UK Indymedia | pics from palestine solidarity demo at parliament square

pics from palestine solidarity demo at parliament square

on friday early evening, just under 200 people supported the call from the palestinian solidarity campaign to hold a vigil in parliament square against israeli war crimes including the clear contravention of geneva guidelines in the bombing of a power plant in gaza.

the demonstration passed peacefully with minimal police presence. the use of a megaphone, a reasonable act and a normal part of any protest in a free country, was however rigorously prohibited, with threats of immediate arrest under socpa legislation of anyone attempting to use one.

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

Follow your leaders

01.07.2006 04:50

Hey, did you guys manage to kidnap anyone?

Ali ibn Sharmootah

Follow your leaders 2...

01.07.2006 07:07

I suppose if it was a zionist demonstration there would have been indiscriminate shelling of passers-by and the number 87 bus would have been blown up by a missile from an Apache.

Skyver Bill

Did you guys demonstrate when Iraq invaded Kuwait?

01.07.2006 08:39

Did you guys demonstrate when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990? Did you demonstrate when Iraq gassed 5,000 Kurds at Halabja in 1988? Do you ever demonstrate about China's occupation of Tibet? Do you ever demonstrate about Indias' persecution of Sikhs in the punjab? Of Sri Lankas' persecution of Tamals? No you didn't!!!!! Hypocrits and you say you are not anti-semitic, pathetic.

Exposing the left for the hypocrits they are!

microcosm

01.07.2006 09:14

as shown by the immediate comments above, there is so much hatred on both sides.

isn't the only possible way forward to start a process of truth and reconciliation?

violence can only spiral and affect more and more innocents (eg.suicide bombers in israeli markets, and israeli war crimes on palestinian civilian infrastructure).

it all has to stop, and no amount of violence can ever achieve peace. why such stupidity?

why such name-calling - what do you posters hope to achieve? yet another innocent child dead?

rikki

peaceful "pink" revolutionary

01.07.2006 12:30

thanxs - love u rikki

actively trying to save innocent lives caught up in the us/uk etc roadmap/war of terror is the primary objective.

the rest is meaningless .....

barbara tucker

All deaths of innocents are meaningful

01.07.2006 16:29

I believe all killing of innocent bodies is wrong. Therefore it IS legitimate to complain if civilians are murdered by a suicide bomb. It IS however also legitimate to complain if Israelis kill innocent Palestinians, and to complain if the US/UK criminal governments massacre thousands of innocents in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the killing of Tibetans by Chinese, and any other killing of innocents.

The problem that posters such as the anonymous "Exposing the left..." have is that they don't see that people feel they can do more about an issue and feel more responsibility if their own government is committing a crime. Yes there are other conflicts in the world - where our own government is not directly responsible. In theory I like the idea of having a demonstration on the Israel/Palestine issue that is against ALL killing of innocents rather than a one-sided 'support the Palestinians' thing. However who are you demonstrating your views to if the people responsible for suicide bombs are now dead?? Anyone else linked to the action would not openly state who they are so that would make it difficult. I remember looking a while ago at the website for an organisation called Palestine Solidarity Campaign which had lots of information about borders and other information. However I could not find anything that mentioned suicide bombs which I found unbelievable that the whole issue could be ignored - especially when that issue is the one the Israelis bring up (whether it is true or not) for justifying the building of walls. a whole dimension to the issue was being completely ignored I felt. It only makes it more difficult to support the cause of the Palestinians if I can't see the position they take towards the issue. It is because of this that I haven't supported any of their demonstrations. The Cairo Conference (which was supported by some members of the Stop the War Coalition) also came up with all sorts of resolutions about the Palestinians and Israel but nothing to even acknowledge the suicide bombs. Even just something to acknowledge the suffering caused would help, even if those people supporting it could not bring themselves to state their opposition to the tactic of using suicide bombs.

Anyway I agree with the poster above:
"actively trying to save innocent lives caught up in the us/uk etc roadmap/war of terror is the primary objective."
I agree from the point of view that we should not be sending more troops to Afganistan and should campaign for pulling the troops out from Iraq and Afganistan. Also given that most of us have limited time many of us should focus on these issues. The Israel-Palestine issue is a more long-standing one, but obviously interconnected with the whole conflict in the region.

Brian B
Homepage: http://www.brianb.uklinux.net/antiwar-discuss/

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