8月4日：エジンバラ映画祭に圧力か？

昨日のブログを読んで、エジンバラ映画祭のリンクをたどってくれた知人から、リンクが死んでいると指摘を受けた。そこでたどってみると、昨日、確かにこの目で見た、エジンバラ映画祭のＨＰ上にあった「ボイコット表明」が、今日、きれいさっぱり削除されている。News欄のアーカイブにも、イスラエルの「イ」の字も残っていない。いったい映画祭に、どんな圧力がかかったのだろうか、想像したくないが、想像に難くない。世の中は、こんな細部に及んでもなお、不正義と暴力に満ちている。

そのプレスリリース本文はバックアップしていないので残念だが、その内容を伝えるメールを関係者からもらったので、その全文を掲載したい。かなり長いが、ご一読いただきたい。

IMPORTANT PRESS RELEASE
Edinburgh International Film Festival Returns Israeli Money in response
to Boycott Plans
The organisers of the Edinburgh International Film Festival have　cancelled an official Israeli Embassy sponsorship of their　programme and returned the Israeli cheque following a huge public outcry　over Israeli Embassy involvement.

Shane Danielsen, the Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival wrote to all those who complained that he had "almost had my bottom teeth knocked out with the butt" of an Israeli rifle recently in Occupied Palestine, and that he was eager to assist those Israeli filmakers who stood "above all the gunfire, and the shouting of thuggish soldiers."

Writers, actors and members of the public inundated the organisers with
mail and phone calls demanding the financial support from the Israeli Embassy be ended and warning that they would boycott Edinburgh's flagship event if this were not done.

The Edinburgh Branches of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and
the Stop the War Coalition had planned to picket all major Film Festival events and shame the organisers if the link with the Israeli Embassy had been maintained.

The Film Festival website carries the following: "this funding was secured some three months ago, well before the commencement of current hostilities in Lebanon. Of course we acknowledge that the situation has altered dramatically since then, and with this in mind, took the decision early yesterday to decline any funding from the Israelis."

Scottish PSC welcomes this late conversion of the EIFF organisers to
opposition to human rights violations: it is regrettable, however, that the EIFF allowed the link to be made in the first place. It is simply not good enough to respond to the most recent massacres in Qana. Israel, after all, has been violating Palestinian human rights for decades. Israeli killing in Palestine, and Lebanon, continued yesterday.

The Edinburgh StWC and SPSC never at any time called for the banning of
the Israeli film or film-maker in question. We will engage artistically and politically with all film-makers who deal with the issues of Israel's past and ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine and invasion of neighbouring countries .


For further information and interviews, contact
John Wight, Press Officer, Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition
07738 528 145 jscotlive@aol.com
Mick Napier, Chair, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
0780 32 44 739 chair@scottishpsc.org.uk

NO to Israeli Embassy sponsorship of the Edinburgh International Film
Festival
EMAIL TO EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:-
Please be advised.
Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition, in conjunction with the Scottish
Palestine Solidarity Campaign, demands that the Edinburgh International
Film Festival cancels its sponsorship by the Israeli Embassy with immediate effect.

If this demand is not complied with forthwith, we will ensure that a picket is present at every event organised by the Film Festival, that the contact details of your office are released nationally to ensure your phone lines and email is deluged with calls and emails, and that the reputation of the Festival is discredited all over the world.

It is also our intention to contact your delegates asking them to stage
a boycott.

Please reply with your decision asap.
Yours in disgust,

JOHN WIGHT (Press Officer)

Contact the Festival organisers to demand the cancellation of Israeli
Embassy sponsorship of this International event:

The contact details for the Edinburgh Film Festival are:
Phone: 0131 228 4051
Email: pressdesk@edfilmfest.org.uk
info@edfilmfest.org.uk
Artistic Director: Shane Danielson
Managing Director: Ginnie Atkinson.

Please distribute widely.