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Update:
In a short period of time, this International Response
to the declaration made by President George W. Bush on
vital issues regarding the Palestinian people has
received massive support from organizations,
intellectuals, and grassroots leaders worldwide. As
indicated below, the Palestinian Right to Return
movement in its entirety and organizations representing
Palestinian refugees and those in exile stand firm and
unified in their demand to exercise the inalienable
right to return.
We thank you for your
support thus far -- But we are asking you to take yet
another step in advocating for this fundamental right
for the Palestinian people, by actively spreading this
International Response and by asking your respective
organizations and friends to join.
We ask that each one of us attempt to
reach out to 5 more, and to get the endorsement of our
respective organizations and institutions.
It is time that the Right of Return for the Palestinian
people is normalized within the international community!
This is a vital time, and we
need your active support!
On May 15, 2004, this
response will be sent to all members of the United
Nations General Assembly and other relevant parties. We
intend to show an international consensus, as we keep on
building a movement for justice.
Please join in this
important campaign! We
encourage institutional, organizational, and individual
endorsements.
We ask that you post
this response and pass it along as widely as possible.
For endorsement, please write to:
responsetobush@yahoo.com)
*****************************
International Response
In response to the most recent declaration given by
President of the United States, George W. Bush, to
Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, on April 14, 2004,
at the White House, we, the undersigned affirm the full
individual and collective inalienable Right to Return of
the Palestinian Arab People to their homes, property and
land of origin. We assert in no uncertain terms that
such a fundamental right is inviolable as it is based on
the unbreakable natural belonging of a people to their
property and place of origin, as enshrined in
international law. Accordingly, we hold that the
Palestinian Right to Return is an indispensable
obligatory prerequisite for the achievement of any
justice and peace.
We consider any attempt to weaken, lessen, or alter such
a right in any form through any proclamations or
agreements between any parties to be counter to the
human, political, civil, and national collective right
of the Palestinian Arab People. Hence, such an attempt,
along with its implications and ramifications, are null
and void in total, regardless of the passage of time and
the entities entering into such agreements or issuing
such proclamations.
On November 2, 1917, Great Britain issued the Balfour
Declaration that promised Palestine to a European
settler colonial movement, amounting to the inevitable
dispossession and exile of the Palestinian people.
Today, at a time when another Deir Yassin massacre is
carried out in Fallujah in an attempt to cement the US
occupation of Iraq, the Bush Administration is
simultaneously attempting to complete the Balfour
project of 1917 by nullifying the Palestinian Right to
Return, and by giving an international cover to the
creation of a truncated and walled collection of
Bantustans that would normalize and legitimize the
process of ethnic cleansing.
Recognizing this existential and imminent danger, we
stand against this new Balfour Declaration, and reaffirm
our unwavering position that the Palestinian Right to
Return is an inextricable anchor and prerequisite to
full Palestinian self-determination, freedom, and
liberty.
(This public declaration will be submitted to all
members of the UN General Assembly and other relevant
parties on May 15, 2004. For endorsement, please write
to:
responsetobush@yahoo.com)
Signatories (in formation, please join):
1.
Abnaa Al-Ballad Movement,
Palestine 48
2.
A'idun Group – Lebanon
3.
Al-Awda: Palestine Right to
Return Coalition, United Kingdom
4.
Al-Awda: Palestine Right to
Return Coalition, USA
5.
Alrowwad Cultural and
Theatre Training Center, Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem,
Palestine
6.
BADIL Resource Center for
Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights, Bethlehem,
Palestine
7.
Center for Development,
Documentation and Information Palestine
8.
Children and Youth Center,
Shatila Camp, Lebanon
9.
'Diwans' of Palestinian
refugees in the camps of: (1) al-Baq'a, (2) Wehdat, (3)
Hussein, (4) Amman, (5) Hittin, (6) al-Awda, (7) Zarqa,
(8) Madaba, (9) Souf, (10) Gaza/'Jarash,' (11) al-Hussn,
(12) Irbid, Jordan
10.
General Union of Palestinian
Women – Lebanon
11.
High Committee for the
Defense of the Palestinian Right of Return and its
branches in Palestinian refugee camps and communities in
Jordan
12.
Houleh Club Association,
Borj Al Shamali Camp, Lebanon
13.
Nabila Brier Social
Foundation, Ain El Helwi Camp, Lebanon
14.
Palestine Right of Return
Congress, Europe
15.
Palestine Right of Return
Congress, Jordan
16.
Palestine Right of Return
Congress, Lebanon
17.
Palestine Right of Return
Congress, North America
18.
Palestine Right of Return
Congress, Palestine – Gaza Strip Section
19.
Palestine Right of Return
Congress, Palestine – West Bank Section
20.
Palestine Right of Return
Congress, Syria
21.
Social Care Association, Ain
El Helwi Camp, Lebanon
22.
Social Communication Center
(Ajyal), Beirut, Lebanon
23.
Societies and Diwans of (1)
Bir es-Sabe', (2) Lydda, (3) Ramle, (4) Salama, (5)
Jaffa; (6) Latroun villages of Emwas, (7) Yalo, (8) Bayt
Nuba, Jordan
24.
The Abu Jihad AL Wazir
Institution, Rashidiya Camp, Lebanon
25.
The Committee for the
Defense of Palestinian Refugees Rights, Palestine
26.
The Forum of Palestinian
NGO's Working on Refugee Camps of Lebanon (18 NGO's)
27.
The Palestinian Human Rights
Organization- PHRO, Lebanon
28.
Women's Humanitarian
Organization, Borj Al Barajnh, Lebanon
***
29.
20th of March Movement for
Change, Egypt
30.
Adala – Canadian Arab
Justice Committee, Canada
31.
Alawda Magazine, USA
32.
Al-Bireh Palestine Society,
USA
33.
Alexandria Association for
Human Rights Advocates, Egypt
34.
Alliance for Free Palestine,
San Diego State University, USA
35.
Al-Shorouq Newspaper- Canada
36.
American Muslims for
Jerusalem, USA
37.
American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, Greater Houston Chapter,
USA
38.
American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, Greater Sacramento Area
Chapter, USA
39.
American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, Los Angeles/Orange County
Chapter, USA
40.
American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee, San Francisco Bay Area
Chapter, USA
41.
Anti Globalization Egyptian
Group (AGEG), Egypt
42.
Arab Commission for Human
Rights, France
43.
Arab Muslim American
Federation, USA
44.
Arab National Congress (Al-Mu’tamar
Al-Qawmi Al-Arabi)
45.
Arab Student Union (UCSD),
University of California, San Diego, USA
46.
Arab-American Press Guild,
USA
47.
Association of Palestinian
Australian Graduates, Sydney, Australia
48.
Bahrain Center for Human
Rights, Bahrain
49.
Birzeit Society, USA
50.
Canada Palestine
Association, Canada
51.
Canadian Muslim Forum (CMF),
Montreal
52.
Coalition for Justice,
Stanford, USA
53.
Egyptian Initiative for
Personal Rights, Egypt
54.
El Nadim for Victims of
Violence, Egypt
55.
Free Palestine Alliance, USA
56.
Habitat International
Coalition, Cairo, Egypt
57.
Housing and Land Rights
Network, Cairo, Egypt
58.
Islamic Society of Stanford
University, USA
59.
Kana’an Review,
Palestine/USA
60.
Middle East Cultural and
Information Center (MECIC), USA
61.
Middle East Students
Association (USC), University of Southern California,
USA
62.
Muslim Student Awareness
Network, Stanford, USA
63.
Muslim Students Association
(CSULB), California State University, Long Beach, USA
64.
Muslim Students Association
(CSUS), California State University, Sacramento, USA
65.
Muslim Students Association
(UCD), University of California, Davis, USA
66.
National Council of Arab
Americans (NCA), USA
67.
Niagara Palestinian
Association
68.
Organization of Arab
American Students, Stanford, USA
69.
Palestine Aid Society, USA
70.
Palestine Community
Center-Vancouver, Canada
71.
Palestine House Educational
and Cultural Center - the 1948 Uprooted Palestinians in
Canada
72.
Palestine Solidarity Group,
Chicago, USA
73.
Palestine Solidarity Group,
Vancouver, Canada
74.
Palestinian American
Congress, USA
75.
Palestinian American Women's
Association of Southern California, USA
76.
Pan Arab Union For Peace,
NYC, NY, USA
77.
Society of Arab Students (UCI),
University of California, Irvine, USA
78.
Students for Justice in
Palestine - College of San Mateo, California
79.
Students for Justice in
Palestine (CSUS), California State University,
Sacramento, USA
80.
Students for Justice in
Palestine (UCB), University of California, Berkeley, USA
81.
Students for Justice in
Palestine (UCD), University of California, Davis, USA
82.
Students for Justice in
Palestine (UCLA), University of California, Los Angeles,
USA
83.
Students for Justice in
Palestine (USC), University of Southern California, USA
84.
Students for Palestinian
Rights, SFPR, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
85.
The Egyptian Association
against Torture, Egypt
86.
The National Institution of
Social Care and Vocational Training, Lebanon
87.
Union of Palestinian
American Women, USA
88.
United Arab Society at UCLA,
University of California, Los Angeles, USA
***
89.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
90.
Alternative Perspective
Media (APM-RAM), Montreal
91.
American Educational Trust,
USA
92.
Americans for A Just Peace
in the Middle East, USA
93.
Americans for Justice in
Palestine-Israel, USA
94.
Arab
Cause Solidarity Committe
(CSCA), Spain
95.
Artists Against the
Occupation, International
96.
ASKAPENA (Basque
Solidarity with the People)
97.
Association for One
Democratic State for Palestine/Israel - Colorado
Section, USA
98.
Bay Area United Against War,
USA
99.
Bend-Condega Friendship
Project
100.
Boston Coalition for
Palestinian Rights, USA
101.
Café Intifada, Los Angeles,
CA, USA
102.
Campaign for Social Justice,
California, USA
103.
Citizens for Fair
Legislation, USA
104.
Collision Course Media
Productions, San Francisco, USA
105.
Colorado Palestine
Solidarity Campaign, USA
106.
Committee Against the U$
Empire (the CAU$E)
107.
Committee to Defend
Palestinian Human Rights, Worcester, MA, USA
108.
Declare Peace Project,
United Kingdom
109.
Defenders of Peace
110.
Educational Alliance for
Peace - Marin County, California, USA
111.
Fellowship of
Reconciliation, Louisville Chapter, Kentucky, USA
112.
Freedom Socialist Party,
Australia
113.
Friends of Al-Aqsa, Cape
Town, South Africa
114.
GoodHarvest
115.
Granada Center for Human
Rights, Chicago, USA
116.
Hammerhard MediaWorks,
Chicago, IL, USA
117.
Houston Coalition for
Justice Not War
118.
Incorruptible Media
119.
Independent Anglo-Catholic
Church of American, USA
120.
International Action Center,
USA
121.
International League of
Peoples' Struggle
122.
International Socialist
Organization, USA
123.
Iraq-U.S.A. Committee,
Florence, Italy
124.
Ireland-Palestine Solidarity
Campaign, Belfast Branch
125.
Irish Human Rights Coalition
(IHRC), USA
126.
Islamic Political Party of
America, USA
127.
Jewish
People’s
Liberation
Organization, Canada
128.
Jewish Friends of Palestine
Project
129.
Jews Against Zionism,
London, UK
130.
Kentucky Interfaith
Taskforce on Latin America and the Caribbean,
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
131.
Kentucky Taskforce on Latin
America and the Caribbean, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
132.
Knights of the
Socially Conscious, USA
133.
LAGAI -- Queer Insurrection,
USA
134.
Latinos Por La Paz
135.
Louisville Committee for
Peace in the Middle East, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
136.
Marina Drummer- Community
Futures Collective, USA
137.
Mexico Solidarity Network,
USA
138.
Middle East Children’s
Alliance, USA
139.
Muslim Youth Movement of
South Africa
140.
National Lawyers Guild, USA
141.
National Lawyers
Guild--Loyola Law School Chapter, Los Angeles, USA
142.
New Jersey Solidarity -
Activists for the Liberation of Palestine, New Jersey,
USA
143.
New York City Labor Against
the War (NYCLAW), USA
144.
New York Committee to Defend
Palestine, USA
145.
New Zealand Peace Council
146.
Niagara Coalition for Peace
147.
Niagara region Human Rights
Youth Council
148.
Nicaragua Network, USA
149.
Palestine en Marche, France
150.
Palestine Solidarity
Committee - South Africa
151.
Palestine Support Committee,
Durban, South Africa
152.
Palestinian Academic
Unionist Team
153.
Partnership for Civil
Justice, Washington, DC, USA
154.
Poets for Peace, Hamilton,
Ontario – Canada
155.
Progressive Workers
Organizing Committee, Houston-Galveston, Texas, USA
156.
Pueblo Insurgente, Republica
Bolivariana de Venazuela
157.
Queers Undermining Israeli
Terrorism (QUIT!), USA
158.
Sacramento Area Peace
Action, CA, USA
159.
SNUR-CGIL Trade Union
University of Florence, Italy
160.
SOAS PALESTINE SOCIETY
161.
Students for Social Justice,
Chicago, IL, USA
162.
SUSTAIN-St. Louis Chapter,
USA
163.
SWOP (South Western Ontario
Poets), Canada
164.
The Action Center For
Justice, North Carolina, USA
165.
The Freeway Twenty, USA
166.
The Independent
Anglo-Catholic Church of America, USA
167.
The National Coalition to
Free the Angola Three, USA
168.
The New England Committee to
Defend Palestine, USA
169.
The Peace Foundation,
Aotearoa, New Zealand
170.
The West Covina Neighbors
for Peace and Justice, USA
171.
Third World Forum (UCD),
University of California, Davis, USA
172.
Tri-Taylor Neighbors for
Peace, Chicago, IL, USA
173.
U.S. Citizens Against War,
Florence, Italy
174. & | 
