upt 2,00 DEMONSTRATE IN SHEFFIELD CITY CENTRE

On saturday 4th May, upto 2,000 people joined a demonstration under the banner, "Justice for Palestine - Hands off Iraq".

The demonstration was remarkable for the diversity of its participants. Peace campaigners, human rights activists, Palestinian refugees now resident in Sheffield, political activists, trade-unionists, many many from Sheffield's
Asian communities, lots of young people, and two different bands, produced a lively mix and demonstrated the breadth of support that the struggle of the Palestinian people inspires here in Sheffield.

Several 'feeder' marches joined the demonstration from local Stop the War groups, walking to the city centre from Heeley, Nether Edge, Pitsmoor, and Sharrow. As the demonstration assembled in Barkers Pool opposite the cities City hall, they were played in by Ragnarok, local street band. Speeches were kicked off by Rami Khateeb, a Palestinian student who has recently been in Ramallah and who described the violence of the Israeli army's assault on that city's people.

As the demonstration wound around Sheffield city centre demonstrators chanted, "Stop the killing, stop the crime, Israel out of Palestine," and "Palestine - Freedom." The rally at Devonshire Green included a diverse
platform of speakers, reflecting the range of groups that have come together to campaign on these issues.

Speakers at the rally called for an immediate end to sanctions on Iraq, which are having a daily toll on ordinary people's lives, and against any military attack on
the country. but with current events uppermost, the loudest voices were raised in support of the Palestinian people, and for our government and the US to start putting real
pressure on Israel to allow in UN inspectors, to withdraw its military forces, and to respect the human rights of the Palestinian people, who today are denied dignity in their everyday lives and risk being fired upon if they
so much as attempt to cross the street.

The Demonstration was organised by the newly formed Campaign Coordinating Committee of Sheffield (CCCS). The organisers are optimistic that this demonstration will encourage local people to get involved in future campaigning for justice in the Middle East, starting with travelling to London on May 18th for a National Demonstration called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Speaking at the rally were:
* Rami Khateeb (a Palestinian studying in Sheffield, who has founded the
Sheffield University Palestine Society)
* Sinead Smith and Tara Topteagarden (two 13 year old Sheffield schoolgirls)
* Musheir el Farra (Chair of Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign)
* Bea Kay (speaking for the CCCS)
* Chris Searle (former Sheffield Head Teacher)
* Yunus Bach (Unison NEC member)
* Doyzan Alazani (a 7 year old boy from Sheffield's Yemeni community)
* Mohammed Sakaki (from the Muslim Association of Britain)
* Susie Miller (from Sheffield Socialist Alliance)
* Hameed Alasaly (from the Yemeni Youth organisation and the Muslim Council
of Britain)
* John Smith (from the Sheffield Iraq Campaign).
The rally was chaired by Rachel Cohen (Stop the War Coalition).

The bands that played at the demonstration were Ragnarok and the Sheffield Samba Band.

2. Organisations participating in the CCCS include: Muslim Association of
Britain (Sheffield Branch), Sheffield Stop the War Coalition, Sheffield
Green Party, Sheffield CND, Sheffield Trades Council, Sheffield Palestine
Solidarity Campaign, Yemeni Community Association, Sheffield Socialist
Alliance, Yemeni Youth Association, Sheffield Iraq Campaign, Arab Community,
Al-Khair, Al-Rahman, Sheffield University Palestine Society, Sheffield
Hallam University SWSS, Sheffield Anti-Nazi League, and others.



photos from the demo cAN BE SEEN AT
 http://www.sheffieldagainstwar.org.uk/news/palestine-demo/

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