break windows 1000s are just milling around in the streets watching and cheering the destruction as it unfolds. There are Indian guys walking through the crowd selling masks and water. Feels like a major outdoor concert gone horribly wrong
Tomorrow morning Athens is going to look like a war zone. Banks are already being torched as the crowds chant that the government is fascist All of this is taking place in the commercial and fashion heart of the city. Banks being set ablaze next to Prada shops. I am going out to check on the situation again. You will see updates from me or via telephone written by @kissmykishkas I have some photos as well but the camera battery is dead, of course. I will upload from the hotel. Again, I am just back from the front line in #athens. The bank is no longer on fire and the riot police have moved in to confront activists The demonstrations are going to get out of hand this evening. Already the streets are full of bonfires and stones
I am working on getting some photos out now. Bear with me. One of the many bonfires in central #athens from about an hour ago http://twitpic.com/5imvtv The production of stones and rocks that activists are throwing in central #athens http://twitpic.com/5imx3y
This is a light version of what you see all over central #athens right now http://twitpic.com/5imyjq
A typical scene taken an hour ago on the streets of central #athens http://twitpic.com/5in260
Just contacted by the BBC world have you say. There is a chance I will be live on their program in an hour and a half
I would not want to be a Greek riot policeman today. The city is in chaos and these people are basically standing there at this point.19 � Another photos from the streets of #athens. The cross section of people on the streets is amazing http://twitpic.com/5in84p
As I am uploading photos from my hotel rooftop roughly five blocks from downtown #athens, I can hear round after round of tear gas I can see billowing clouds of black smoke from the tar paper bonfires that activists are setting throughout the streets of #athens Many blasts just heard in #athens. They are coming in waves now and they are literally rocking the city. From my vantage point over downtown #athens I can see no less than four dark smoke clouds rising over the city The carnival atmosphere of the front lines in #athens is really striking. The board spectrum of Greek civil society is impressive
Speaking of demonstrations, Israeli military planners say they can't stop nonviolent protests http://t.co/ibEiPbC
Another photo from the front lines in #athens two http://twitpic.com/5intrm
The US boat people have announced a special press conference for the intl media to do a full inspection of the boat. It will take place in an Athens port at 3 pm local time. Passengers will also be present on the boat in order to field questions The main protests in #Athens are taking place on the Athenian 5th avenue. Imagine an HSBC bank set ablaze on 5th avenue and you have athens More materials for bonfires in #athens.
All photos by Joseph Dana by the way http://twitpic.com/5io1d1 After dinner, I am going back to the streets in central #athens Just back from the front lines and the demonstration is still going strong in #athens Long day. I will upload my photos from tonight in #athens tomorrow morning
Just as I am about to fall asleep a call for an podcast interview with The Forward. I can't say no to the Forward. Noam Sheizaf on how Israeli state officials contradict their leaders on the flotilla. Interesting read http://t.co/n1DwLpW I am told that the area of Athens where I am staying is considered "autonomous" meaning the police will not enter it. Activists seem to take breaks in this area and its pubs and cafes are pumping throughout the night. #athens is like another planet Major press conference this afternoon on the US boat to Gaza. I believe it is a good idea to monitor this press conference.
The Irish boat is out. It was sabotage and would have sunk if set out on sea It is unclear who is behind the sabotage of the Irish boat but given the type and extent of damage it is clearly an act of sabotage.
The blockade of Gaza is illegal according to the United Nations. If anyone is still unsure, please read the Geneva Conventions on Human Rights to appreciate the difference between a legal blockade against an enemy with whom you are at war in order to secure your borders and population, and the collective punishment of a civilian population of 1.6 million unarmed people as an act of deliberate oppression by a heavily armed expansionist regime who will kill at will.
ReplyDeleteENDING ISRAEL'S free access to EU markets will end the illegal blockade of Gaza!
Israeli law does not, and cannot, extend either to Gaza or to international waters. The blockade is a 'collective punishment' that is according to the UN illegal under the Geneva Conventions and international law.
This Israeli siege, now in its 5th year of punishing over a half a million Muslim families, is only able to be implemented as a result of the extraordinary economic benefits of having being afforded the privilege, as a non European state, of being given access to the combined markets of the 27 member states of the EU. This privilege should be immediately withdrawn by the EU, whereupon Israel will once again revert to being just a somewhat small and insignificant Mediterranean state of just 8m - unable to mount any illegal blockade against an innocent indigenous people.
The IDF killed 1400 in Gaza in three bloody weeks commencing December 2008. The majority were civilian non-combatants including 326 children under the age of 16 and 112 of their mothers, as substantiated by the UN fact finding mission, the report of which has been accepted. It was the worst kind of collective punishment - innocent children and women, plus the destruction of schools, hospitals and power installations, by the use of banned white phosphorus, missiles, cluster bombs, rockets, tank shells and machine guns.
All this horrendous killing by a heavily armed militia against a mainly unarmed civilian population - unless you count the stone-throwing youths intent on demonstrating against their oppressors who humiliate them daily at every crossing point and deny them essential supplies including medicines. An army who used civilians as human shields and to cover this war crime alleged the opposite. The UN report obtained the evidence which the Israeli government then tried, unsuccessfully, to discredit. These are facts, not propaganda. All of the above is public domain information.
It is also public domain information that a Palestinian splinter group has for years fired home-made missiles at the nearest point in Israel, Sderot, in order to vent their anger at the illegal settlements and their treatment at the hands of the Israeli state. The vast majority of such missiles land harmlessly, but some cause injuries and in one or two instances, death. That has to be put into context of an extremist, expansionist state giving financial inducements to tens of thousands of its citizens to leave their homes in Israel and to settle on Palestinian land in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The killings in Gaza were a war crime and to date no one has yet been apprehended and brought before the ICC.