A group of government and non-governmental organisations are showing they care for the plight of Palestinian and Lebanese women. Dina Ezzat reports Against a backdrop of the escalating war on Lebanon, the Egyptian Council for Women, chaired by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, held a meeting on Tuesday to show solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese women. Called "Together for Lebanon and Palestine" the conference offered the opportunity for a group of governmental and non-governmental organisations and figures, including Mrs Mubarak, Deputy Secretary-General for the Egyptian Council for Human Rights Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd and Wadouda Badran of the Arab Women's Organisations, to speak up in no uncertain terms against the Israeli aggression on Lebanon. Coming less than 24 hours after President Hosni Mubarak gave the strongest Egyptian condemnation of Israel since the beginning of the now seven-week war on Gaza and four-week war on Lebanon, Tuesday's conference was marked by strong statements of condemnation of Israel and of solidarity with the Lebanese people and even with the Lebanese resistance which had been a taboo subject for the past three weeks since being accused by Cairo of miscalculated provocation of Israel. "This is an aggressive war that has attacked all signs of life in Lebanon... It is shocking in its tragedies whose unfolding scenes hurt our humanity at its very essence," said Mrs Mubarak in a short and untypical emotional statement. Other speakers caught the tone and spoke volumes against the Israeli war that has caused the Qana II massacre and which is threatening to destroy the dreams of peace and stability that Lebanon has been aspiring to. "This Israeli war is prompted by an utter hatred for others to have normal lives and by a conviction that peace is only possible when other nations decide to submit to Israel," said Zeinab Radwan, deputy speaker of the Egyptian parliament. Participants to the conference called for an immediate ceasefire and asked for an urgent convocation of the UN Human Rights Council and other relevant UN bodies to consider ways and means of extending immediate assistance to women and children in Gaza and Lebanon. The conference offered an opportunity to reply to statements made earlier in the week by US Permanent Representative to the UN John Bolton, who suggested that Lebanese children are not cherished by their people and therefore they die under the rubble, unlike Israeli children. "Palestinian and Lebanese children are no less than the children of other nations across the world," said Mouchira Khattab, secretary- general of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. The conference reviewed the limited action taken by governmental and non-governmental groups to show solidarity with the people of Gaza and Lebanon. The Suzanne Mubarak Women for Peace International Movement announced the compilation of photos documenting the Israeli atrocities against Palestinians and Lebanese. The photos, said Laila Takla, a member of the movement's executive board, will soon be sent to all concerned humanitarian groups to highlight the huge volume of death and damage inflicted by the Israeli war "which has not been at all portrayed by the international media," Takla said. The Rotary community of Egypt reported active fund-raising and offered to share resources and plans to send aid to Gaza and Lebanon. The Egyptian Red Crescent Association reviewed plans to intensify food and humanitarian assistance to Lebanon. In addition to the messages of solidarity sent to the Palestinians in Gaza and to the Lebanese, especially in the south, the conference sent an interesting message to all parties who have been closing their eyes to the huge atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians and Lebanese. "Those who kept their silence while watching these crimes and those who hesitated to speak up against them are set to lose everything," said Abul-Magd to the applause of a large part of the audience. The conference adopted a communiqué that labelled the Israeli atrocities committed in Gaza and Lebanon "war crimes and crimes against humanity that should not go unpunished by international law". The conference's strongest message, however, stressed that the current Israeli wars against Gaza and Lebanon were eroding all hopes for peace and are "deepening the sentiments of injustice, aggression and humiliation up to a very serious point that has created a disturbing atmosphere of frustration and anger across the region." Meanwhile, the ruling National Democratic Party for its part expressed support for the plight of the Lebanese people. In an event held on Tuesday evening, NDP Assistant Secretary-General Gamal Mubarak spoke, for the first time since the beginning of the war, against the Israeli aggression and criticised those accusing Egypt of failing to meet its responsibilities and obligations vis a vis the crisis. Egypt, he said, is doing the best it possibly can to spare Lebanon.
