French Flotilla Boat Sets Sail for Gaza

Activists sail from Corsica as others pledge to continue efforts to reach Palestinian territory with humanitarian aid.

French vessel that will sail to Gaza

(CORSICA Al Jazeera) - A French boat has set sail for Gaza from Corsica in the latest attempt by activists to deliver aid to the Palestinian territory, according to a journalist aboard the vessel.

The Dignite al Karama, which left the western Mediterranean island overnight is, thus far, the only boat in a flotilla organised by pro-Palestinian activists to successfully sail for Gaza, with most confined to ports in Greece.

The vessel's passengers include Olivier Besancenot, head of the New Left Party in France, French politician and member of the European Parliament Nicole Kiil-Nilsen, and other well-known French personalities.

"We are about 20 minutes from international waters, and when we arrive there, the organisers on the boat will decide what their next move is," Quentin Girard, a journalist with the French newspaper Liberation, told Al Jazeera from aboard the boat.

Girard said that the activists on the boat want to go to Gaza, but are waiting to decide if they will go once the boat arrives in international waters.

"I think they will go if the international committee for the flotilla encourages them to go," Girard said.

1. Annick Coupé, (FEMALE) porte-parole de l’Union syndicale Solidaires. «Le syndicalisme a un devoir de solidarité internationale, notamment avec le peuple palestinien.»
2. Jacqueline Le Corre, (FEMALE) membre de l’association France Palestine Solidarité et présidente du collectif français des Femmes en noir. (women in black)

«Pour briser symboliquement le blocus de la bande de Gaza.»

3. Julien Rivoire, (MALE) porte-parole du comité Français «Un bateau pour Gaza» et membre du NPA. «Il faut aller à Gaza pour briser l’isolement des Palestiniens, pour leur apporter ce message de solidarité et pour appeler les sociétés civiles à amplifier les mobilisations pour imposer la levée du blocus».
4. Nabil Ennasri, (MALE) président du Collectif des musulmans de France. «Pour dire stop à l’impunité israélienne.»
5. Nicole Kiil-Nielsen, (FEMALE), députée européenne Europe-écologie. «L’impuissance déclaratoire de l’Union Européenne m’est insupportable. Étant allée à Gaza plusieurs fois, je considère cette initiative comme salutaire et nécessaire.»
6. Olivier Besancenot, (MALE) leader du NPA. «Après la flottille de l’année dernière, j’avais pris l’engagement de participer à la seconde pour lever le blocus. J’ai commencé à militer au moment de la première Intifada, la cause palestinienne a toujours été importante pour moi.»
7. Omeyya Seddik, (MALE) représentant de la Fédération des Tunisiens pour une citoyenneté des deux-rives (FTCR). «Je suis là pour tous les habitants des quartiers populaires qui ont payé, je suis là pour les immigrés, je suis là pour la révolution de la dignité qui a commencé dans mon pays, la Tunisie. Depuis que j’ai l’âge de 13 ans, je rêve d’aller à Gaza sans avoir à demander l’autorisation.»
8. Oussama Mouftah, (MALE) représentant du collectif 59 pour la Palestine. «En 2011, le blocus de Gaza se brisera.»

More Flotilla news from al Jazeera

On June 24, an anonymous complaint was filed against the ship's "seaworthiness". The Israel Law Centre (Shurat HaDin), took responsibility for the complaint in the Israeli media.

'No matter how long it takes'

Alejandro Fierro, an activist aboard a Spanish boat, Guernica, that is currently in port in Crete, told Al Jazeera that activists from his boat remained fully committed to going to Gaza.

"We have a few people on the boat now, and they will remain on the boat, in Crete, until they can go to Gaza," Fierro said, "Some people are going back to Spain, but we are going to continue to keep our boat in Crete, and keep people on the boat, until we can sail to Gaza."

Some of the members of the Spanish boat are currently occupying the Spanish embassy in Athens, and have hung a Palestinian flag from the balcony of the embassy.

"We will wait no matter how long it takes. We've learned patience from the Palestinian people who have been resisting Israeli occupation for 60 years, so we can wait. We are not going to move until our government makes some solution for the Greek government to let us sail away," Fierro said.

"Activists aren't taking this lying down," Al Jazeera's Elshayyal reported. "The Spanish contingent of the flotilla has occupied the Spanish embassy here in Athens and has been almost taking it hostage since about 12pm local time... So there is still very much a standoff from which no one seems to be willing to back down."

Kayakers detained

On Monday, a Canadian boat, the Tahrir, was forced to return to harbour in Crete after an attempt to reach international waters was thwarted by the coast guard, according to onboard activists.

The Tahrir sailed 15 minutes out of harbour before it was intercepted, activists told Al Jazeera.

The coast guard ship pursued the Tahrir, using water cannons and eventually boarding the ship.

Ehab Lotayef, spokesperson and coordinator for the Canadian boat, told Al Jazeera from Montreal that the two kayakers and a Canadian-Jewish activist, Sandra Rush, whose name was on the boat papers, were being held.

According to Lotayef, everyone else on the boat remained aboard through the night. On Tuesday, the Greek prosecutor was on board taking statements from the activists.

The group of activists in Corfu seemed to have all but exhausted their attempts to comply with the necessary paperwork for getting official permission to leave port.

In a meeting on Tuesday, the Corfu group discussed staging local demonstrations against the Greek blockade of their flotilla, but did not disclose the nature of the planned protest.

Most activists in the group seemed to reject the idea of breaking out of port, while the captain of the ship said he did not want to copy other breakouts out of fear of jeopardising his sailing license.

Special thanks to al Jazeera

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