Jerry Buttimer, the Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, today addressed the situation that community worker Sarah Clancy and other Irish citizens who have been detained by Israeli authorities while attempting to sail to Gaza find themselves in. He said international law applies to all of us, including Israel, and expressed concern for Sarah and others.
He told Changing Ireland:
“All of us abhor what has happened. The interception of the flotilla is wrong on a huge number of levels, in particular when you speak about someone like Sarah Clancy, Tadgh Hickey and others who are volunteering in their spare time in inverted commas to continue the work they are doing in terms of community work, intervening on behalf of people who are under on the margins now and who are being killed in what is an extraordinarily awful situation.
“So, as you know, government, through the Office of An Tánaiste and An Taoiseach are monitoring the situation, have engaged with the Irish Ambassador and the consular service available to people. We must uphold international law and that applies to Israel, it applies to all of us, they are not doing that,” he said.
“And as a minister in the government, as an Irish citizen, I am concerned about fellow citizens, but equally as important, the people of Gaza. And we have as a government got to stand up for people. We have done that with the people of Palestine, in this case, An Taoiseach and An Tánaiste are monitoring on behalf of the government and we will do everything we can to ensure that our people are looked after and minded and they are not treated badly and shouldn’t be treated badly,” said Minister Buttimer.
The minister spoke to us in the midst of attending a showcase event in Athlone today to celebrate the achievements of community workers nationwide through the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP).
Clare PPN co-ordinator Sarah Clancy abducted sailing to Gaza
