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Report of all Scotland demonstration for Lebanon Saturday 12th August 2006

Paul O'Hanlon | 13.08.2006 05:51 | Lebanon War 2006 | Analysis | Anti-militarism | Anti-racism | World

This is a 1,770 word piece with 20 photographs about the large and successful demonstration for Lebanon on Saturday 12th August in Edinburgh.






















Report of all Scotland demonstration for Lebanon
Saturday 12th August 2006

Saturday 12th August saw a massive all-Scotland demonstration in Edinburgh to protest the Israeli attack on Lebanon and to say no to any assault on Syria or Iran. On the same day there were a large number of protests around the globe including Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Canada; Washington DC, USA and Paris, France.

The Edinburgh demonstration was called by called by Edinburgh Stop the War, Glasgow Stop the War and supported by Edinburgh Palestine Solidarity Campaign, CND, Peace and Justice Centre and many more. The march was due to start at 2.00pm but waited half an hour for the arrival of 3 coaches from Glasgow.

There was a multitude of large red and white Lebanese flags as well as numerous Palestinian colours and even the odd Syrian flag.

After numerous chants of: “George Bush, CIA, How many kids have you killed today? “ “Justice for Lebanon!” “Stop the War; Stop the bombs, Ceasefire now!” and “George Bush, terrorist!” the large and colourful gathering moved off at 2,30pm.

Placards read `Support the Arab resistance`, `Scottish Jews for a Just Peace` and `Boycott Israel` as the march moved along Forest Road and Chambers Street to the South Bridge. There were several giant banners including ` End Israeli War Crimes` and `End Israeli Terror`.

The protest march crossed the Royal Mile just before 3.00pm where many Festivalgoers looked on. On foot down the North Bridge the procession turned right in to Waterloo Place and along Regent Road passing the Nelson Monument on the left and St Andrew’s House on the right. There was a heavy police presence by the junction of Regent Terrace and Regent Road near the US consulate.

Proceeding past the Greek temple-like columns of the old Royal High School the march turned at the end of Regent Road near the bowling green and went back up towards the American Consulate. The entrance to Regent Terrace was closed and only a handful of people were let through to leave a protest letter and some children’s shoes outside the consulate building. There was nobody in the consulate office to speak to the small group, which included Rose Gentle of Justice for Gordon Gentle (her son), MP Mohammed Sarwar and human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar. The rest of the demo held a minute’s silence for the victims of the violence at 3.30pm, which was started and ended with short burst of an air raid warning siren.

The presence of an EGT (Evidence Gathering Team) team was observed though it was unclear what they were looking of evidence for. Here is a description of the usefulness of `evidence` gained by this furtive method:

EGT: `Evidence provided by video footage can be the most compelling and successful in convicting the perpetrators of criminal activity. In my force, the use of cameras teams, known as Evidence Gathering Teams (EGT), in public order situations has proved over the years to be extremely beneficial in capturing that vital evidence which obtains the guilty plea or verdict at court. ` (By Insp. Steve Baxter Portsmouth Police (UK))

Lebanese speakers read out poetry and made short, impassioned speeches calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. A speaker called Rabbe said that over 1,000 Lebanese people have been killed, over a third of them children. The infrastructure of the country has been destroyed including electricity, roads, hospitals and airports. The United Nations was taking too long to call for a full ceasefire.

The march recommenced around 3.45pm chanting “Ceasefire Now!” and “George Bush, terrorist!” as they walked down Waterloo Place towards the Wellington Statue. “1,2,3,4 stop the bombings, stop the war”, “5,6,7,8, Israel is a terror state!”

With one half of Princes Street closed to traffic the marchers made their way along to The Mound where there was left turn up the hill to just past the National Gallery. By now it was past 4.00pm, a little behind schedule due to the late start. There was an appeal for donations to the cost of the demonstration followed by the playing of the Lebanese National Anthem.

Then Glasgow based human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar announced that a letter of protest had been handed in to the US Consulate but there no official who could deal with it, then children’s shoes were left outside to represent the thousands of children who are left without mothers and fathers. He said that Bush and Blair had made the world a more dangerous place with their policies. He said there were a million refugees in Lebanon and he called Bush and Blair war criminals. He called for liberation for Lebanon and Palestine.
He read out a letter from Tommy Sheridan the Scottish Socialist Party MSP who expressed solidarity with the demonstration and had similar sentiments.

Mohammed Sarwar, Labour MP for Glasgow Central spoke next and condemned the transportation of US bombs to Israel through UK airports. He criticised Tony Blair for his slavish following of George Bush. He reminded the crowd of the lies the government told about Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction. He denounced Tony Blair’s refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Chairperson of Glasgow Stop the War coalition, Nicola Fisher, chaired the speakers and introduced Fiona Hyslop of the Scottish National Party. Fiona Hyslop MSP is currently the SNP Shadow Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, and a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Lothians Region. She advocates a Scotland free of nuclear weapons. She said that people in Scotland feel the pain and sympathise with the people of Lebanon. She articulated that there would no peace without justice and there had to be justice for Palestine.

Another speaker pointed out that the bombs falling did not distinguish between Christian and Muslim, white or black. Lebanon is being bombed form the south to the north from the east to the west.


Dr Rachid Mohamad of the Glasgow Lebanese Community addressed the rally after that to lead a chant of “Down, down, Israel!” He said that the whole Middle East was suffering and the bombing of Lebanon was indiscriminate with Israel using prohibited weapons. It was impossible to reach the wounded buried under the rubble. After 32 days the world just watches. Resolution 1701, which was passed on Friday, allows Israel to continue its military occupation. Juts hours after the implementation of the resolution there were more massacres in Lebanon. (Here is the text of UN Resolution 1701:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4785963.stm)

RESPECT councillor Salma Yaqoob was next and spoke of the news headlines being dominated by the so-called terrorist plot to blow up people in the skies of Britain. She continued: “Let’s talk about a real terrorist plot, over the skies of Lebanon that is happening right now! We in the anti-war movement oppose terrorism but unlike Tony Blair and George Bush we oppose all terrorism! The state sponsored terrorism which is being conducted by the biggest terrorist group in the Middle East today is the Israeli government. It is state sponsored terrorism carried out by Israeli pilots sitting in US made planes who have killed over one thousand Lebanese civilians, almost half of them children. That’s the equivalent of 24 9/11s in a country of only four million people - and they tell us about terrorism! Let’s be very clear, it is George Bush and Tony Blair who are driving this war - they are not honest brokers. It is no coincidence that we had Israel, Britain and the US on one side and 150 countries on the other side calling for an immediate ceasefire!”

The plan was that Lebanon was a war map for Iran just as Afghanistan was a war map for Iraq. She spoke of the heroic resistance of the Lebanese people as well as the resistance of the Cuban and Venezuelan people. She saluted the people of Edinburgh for turning out in such large numbers. She urged the rally to turn out en masse to protest at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester in September.

Following Yaqoob was Barrie Levine of Scottish Jews for Justice, who gave an excellent speech. As a Jew he utterly condemned the actions of Israel in Lebanon and Palestine. He said that not all Jews supported the actions of Israel. He spoke of standing in solidarity with the people in Palestine and Lebanon. He said that unless there was just peace in Palestine there cannot be a solution to peace in the Middle East overall. He told the crowd of the 10,000 who had marched for peace in Tel Aviv the previous weekend. He called for an immediate ceasefire and felt that the UN resolution would not end the conflict. He finished by saying that the state of Israel did not act in his name.
People had joined the SJJP group from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, and the far North. One supporter, in her eighties, made a 17-hour round trip to join the group! She said, like many other people there, that sometimes you just have to act, and this war in Lebanon is such a time.
Scottish Jews for Justice:  http://blog.sjjp.org.uk/index.php


Elaine Wishart of the Edinburgh City branch of UNISON spoke next and echoed previous speakers in calling for an unequivocal ceasefire. The bombing had to stop she said and the day’s demonstration would send a message to Tony Blair. She was proud that UNISON was part of the protest. She urged everyone to write to his or her MPs and finished by saying that an injury to one was an injury to all.
Then Kara Szifris from the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign spoke. She had just returned from Palestine and told of the humiliation of the Palestinian people at the hands of the occupation. The goal of the occupation was to force Palestinians off their lands. The apartheid wall divided communities and made it difficult for people to reach their land. She advocated a boycott of Israeli goods.

The final speaker was Angela McCormick of Globalise Resistance who said that the day’s event had done the peace movement proud. The demonstration represented the many people around the world who stand with the Palestinian and Lebanese people. She said Bush and Blair were alone. She finished by telling Blair not to lecture her about Western values or democracy or civilisation.

The rally finished just after 5.10pm with some small Lebanese Scot children chanting “Stop bombing children” and “Say Hey, Ho, Condi Rice has got to go!”


The police estimate of the crowd was about 5,000 and the chair, Nicola Fisher said that could be safely doubled to 10,000.





Word count 1,771 words

Paul O'Hanlon
- e-mail: o_hanlon@hotmail.com


Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

Are we?

13.08.2006 17:07

You forgot to mention the speaker at the beginning of the march announcing to everyone: "We are all Hezbullah".

Controversial...

Question Mark


brilliant pictures Paul

13.08.2006 21:07

wow, I did not catch that much and in that detail than you did. My pics to follow later as addition.
Post on Scotland Imc as well, will you, Paul?

ulla


Arab Resistance

13.08.2006 22:12

Yes, I heard many people chant "We are all Hezbollah" at the start of the demo as well, and it was very apparent that many felt uneasy at supporting it.
One of the good things about demos is that people with differing opinions get together and share their knowledge. They arrive with one opinion and they leave with another. The Hezbollah issue is a good example: some viewed them purely as a terrorist organization (as do the UK + US governments + mainstream media [1]), while others see them as a legitimate resistance to an occupying army. Because these issues are never explored in the mainstream media, many people have never considered them in the same light as e.g. the French Resistance of their Nazi Occupiers or even those who fought against British rule in the American War of Independence.
Many people were actually unaware that Israel occupies parts of South Lebanon (since 1982) and has ignored countless UN resolutions that it should leave.
Again never explored on our news programmes is the fact that many hundreds of Lebanese are held as hostages in Israeli jails. Edward Peck, former U.S. Chief of Mission in Iraq and deputy director of the White House Task Force on Terrorism in the Reagan Administration notes that, “Hezbollah and Israelis have negotiated prisoner exchanges before. As I think you're aware, the Israelis have been holding a number of Lebanese as prisoners that they kidnapped from Lebanon, which is one of the contentious issues that upsets the folks on the northern side of that border.” Peck also agreed that “the only possible strategy is to have Israeli prisoners and soldiers as prisoners, and then you negotiate in order to get your prisoners. This is the only choice. You don't have multiple choices in order for you to choose. You have the two options, either to have your detainees remain in Israeli prisons or to capture an Israeli soldier.” [2]
If the mainstream media were to do its job, these points would be common knowledge, and support for Hezbollah would not be controversial.
While the media preserves ignorance, demos serve to educate: by the end of the demo, it was noticeable that the “We are all Hezbollah” chant was much less contentious.

[1]  http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,31200-galloway_060806,00.html
[2]  http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/28/1440244&mode=thread&tid=25

Kevin Connor
mail e-mail: kevconnor69@hotmail.com


News of other protests around the world

14.08.2006 05:59

Here are reports from a number of other demonstrations for Lebanon around the world on Saturday 12th August:

We had a very successful demonstration yesterday here in Edinburgh with a big turnout – the police said 5,000 and we can safely double that to 10,000. Here is a detailed report with 20 photos:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/world/2006/08/347779.html


There were a number of other, smaller demos around Britain including a small one in Hackney. Here is a selection of reports:

Hackney, London:  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/347757.html

RAF Brize Norton blockaded, 12th Aug 2006:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/347712.html

Downing St, London protest:
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcvallee/sets/72157594234189841/

Newcastle Upon Tyne:  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/347732.html


There were also demonstrations around the world and here is a round up of those:

Sydney, Australia report:  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/347734.html

Washington DC:  http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/08/344340.shtml

San Francisco, USA:  http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/08/12/18296689.php

Seattle, USA demo report:  http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2006/08/254305.shtml

Los Angeles, USA demo:  http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/08/173828.php


Paris, France - INTERNATIONAL DAY Of ACTION SATURDAY 12 DEMONSTRATION AUGUST PLACES CHATELET at 15H30
Report:  http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A//paris.indymedia.org/imprime_article.php3?id_article=65747&langpair=fr|en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&prev=/language_tools


Martyrs Square Vigil, Lebanon - Wed 9th Aug - Photo Report:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/08/347641.html

Beirut, Lebanon streaming video of Saturday 12th:  http://beirut.streamtime.org/

The Hague, Netherlands:  http://indymedia.nl/nl/2006/08/38288.shtml

Toronto, Canada: MASS RALLY & MARCH  http://www.nowar.ca/
Saturday, August 12
1:00pm
Israeli Consulate
180 Bloor Street West
(West of Avenue Road, north side of Bloor) March to U.S. Consulate 360 University Avenue (east of University, south side of Armoury

I’m sure there were many more.
Let’s keep on trying and hope for a big turnout on September 23rd in Manchester,
Best from Edinburgh, Paul





Paul O'Hanlon
mail e-mail: o_hanlon@hotmail.com


We are all Americans, we are all Iraqis, we are all Hezbollah

14.08.2006 09:16

I think this slogan is being misinterpreted. Surely the point is that Israel says it is fighting 'Hezbollah' but in reality it is hitting the civilian population of Lebanon. We are all civilians hence we are all 'Hezbollah'.

anon


Hezbollah and Lebanese citizens

14.08.2006 09:55

"I think this slogan is being misinterpreted. Surely the point is that Israel says it is fighting 'Hezbollah' but in reality it is hitting the civilian population of Lebanon. We are all civilians hence we are all 'Hezbollah'. "

I'm afraid I don't think it is being misinterpreted. If it was solely trying to show support for the Lebanese civilians (and I've issues with this position too) it would, or should, have said this - I fail to see how a slogan of "we are all Hezbollah" can mean anything but some form of support for Hezbollah. I'd have guessed that the vast majority of the people saying "we are all Hezbollah" meant it as some support for Hezbollah and their war against the IDF (if not necessarily endorsement of all their positions though).

"While the media preserves ignorance, demos serve to educate: by the end of the demo, it was noticeable that the “We are all Hezbollah” chant was much less contentious."

I'd have thought that the chant seemed less contentious because people who disagreed just ignored it. I'd also argue that demonstrations don't really serve to educate - doubtless a few people pick up the odd bit of information that makes them adapt their view, perhaps the odd meaningful discussion happens, but generally people do not get educated (in the sense you mean) by demos. People tend to spend most of their time trudging round chatting to their mates. Demos may be useful as a means of showing solidarity in certain circumstances, but I don't think much education happens on them. Some may, but not all that much.

Question Mark


Fair point, but...

14.08.2006 13:42

I accept that perhaps the "education" does not always come in the overly-optimistic manner I implied. However, I would suggest that many people do note that many of their fellow demonstrators have perspectives that they themselves had never considered. While they might not (and should not) suddenly adopt them, I do feel that they at least become more open to them, which is key to the development of radical thought.

To focus again on Hezbollah, it is certainly true that many demonstrators turned up at the demo without having ever really challenged the official line that they are a terrorist group. I can't be sure but I would guess that most people heard at least some reference to their comparison with the French Resistance; that Hezbollah are considered terrorist by some powers in the same way that the French Resistance were considered terrorist by the Nazis can be the spark for many to look beyond the surface of their assumptions and become generally more critical of establishment ideology.

So while I accept your specific criticism as valid, I would still maintain that in a society where elitist perspectives dominate the media and alternative voices almost never break through, demos serve an important educatory role.

Kevin Connor
mail e-mail: kevconnor69@hotmail.com


Preaching to the converted?

14.08.2006 16:34

I'd imagine that most people on the march will have had a pretty good understanding of much of what makes up Hezbollah. Ultimately the people that you need to convince and cut through the "elitist perspectives" are not those on the march as they're the people who are relatively critical of the media anyway.

Again, I'm not saying that no-one learns anything from being on a march and that no-one had their view of Hezbollah changed, just I really doubt that it happens enough to change anywhere near significant numbers of people from disagreeing with the statement "We are all Hezbollah" to agreeing with it or at least not being openly against it.

PS I still think it is an awful slogan and politically very very stupid.

Question Mark


Critical to a point...

17.08.2006 13:49

About changing "anywhere near significant numbers of people" on a march, I can't really argue as I haven't done or heard of any study on the specific theme. Scientific study does however categorically demonstrate that people start to question their own opinions much more when they discover that cogent dissenting viewpoints exist. In terms of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, or any imperial war, the process might be something like this:

The media feed us the pro-war line more-or-less exclusively so most people initially adopt that stance. Generally, people won’t reflect on their views without stimulus; the anti-war movement aims to provide that stimulus; with determination, “near significant numbers of people” can be converted.

But amongst those who consider themselves anti-war, many differing shades of opinion exist: some people reject every government/media assertion as propaganda; while others accept much of it, but might feel that, on balance, this specific war is unjustified. That’s why dissenting views within the movement are also significant, serving to encourage people to challenge not just the war itself, but the assumptions implicit in almost all media commentary.

While leafleting for the demo, I obviously came into contact with many differing shades of anti-war opinion. Of those, while everyone held the view that Israel was way out of order, I would say that the vast majority had never thought to question the status of Hezbollah. The media present it as a given: they are terrorist. In the same way that the initial spark that turned the tide of public opinion from pro to anti-war was simply the discovery that anti-war sentiment existed, I would suggest that a demo is an effective forum to start or further develop deeper questioning within the movement.

To a certain extent, I agree with you: the people we need to “convince and cut through the "elitist perspectives" are not those on the march as they're the people who are relatively critical of the media anyway.” A greater proportion of marchers than non-marchers are critical of the media, yes, but (hard to believe, I know), there are many marchers who are entirely uncritical of the media. However, like the Hezbollah theme, more media critics leave a march than enter.

I’d appreciate if you could expand on your last point: “I still think it is an awful slogan and politically very very stupid.” I must admit that I felt uneasy with the slogan at first but I suppose that for some of the reasons mentioned above, I think it was quite effective.

Kevin Connor
mail e-mail: kevconnor69@hotmail.com


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