Governments of the World: History Will Record What You Did Not Do [multilingual pdf]

MARMARIS, TÜRKIYE – This is a decisive moment in the history of international solidarity. Governments can no longer evade the question before them: What will you do? Whose interests do you truly serve?

We know what complicity looks like. We have watched it continue for decades, but more recently, it’s been carried out openly and in plain sight. Arms transfer after arms transfer, political and diplomatic cover, and political posturing that have created the conditions that have not only allowed israel’s crimes to continue, but have facilitated the continued abduction and torture of Palestinians for decades; and more recently the abduction of international activists from international waters over 1000 km from Gaza.

Palestinians have long warned the world what unchecked impunity leads to: escalating violence, deepening brutality, and even greater violations carried out without consequence. That reality has never been confined by imposed borders. From Palestine to Lebanon, and now off the shores of Crete, this system of impunity is exposing itself to the world in real time.

Condemnations Are Not Enough

As videos and photos of Palestinians being forcibly starved, sniped in the head, raped and abused flooded digital media platforms in 4k, we heard the condemnations. We read the carefully crafted statements. Yet often, the condemnations intended to posture as progress, lacked any substance and action.

Not one of these strongly worded letters or speeches have produced a single consequence for a regime that has extended its violence into international waters, more than 1,000 kilometers from Gaza.

When governments abandon their obligations, their citizens are forced to confront the consequences. That is why the Global Sumud Flotilla had to sail and mobilize. When governments fail to act, people of conscience are called to place their bodies between a genocide and impunity. That is not heroism to be celebrated. It is the consequence of political inaction, moral failure and institutional collapse– failures for which governments must be held accountable.

What the israeli Regime Has Done From Palestine to International Waters

The israeli regime has demonstrated, in full view of the international community, that it will reach far beyond its borders to silence those who confront it. It abducted civilians in European international waters off the coast of Greece. israeli agents have tortured, sexually violated, and abused participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla while holding them as hostages aboard an israeli navy vessel. They have threatened the children and families of Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila as they kidnapped them and forced them into the dungeon prisons in Occupied Palestine. They are now using “secret” evidence to extend their imprisonment without charge.

As of today, Saif Abukeshek, a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin, and Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian citizen, remain detained without charge. Both are on hunger strike. Saif is no longer drinking water, and his condition may deteriorate quickly. Their protection is the responsibility of the international community.

Our Plan

The Global Sumud Flotilla will convene its General Assembly and Legal Symposium in Marmaris on May 10 and 11. We will engage governments and world leaders directly to establish, concretely and on the record, what actions they are prepared to take to secure the release of detained participants and protect the continuation of the mission.

We are pursuing legal actions against those responsible for, complicit and accomplices in, the kidnapping, torture, and sexual violence inflicted on our participants. We are documenting the full architecture of complicity: the political decisions, arms transfers, diplomatic cover and institutional failures that made these crimes possible. That record will follow those responsible wherever they go.

On May 12, we will hold a press conference in Marmaris where we will present the commitments made by governments. We will outline our legal and accountability strategy. And we will announce the next phase of the mission.

What We Require

We are calling on every government with citizens on board, and every government that claims to uphold international law and human rights, to deliver the following:

• Formal accountability measures for the abduction, torture, and sexual violence inflicted on civilian participants in international waters.
• Formal recognition that civilian maritime missions in international waters are lawful and protected under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• A clear and public declaration of what concrete actions your government will take if your citizens are attacked or abducted again.
• A clear and public declaration of what concrete actions your government will take if the israeli regime continues the illegal detention of Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila.

The Horizon Is Not Negotiable

We remain unwavering in our commitment to Palestinian freedom and liberation. We remain undeterred. The interception of this mission has clarified the stakes, exposed the machinery of impunity, and revealed who is willing to act.

The world is watching. No government will be able to say it did not know. History will record where every government stood.

MEDIA CONTACT

Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 1414 620 950
Website: globalsumudflotilla.org
Social: @globalsumudflotilla @wavesofsumud Follow our announcements on telegram.