The report received from Comrade Quim Boix, Secretary General, TUI(P and R) on his Palestine visit is reproduced below:
REPORT OF MY TRIP TO PALESTINE
I attended the International Conference of Solidarity with Palestine
Convened jointly by the WSF and the UGTP
Ramallah, 6 and 7 December, 2015
Comrades,
I make a brief written report on the grounds that it is the only way to share the experiences that any trade union leader collects in each one of their activities as such.
I did this trip because I could not be replaced, nor by comrade LazareKimankaka (Democratic Republic of the Congo), nor by comrade DimosKoumpouris (Greece), nor by comrade José Mª Lucas (Spain). I will continue trying not to be the only leader of our UIS that travels.
I already knew the reality suffered by the Palestinian people, due to having attended the last Congress of their union UGTP. But I think that we must reevaluate that of fascist genocide has increased. At the end of my report, please see my NOTES ON THE REALITY OF PALESTINE.
The Conference consisted of a broad discussion of the reality today in Palestine, particularly the situation of the workers. Were rapporteurs various representatives from the union of Palestine UGTP (which was one of the founders of the WSF 1945), and of various agencies of the Palestinian government. I’ll provide some of the data that we were given in the concluding NOTES.
There was also an important intervention by the Secretary General of the WSF, George Mavrikos, that was completed with interventions from the delegations of the European trade unions that were present at the event : Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France (3 different delegations), Russia and Spain. Portugal apologized at the last minute.
The Conference started with a minute of silence in memory of the constant martyrs of the Palestinian people. The international delegates who arrived first were able to attend the funeral of the last person assassinated by Israel, a young man 27 years old.
I sent my intervention to you, as a draft first. In the absence of any proposal for an amendment, it passed to be final and I was able to distribute it (over 100 copies) printed in: Arabic, French, English and Spanish.
The conclusions of the International Conference were:
- To evaluate as very positive the results of the Conference, that has given continuity to several that have taken place in previous years.
- Thanks from the UGTP, and many organizations of masses of Palestine, for our presence and solidarity.
- Confirmation, by the International trade unions present, of the continuation and expansion of the solidarity with the people of Palestine, starting with the dissemination of their daily reality (synthesized in the final NOTES).
- Support the next summoning of an International Conference of Solidarity, which will be organized by the USB trade union in Italy.
- To expand the invitation to leaders of the UGTP to more countries, so, as in France, (invited by the railways trade union), they can explain, with various activities, the reality of the struggle of the Palestinian people against the fascist genocide of Israel.
These are the most relevant aspects of the Conference.
As complements to these, and in addition to the varied contacts and bilateral exchanges (I offered 10 dishes of the ceramic crafts that we made for our first Congress: two for the UGTP and one for each international delegation present), there was a visit to the tomb of Yasser Arafat, another visit to the area where the Israelites attack children in Ramallah, and a visit to Hebron (we were received by a high official of the Ministry of Construction; we visited the commercial center of the city and checked that the city, in the center, is divided with cement blocks arbitrarily placed by Israel).
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