The Siege of Gaza Continues

The march organized by the Stop The War started at the BBC for numerous reasons which would include the BBC’s avoidance in reporting on the bi-yearly massacres in Gaza, in context.

The police said that 20,000 people marched. The organizers claim that 150,000 marched. The difference this time is so massive it defies speculative conclusions as to how such a difference is possible.

 

 

My contribution to the discerepency in numbers is to say that the March went from the BBC to Hyde Park where the sun was shining, the stage was set up, the sound system was awesome and seeing as the crowd had to keep getting up and moving further “left of stage” because of the sheer volume of people entering at a slow and leisurely pace into the extensive green known as Hyde Park, I am betting the numbers lean closer to what the organizers claim than anything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the event in the park was officially completed around 4.30pm, Occupy London contributed to the event in it signatory way of “giving voice to the people”.

Armed with nothing more than a megaphone, a small group of about 7 from Occupy London called for a public assembly.

People started gathering. Occupiers spoke on how they felt about the war and random details of Israel Palestine (many of us have been there) and within no time members of the public garnered up the courage to speak and the show was on. At any given time the the crowd was about 100 strong despite some people coming and going.

 

 

Points raised were :

• historical lessons and angles presented,
  
• pleas to us all to recognise that we need to engage in a debate that embraces a different ideology from the one we live with now for these repeated wars to end,
  
• personal testimonies about experiences in Gaza and the West Bank,
• emotive feelings of frustration expressed,
• confessions of minor acts of vandalism to express anti war sentiments,
• reference to the beliefs on the general Israel society in teh context of this war
• acknowledgement to the London Palestine Action group for their amazing direct actions
  
• and much more.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A video may be being delivered to us of this assembly. Stay Tuned
Occupy London clearly fills a need for people to express themselves and to learn from each other after these emotive and larger than life marches that are an illustration of historical proportions of the general disgust that the UK public feel for the UK government’s involvement in the Gaza massacre, all be it indirectly through trade regulations and directly through foreign policy.

 

 

Why pick on the BBC?

 

Reporting the horrors of Operation Protective Edge in the context of the siege on Gaza, the occupation of the West Bank, the thousands of imprisoned Palestinians (hundreds of whom are under administrative detention), and the sanctioned discrmination of the Palestinians living in Israel “proper” would be altogether more grounded and in line with ‘doing their job” than supporting the launching of Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal on Friday.
Although such charity is now desperately needed and should be advertised on our National Broadcaster,  so too the BBC should use its power and reach to breed in the UK public powerful suggestions for Britain to impose an arms embargo and strict economic sanctions on Israel for its outrageous use of military force on an imprisoned population.

Instead the UK keeps selling, the Israelis keep buying, the massacres keep happening. Please give a donation to the maimed and destroyed.

Polly Tikkle