Buenos Aires, March 31 (NA) -- Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, coordinator of the Global Sumud flotilla that planned to return to Gaza with a hundred vessels to denounce the blockade against the enclave, was detained at Jorge Newbery Airport in this city, where he was to lead the launch of his organization in the country. According to Global Sumud authorities, the decision to arrest him arose from 'the highest governmental spheres, taken by the executive officers of the so-called 'most Zionist government in history,' determined to stigmatize and criminalize organized militancy, both at the national and international level.' 'The police was very clear that it was not an administrative or security decision, but a political definition,' they stated in a press release. 'This unprecedented event in Argentina not only constitutes a serious case of censorship and violates the most basic rights and political guarantees, but it also confirms the anti-national character of the liberal-libertarian government, and its hijacking by the geopolitical interests of the United States and the State of Israel,' the organization's representatives emphasized. Ávila was in Montevideo this Monday to give a conference at the headquarters of the PIT-CNT labor union and during the event had announced the launch of the flotilla; however, upon arriving in Buenos Aires, he was arrested and separated from his family at the airport terminal. IP Meanwhile, on April 12, a new large-scale action is planned, with over a hundred vessels departing from different ports in the Mediterranean and the participation of more than 3,000 activists, including doctors, educators, and bioconstructors. A land caravan through North Africa is also planned.
