{"id":782,"date":"2014-08-04T08:30:19","date_gmt":"2014-08-04T12:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.matness.ca\/?p=782"},"modified":"2014-08-04T09:46:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-04T13:46:48","slug":"040814","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matness.ca\/en\/040814\/","title":{"rendered":"Translation of CSN’s open letter: Israel must end its military offensive in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seeing too few non-cowardly statements from political parties and labour groups on the present crisis in Gaza, I thought it may be wise to translate the open letter penned by the Conf\u00e9deration des Syndicats Nationaux dated July 24th, 2014, so that English speakers outside Qu\u00e9bec may observe what political conviction looks like. <\/p>\n

With the assistance of Patricia Bouschel of Translating the Printemps \u00c9rable<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Original french text: Isra\u00ebl doit mettre fin \u00e0 son offensive militaire \u00e0 Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Letter to the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs <\/p>\n

Israel must end its military offensive in Gaza<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Mr. Minister, <\/p>\n

The Conf\u00e9deration des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN), a labour organization composed of nearly 2,000 unions and uniting more than 325 000 workers, adds its voice to that of a growing number of Canadians asking you to do all in your power to ensure Israel ceases its military offensive in Gaza. <\/p>\n

We\u2019d like to note that we do not support the present actions of Hamas. However, we firmly condemn the intervention of the Israeli army, one of the most powerful military forces in the world, which has led to more than 650 deaths to date**, the majority of which are civilians, including women and children. The power balance between both parties could not be more skewed. What will be left of Gaza and its population if the Israeli offensive continues to progress at its present pace? How many more casualties and how many more new refugees will emerge before the international community commits to finding a permanent solution to the drama that has been unfolding in Palestine for more than 65 years? <\/p>\n

We demand that Canada adopt the demands formulated by the UN during the press statement on July 12th, that of the \u201cde-escalation of the situation, restoration of calm, and reinstitution of the November 2012 ceasefire\u201d as well as the respect of international humanitarian law and, notably, the protection of civilians. <\/p>\n

We also demand that Canada take the necessary steps to support the search for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Remembering that any solution will need to consider Israel\u2019s obligations by virtue of international law, including : <\/p>\n