| 31/12/04 | The Vanunu Campaign at Glasgow University |
1. The Vanunu Campaign at Glasgow University started from an initiative by the newly-founded GU Palestine Solidarity Society to persuade Vanunu to stand for the position. It started from modest meetings, of PSS, SNP and SSP supporters. Amnesty declined to get involved, other groups did not reply to invitations, and the GU Lib Dems replied stating their opposition to Vanunu as Rector. 2. The initial stalls outside the University Library met with a very positive response to joining the new Palestine Solidarity Society, supporting the programme of coming events including the Chomsky talk on Palestine, and joining a campaign for Vanunu as Rector as a symbol of opposition to WMDs and support for Palestinian human rights. 3. The vanunu4rector Campaign began its steady work of leafletting and other publicity. Tom Leonard organised some prominent Scottish writers for an event in support of Vanunu’s candidature. (Very few students actually came to this highly successful event, but it helped to build up the image of a significant campaign.) Mark Thomas and Tam Burn (of River City!) came onto the campus to build, as did David Shayler the MI5 whistleblower. These were the only public events in the whole election campaign, the only attempt by any candidate to discuss the ideas behind their campaign, apart from two hustings. The student paper, the Guardian, discussed the issue and gave sympathetic, though not uncritical, coverage of the campaign. 4. We handed out almost 20,000 campaign leaflets, explaining that Vanunu stood on a platform of opposition to Israel’s arsenal of WMDs and support for Palestinian human rights; in hundreds of hours of arguing and discussing with hundreds of students, the basic arguments were – Bush and Blair invented Iraqi WMDs to push through a war on the people of Iraq, even while they both support Ariel Sharon’s crimes against the people of Palestine; Glasgow University students could use their democratic power to send an alternative message to the victims of Israeli ethic cleansing and US and British occupation of Iraq. Glasgow students have sent this message of GENUINE opposition to WMDs, HONEST support for Palestinian human rights, and SERIOUS opposition to Israeli ethnic cleansing. 5. Glasgow University students have used their votes to give Mordechai Vanunu, and the Glasgow University Vanunu Campaign a democratic mandate to continue to campaign for Palestinian human rights under Israeli military occupation, and to oppose all nuclear weapons, British as well as Israeli. This marks a major step forward 6. Israel continues to hold Vanunu against his will. We need to act on the democratic mandate given by the students at Glasgow University by campaigning actively to rescue Vanunu from the clutches of Ariel Sharon, while highlighting the ongoing crimes committed against the Palestinian people also under the clutches of ths ‘hero’ of Sabra and Shatilla, Jenin, Rafah, etc. 7. Glasgow University students should open up an international campaign to secure the release of their Rector from Israel’s spiteful detention. This shoud involve every variety of student organisation declaring their support for Vanunu, scorn for western hypocrisy over WMDs in the Middle East, and opposition to Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. 8. GU faculty should indicate through their own organisations their support for the students’ decision. Staff committed to human rights and opposed to Blair’s hypocrisy over WMDs in the Middle East should set up an active campaigning group to coordinate with the students, send a delegation to visit Vanunu and report back on what they see while they are there, and help to campaign for Vanunu’s release. 9. The GU Vanunu Campaign will continue its work with a Glasgow-wide conference to intensify the campaign across the city to secure the release of Glasgow University’s Rector . The immediate positive response of the STUC and Bill Spiers to Vanunu’s election is an indication of what is possible here. 10. Enlightened opinion across Scotland must work for a majority vote of the Scottish Parliament to demand Vanunu’s release to take up his post in Glasgow. Approach YOUR MSP to ensure they sign up to the motion tabled by Patrick Harvie:S2M-2180 Patrick Harvie: Congratulations to Mordechai Vanunu˜That the Parliament congratulates Mordechai Vanunu on his election as the 119th Rector of the University of Glasgow; believes that Vanunu‚s election sends an important message to the Palestinian people expressing Scotland‚s disgust at their treatment at the hands of the Israeli Government; further believes that there is no place in the Middle East, or indeed the world, for weapons of mass destruction, and calls on the British government to exert pressure on Israel to release Mr Vanunu from Israel and allow him to visit the University of Glasgow. Supported by: Alex Neil, Nicola Sturgeon, Shiona Baird, Campbell Martin, Ms Sandra White, Eleanor Scott, Rob Gibson, Tommy Sheridan, Carolyn Leckie, Roseanna Cunningham, Mike Pringle, Rosie Kane*, Chris Ballance*, Frances Curran*, John Swinburne*, Ms Rosemary Byrne* Go to www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/index.htm and type in your postcode to find out your constituency MSP AND your regional MSPs. You can lobby all of them – they are all your reprewentatives – to sign up to the motion. We need a total of 65 MSPs to declare a majority of the Scottish Palriament demand the release of Vanunu. All results will be listed at www.vanunu4rector.org.uk very early in the new year. Happy New Year Mick Napier |
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