ASEAN calls for end to Gaza siege

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=135229§ionid=351020202


Echoing a demand by the international community for the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, several Asian states call for an end to the plight of the Gaza residents.

In a draft document released on Sunday, foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) discussed Israel's three-year siege on the impoverished Gaza Strip.

"We reiterated the call for the unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people in Gaza in order to help alleviate their plight," the ASEAN countries stated in their statement.

The Asian bloc -- comprising of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - "strongly condemned" the May 31 Israeli assault on the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy bound for the Gaza Strip in international waters.

At least nine civilian activists were killed in the Israeli attack on the aid mission, sparking global condemnation.

According to AFP, the 10 foreign ministers of the ASEAN also expressed their support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict, calling for a resumption of talks for "a final, just and comprehensive settlement with the realization of two states, Israel and Palestine."

The statement comes as the 10 foreign ministers of the ASEAN are scheduled to hold their annual meeting in Vietnam on Monday.