Participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla urged the Australian government to intervene and keep them safe on Monday as boats carrying activists, doctors, academics and filmmakers were intercepted in international waters. Among the Australians named by flotilla supporters were Anny Mokotow, Dr Bianca Pullman-Webb, Neve O’Connor, Violet Coco, Gemma O’Toole, Sam Woripa Watson, Zack Schofield, Helen O’Sullivan, Juliet Lamont, Isla Lamont and Surya McEwan.
Ethan Floyd said it was not a radical act to try to deliver food, water and medicine to what he called a starving population. He said this was the second time Israel had illegally abducted Australian citizens in international waters, adding that if Australia continued to support Israel’s genocide, Australians would keep sailing. The flotilla’s supporters also said the boats were carrying aid for people under what they described as an illegal siege.
The events unfolded after 22 boats were intercepted off the coast of Greece two weeks ago, when Floyd was temporarily detained by the Israel Defense Forces. On Monday, as the latest interception began, a video distributed by flotilla supporters captured Lamont saying, “it’s all on now.” She said the convoy was carrying baby food in boats trying to break the siege and that governments were completely failing the people on board.
The latest appeal places Canberra under fresh pressure to respond to allegations that Australians were taken in international waters, with the foreign minister, Penny Wong, and the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade both approached for comment. The flotilla’s account is a direct challenge to the government’s position, because it asks for protection while accusing Israel of repeating an act that the participants say already happened once before.
Outside the flotilla, Australia is also dealing with other urgent health warnings. This weekend, the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda was declared a public health emergency of international concern, and yesterday the chief health ministers of every state and territory met to discuss the response. This morning, Mark Butler said the risk to Australia remained low. In Victoria, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is urging 5,500 people with A and O blood to donate within the next week. For readers watching several fast-moving stories at once, the pattern is clear: one crisis is unfolding at sea, while others are being managed at home.
The question now is not whether the flotilla wanted attention. It clearly did. The question is whether Australia will answer the call from its citizens after the second alleged detention in international waters, or leave the people on those boats to argue their own case from beyond the reach of the government they asked to protect them.
