| 06 June 2010
(Sun June 6th, 1.45pm) The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign has just recieved word that the five Irish prisoners from the MV Rachel Corrie, which was hijacked yesterday by Israeli forces, are due to arrive in Dublin airport at 11.20am tomorrow morning. There will be a welcoming committee to meet them and press conference to follow at 3pm in The Central Hotel, Exchequer Street, Dulin 2. Included among the five returning are Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ireland and Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary General, Ireland
Freda Hughes of the IPSC said, " We are relieved that the prisoners from the MV Rachel Corrie, but we must remember that they were illegally kidnapped and taken against their will to Israel."
The boarding by Israeli forces is in defiance of a direct call from the Irish Government, which had formally requested Israel allow the ship to reach Gaza. On 1 June, the Irish parliament also passed an all-party motion condemning Israel's use of military force against civilian aid ships, and demanding "an end to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza."
The 1200-ton cargo ship was purchased through a special fund set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister and Perdana Global Peace Organisation (PGPO) chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and is owned by The Free Gaza Movement. Its cargo included hundreds of tons of medical equipment and cement, as well as 20 tons of paper from the people of Norway, donated to UN-run schools in Gaza.
ENDS
Contact:IPSC Office: 01 6770253
Freda Hughes (IPSC): 086 1260359
John Dorman (IPSC): 087 2208560
Martin Quigley (IPSC): 087 9623624
Kevin Squires (IPSC): 087 7413580
Mark McDonnell (IPSC): 086 841 6297
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