[06 Nov 2012]

MPPM PROMOTES JOURNEYS OF SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE - 2012

An initiative with tradition

Continuing an initiative already traditional in its with activity, the MPPM organizes a number of events integrated into the Journeys of Solidarity with Palestine - 2012, around the date of November 29, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as the International Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine, evoking the date on which, in 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II) which recommended the partition of Palestine into two states - one Jewish and one Arab - with a special status for Jerusalem but that was never fulfilled as regards the creation of a Palestinian state. The Journeys of Solidarity with Palestine - 2012 adopted as its motto: "Dignity - Freedom - Identity".

Living in Palestine Today

The Journeys begin on November 15 at High School Professor José Augusto Lucas, in Linda-a-Velha, with a session reserved for students of the School. There will be a screening of the film "A Letter from Sara" (Mutaz Jankot, 2002), followed by a discussion with the students about the current situation in Palestine, animated by Carlos Almeida, member of the National Directorate of MPPM, and Moussa Abunaim, Minister-Counselor at the Embassy of Palestine.

The Palestinian Cultural Tradition

On November 21, at 9:30 pm, at the Municipal Theater, in Almada, Adel Sidarus will host a session where there will be a video projection with Palestinian folk dances, reading of short stories and poetry from Palestine by Maria do Céu Guerra, Natália Nunes and Lina Soares, and Arab songs interpreted by Lina Soares with musical accompaniment by Luis Reis. In the end, there will be opportunity to talk with Maria do Céu Guerra, Adel Sidarus and Bruno Dias, members of the National Directorate of MPPM.

The Flavors of Palestine

The usual dinner with typical dishes of Palestine takes place on November 23, from 8 pm, in the Grupo Sportivo Adicense, in Lisbon, a joint initiative of the MPPM, the Diplomatic Mission of Palestine and that collectivity. The Mozarabic Ensemble, directed by Eduardo Ramos, plays Arabic music, live.

Palestine Occupied Land

The Journeys continue on 27 November, at 9 pm, with the screening, in the Auditorium of the Parish of Vila Franca de Xira, of the movie "The Land Speaks Arabic", directed by Maryse Gargour in 2007. Adel Sidarus and Carlos Almeida, members of the National Directorate of MPPM, will comment the film and moderate the debate that will follow the viewing. This session is a joint initiative of MPPM and the Cooperative Alves Redol.

Solidarity with Palestine

Closing the Journeys, on November 29, by 6:30 pm, there is a Public Session Commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine to be held at Casa do Alentejo in Lisbon. Speakers are Maria do Céu Guerra, actress and theater director and chairperson of the MPPM; Ambassador Mufeed Shami, Palestinian diplomatic representative in Portugal; Silas Cerqueira, researcher and secretary for international relations of the MPPM; Santiago Macias, researcher and historian of the Islamic period and Adel Sidarus , professor emeritus and member of the National Directorate of MPPM.

[20 Sep 2012]

MPPM NOTES WITH DEEP REGRET THE PASSING OF ELSA RODRIGUES DOS SANTOS

Elsa Rodrigues dos Santos, activist of MPPM since its foundation and presently a member of the National Directorate, died last Tuesday, aged 73, victim of sudden illness. She was the widow of painter Figueiredo Sobral.

Elsa Rodrigues dos Santos was an expert in Portuguese language and African literature and was President of the Society of Portuguese Language. She was a democratic activist, always eager to participate in fights in defense of the April revolution and for Peace and collaborated with the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation and the Portuguese Movement against Apartheid. She became a militant in the struggle for the rights and liberation of the Palestinian people since the Great World Conference of Solidarity with the Arab People and their Central Cause - Palestine, held in Lisbon in November 1979, which was attended by Yasser Arafat.

There is great consternation among all of us, comrades and friends of Elsa. To the children, grandchildren and other members of the family we present the deepest condolences.

We invite all members of the MPPM and supporters of the Palestinian cause to join a final goodbye to Elsa Rodrigues dos Santos at the funeral which will be held at São João de Deus, in Lisbon.

[16 Sep 2012]

ON THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACRES AT SABRA AND SHATLA MPPM DEMANDS AN END TO THE CRIMES OF ISRAEL

Thirty years ago, the Israeli army invaded Lebanon and occupied the capital Beirut. Occupants launched Lebanese militias against Palestinian refugee camps and, in Sabra and Shatila, many hundreds - possibly thousands - of Palestinians, mostly women and children, were savagely massacred. On 16 December of that same year, 1982, the UN General Assembly classified the massacres (no votes against) as an act of genocide. All those responsible for the massacre remain unpunished, including Ariel Sharon, then Israel's defense minister and military chief of the invasion of Lebanon, and who would later become Prime Minister of Israel.

The massacre of Sabra and Shatila is a particularly heinous in a long series of crimes that have marked the history of Israel, from its inception to the present day. Yet earlier this month of September 2012, Israel repeatedly bombed the Gaza Strip, causing casualties among the civilian population. According to the latest annual report (2011) of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), since the beginning of the second Intifada in September 2000 until the end of 2011, the Israeli military killed 6721 people in the occupied territories, of which 1258 (24.3%) were minors. The number of injured stood at 19,728, of whom 6073 (30.8%) minors.

On the thirtieth anniversary of the barbaric massacre of Sabra and Shatila, the Movement for the Rights of the Palestinian People and Peace in the Middle East (MPPM):

• Condemns the ongoing crimes of the Israeli occupation and the silence that surrounds them, in particular the silence of the Portuguese government
• Calls for strengthening the solidarity of the Portuguese people to the cause of liberation of the Palestinian people and demands that are fulfilled the many promises and UN resolutions that never, for decades, were out of the paper, requiring the withdrawal of Israel from occupied territories in 1967 and the constitution of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and a just solution to the Palestinian refugee situation
• Warns that the continued Israeli aggression towards neighboring countries are eloquent testimony that should not be underestimated the permanent threat of an Israeli attack against Iran that, if consummated, would constitute a tragedy of enormous proportions for the region and for the world.