Sunday, July 27, 2008

Whatever happened to 'When in Rome do as the Romans'?

A Canadian with the International Solidarity Movement has been arrested in the West Bank in a restricted military zone for taking part in a protest against the security fence and is currently facing deportation reports the CBC.
A Canadian student who took part in a protest against the security wall Israel's building in the West Bank has been arrested and faces deportation from the Jewish state.

Victor McDiarmid, a volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement, had been living in the West Bank for nearly a month when he was arrested Wednesday at a demonstration by women from the village of Nilin, where Israel plans to build the next section of its security barrier.

McDiarmid, 23, was arrested after taking photographs of Israeli soldiers who were breaking up the protest by villagers, who say the barrier will separate them from their farmland.

"He was taken by Israeli soldiers whilst at the front of the demonstration and was taken off towards the jeep. And then he has reported to us that for 20 minutes they were punching, kicking and spitting in his face," said Adam Taylor, ISM's media co-ordinator.

The organization's lawyers say they were told McDiarmid, who is from Kingston, Ont., was to be released Thursday from the Israeli military prison where he was being held. Instead, he has been transferred to a detention centre for people facing deportation.
Apparently, McDiarmid’s father, who neglected to teach his son appropriate ‘guest manners’, is outraged at the ‘human right abuses’ in the disputed terrorities and wants his son to fight his deportation from Israel. I’m actually supportive of this young man’s father and am quite satisfied for the young man to sit in an Israeli detention centre indefinitely while he fights his deportation. May his fight be a long one.

Lee Kaplan wrote in depth concerning his ‘training experiences’ with ISM here.

And in other news, more demostrators were arrested Friday at the West Bank village of Naalin, the same village which coincidently McDiarmid was arrested in on Wednesday and saw violent demonstrations in on Thursday. Ynet News
Two Border Guard police officers sustained light wounds Friday afternoon during a leftist demonstration near the Palestinian village of Naalin, west of Ramallah. Dozens of protestors arrived in the area Friday in order to rally against the construction of the West Bank security fence. The demonstrators included left-wing activists, Palestinians, and foreigners.

The protesters at the site hurled stones at Border Guard forces, who responded with crowd-dispersal means. The wounded Border Guard police officers were treated at the scene. Earlier Friday, a senior IDF officer said that a total of 25 police officers and soldiers were hurt in the past month during riots in Naalin.

All of which should beg the question; what duty of care does the Canadian government owe to any Canadian citizen who travels to a foreign country for the explicited purpose of aggagitating and participating in violent demostrations against said foreign government?

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