A Question For Costa Rica Politician Luis Fishman

In June the Costa Rica Congress approved a motion condemning the actions of the Israeli Navy who killed nine people in an unprovoked attack on unarmed civilians in international waters.

They voted 37:13 condemning the “use of disproportionate force” in international waters but Luis Fishman said that the information that that supported the motion was not “trustworthy”.

The United Nations Human Rights Council sent an independent fact finding mission and interviewed 112 witnesses and examined a huge amount of evidence. Of course Israel refused to cooperate but the Mission concluded that the Israeli military “demonstrated levels of totally unnecessary and incredible violence. It betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality. Such conduct,” the report added, “cannot be justified or condoned on security or any others grounds. It constituted grave violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law.”

It also confirmed that there is a “severe humanitarian situation in Gaza, the destruction of the economy and the prevention of reconstruction.” Israel’s blockade was “inflicting disproportionate damage upon the civilian population” in Gaza, and is therefore illegal. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment of civilians under occupation.

Not only was the Israeli interception of the flotilla unlawful, “the use of force by the Israeli forces in seizing control of the Mavi Marmara and other vessels was also prima facie unlawful since there was no legal basis for the Israeli forces to conduct an assault and interception in international waters.”

Much of the force used by the Israeli soldiers onboard the Mavi Marmara and from the helicopters was “unnecessary, disproportionate, excessive and inappropriate and resulted in the wholly avoidable killing and maiming of a large number of civilian passengers.”

At least six of the killings can be characterized as “extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions,” which amounted to violations of the right to life and to physical integrity under articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

So here’s my question for Sr. Fishman:

Now that there is very reliable and trustworthy information (“información confiable”) would Luis Fishman like to give us his opinion now?

Is he in favor of allowing Israel to use “unnecessary and incredible violence” and “an unacceptable level of brutality” and does he support Israel’s use of “extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions”?

I would love to know because if he agrees with these fanatical, supremacist views, with Costa Rica’s commitment to peace, democracy and equal rights for all I would hope Mr. Fishman and also Mr. Luis Lieberman – if he feels the same – will resign from political office immediately.

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Written by Brad Bard, a long time VIP Member and a retired researcher who spends half of the year in Costa Rica and the other half in Germany.

This article was reproduced from the WeLoveCostaRica.com Discussion Forum.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.