PRESS INVITATION: MEET THE FIRST EVER INDIAN ACTIVISTS TO ENTER GAZA

You are invited to a PRESS CONFERENCE

ASIAN PEOPLE'S SOLIDARITY FOR PALESTINE -- INDIA LIFELINE TO GAZA

PRESS INVITATION

MEET THE FIRST EVER INDIAN ACTIVISTS TO ENTER GAZA

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malayasia, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, UK

Venue: Press Club of India, Raisina Road, New Delhi (Near Metro Station Central Secretariat)

Time: 2.45 pm Date: Monday, January 10, 2011

Chased by Israeli warships and warplanes in the Mediterranean Sea... held hostage in a cargo ship off Egypt without passports.. the amazing story of grit and determination of more than a 120 activists from 17 Asian countries, over 50 of them from India alone, who entered Gaza (Palestine) last week after a historic month-long 8,000-km bus-ride through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.

With them, they took life-saving medical equipment, food items, clothes and other aid worth $1 million, weighing 170 tons, for the people of Gaza who continue to suffer unspeakable hardship for nearly five years under the illegal blockade imposed by the Israeli-US regimes.

Through its journey, the caravan was greeted by tens of thousands of people and their leaders that included, among others, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmednijad in Tehran, Hamas chief Khalid Mishal in Damascus and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya in Gaza.

You are cordially invited to meet the delegates at the press conference and share their experience through personal testimonies, as well as their rich collection of videos and photographs that documented the historic journey.

The activists included a diverse range of representation from the civil society -- Magsaysay Award-winner social activist Sandeep Pandey, West Asian expert and peace activist Feroze Mithiborwala, Gandhian activist Suresh Khairnar, trade union leader Ashim Roy, noted journalist Ajit Sahi, student activists from Vidyarthi Bharati in Mumbai, and students from JNU and Jamia Millia. The Indian delegates hailed from UP, Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand, among others.