Malaysian UMNO Youth to organize Public Dialogue with the US and UK Governments over senseless killings in Lebanon and Palestine

We wish to announce that the UK Government has agreed to participate in a Public Dialogue on the current crisis in West Asia to be organized by the Malaysian UMNO Youth Movement in three weeks time.

The Bureau had given the UK and US governments seven days to respond to an invitation for a Public Dialogue vide its letter dated and hand delivered on August 2 last week. This invitation reflects the Malaysian UMNO Youth’s staunch position that the atrocities and violation of human rights in Lebanon and Palestine perpetrated by Israel must cease and control be returned to the Government of Lebanon. The Public Dialogue calls for the UK and US Governments to defend their support of the Israeli invasion which thus far has dragged on for more than a month, mostly killing civilians, including women and children.

The US Government via their Embassy in Kuala Lumpur responded by inviting a delegation from UMNO Youth for a meeting with the US Ambassador to Malaysia to discuss the issues as well as the best way to pursue such dialogues in the future. No firm commitment as to their acceptance to the invitation was made.

We hope that the US Government too will agree to participate in this dialogue. This event will give Malaysians in general and UMNO Youth in particular, a unique opportunity to voice our anguish and express our disgust on the current human rights violations in Palestine and Lebanon. We also wish to state firmly that we are equally disgusted with the continuous excuses given by the US and UK Governments in supporting the Israeli invasion into Lebanon.

The US Government vetoed a resolution drafted by Arab nations calling for Israel to immediately end a two week military incursion in Gaza on July 13th 2006. On July 17th, British Prime Minister, Tony Blair ignored Lebanon’s proposal for a cease fire at the Security Council of the UN. The latest draft resolution co-sponsored by the US and French Ambassadors to the UN for cease fire in Lebanon was lopsided and blatantly favours the Israeli invaders. As we speak, the US Government continues to supply satellite and laser guided bombs to the Israeli regime which are being deployed on Lebanese civilian targets.

To date, more that 100,000 homes in Lebanon have been destroyed by Israeli missile attacks with more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians killed. More than a million people are now displaced and seeking refuge all over Northern Lebanon and at the Lebanon-Syria border.