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NEWS GOSSIP OPINION

Ceasefire now

Scotland’s cultural community call for a ceasefire in the Middle East. Words: Allan Radcliffe

s each day passes more civilians are being killed

in Lebanon. Israel and Gaza. and an estimated

7()().()()() people have been forced to flee their homes. A major humanitarian crisis is emerging and the prospects for a lasting peace are dwindling. Britain is a permanent member of' the UN Security Council and yet our government has done little to stop the carnage.

It is clear. however. that there is growing public concern about what is happening and a strong demand that action should be taken to halt the slide into a wider war. The [.i'si is supporting the campaign being run by ()xt'am for an immediate ceasefire and the relief work being co-ordinated by lidinburgh based humanitarian charity Mercy Corps.

()xt'am and other charities have been collecting signatures for an online petition to Tony Blair calling on the British government to throw its weight behind the

empathy and humanity. By

STOP THE

Smoke rises from Kfariouz village, near Nabatiyeh, during Israeli air strikes in south Lebanon, 28 July 2006

international demands for an immediate ceasefire. As this issue goes to press. plans were being finalised for this petition to be handed in to .\'o It) Downing Street by Martin Bell.

Mercy (‘orps is focusing its response on the needs of

displaced f'amiles in Lebanon and they have issued an appeal for £8] million to feed. shelter and protect civilians caught in the crisis. Two weeks ago they began delivering food packages to hundreds of refugee families holed tip in overcrowded homes. schools and municipal buildings. They are now launching a more comprehensive effort to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.

To join the Oxfam campaign for a ceasefire go to the website www.0xfam.org.uk. To support the work of Mercy Corps you can donate via their website www.mercycorps.org.uk

at ainst huinaiiiti. Where are the niiddie east .‘.’|ll coin )(Alle the

SLAUGHTER

We spoke to a number of leading cultural figures across Scotland. all of whom back this call for a ceasefire and the launch of a meaningful peace process to resolve conflicts in the region.

Mark Cousins, filmmaker and writer

When i travel in the Middle East. I notice one thing more than any other: the people are concerned about whether I have had breakfast that morning. whether I am thirsty. if I have a bed for the night. They see past my difference. my whiteness. and respond to me with fine-grained

standing back and doing nothing during this massacre. we are mocking these deep traditions of hospitality and fraternity. We are miecting the fine. generous example of Middle Eastern people. Our inactiwty. Our refusal to express outrage and to try to stop the slaughter of recent weeks is ignoble and demeaning and makes me very bitter about those of our political leaders who profess to act in the name of a humane and compasSionate God. My arse. Shame on them.

Suhayl Saadi, author of Psychoraag

We. the British people. are compIiCit in terrible crimes

strikes by airport staff (lockers refusing to carry weapons to a racist. apartheid. illegal aggressor? Where are the mass demos closing down the arms factories. CIA-MIG offices. the City of London?

Tommy Sheppard, director, The Stand Comedy Club

I‘m more than happy to lend my support to he campaign l'iii saddened and disgusted but in fairness not Surprised - at the slavish support given by the Blair administration to Bush's latest foreign ad~.enture, The US' determination to use lsraeli aggression by proxy in. their latest attempt to reshape the

underlying prcbleiiis and leave the .‘.crld in a more dangerous and ‘.()l£tlllf} position than it was before. In the process it will further undermine the respect .'.’ll|Cll the Arab world has for Britain and drive a new generation into the arms of kindan‘ientalists.

Pete Cannell, Secretary, Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition

Numbers are inadeouate to capture the horror of But I can‘t stop thinking abOut nearly a million refugees in a country of less than -1 million. Almost eyer/ bomb that falls and every missile is paid for and built in the US.

LOBBY MP5

I The List is urging readers to write to their MPs and call for the government to back the UN demand for an immediate ceasefire. Local MPs have great influence at Westminster as they include Gordon Brown (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Reid (Airdrie & Shotts) Home Secretary, Des Browne (Kilmarnock & Loudon) Defence Secretary and members of the Cabinet, Alistair Darling (Edinburgh South West), Douglas Alexander (Paisley & Renfrew South). Plus of course, the leader of the Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell (North East Fife, pictured) who has been calling for a ceasefire from the start of this crisis. Contact details can be found at www.parliament.uk.

Israel's war f,fl"‘i‘:‘,£1ff:’iif; Pentagon‘s “:’;iig war" strategy in

action

Alan Bissett, author of The Incredible Adam Spark spent the OtlfailOl‘I of tfxr: Crisis in the United States. and so hare no :dea mat the Brtish react on has beer. but were for: media ‘ocus has beer; alnozt B'itirei, on lsraeii ssfferirig and the efforts of terrorists and 'extre'nists' to goad Israel and America intr. .var. While the Seminar”. superpower takes such a narrow and one—sided view of the confi ct fear cannot attain a ceasefire. let alone the lasting peace. that is

needed so d€S{)€fdt8l/.

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