Come Here To Me!

This is a pretty bizarre statement by anyones definition of the term, from Richard Humphreys, the Labour councillor in Stillorgan. The best bet has to be where he refers to the Flotilla, bringing medical aid to Gaza, as a “Mediterranean jaunt”. Right…..

Cllr Richard Humphreys, the Labour Party Councillor for the Stillorgan Ward, has appealed to the passengers and crew of the MV Saoirse, set to take part in the Gaza flotilla, to heed the warnings of the UN and President Obama, and stay at home.

“Ultra left politicians such as Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Councillor Cllr Hugh Lewis, and Paul Murphy MEP, would be fulfilling their duties better if they stayed at home and attended to their constituents, rather than heading off for this ill-advised Mediterranean cruise.” Humphreys said.

“This is not just my opinion” Humphreys said. “This flotilla is in defiance of the call by the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, that such flotillas should be discouraged, and blocked by member states, as they may only provide a focus for violence. President Obama’s administration, and Hilary Clinton in particular, has made the same appeal to call off this flotilla.”

“I fully support the call by Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore that all sides must avoid the completely unjustified violence associated with the last flotilla. In my personal opinion, the responsibility for that violence rests with the Turkish terrorists who attempted to kill and injure members of the Israeli Defence Forces in front of their colleagues. No defence forces anywhere in the world that are worthy of the name would have responded to that murder attempt with anything less than immediate and potentially lethal force.” Humphreys said.

“While I appreciate the humanitarian sentiments motivating some of the flotilla participants, it has been openly admitted by some of the organisers that the aim of the exercise is not to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. Such aid can be readily brought through on land in any event – as the UN Secretary-General and the Obama administration have pointed out. The ultimate object of the flotilla is to break Israel’s Naval Blockade on Gaza. The purpose of naval blockade, according to the Israeli Government, is to prevent the importation of weapons and explosives being used to launch illegal attacks on Israel’s civilian population by jihadist organisations committed to Israel’s destruction. Hundreds of such rocket attacks, using munitions smuggled into Gaza, have been launched this year already. Despite the good intentions of some of its participants, the ultimate beneficiary of the flotilla could therefore, unfortunately, be terrorist organisations.” Humphreys said.

“Gaza’s civilian population must also be protected – not least from their terrorist rulers Hamas who have unleashed a repressive, homophobic and misogynist regime on their unfortunate population. I hope the Unity government will herald an improvement in this regard but this cannot be taken for granted.”

“Instead of Ultra Left Alliance politicians waving goodbye to their constituents for an ill-advised Mediterranean jaunt designed to cause a provocation, we need real political progress towards ending Hamas attacks on Israel, protecting the civilian population of Gaza, easing the blockade by political agreement and ultimately towards a balanced two-state solution based on mutual recognition and respect.” Humphreys said.